The 133rd season of Major League Baseball is upon us. Over the next month and half, we will be taking a look at each ball club, leading up to the Expert Predictions of the esteemed staff at Sparty & Friends. We will be previewing each team, from worst to first.  Today we get a preview of the team that is most famous for bringing us the Bash Brothers.

Trey Note: As written by dear friend of mine DC. DC holds a lot of weight with me as he does work in the sport of baseball AND he told me in 2001 that Ben Roethisberger was going to be a stud, this was when is was a freshman QB for his alma mater, the Miami University Redskins Redhawks. Also, he’s the only guy I’ve ever known to call his own 80 MPH fluttering fastball a work in progress. Now on with the preview.

The familiar trend of trading emerging stars for prospects continued once again in ‘08 for the A’s.  The year started out promising enough (sitting at 9 games over .500 on July 9th), but they limped into the all-star break by getting swept by the team formally known as the California Angels of Anaheim County now residing in Los Angeles.  Apparently, that was reason enough for Billy Beane to finish the demolition project he started by trading Dan Haren for half of Arizona’a minor league system.  ‘09 brings optimism and a new-look offense, yes I said offense, to the bay area.  Matt Holliday arrives with high expectations and Jason Giambi returns to where it all began, 16 years and countless needles ago.

Last Season: 75-86 (3rd place in the AL West)

Who’s Gone: RP Huston Street, SP Greg Smith, OF Carlos Gonzalez, RP Alan Embree, RP Keith Foulke, 1B Mike Sweeney, OF Emil Brown, DH Frank Thomas, RP Andrew Brown

Who’s New: OF Matt Holliday, SS Orlando Cabrera, 1B/DH Jason Giambi, RP Michael Wuetrz, RP Russ Springer, SP Edgar Gonzalez, SP Jerome Williams

Projected Lineup:
1. Ryan Sweeney (CF)
2. Orlando Cabrera (SS)
3. Matt Holliday (LF)
4. Jason Giambi (1B)
5. Eric Chavez (3B)
6. Jack Cust (DH)
7. Mark Ellis (2B)
8. Travis Buck (RF)
9. Kurt Suzuki (C)

Projected Rotation:
RHP Justin Duchscherer
LHP Dana Eveland
RHP Sean Gallagher
LHP Dallas Braden
LHP Gio Gonzalez
CL Joey Devine/Brad Zeigler

Key Bench Player: 3B Jack Hannahan.  When Chavez gets hurt again, he better be ready to start contributing more than just his glove (which was actually one of the best in the league last year).

Manager: Bob Geren

Lineup Outlook – In 2008, the A’s were last in the majors in both batting average (.242) and slugging (.369), and tied for 29^th in OBP (.318).  Obviously, these areas needed to be addressed.  Enter Matt Holliday and 2009’s “Let’s take a chance on an old guy that was good five years ago and see what happens” free agent Jason Giambi.  The top of the order is subject to change, as five starters have seen time hitting leadoff, so it might just be whoever has the hot bat.  Sweeney showed what he can do as an everyday player, and he’s only going to get better.  Same goes for Kurt Suzuki behind the dish.  The biggest question mark is, of course, the health of Eric Chavez.  Not far behind is how the 1B/DH/RF dynamic will work.  The signing of Giambi showed a lack of patience by the front office in Daric Barton’s development, but if Barton’s bat comes around like they hope, that could push Giambi to full time DH.  Jack Cust and Travis Buck will then fight for time in RF.  In this scenario, look for Cust to start most games, then get pulled late due to his hippopotamus-like athleticism defensively.  On a side note, the hippopotamus is actually very agile under water….I’m not so sure about Cust.

Starting Rotation – After Joe Blanton and Rich Harden got traded last year, the A’s staff took their lumps….hard.  Justin Duchscherer was money in the first half, earning an all-star nod, but went winless in seven starts after, then had to cut his season short once again due to his hip acting up.  I know Justin, it sucks getting old.  At 31 years old, he’s the grizzled veteran on a potentially solid, yet unspectacular, staff.  Their job will be to eat innings and bide time until the next generation of aces (Olympians Trevor Cahill and Brett Anderson, along with Vin Mazzaro), already cleverly dubbed the “Little Three”, arrive.  They will take their lumps again this year, but it won’t be as bad.  And with a little run support, anything’s possible.

Bullpen – Brad Zeigler and Joey Devine both quietly put together outstanding seasons last year.  So much so, that the A’s finally felt comfortable enough to ship off Huston Street.  Bob Geren has said that closer duties will be shared between the two, but look for Devine to get the majority of chances as the season progresses.  Santiago Casilla has had stretches of dominance with his mid 90’s fastball and a sharp, high 80’s slider.  But his inconsistency has so far kept him from reaching the next level.  Free agent signees Russ Springer and Michael Wuertz should bring some stability to the pen, which needs a workhorse to fill the void left by Alan Embree, who led the A’s in appearances the last two years.  Overall, the bullpen is decent, but is banking heavily on Zeigler and Devine to avoid sophomore slumps.

Prediction – Billy Beane is smarter than you.  That being said, a weaker than normal Anaheim team has given the A’s a small window of opportunity to actually make a run at a division title in ‘09.  Everything needs to click, early and often, or they will be sellers at the trading deadline, with Matt Holliday going to the team willing to part with the most major league ready prospects.  Health is always the key, and Eric Chavez is one strong breeze away from landing back on the DL again.  If the “Little Three” are as good as advertised, one or more of them could help as soon as the second half of this year, but 2010 is a more realistic timetable for some solid contributions from them.  Unless the A’s are in the division lead at the all-star break, I think the Matt Holliday era will come to an abrupt end, and retooling for next year will begin.  Look for a 2^nd place finish in the AL West and a .500 record this year.  I think they are a year away from seriously contending, but once they reach that point, they’ll be there for a while.

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