Page 8

2014 Oakland Gameday HQ

HITTING With four players hitting 20 or more home runs, the A’s finished third in the AL with 186 round-trippers. Brandon Moss led the way with 30 home runs and 87 RBI. Josh Donaldson was one of the unsung heroes throughout baseball, with 24 home runs, 93 RBI and a .384 OBP while taking over the hot corner. Interesting that some were saying Cuban native Yoenis Cespedes took a step backward last season, and while he did battle injuries, his 26 homers and 80 RBI are a good benchmark if he’s going to take a step forward. Coco Crisp could go 20-20 again and score plenty of runs at the top of this powerful lineup. Jed Lowrie is usually good for surprising power from a shortstop, with 70-80 runs and RBIs. FIELDING How Crisp has never won a Gold Glove is a major surprise. All he does is make acrobatic catches with so much regularity that they appear routine. And last season he sported a pristine 1.000 fielding percentage in 110 games in center field. Donaldson was a revelation in his first full season at third base, committing just 16 errors and leading the league with 143 putouts. Lowrie doesn’t wow with his glove, but he makes all the routine plays and hardly makes mistakes. With 10 assists, Cespedes was one of just eight AL outfielders to reach double figures in that category. STARTING PITCHING The A’s got awful news when they learned late in spring training that Jarrod Parker would need a second Tommy John surgery. He was coming off a solid year, when he went 11-8 with a 3.97 ERA. A.J. Griffin also had a muscle strain in his pitching arm during spring, so he will miss some time early in 2014. Sonny Gray came out of the minors and was one of the best pitchers for the A’s during the second half of the season and the postseason. Scott Kazmir joins the A’s after having a career resurgence in Cleveland. RELIEF PITCHING Jim Johnson is the undisputed closer, coming over in a trade after saving a Major League-leading 101 games the past two seasons in Baltimore. Ryan Cook has been one of the best setup men in baseball, sporting a 6-4 record and 2.54 ERA last year. Luke Gregerson has quietly been one of the most consistent relievers in baseball, with an ERA of 3.24 or lower every year since his rookie year in 2009. Sean Doolittle was more than a situational lefty in his rookie year, throwing 69 innings and finishing 5-5 with a 3.13 ERA. MANAGING Bob Melvin took over the managerial reins for the final 99 games of the 2011 season, and with back-to-back AL West titles he’s shown to be the steady hands the A’s needed. It helps when GM Billy Beane does a great job acquiring talent like Donaldson, Gray, Cespedes, Moss and Josh Reddick. He hasn’t missed often over the past few years, and the A’s are loaded with depth among position players. If Beane can patch together a rotation that’s been tested by injuries, they could make it three in a row. Talk of a new stadium keeps cropping up, but Melvin doesn’t let it distract his team. DATE OPPONENT TIME Mon, 6/30 at Tigers 4:08p Tue, 7/1 at Tigers 4:08p Wed, 7/2 at Tigers 10:08a Thu, 7/3 Blue Jays 6:05p Fri, 7/4 Blue Jays 1:05p Sat, 7/5 Blue Jays 7:05p Sun, 7/6 Blue Jays 1:05p Mon, 7/7 Giants 7:05p Tue, 7/8 Giants 7:05p Wed, 7/9 at Giants 7:15p Thu, 7/10 at Giants 12:45p Fri, 7/11 at Mariners 7:10p Sat, 7/12 at Mariners 7:10p Sun, 7/13 at Mariners 1:10p Fri, 7/18 Orioles 7:05p Sat, 7/19 Orioles 6:05p Sun, 7/20 Orioles 1:05p Tue, 7/22 Astros 7:05p Wed, 7/23 Astros 7:05p Thu, 7/24 Astros 12:35p Fri, 7/25 at Rangers 5:05p Sat, 7/26 at Rangers 5:05p Sun, 7/27 at Rangers 4:05p Mon, 7/28 at Astros 5:10p Tue, 7/29 at Astros 5:10p Wed, 7/30 at Astros 11:10a Fri, 8/1 Royals 6:35p DATE OPPONENT TIME Sat, 8/2 Royals 1:05p Sun, 8/3 Royals 1:05p Mon, 8/4 Rays 7:05p Tue, 8/5 Rays 7:05p Wed, 8/6 Rays 12:35p Thu, 8/7 Twins 7:05p Fri, 8/8 Twins 7:05p Sat, 8/9 Twins 6:05p Sun, 8/10 Twins 1:05p Mon, 8/11 at Royals 5:10p Tue, 8/12 at Royals 5:10p Wed, 8/13 at Royals 5:10p Thu, 8/14 at Royals 11:10a Fri, 8/15 at Braves 4:35p Sat, 8/16 at Braves 4:10p Sun, 8/17 at Braves 10:35a Tue, 8/19 Mets 7:05p Wed, 8/20 Mets 12:35p Fri, 8/22 Angels 7:05p Sat, 8/23 Angels 6:05p Sun, 8/24 Angels 1:05p Mon, 8/25 at Astros 5:10p Tue, 8/26 at Astros 5:10p Wed, 8/27 at Astros 5:10p Thu, 8/28 at Angels 7:05p Fri, 8/29 at Angels 7:05p Sat, 8/30 at Angels 6:05p DATE OPPONENT TIME Sun, 8/31 at Angels 12:35p Mon, 9/1 Mariners 1:05p Tue, 9/2 Mariners 7:05p Wed, 9/3 Mariners 12:35p Fri, 9/5 Astros 7:05p Sat, 9/6 Astros 1:05p Sun, 9/7 Astros 1:05p Mon, 9/8 at White Sox 5:10p Tue, 9/9 at White Sox 5:10p Wed, 9/10 at White Sox 5:10p Thu, 9/11 at White Sox 11:10a Fri, 9/12 at Mariners 7:10p Sat, 9/13 at Mariners 6:10p Sun, 9/14 at Mariners 1:10p Tue, 9/16 Rangers 7:05p Wed, 9/17 Rangers 7:05p Thu, 9/18 Rangers 12:35p Fri, 9/19 Phillies 6:35p Sat, 9/20 Phillies 1:05p Sun, 9/21 Phillies 1:05p Mon, 9/22 Angels 7:05p Tue, 9/23 Angels 7:05p Wed, 9/24 Angels 12:35p Thu, 9/25 at Rangers 5:05p Fri, 9/26 at Rangers 5:05p Sat, 9/27 at Rangers 5:05p Sun, 9/28 at Rangers 12:05p


2014 Oakland Gameday HQ
To see the actual publication please follow the link above