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

William Foster · 08-12-2009, 03:56 PM

A's Fall Below .500!
Awful division keeps them safely in first place with a 6.5 game lead over the Texas Rangers at 51-52

Saturday August 1st, 2009

Oakland, California -- For the second month in a row the A's have been absolutely dreadful. Winning just 9 games and losing 18 this month leaves the A's a game under .500 as they head into the two most important months. However their is a lot of optimism in the A's clubhouse in spite of this. The acquisition of SP John Smoltz and the return of DH Jack Cust, RF Travis Buck, SS Orlando Cabrera, and 3B Nomar Garciaparra leaves players and fans alike looking forward to see what this club can do in August and beyond. The 2nd Place Texas Rangers are still 6.5 games behind and technically in striking distance.

"Its been a rough month, but with the return of our offensive core of players things should finally be back on track for us." said GM Zalman Orloff in yesterdays press conference.

Julys Hot Players:
MR Michael Wuertz - 1-0, 2.35 ERA, 15.1 IP, 19 K
CF Ryan Sweeny - .337/.339/.500, 2 HR, 10 2B

Julys Cold Players:
SP Trevor Cahill - 1-3, 5.51 ERA, 15 BB
SP Sean Gallagher - 2-2, 5.76 ERA, 3 HR Allowed
MR Brad Ziegler - 0-2, 11.42 ERA,
RF/DH Jack Cust - .222/.317/.333, 2 HR
1B Daric Barton - .232/.303/.364

July News and Transactions

Trades

In mid-july the A's traded 25 Year Old OF Ben Copeland, SP Justin Ducsherer, and minor league SS Dusty Coleman, in exchange for SP John Smoltz and OF Jonathon Van Every.

Copeland has struggled this year hitting under the Mendoza line for the A's, but the Red Sox saw him as a nice long term option on the Bench. Ducsherer had struggled after returning from his injury, but was very popular with the Oakland fans for his previous exploits. Duchsherer has a career ERA of 3.28 when he was shipped out. Dusty Coleman was struggling in the Midwest League as a Shortstop but had shown modest pop by bashing 10 Home Runs despite a .238 Batting Average. Upon trade Coleman was moved to first base for the Red Sox Carolina League affiliate.

Smoltz also had recently returned from Injury at the trade and was 0-2 with a 3.34 ERA at the time of the trade. "I always wondered what it'd be like to play out my career in Oakland. I guess now I get to find out." Smoltz said to the Boston Press upon hearing he'd been traded.

Outfielder Jonathon Van Every was acquired to replace Ben Copeland as the A's primary outfield reserve. He was hitting .238 with 3 Home runs and a .283 on base percentage at the time of the trade.

Injuries

This month would turn out to be excellent for injuries to the A's. The month saw SS Orlando Cabrera, RF/DH Jack Cust, RF Travis Buck, and 3B/DH Nomar Garciaparra return from injury. RF Matt Carson, SP Josh Outman, and 3B Jack Hannahan were all optioned to AAA Sacramento to make room for them.

The other roster spot was opened by an injury to 2B Mark Ellis that will keep him out for the first two weeks of August. Ellis had been awful all year hitting just .213/.274/.309 in 324 At Bats.

Minor League Report

AAA Sacramento

RF Chris Carter has been the story of the month in Sacramento. After a midseason call up to Sacramento he's hit 7 Home Runs in 95 at bats and has a .558 Slugging Percentage. Combined between AA and AAA he's hit .269/.401/.515 with 22 Home Runs and 78 BB in 342 AB's. He's a likely candidate or a September call-up and a starting outfield job next season.

1B Sean Doolittle has continued mashing to the tune of .279/.374/.504 with 22 Home Runs.

AA Midland

SS Adrian Cardenas has continued to show the excellent contact hitting and on-base skills that make him such a good prospect. He's still hitting .310 and has stolen 9 Bases for the Rockhounds this season. While he's likely a year away Cardenas' stock has risen to the point where he looks like the best player exchanged in the Joe Blanton trade with the Phillies.

High A Stockton

CF Larry Cobb earned the California League Hitter of the Month award for July hitting .351 with 4 HR and 22 RBI. He's old for his level at 24 and his modest power might be the result of the notorious bandbox Cal-League Parks so its best to take his recent performance with a grain of salt. Nonetheless he's a likely candidate to hit Double A next season if he can raise his season Avg. above .260.

