After seeing the A’s and their possible opening-day roster, it looks like their lacking two vital components: Chemistry and pitching experience (obvious).

As most A’s teams in the past, chemistry and some timely pitching and hitting is what has driven this team for the past decade if not longer, and this will come eventually. Pitching, however, I’m not so sure of. After watching Trevor Cahill escape inning after inning on Friday against the lowly Padres, and then eventually getting tagged for a inevitable long ball, I have to say I’m worried. Aside from what many think, Cahill is in the running for that final spot in the rotation. If not for some very good defensive plays by Orlando Cabrera, and Erik Chavez, he might have surrendered a bunch more runs and left an inning early. His problem is that he gets behind the count on almost every batter, and when it’s time to finish the guy off, he loses control about 50 percent of the time. If he could someone get this problem fixed, there’s no doubt he could provide the A’s a good outing more times than not.

Brett Anderson looks more controlled and might have already taken the fourth spot. As a commenter pointed out, it would be nice to see the A’s start this guy (and Cahill for that matter) in the minors in order to retain him for an extra year before the dreaded free agency time comes around, but this guy seems ready.

Orlando Cabrera is looking like he’s going to be real fun to watch this season, on defense and offensively. He was making some plays at short look effortless. Seeing all these new guys in the green and gold was fantastic and it looks like we can have fairly high expectations for the offense.

The chemistry will be there in a couple of weeks and when this team clicks, no other team can really counter it, the offense will be raking!

Did anyone catch the lineup on Friday? Holliday batting fourth? Not to brag but I do remember someone predicting him in that spot We’ll see if it last’s.

The A’s today sent Vin Mazzaro to minor league camp, after two not so good appearances where he gave up 10 runs in his last 4 1/3 innings.

The rotation is still up in the air with prospects Brett Anderson, Trevor Cahill, Gio Gonzalez, Josh Outman, and non-roster Edgar Gonzalez still very much in the running.

Who wins the final two spots is up to anyone, it seems every week one leapfrogs another, or until one explodes as Mazzaro did. I’m taking bets, anyone have a projected rotation? Anyone dare to make a guarantee?

I will give my predictions after I see the group later this week instead of making educated guesses, but ultimatley, it could come down to early spring favorites, Outman and Gonzalez.

This post comes directly after the A’s victory over the Dodgers on Monday.

A’s spring record 11-6

The squad was shortened today as more cuts were made ( not exactly affecting today’s post ). Nothing unexpected or out of the ordinary, a few good players were sent to their expected camp.

Now the competition…

Right field will either go to Jack Cust or Travis Buck or will Giambi or Garciaparra force Daric Barton to the minors?

What I would like to see if I had the choice is Buck in right with Cust DH’ing.  I know this would force Barton to Sacramento for more seasoning but Giambi is a first baseman, not Barton.  The A’s first baseman should at least hit for power and drive in runs, two things were unsure of with Barton. The only  criteria Barton has for sure is his defense, but we don’t need any more defense!

Right Field: Buck is the man to take over the final starting position in right because ( if healthy ), he can hit for average, has some pop, plus he covers plenty of ground out there in right. No argument for Cust manning right, I just don’t want to see it ( I know I’m in denial).

The remaining positions are -most likely- reserve positions (aside from third temporarilly, which belongs to Garciaparra thanks to Chavy’s health ). It looks like Rajai Davis will be depth in the outfield, once-prospect Landon Powell seems to have finally made the club as Kurt Suzuki’s back up ( based on the Bowen release), and Bobby Crosby as a “utility” guy. That leaves us two open spots.

So the infield could use another back-up, maybe a solid defender such as Gregorio Petit or Jack Hannahan, and the last spot will be between Denorfia, and Cunningham ( from what I’ve heard ).

I’ll take Petit for his bat and defense, and Denorfia for his upside ( and stellar play in WBC ).

Cunningham will be fine in tripple A for a while until the A’s need his depth.

