Oakland Athletics 2011 Preview, Predictions & Odds

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The A’s have been assembling a talented young roster over the last few years. With several veteran newcomers, the A’s may be ready to challenge for the AL West title.

Oakland Athletics 2010 MLB Record: 81-81
Oakland Athletics 2010 MLB Home Record: 47-34
Oakland Athletics 2010 MLB Away Record: 34-47

Oakland Athletics 2011 Betting

Oakland Athletics Odds to Win the American League: +1200
Oakland Athletics Odds to Win the World Series: +3000

Oakland Athletics 2011 Preview & Prediction

With an enviable young rotation, a solid bullpen and passable defense, the A’s desperately needed to upgrade an offense that ranked near the bottom of the American League in most, if not all, categories. Not even baseball’s best statistical rotation could overcome an attack that produced barely four runs per game, though the A’s did finish .500 after three straight losing seasons. The new A’s – Hideki Matsui, David Dejesus and Josh Willingham – should provide fans with a long-awaited power jolt. With payroll flexibility, there may be another big bat added. Maybe GM Billy Beane’s maneuvering will have a bigger impact than those from recent offseasons, when the likes of Jason Giambi, Matt Holliday, Nomar Garciaparra and Orlando Cabrera came and went quickly. With defending AL West champ Texas losing Cliff Lee, the division tide is available for the taking.

Oakland Athletics Manager: Bob Geren – Fifth year Record: 307-340

Entering his 12th season with the A’s franchise, Geren has grown up with his young team. He is a hands-on but patient manager.

Oakland Athletics 2011 Projected Batting Order: CF Coco Crisp (S), RF David DeJesus (L), LF Josh Willingham (R), DH Hidekl Matsui (L), C Kurt Suzuki (R), 1B Daric Barton (L), 3B Kevin Kouzmanoff, 2B Mark Ellis (R), SS Cliff Pennington (S).

Oakland Athletics 2011 Projected Rotation: RH Trevor Cahill, LH Dallas Braden, LH Gio Gonzalez, LH Brett Anderson, RH Brandon McCarthy.

Oakland Athletics 2011 Projected Closer: RH Andrew Bailey

2011 Oakland Athletics Offense:

OF Coco Crisp will be the leadoff hitter, and Geren will run him. He’s a 40-SB guy if he stays healthy. OF David DeJesus gets on base, and perhaps he’ll run alittle more for the aggressive A’s. 1B Daric Barton could get a chance to hit third. He has the on-base skills, but his power still isn’t coming along. OF Josh Willingham should step right into the middle of the lineup. Moving to the A.L. and pitcher-friendly Oakland could hurt though. DH Hideki Matsui is fading a bit, but still has some pop. 3B Kevin Kouzmanoff will get asecond chance to conquer A.L. pitching. He’s a subpar talent. Coming off a down year, C Kurt Suzuki will be at the bottom third of the lineup unless he redeems himself. 2B Mark Ellis has a serviceable bat but nothing in the way of speed-power. SS Cliff Pennington will stay in the bottom third of the order, where he belongs. OF Connor Jackson, OF Ryan Sweeney and prospect Chris Carter will be waiting in the wings until injuries strike.

2011 Oakland Athletics Rotation:

Brett Anderson is an ace as long as he stays healthy. Oakland might keep close tabs on his pitch count early in the year, but they unleashed him late last year and should do the same this season. There’s plenty to like about Trevor Cahili. He throws strikes and gets a lot of ground balls. But he was also very lucky to post a sub-3.00 ERA and 17 wins with his mediocre strikeout rate. Even though he should improve, his stats will not if he doesn’t get very lucky again. Dallas Braden rarely overpowers hitters, but he pounds the strike zone and, with Oakland’s offense expected to provide better support, could win 15. He still gets wild at times, but Gio Gonzalez is becoming a solid pitcher. His stuff is still good enough to get a lot of strikeouts. A couple of risky, high-reward arms are going for the fifth spot. It will likely be the always injury-prone (and often wild) Rich Harden or once-top prospect/Winter league star Brandon McCarthy. If both fail, Bobby Cramer would likely step in.

2011 Oakland Athletics Bullpen:

Andrew Bailey is locked into the closer’s role. He had a minor procedure done on his elbow over the offseason. That should ensure he’s 100 percent healthy and throwing his hardest this spring. If Bailey goes down, Michael Wuertz could get the call. He was excellent in a brief stint as closer last year. After proving he could get out lefties and righties last year, Craig Breslow would probably be next in line. Geren doesn’t seem to have alot of trust in Brad Ziegler. You can forget about perpetual sleeper Joey Devine. He needs to prove he can stay healthy just to stick on Oakland’s roster.