SP Tyson Ross has been near dominant this season pitching for the Ports. He's 7-4 with a 3.36 ERA and 146 K in 112.1 Innings Pitched. The scouts aren't exactly high on him but if he keeps putting up numbers this good he'll be impossible to ignore for much longer.

Low A Kane County

CF Yusuf Carter has gone absolutely nuts on Midwest League Pitching this year hitting 29 Home Runs and with rate stats of .254/.310/.579. He's also old for his level at 24 but Yusuf has power that you can't ignore although his lack of ability to hit for contact and his atrocious K numbers (120 in 383 AB's) mean his ceiling is Jack Cust and he's probably just an AAAA player at best.

Short Season A Vancouver

2008 A's First Round Pick and brother of Milwaukee Second Baseman Ricky Weeks 2B Jemile Weeks has gotten off to an auspicious start to his Pro Career. He's hitting .325/.456/.444 with 2 HR and 7 SB which was enough to earn him the Northwest League Player of the Month for July. "Jemile is one of the most athletic players we've seen in years and if he ever reaches his ceiling he'll be one of the best Second Basemen since Rogers Hornsby." said one scout on Weeks. Weeks is likely to be promoted to Kane County or Stockton before the month is over where he can test his skills against tougher competition.

Rookie Ball Arizona A's

Raw Athletic LF Rashuan Dixon has gotten off to an incredible start to his Pro-Career hitting .494/.634/.926 with 8 HR, 8 SB, 7 2B, and 2 3B in 81 at bats for the Arizona League A's this month. He won batter of the month for July despite missing the last week and a half of July with a sprained ankle. Despite impressive numbers so far he's still very raw (20 K in 81 AB's) but will nonetheless get a chance against tougher competition in the Northwest League upon his return.

Venezuelan SP Henry Rodriguez won the Pitcher of the Month award in the Arizona League going 4-0 with a 1.85 ERA and almost 2 K's per inning. He'll get a chance at the Northwest League in August.

The A's first round pick this year 2B Juan Morales has adapted to pro baseball very well this year to the tune of .348/.464/.509 with 4 HR and 22 BB in 112 AB. Scouts note that he's made serious improvements and adjustments to his swing that will allow him to hit for more contact and so far he's definitely justified the faith the A's showed in him by using their first round pick on him. He may see the Northwest League before the year is done.

