Offensive Struggles

The A's opened the season on a tear, as most people know, and have recently digressed back into mediocrity, or worse. The main reason for this is that the A's haven't been scoring runs, and there is unfortunately an obvious reason. The team was aided by some outstanding performances by guys who shouldn't've been counted on as main offensive producers. Let's look at a few of these:

Kurt Suzuki: He peaked right around April 18th, with a line of .339/.409/.390. He was seeing the ball well--not a lot of power, but a great On Base Percentage and all the makings of a solid contact hitter, which is what the A's were hoping for. They tried to move him up to the leadoff spot, but that experiment failed. Since April 18th (the day he was moved up) he's gotten progressively worse, and is now standing at .237/.300/282, a 2007 line that brings up bad memories of 2007 Jason Kendall. The A's envisioned Suzuki as a bottom of the order hitter, more known for his defensive capabilities, and it looks like his psyche may be a bit fragile for top of the order duties while trying to juggle an ever-shifting starting rotation.

Daric Barton: Barton hasn't lost much playing time with the Thomas trade, although many fans are screaming that maybe he should. Since May 5th his OPS has dropped 60 points and his batting average has dropped 30. He's slugging a mere .338, and though he wasn't projected to be a power hitter, it's hard to justify a guy who gives poor defense and so little pop playing 1st base, a position typically reserved for power hitters without much moblity (Paul Konerko/Carlos Pena types.)

Frank Thomas: The main issue here is that with the acquisition of the Big Hurt, the A's committed to him as their DH, leaving Mike Sweeney on the bench. Sweeney was off to a hot start, and he's still OPSing .813, whereas Thomas is still scuffling with a .690 OPS and a very low .339 slugging. Unfortunately with Thomas, you often get slow starts, but the A's are committed to waiting for him to get his swing back. The drop leaves the DH slot much colder, and that hurts since the DH is so key to the young A's team.

Donnie Murphy: He did his best Marco Scutaro impression while filling in around the infield and gaining the fans love with his swell batting, but he's pretty quickly regressed. This was probably due to the injury which landed him on the Disabled List recently, as he's now OPSing a mere .558 as opposed to the .828 he had at the end of April. Gregorio Petit is doing his best to take away that utility slot from Murphy, but the A's are really waiting for Ellis to come back from the DL and start producing.

All of these guys, combined with the continued inuries/demotions of Mark Ellis, Travis Buck and Santiago Casilla have hurt the A's recently. On the plus side, Rich Harden seems healthy, and could draw a lot of attention if he stays healthy. We're getting a better idea of what the team may look like down the road, and may get a better sink/swim feeling as we approach the mid mark. Should these guys continue to drop to average level, and the producers not pick it up, I wouldn't be surprised to see Rich Harden, Joe Blanton, and Huston Street get more trade rumors as the year progresses.