OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - The Bright Side of the Bay: An Oakland Athletics Dynasty

William Foster · 08-11-2009, 10:16 PM

Despite Awful Month A's still in 1st
Despite an awful 11-17 record for the month of June during a month filled with injuries to critical players the A's now sit at 42-36 and 6.5 games ahead of the Angels.

Wednesday July 1st, 2009

Oakland, CA -- The Oakland Athletics finished the month of July with a 11-17 record and fell to just 42-36. In a better division they'd be in trouble, but the sheer futility of even the 2nd Place Los Angeles Angels (35-42) leaves the A's in command of a solid and safe league heading into July. With key players such as Travis Buck, Jack Cust, Nomar Garciaparra, and Orlando Cabrera set to come back the next two weeks will be critical if the Angels want to take advantage of their short window of opportunity to catch the A's.

"We're coming off an absolutely awful month for this organization," said General Manager Zalman Orloff, "Injuries hit all sorts of key players like Holliday or Buck, and then things only got worse when staples like Cust, Cabrera and Nomar went down. Nevertheless we expect that with many key players returning that we will really turn this one around going into the stretch. If we hang on in the next two weeks we shouldn't have a problem."

"Even more importantly we're seeing signs of life from our younger prospects like SPTrevor Cahill, who has been very good at the big league level." he added.

Junes Hot Players:
SP Trevor Cahill - 3-2, 3.53 ERA, 27 K
MR Brad Ziegler - 0-1, 1.08 ERA, 13 K, .159 OPBA
C Kurt Suzuki - .345/.441/.500, 1 HR, 6 2B
CF Ryan Sweeny - .355/.430/.561, 4 HR, 10 2B

Junes Cold Players:
SP Sean Gallagher - 1-2, 6.03 ERA
SP Dana Eveland - 1-3, 5.05 ERA
SP Dallas Braden - 1-2, 5.05 ERA
MR Keith Foulke - 0-0, 6.06 ERA
1B Jason Giambi - .125, 0 HR, .186 SLG
OF Ben Copeland - .140, 0 HR

June News and Transactions:

Injuries

The A's inadvertently suffered from a massive injury syndrome this month.

The first to go down was star DH Jack Cust who sprained his ankle during a play in early June. He went down right as CF Ben Copeland was ready to return from his injury and was promptly replaced in the lineup by him. Cust was hitting .252 with 12 Home Runs and a .354 On Base Percentage when he went down.

He was promptly followed by SS Orlando Cabrera who went down with a strained groin while running in a mid June game. Cabrera was hitting .285 with no home runs and 14 doubles at the time of the injury. To replace his spot in the lineup the A's signed utility infielder 3B Jose Castillo to a one year contract with incentives. Castillo is a career .259 Hitter with 39 Home Runs and so far this year has hit .285 in 52 at bats.

Just a day later 3B Nomar Garciaparra went down for the next four weeks with a fractured thumb and was promptly replaced via MR Keith Foulke returning to the majors from AAA Sacramento. Foulke has gone 18.1 Innings with a 4.91 ERA and 11 Strikeouts this year with the A's.

Minor Leagues

AAA Sacramento

1B Sean Doolittle has had a mammoth of a season hitting .285/.374/.522 and smashing 18 Home Runs. Despite 1B Daric Barton having an excellent year Doolittle will likely get a chance at earning a starting job next season if he can prove himself in spring training.

AA Midland

SS Adrian Cardenas has managed to fashion a nice little future as a prospect for himself after coming over from the Phillies in the Joe Blanton trade. He's hitting .328/.412/.428 as the leadoff hitter for the Rockhounds this year and with SS Cliff Pennington losing his luster Cardenas may pass him on the depth chart by next season.

High A Stockton

SP Fautino De Los Santos has been absolutely dominant for the Ports this season going 9-2 with a 1.47 ERA. As if those impressive numbers weren't enough he's struck out 147 hitters in 102.1 Innings and is slated to be called up to Double A to start the month of July.

Low A Kane County

C Petey Paramore has continued to dominate the level hitting .325/.409/.500 with 13 Home Runs and a 25.3 VORP. Paramore will likely begin next year at Double A but he will be given the chance to move quickly from there. Our scouts think he's likely to be an above average starting catcher at the Major League level but with Kurt Suzuki on hand he'll have to really impress next year to stick with the team rather then be used as trade-bait.

