Spring Training Update

Somewhere amidst the red tags and inflated stats that come with Spring Training, some semblance of a team can be found. This challenge is even more so apparent this year for the only green team left in the league. Bob Geren and Billy Beane have to tackle a few big issues.

1) With Lackey gone, are we contenders? John Lackey is out until mid May with the first real injury of his professional career. My earlier predictions had the Angels way out in front, like they were last year. The A's had a chance (albeit a very slim one) if a lot of things went right for the A's, and none of them assumed the steadfast Lackey would get injured. With his injury taking a month out of him and possibly limiting his effectiveness this year, it very well may change things. The A's will probably start working Future Star Gregg Jeffries Carlos Gonzalez in Center Field in AAA, and Gio Gonzalez as a starter in Sac-Town as well. When the All Star Break comes around, if we are in fact contenders, then the additions of these two plus another bat (Lastings Milledge from the Nationals anyone?) could make for an exciting September.

2) Whats going on in the Outfield? So far the Chris Denorfia experiment hasn't been working out. While guys like Ichiro and Jimmy Rollins can have awful Springs and not worry about their jobs, Denorfia doesn't have that luxury. The A's have been working Ryan Sweeney in Centerfield, and he's looking good. He's providing an adequate bat with defense that isn't a liability, which is what the A's need. Immediately after I finished my draft of this, Linden was told he wouldn't be making the roster despite his .577 Spring Batting Average. His performance screams playability, and I was ready to name him my pick for Left Field over Emil Brown and Denorfia, but Geren must see something that the stats don't show. It looks more like Sweeney will start in Center, Brown will start in Left, Buck in Right, and Denorfia will play backup. Any fifth outfielding will be done by Jack Cust, since it looks like the A's are committed to carrying Mike Sweeney in addition to Dan Johnson.

3) What to do with Eric Chavez? He's out and hurting for the moment. He's not coming to Japan it looks like, despite the fact that he wants to DH for the games out there. The A's just don't need another Designated Hitter, so Chavez has to be ready to fight off the more reliable Jack Hannahan, who also has been having a good Spring.

Here's my current pick for the Opening Day Roster:
C Kurt Suzuki
1B Daric Barton
2B Mark Ellis
SS Bobby Crosby
3B Jack Hannahan
RF Travis Buck
CF Ryan Sweeney
LF Emil Brown
DH Jack Cust
BN Mike Sweeney
BN Dan Johnson
BN Donnie Murphy
BN Rob Bowen
SP Joe Blanton
SP Rich Harden
SP Justin Duchscherer
SP Chad Gaudin
SP Dana Eveland
CL Huston Street
SU Alan Embree
LR Lenny DiNardo
RP Santiago Casilla
RP Andrew Brown
RP Keith Foulke
RP Dan Meyer

Eric Chavez and Kiko Calero won't be on due to injury issues, but will take the places of Johnson and Meyer when their time comes. Chad Gaudin won't have to be used until April 15th, and should be healthy enough to pitch when they need him.