The New Look Athletics

These past few years the A’s have gotten used to losing. No, not losing as in terms of games, but they have lost great players. Three years ago they opened camp without Jason Giambi, Johnny Damon, and Jason Isringhausen. Two years the opened camp up with Keith Foulke as the closer instead of Billy Koch. Last year they began their Phoenix playing days lacking American League MVP Miguel Tejada. This year, they have only lost players so far - Tim Hudson and Mark Mulder, no biggie.

"You miss guys like that, but we've always found a way to recreate new stars, and I think we will again," A’s General Manager Billy Beane said. "You miss those guys because they're great guys and part of the continuity of our organization.

"I'm not excited about not having them, but I am excited about what we have."

I know that many experts have written off the Athletics’ chances for the 2005 season because of their loss of Hudson and Mulder, but don’t let the departure of these two pitchers fool you. The A’s are pesky and Billy Beane is always thinking.

"This, ironically, will give us more stability going forward," Beane said of the moves. "We're more cost-effective and hopefully some of the pitchers we've acquired will be part of the staff for the next five years or so.

"I'm not giving away '05 -- I'll let everyone else do that. I think we've made more improvements than I think we get credit for. The fact is whatever happens in 2005, we should be better in 2006 and better in 2007, which was not going to be the case otherwise."

What’s this? Beane says the A’s can be competitive in 2005? How can this be?

A big reason to believe that the A’s can compete next year is that their lineup will be much stronger. A lineup with Eric Chavez and Erubiel Durazo in the middle has got to have pop, but with Jason Kendall leading off and Mark Kotsay hitting second, you have two good OBP guys. The double play combination of Keith Ginter and Bobby Crosby should combine for forty home runs; Nick Swisher should provide punch and hits, making him invaluable deep in the lineup.

But the big question mark surrounding the A’s is their pitching. Billy Beane has assembled a good defense, especially with Mark Kotsay in center field. Another thing in the young starters’ favor is a deep bullpen. Octavio Dotel is one of the nastiest relief pitchers in the Major Leagues. Huston Street, Kiko Calero, and Juan Cruz are also fireballers with extreme talent. This depth in the bullpen will help the A’s pitching staff tremendously.

But the young starters themselves have to perform. Remember the days when the A’s called up Hudson and Mulder? Hudson dominated upon reaching the majors and never looked back, while Mulder pitched well, but faced difficulties. Even if only one of the youngsters - Danny Haren, Joe Blanton, or Danny Meyer - can perform like Hudson did, only one, the A’s will have another Big Three (including Zito and Harden). I know the chances are slim, but it could happen. Two more major factors are that Billy Beane has a veteran catcher like Jason Kendall to help the pitchers transition to the show and Beane can whip out a midseason trade better than any GM in the Bigs.

Good offense, good defense, good bullpen, one of the best general managers, young starters, and little bit to prove. The 2005 Oakland A’s are looking to be pretty darned good.

The New Look A's