2011 Oakland Athletics Middle Infield:

Mark Ellis is the last remaining starter from the 2006 team that reached the ALCS. Barring an injury, this season will mark his seventh straight Opening Day start, moving ahead of Dick Green for the most in Oakland history. Ellis, with no Gold Gloves or All-Star appearances, might be the most underrated player in the game at his position. His .990 fielding percentage is among the top five in major league history. Ellis also has five seasons of double-digit homer totals, and his 85 homers are the most ever for an A’s second baseman. Cliff Pennington will enter his second season as the A’s shortstop. He’ll need to provide more offense (.250, six homers), or the A’s might hasten the ascent of heir apparent Grant Green, the team’s top draft pick in 2009.

2011 Oakland Athletics Corners:

The A’s will no longer wonder if third baseman Eric Chavez can return from one of his various injuries. Unless there is a late signing, the job belongs to Kevin Kouzmanoff. He’s adequate, but the A’s searched for an upgrade over the winter. Kouzmanoff led the A’s with 16 homers, which is more of an indictment against the team’s anemic offense than of him. Although he tied for the team lead with 71 RBIs, he wasn’t exactly the prototypical “Moneyball” hitter, striking out 96 times with just 24 walks, resulting in a weak .283 on-base percentage. On the other side of the infield, Daric Barton is slowly becoming the player the A’s envisioned when he was acquired from St. Louis in the 2004 Mark Mulder trade.

2011 Oakland Athletics Outfield:

Fans won’t recognize the revamped outfield. The corner outfielders (DeJesus and Willingham) were acquired via trades, and center fielder Coco Crisp was hardly healthy enough last season to determine whether he’d be a long-term solution. Crisp was limited to 75 games because of injuries to his pinkie and intercostal muscle but hit .279 with eight homers and 38 RBIs with a career-high 32 stolen bases. DeJesus also suffered through an injury-curtailed season with Kansas City, hitting .318 in 91 games before his year ended with a thumb injury. Willingham also missed most of the second half with a right knee injury, which required surgery in August. Willingham hit 16 homers and drove in 56 runs in 114 games for Washington. The season before, Willingham slugged 24 homers for the Nationals.

2011 Oakland Athletics Catching:

Phillies center fielder Shane Victorino might be the most notable major leaguer from Maui, but A’s catcher Kurt Suzuki is right behind him. Suzuki tied for the team lead with 71 RBIs, though he hit .242, a drop-off from the previous two seasons. Suzuki had one trip to the disabled list last year, but his durability is unquestioned. His 389 starts over the last three seasons are second-most in baseball behind Jason Kendall, once an A’s catcher. When Suzuki needs a rare day off, Landon Powell will be his replacement.

2011 Oakland Athletics Bench:

Designated hitter is now in the hands of “Godzilla,” although Matsui is 36, and his home run total dropped from 28 with the Yankees in 2009 to 21 with Anaheim last season. With the remade outfield, Ryan Sweeney moves from starter to the bench despite signing a $1.4 million deal for the 2011 season. Sweeney hit .294 with a homer and 36 RBIs in a season hampered by a right knee injury. Sweeney will see plenty of playing time since he has gone 117 games without an error, the sixth-longest streak in Oakland history. The A’s, ever evolving, are not exactly blessed with a deep bench at this juncture. Adam Rosales can play almost every position except catcher. Conor Jackson, a one-time starter with Arizona, hit just .228 with a homer after he was acquired by the A’s. Jackson was out most of the second half with a right hamstring injury. Rookie Chris Carter went 33 at-bats before collecting his first major league hit last season.

Oakland Athletics 2011 Season Predictions

This appears to be the year the A’s have the. right combination of veterans and newcomers to put it all together for the AL West crown. Oakland’s young rotation is among the best in the game, and GM Billy Beane has supplemented those pitchers with key veteran position players. – We predict that the Oakland Athletics will finish 91-71 & 1st in the AL West Division.

Oakland Athletics 5-Year Win Trend

2006: 1st AL West 93
2007: 3rd AL West 76
2008: 3rd AL West 75
2009: 4th AL West 75
2010: 2nd AL West 81

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