So the 2009 opening day roster looks like this:( no particular order )

1st: Giambi

2nd: Ellis

SS: Cabrera

3rd: Garciaparra

Catcher: Suzuki

Reserves: Crosby, Petit, Powell, Denorfia, Davis

Rotation:All I know for sure is that there’s 5 anyone’s guess after Eveland and Braden.

Bullpen:Wuertz, Springer, Casilla, Blevins, Ziegler, Devine.

A’s spring training record as of March 10, 7-5-1

As Spring Training continues for the A’s, not much has changes in the way of competition. The fifth (and possibly fourth) starting position is still up in the air, nobody has claimed it, though at times many have pitched well. Let’s again look into those fighting for a spot in the A’s rotation taking into account only those who in reality have a shot out of camp plus a sleeper.

Non-roster invitee Edgar Gonzalez Innings pitched  6 ERA 3.00

Josh Outman: innings pitched 6 2/3 ERA 4.05

Gio Gonzalez: innings pitched 61/3 ERA 5.68

Jerome Williams: innings pitched 7 ERA 5.14

SLEEPER:

Vince Mazzaro: innings pitched 5 ERA 0.00

So is there anyone you would feel comfortable having in the five spot to start the season?

Hopefully things will clear up in terms of competition, but as it looks right now, Gio Gonzalez is out of the mix. He has looked good at times but once he faces the slightest but of adversity, he becomes “wild thing” again.

Jerome Williams seems to be a long shot at best to make the rotation although early on he was impressive so who knows, he might still be considered.

For the remaining three, Josh Outman, Edgar Gonzalez, and Vince Mazzaro. Of the three, Outman was considered as a top candidate for the position to start the spring, yet he has lacked consistency, but he’s my pick to win the spot. Not on impressiveness, rather the lack of consistency from the rest. Also I could see the A’s giving Edgar Gonzalez a chance as well because of big-league experience, and Mazzaro on the fact that he’s been pitching great all spring, and he’s a ground ball pitcher.

Let me know your opinions on the rotation.

Part 2 utfield/reserve up next

Billy Beane is a mastermind we all know, yet an unlikely off season has people questioning his strategy, “Yeah they have a new offense but their pitching is a question mark.” So does Beane have an answer to those skeptics? Cue Trevor Cahill and Brett Anderson.

We all know the A’s pitching depth in the minor leagues is stacked, full of prospects but when and how will the A’s promote burgeoning stars, Cahill and Anderson? The A’s will need the two pitchers (at some point) in the rotation in order to win this year.

The two top prospects will continue to show their stuff this spring but how will their first taste of the Major Leagues come about? Is there a wrong way to promote a young pitcher? The A’s will need replacements at some time this year due to injury of course (it seems inevitable with their injury history) but who will get the first call and why?

Those are alto of questions to answer in one post so I’ll tackle one or two and let the rest of you take the rest.

In a perfect scenario, the two prospects would emerge onto the big-league scene together successfully, but that’s unlikely. So I’ll say that of the two, Trevor Cahill gets the first nod, and soon after the season starts. Here’s where the trickery comes in. The promotion won’t be injury related. The A’s will need everything they can get out of many of their pitchers in order to compete this year because the current rotation will not sustain the length of a 162 game season. It wont be consistent enough to withstand the adversity of major league hitting so the A’s must constantly rotate the rotation, switching things up, up and down from Sacramento they go…(River Cats) well you now the rest. I’ll continue.

With Cahill’s stuff, he could come up quick and dominate. The league will not know what hit them and it will take a while to get used to Cahill’s stuff, and in the meantime, the A’s could bring up Brett Anderson.

More trickery, Love it!

Yet another unseen stud, further confusing the league’s hitters. If Oakland can effectively alternate pitchers, the A’s could put something spectacular together, at least until the league acquaints itself. Do they have a chance without these pitchers? I don’t know. Oakland has many other prospects as ready as-or more primed-than Anderson and Cahill but these two will ultimately be the “wild card” of the season, with game-changing stuff.

Leave me any intriguing or “regular” ideas to the success of the 2009 Oakland A’s. Leave the boring stuff at the door.