08-12-2009, 03:56 PM	#17 (permalink)
William Foster Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 120 Thanks: 2 Thanked 7x in 7 posts	A's Fall Below .500! Awful division keeps them safely in first place with a 6.5 game lead over the Texas Rangers at 51-52 Saturday August 1st, 2009 Oakland, California -- For the second month in a row the A's have been absolutely dreadful. Winning just 9 games and losing 18 this month leaves the A's a game under .500 as they head into the two most important months. However their is a lot of optimism in the A's clubhouse in spite of this. The acquisition of SP John Smoltz and the return of DH Jack Cust, RF Travis Buck, SS Orlando Cabrera, and 3B Nomar Garciaparra leaves players and fans alike looking forward to see what this club can do in August and beyond. The 2nd Place Texas Rangers are still 6.5 games behind and technically in striking distance. "Its been a rough month, but with the return of our offensive core of players things should finally be back on track for us." said GM Zalman Orloff in yesterdays press conference. Julys Hot Players: MR Michael Wuertz - 1-0, 2.35 ERA, 15.1 IP, 19 K CF Ryan Sweeny - .337/.339/.500, 2 HR, 10 2B Julys Cold Players: SP Trevor Cahill - 1-3, 5.51 ERA, 15 BB SP Sean Gallagher - 2-2, 5.76 ERA, 3 HR Allowed MR Brad Ziegler - 0-2, 11.42 ERA, RF/DH Jack Cust - .222/.317/.333, 2 HR 1B Daric Barton - .232/.303/.364 July News and Transactions Trades In mid-july the A's traded 25 Year Old OF Ben Copeland, SP Justin Ducsherer, and minor league SS Dusty Coleman, in exchange for SP John Smoltz and OF Jonathon Van Every. Copeland has struggled this year hitting under the Mendoza line for the A's, but the Red Sox saw him as a nice long term option on the Bench. Ducsherer had struggled after returning from his injury, but was very popular with the Oakland fans for his previous exploits. Duchsherer has a career ERA of 3.28 when he was shipped out. Dusty Coleman was struggling in the Midwest League as a Shortstop but had shown modest pop by bashing 10 Home Runs despite a .238 Batting Average. Upon trade Coleman was moved to first base for the Red Sox Carolina League affiliate. Smoltz also had recently returned from Injury at the trade and was 0-2 with a 3.34 ERA at the time of the trade. "I always wondered what it'd be like to play out my career in Oakland. I guess now I get to find out." Smoltz said to the Boston Press upon hearing he'd been traded. Outfielder Jonathon Van Every was acquired to replace Ben Copeland as the A's primary outfield reserve. He was hitting .238 with 3 Home runs and a .283 on base percentage at the time of the trade. Injuries This month would turn out to be excellent for injuries to the A's. The month saw SS Orlando Cabrera, RF/DH Jack Cust, RF Travis Buck, and 3B/DH Nomar Garciaparra return from injury. RF Matt Carson, SP Josh Outman, and 3B Jack Hannahan were all optioned to AAA Sacramento to make room for them. The other roster spot was opened by an injury to 2B Mark Ellis that will keep him out for the first two weeks of August. Ellis had been awful all year hitting just .213/.274/.309 in 324 At Bats. Minor League Report AAA Sacramento RF Chris Carter has been the story of the month in Sacramento. After a midseason call up to Sacramento he's hit 7 Home Runs in 95 at bats and has a .558 Slugging Percentage. Combined between AA and AAA he's hit .269/.401/.515 with 22 Home Runs and 78 BB in 342 AB's. He's a likely candidate or a September call-up and a starting outfield job next season. 1B Sean Doolittle has continued mashing to the tune of .279/.374/.504 with 22 Home Runs. AA Midland SS Adrian Cardenas has continued to show the excellent contact hitting and on-base skills that make him such a good prospect. He's still hitting .310 and has stolen 9 Bases for the Rockhounds this season. While he's likely a year away Cardenas' stock has risen to the point where he looks like the best player exchanged in the Joe Blanton trade with the Phillies. High A Stockton CF Larry Cobb earned the California League Hitter of the Month award for July hitting .351 with 4 HR and 22 RBI. He's old for his level at 24 and his modest power might be the result of the notorious bandbox Cal-League Parks so its best to take his recent performance with a grain of salt. Nonetheless he's a likely candidate to hit Double A next season if he can raise his season Avg. above .260. SP Tyson Ross has been near dominant this season pitching for the Ports. He's 7-4 with a 3.36 ERA and 146 K in 112.1 Innings Pitched. The scouts aren't exactly high on him but if he keeps putting up numbers this good he'll be impossible to ignore for much longer. Low A Kane County CF Yusuf Carter has gone absolutely nuts on Midwest League Pitching this year hitting 29 Home Runs and with rate stats of .254/.310/.579. He's also old for his level at 24 but Yusuf has power that you can't ignore although his lack of ability to hit for contact and his atrocious K numbers (120 in 383 AB's) mean his ceiling is Jack Cust and he's probably just an AAAA player at best. Short Season A Vancouver 2008 A's First Round Pick and brother of Milwaukee Second Baseman Ricky Weeks 2B Jemile Weeks has gotten off to an auspicious start to his Pro Career. He's hitting .325/.456/.444 with 2 HR and 7 SB which was enough to earn him the Northwest League Player of the Month for July. "Jemile is one of the most athletic players we've seen in years and if he ever reaches his ceiling he'll be one of the best Second Basemen since Rogers Hornsby." said one scout on Weeks. Weeks is likely to be promoted to Kane County or Stockton before the month is over where he can test his skills against tougher competition. Rookie Ball Arizona A's Raw Athletic LF Rashuan Dixon has gotten off to an incredible start to his Pro-Career hitting .494/.634/.926 with 8 HR, 8 SB, 7 2B, and 2 3B in 81 at bats for the Arizona League A's this month. He won batter of the month for July despite missing the last week and a half of July with a sprained ankle. Despite impressive numbers so far he's still very raw (20 K in 81 AB's) but will nonetheless get a chance against tougher competition in the Northwest League upon his return. Venezuelan SP Henry Rodriguez won the Pitcher of the Month award in the Arizona League going 4-0 with a 1.85 ERA and almost 2 K's per inning. He'll get a chance at the Northwest League in August. The A's first round pick this year 2B Juan Morales has adapted to pro baseball very well this year to the tune of .348/.464/.509 with 4 HR and 22 BB in 112 AB. Scouts note that he's made serious improvements and adjustments to his swing that will allow him to hit for more contact and so far he's definitely justified the faith the A's showed in him by using their first round pick on him. He may see the Northwest League before the year is done.