The Same Old Story Or Something New?
By Joseph Lopez
April 18, 2012; Anaheim, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics center fielder Yoenis Cespedes (52) is congratulated by designated hitter Jonny Gomes (31) after he hits a three run home run in the first inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-US PRESSWIRE
While the season is still young, the A’s are looking a lot like they did last season. Entering Friday’s contest against the Angels, the A’s have gotten a lot of life out of their pitching, but as usual, the team’s offense remains anemic. The team has gotten a little boost out of guys like Yoenis Cespedes, Josh Reddick, and Jonny Gomes, but overall the offense is a mess.
While it’s true they handled the Angels quite well last night offensively, the A’s have only a few guys in their lineup worth watching. Cespedes and Reddick have been the primary contributors with each bringing something to the table. Cespedes leads the team in home runs (4) and RBIs (12) and Reddick leads the team in batting average (.298) through the first 13 games of the year.
Oakland’s pitching, meanwhile, continues an A’s trend of seemingly always putting together a formidable starting rotation. The A’s pitching has been led by Bartolo Colon—of all people, I know—who has collected three wins over his first four starts this season. He’s 3-1 with a 2.63 ERA in 27.1 innings of work this year.
In addition to Colon’s early season success, the A’s have enjoyed watching youngster Tom Milone, too. Milone won’t impress you with the velocity of his fastball, but he will impress you with his accuracy and overall delivery. He’s essentially another Dallas Braden. He won’t overpower you, but he’ll keep you off balance as best he can.
Milone has gone 1-1 with a 2.57 ERA in his first two starts of the season. He’ll look for win number two in tonight’s game against the Angels. Along with Colon and Milone, the A’s also have Brandon McCarthy (0-2, 3.60 ERA), Graham Godfrey (0-2, 4.09 ERA), and Tyson Ross (0-0, 3.00 ERA) starting in their rotation.
The team’s pitching overall ranks 4th in baseball with 8 quality starts and 6th in ERA with a 2.98 team mark. On the flip side, though, the team’s offense is an utter drag. The team ranks 27th in runs scored with 39 and 29th in batting average with a .209 team average.
The A’s are not expected to compete this year for the division’s crown, but they are expected to at least put up some kind of fight this year. We all know how well this team can pitch, but striking a balance between pitching and offense would be a nice change of pace for Oakland.
Straight A’s? Not Quite:
Pitching
Offense
2.98 ERA (6th in MLB)
39 Runs (27th in MLB)
8 Quality Starts (4th in MLB)
.207 BAA (29th in MLB)
1.04 WHIP (3rd in MLB)
.276 On-Base % (28th in MLB)
.224 Opponent BAA (5th in MLB)
.331 Slugging % (26th in MLB)
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