Biggest Offseason Additions
Jim Johnson: There are times when Oakland Athletics General Manager Billy Beane makes deals that defy logic, and then there are times when it looks like he completely hoodwinked the team he bartered with. This is one of those deals. When Beane was able to trade second baseman Jemile Weeks to the Baltimore Orioles for a closer who led the American League in saves of 50 or more in back-to-back seasons it looked like a joke.
Sure enough, Beane got his man. Johnson will be a welcomed addition to the Athletics as the Coliseum has proven to be a much more relaxing environment for closers to wrap up games in a haste manner.
Johnson is coming into Oakland with a few blown saves in 2013 for what could have been a 60+ save season, but was still able to finish with an ERA under 3.00 (2.94) but not a tremendous amount of strikeouts (56) in 70 1/3 innings of work.
Nonetheless, time has proven well for anyone thrown into the closer role while wearing the green and gold.
Craig Gentry: Even though it cost them a highly touted prospect in Michael Choice, the Athletics did incredibly well by picking up pitcher Josh Lindblom, but even better with veteran outfielder Gentry from their AL West rival the Texas Rangers. Gentry was THE man to fill Josh Hamilton’s shoes in 2013 as he made a break to Anaheim, but he saw limited playing time with only 287 plate appearances in 106 games.
With what he was given Gentry was still able to push .280 on the season along with 12 doubles, four triples and 24 stolen bases behind a .373 on-base percentage. As Athletics fans have come to know over the last decade, Beane loves it when guys get on base and are successful on the base paths.
Biggest Offseason Losses
Grant Balfour: There are very few people as affected by the loss of Balfour than his teammates and Balfour Rage inventor Will MacNeil and his chronies in the right field bleachers. Balfour brought a level of intensity not shown by name players.
Even though some would call him a bit eccentric, he still got his job done by converting 38 total saves on the 2013 season including 44 consecutive, which dated back to 2012, that broke Dennis Eckersley’s record which stood at 40. During Balfour’s three-year stint in Oakland he also managed to keep his ERA at 2.59 or lower and racked up 72 strikeouts per season in at least 62 2/3 innings in 2012 and 2013.
Then again there is also the fact that he pitched three scoreless innings against the Detroit Tigers in the 2013 ALDS while racking up a win and a save in two of those contests.
While the Athletics certainly scored with Johnson, they should have just re-signed Balfour for at least $2.5 million less than the $10 million Johnson will be receiving in 2014.
Bartolo Colon: It was tough to figure out who else is a massive loss to the Athletics over left-handed relief pitcher Jerry Blevins, catcher Kurt Suzuki or even left-handed clutch-hitter Seth Smith, but Colon definitely takes the cake (no pun intended).
Colon had a decent season in 2012 that was halted after testing positive for PEDs late in the season, but he bounced back in 2013 with the second-best statistical year of his career at the age of 40. Colon went 18-6 with a 2.65 ERA (second-best of his career) and 117 strikeouts while throwing nothing but two-seam and four-seam fastballs as well as a few changeups.
In total, his pitches barely pushed 93 MPH all season, but he still managed to only walk a career-low 29 batter when making 30 or more starts.
Colon’s effort awarded him a trip to the All-Star Game and a sixth place finish for the AL Cy Young Award. For the Athletics’ sake, hopefully he doesn’t best his numbers while in New York with the Mets.
Name to Watch in Spring Training: Scott Kazmir
Very few people saw this deal coming, but Kazmir is certainly the player to watch when Spring Training starts up in a little over a month. Kazmir burned out after one appearance in 2011 and walked away from the game all the way through the end of the 2012 season.
As 2013 loomed, Kazmir signed with the Cleveland Indians to see if he still had it; he most certainly did. Wile his numbers weren’t great by conventional standards, going 10-9 with a 4.04 ERA and 162 strikeouts while making the playoffs with a team of riff-raffs with a new manager is something to take note of.
Beane certainly saw the amount of potential Kazmir brings to the table and quickly snatched him up right after Thanksgiving for an amazing two-year $18 million deal.
It seems a bit high, but Beane rarely misses when he has money to spend on keeping the franchise at the top of the division.
Biggest Spring Training Battle: Eric Sogard and Nick Punto
This battle almost seems laughable on paper, but it’s certainly going to be a grudge match for who will be starting at the keystone for the Athletics in 2014.
Sogard become a fan favorite in 2013 behind his “Nerd Power” moniker, but he also proved to be a stellar fielder and a decent bat at the bottom of the lineup hitting .266 with two home runs and 35 RBI in 130 games.
Punto on the other hand played in over 100 games (116) for the first time since 2009 in 2013 for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
During his stint he hit similarly to Sogard at .255 with a pair of home runs and 21 RBI, but Sogard managed to squeeze in 23 more hits (98) on the year.
The other bit of fuel that Sogard has going for him was that he was recently named the “Face of the Franchise” in MLB Network’s recent poll, but at the end of the day Punto will still be making $2.2 million more, and Beane will certainly like to see his money put to good use.
What Went Right in 2013
The most amazing part about this topic is that nothing went wrong for the Athletics in 2013. Josh Donaldson became a breakout star at third base on both sides of the ball, the team’s pitching staff finished in the top-eight in the Majors in both quality starts (82) and ERA (3.56) along with top-four finishes in WHIP (1.22) and batting average allowed (.242) and the team scored the fourth-most runs in the Majors (767).
Probably the most notable stat to consider is how much better the Athletics have been hitting and hitting for power since Bob Melvin took over as manager and Chili Davis took over as hitting coach. Back in 2011, then-manager Bob Geren’s final season, the Athletics hit 114 total home runs along with an average of .244. In 2013 the Athletics crushed 186 home runs (195 in 2012) while posting a .254 average. Is it really that shocking the Athletics won back-to-back AL West Division titles?
Biggest Areas of Improvement in 2014
Besides picking up outfielders, Beane loves going after pitchers. The Athletics reloaded hard in their bullpen by acquiring Johnson, Lindblom, Luke Gregerson from the San Diego Padres, Eric O’Flaherty from the Atlanta Braves and Fernando Abad from the Washington Nationals. This of course is all on top of Dan Otero, Jesse Chavez and Sean Doolittle. If the Athletics set a Major League record for lowest WHIP and fewest runs allowed in 2014, would it really come as a surprise?
Overall Spring Training Preview
Two years in a row the best and brightest minds in Major League Baseball bet against the Athletics for, not only the AL West Division title, but making the playoffs altogether.
Beane is tired of being a bridesmaid, and 2014 will potentially be his last chance to get that ring he has coveted since taking the reigns as GM back in 1998. All it will take is for the new guys to buy into the Melvin’s system, kick back and have some fun.
You know, pure Athletics baseball. It will certainly take every player giving it their all, and more than likely you’ll see a few more shining stars with more arbitration hearings and possible free agency bouts coming within the next two years.
Yoenis Cespedes’ stock continues to rise, Sonny Gray will get his first shot at a full season after a terrific close of 2013 and a great run in the ALDS and Josh Reddick will come back at 100 percent, looking to prove all the haters wrong after a wrist injury stymied what could have been another dominant season in Oakland.
No matter how you look at it, the Athletics are a tram with big dreams with a lot of heart to back them up.