For the few of you who cannot spell, this article is about A’s pitcher Justin Duchscherer and not the feminine method of cleansing for women.

Duchscherer is scheduled for a visit and second opinion because of a problem he’s having with his elbow. This worry’s me tremendously because the A’s pitching staff is what will make the season, (with an already established offense) and Duchscherer is the only proven pitcher in the rotation.

So what should the front office be looking for in terms of pitching? Free-agents, trades, or an in-house fix? If the injury is only a minor setback, the in-house method will do. Long-term they will have to go outside their organization but who?

The only free agents worth a shot to me are Mark Mulder and more expensive (probably not worth the $$) Pedro Martinez. I would take Mulder over Martinez . The money Pedro’s looking for is too much and Mulder won’t command much at all.

The third option is to trade for a pitcher. As we all know, the A’s have Crosby on the block and they will be looking hard for a suitor.

So what do they A’s do if Duchscherer is out lng-term?

As Susan Slusser reports, the A’s have pretty much come to an agreement with Nomar Garciaparra, so what does this mean? Is he really going to be support on the bench?

Hypothetical question: Who would you have more confidence in at third base offensively and defensively (if healthy), Chavez or Garciaparra? I ask this question because with Chavez’ injury history, this scenario might come into play sometime this season.

Garciaparra I believe has the power and average, but he lacks in defense where Chavez is king. I know Garciaparra is fragile as well but if helathy, does he offer more?

The A’s finally finished off the deal for Orlando Cabrera according to ESPN’s Buster Onlney. 4MM is a bargain.

The A’s lineup is drastically different and is going to put up runs in contrary to last season. Can the pitching make this off season full of moves worth While? There’s no doubt this lineup is more potent and complete than rival Angels.

I think the Cabrera move is great for the A’s because it gives them the lead-off hitter they had been looking for and it gives them flexibility. Now Ryan Sweeney is batting second Right? New projected lineup…

1.Cabrera

2.Sweeney

3.Cust

4.Holliday

5.Giambi

6.Chavez

7.Ellis

8.Buck

9.Suzuki

This lineup could be fierce if Chavez can prove healthy. Do you think Ellis, Buck or Suzuki should be switched?

Sunday’s game against Arizona clouded things just a little more for Oakland manger Bob Geren.

As the spring continues, the competition for the final spot in the Oakland rotation will be where most attention is focused. Today the A’s had another look at Edgar Gonzalez a long shot candidate but a candidate nonetheless.  I wouldn’t say his outing was completely forgettable because he did strike out four and issued zero walks. Gonzalez went 3 innings, giving up two runs on four hits most likely making the battle for the final spot that much more foggier. Those up for the final position, both Gonzalez’, Outman, Williams, ( now you can say Vincent Mazzaro) have all had up and down appearances.

Mazzaro, (All alone in the two solid outings category) held the D-BACK’S scorless in two relief innings of work, surrendering one hit and striking out three. Of the “little three” in the A’s minor Leauge system (Mazzaro, Trevor Cahill, Brett Anderson) Mazzaro is the oldest. I have to believe that the chances of Mazzaro making the club out of spring are small however;  if he continues to out pitch those in front of him (both Gio and Edgar Gonzalez, Josh Outman, and Jerome Williams) we could be seeing an early glimpse of what the A’s farm system can yield.

You had to assume that Outman had the upper hand until today (two runs surrendered, four hits etc.) because his previous start was excellent. Now on the other hand, Gio Gonzalez -since only appearing once- might have the upper hand on Outman and the gang mainly because he’s next in line to pitch. If he can forget about his first appearance and dominate like most expected him to he might have a chance. Now personally, I don’t see Gonzalez doing so unless he can get over his mental episodes and just pitch.

So the race continues, who will pitch themselve into a starting gig for the A’s remains to be seen. Would anyone mind seeing Vin Mazzaro? if not, what would the A’s do with Gio Gonazalez and Josh Outman? There’s only room for one more lefty in the bullpen. Could this be the last we see of Gio if he fails to overcome himself? Hope not becasue he’s done nothing for his value on the trade market.