White Cleat Beat
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Time to put an APB on Oakland A’s offense

By David Hill

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - JULY 27: Matt Chapman #26 of the Oakland Athletics hits an RBI double scoring Marcus Semien #10 against the Los Angeles Angels in the bottom of the third inning at RingCentral Coliseum on July 27, 2020 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - JULY 27: Matt Chapman #26 of the Oakland Athletics hits an RBI double scoring Marcus Semien #10 against the Los Angeles Angels in the bottom of the third inning at RingCentral Coliseum on July 27, 2020 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /
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The ballyhooed Oakland A’s offense has completely vanished thus far in 2020.

Let’s head back to Opening Day. The Oakland A’s found themselves in the first extra inning game to feature the runner on second base. As it would turn out, that runner would be irrelevant, as Matt Olson hit a walk-off grand slam to give the A’s a 7-3 victory in ten innings. Then, on Sunday, the A’s scored five runs in the first inning as Shohei Ohtani did his best Rick Ankiel impression, failing to record an out due to his shoddy command.

That one swing, and that rough first inning for Ohtani, led to nine runs for the A’s. Outside of those two innings, the A’s have scored a total of 12 other runs in their other 53 innings.

The A’s lack of overall production is evident in every facet of their rankings. Heading into Thursday’s slate of action, the A’s rank 11th with 21 runs scored, 13th in batting average, and 14th in OPS.

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One can see those struggles everywhere on the offense. Second base in particular has been a disaster, with Chad Pinder‘s OPS+ of -5 the best of any player to spend time at the position. Khris Davis has struggled beyond belief this season, posting an OPS+ of -61. Those numbers make Stephen Piscotty‘s mark of 6 look positively Ruthian.

But it was not supposed to be like this. The A’s not only had one of the best defensive teams in baseball, but they could hit as well. Matt Chapman and Matt Olson were emerging superstars. Marcus Semien was an MVP candidate last year. Ramon Laureano was supposed to have that breakout season in 2020.

Thus far, Chapman and Laureano have lived up to expectations. The rest of the A’s lineup, however, has not. And yes, it is early. A six game slump is not normally a concern for any lineup. But in the shortened season, and with the A’s proclivity for slow starts, the lack of offense is magnified. The A’s need to start hitting soon, or else the 2020 campaign could get away in a hurry.

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Someone needs to put out an APB on the Oakland A’s offense. At this point, it has gone missing without a trace.