Fremont Bound

Youth can be a vital component to giving a team an upstart and propelling them to new height during a tough   162 game schedule. Also as young players gain valuable experience and improvement along with competition bring the competitive nature out of other players. Trevor Cahill and Gio Gonzalez are expected to have big roles and provide consistent pitching for the Oakland A’s in its pursuit to capture a playoff birth. The 24 year old Gonzalez who led the team in innings  and a 3.23 ERA had a impressive win record with 15 as did Cahill who had a team leading 18 wins and earned an All Star birth. Both are young and have worked hard this off season to improve mechanics and the mental aspect of the game that can consume a couple of 20 year olds. Hopefully for the Bay Area team they can come back better than ever and led the team back into contention.

The recent singing of David Dejesus has fans in the Bay area excited for the upcoming 2011 baseball season in which the team finished exactly at the 500. mark. The ball club hopes that the outfielder career 290. batting average will spark the offense. Also Japanese slugger Hideki Matsui and Josh Willingham and pitching help in the form of Rich Harden the A’s look to make a run for the division crown. The bullpen also looks to be an strong point for along with solid small ball play that the team has been known for in the past decade. Looks to be an exciting season in the Bay for 2011.

The Athletics got a nice outing out of Josh Outman yesterday and he came an out short of getting through the sixth.  He gave up two runs on five hits and one walk with six strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings.  Santiago Casilla also had a nice game with two shutout frames.

Travis Buck had three RBIs and a triple.  Ryan Sweeney was the lone A with a pair of hits.

Dallas Braden gets the nod today.  Spring training is winding down folks.  The real games start soon.

After losing the last three games, the Oakland Athletics finally fell in sync. Everything was there. Jack Cust homered twice in the 9-1 victory and pitcher Dana Eveland allowed just three hits in the first game of his career. That’s right, he lasted nine innings. All Rays Manager Joe Maddon could say is “We couldn’t do anything against them.”

7 Days

10 Runs Scored

5 Losses

1 Win

Wow.

The A’s have certainly been struggling. And judging by the fact that the team has allowed opponants to score no more than four runs in a game all week, I think it’s fair to blame the hitting. Here’s where things get complicated. In all six games, the A’s have had about the same amount of hits as the other team. It’s just a matter of converting those hits into runs. The team starts a three game series tonight against the Devil Rays, and they should be able to turn this around.

Chad Gaudin did a great job. The pitcher lasted seven innings for the A’s, giving up only four hits and zero runs.

This was good for Oakland, who only scored three runs on five hits. Those hits included a Mark Sweeney homerun AND additional RBI and run. Sweeney took part in all three of Oakland’s runs.

This boosts Gaudin’s record to 2-1 and the team’s record to 13-9, still tied with the LA Angels for first in the AL West. The team will face Minnesota one last time before heading to Seattle tomorrow.

With exactly one week til the first game if Oakland’s 2008 season, the question asked is are they ready? Or, more precisely, are they healthy? It’s no doubt that they have made an impression during spring training, going 15-5 and 5-4 on the road. It’s great that that the team is off to such a good start, including the seven game winning streak that may only grow.

There’s no doubt about the talent of the team, only their stamina. Can the team bounce back from 2007′s losing season? I don’t think that season opener against Boston (7-10) will be a good indication. The answer can only be determined as the  season plays out. Some of the team’s key players, including Joey Devine, Fernando Hernandez, Chad Gaudine, Eric Chavez, and Carlos Gonzalez have all reported various injuries that may or may not impact the future of the team.