08-11-2009, 10:16 PM	#13 (permalink)
William Foster Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 120 Thanks: 2 Thanked 7x in 7 posts	Despite Awful Month A's still in 1st Despite an awful 11-17 record for the month of June during a month filled with injuries to critical players the A's now sit at 42-36 and 6.5 games ahead of the Angels. Wednesday July 1st, 2009 Oakland, CA -- The Oakland Athletics finished the month of July with a 11-17 record and fell to just 42-36. In a better division they'd be in trouble, but the sheer futility of even the 2nd Place Los Angeles Angels (35-42) leaves the A's in command of a solid and safe league heading into July. With key players such as Travis Buck, Jack Cust, Nomar Garciaparra, and Orlando Cabrera set to come back the next two weeks will be critical if the Angels want to take advantage of their short window of opportunity to catch the A's. "We're coming off an absolutely awful month for this organization," said General Manager Zalman Orloff, "Injuries hit all sorts of key players like Holliday or Buck, and then things only got worse when staples like Cust, Cabrera and Nomar went down. Nevertheless we expect that with many key players returning that we will really turn this one around going into the stretch. If we hang on in the next two weeks we shouldn't have a problem." "Even more importantly we're seeing signs of life from our younger prospects like SPTrevor Cahill, who has been very good at the big league level." he added. Junes Hot Players: SP Trevor Cahill - 3-2, 3.53 ERA, 27 K MR Brad Ziegler - 0-1, 1.08 ERA, 13 K, .159 OPBA C Kurt Suzuki - .345/.441/.500, 1 HR, 6 2B CF Ryan Sweeny - .355/.430/.561, 4 HR, 10 2B Junes Cold Players: SP Sean Gallagher - 1-2, 6.03 ERA SP Dana Eveland - 1-3, 5.05 ERA SP Dallas Braden - 1-2, 5.05 ERA MR Keith Foulke - 0-0, 6.06 ERA 1B Jason Giambi - .125, 0 HR, .186 SLG OF Ben Copeland - .140, 0 HR June News and Transactions: Injuries The A's inadvertently suffered from a massive injury syndrome this month. The first to go down was star DH Jack Cust who sprained his ankle during a play in early June. He went down right as CF Ben Copeland was ready to return from his injury and was promptly replaced in the lineup by him. Cust was hitting .252 with 12 Home Runs and a .354 On Base Percentage when he went down. He was promptly followed by SS Orlando Cabrera who went down with a strained groin while running in a mid June game. Cabrera was hitting .285 with no home runs and 14 doubles at the time of the injury. To replace his spot in the lineup the A's signed utility infielder 3B Jose Castillo to a one year contract with incentives. Castillo is a career .259 Hitter with 39 Home Runs and so far this year has hit .285 in 52 at bats. Just a day later 3B Nomar Garciaparra went down for the next four weeks with a fractured thumb and was promptly replaced via MR Keith Foulke returning to the majors from AAA Sacramento. Foulke has gone 18.1 Innings with a 4.91 ERA and 11 Strikeouts this year with the A's. Minor Leagues AAA Sacramento 1B Sean Doolittle has had a mammoth of a season hitting .285/.374/.522 and smashing 18 Home Runs. Despite 1B Daric Barton having an excellent year Doolittle will likely get a chance at earning a starting job next season if he can prove himself in spring training. AA Midland SS Adrian Cardenas has managed to fashion a nice little future as a prospect for himself after coming over from the Phillies in the Joe Blanton trade. He's hitting .328/.412/.428 as the leadoff hitter for the Rockhounds this year and with SS Cliff Pennington losing his luster Cardenas may pass him on the depth chart by next season. High A Stockton SP Fautino De Los Santos has been absolutely dominant for the Ports this season going 9-2 with a 1.47 ERA. As if those impressive numbers weren't enough he's struck out 147 hitters in 102.1 Innings and is slated to be called up to Double A to start the month of July. Low A Kane County C Petey Paramore has continued to dominate the level hitting .325/.409/.500 with 13 Home Runs and a 25.3 VORP. Paramore will likely begin next year at Double A but he will be given the chance to move quickly from there. Our scouts think he's likely to be an above average starting catcher at the Major League level but with Kurt Suzuki on hand he'll have to really impress next year to stick with the team rather then be used as trade-bait. Last edited by William Foster; 08-11-2009 at 10:18 PM.