With the anticipation of the 2011 MLB season, teams are preparing themselves for the long haul of a 162 game season in hopes for playing October baseball this fall. Many of us have a hunch about which teams could easily find themselves in the playoffs (barring injury), but I am going to surprise you with my sleeper team from the American League; the Oakland Athletics. Yes, that’s right, the Athletics. A team which has been rebuilding for years now might finally have the right pieces in line to make some legitimate noise in the AL West.
The Athletics front office stayed busy this off-season, signing key players as in Hideki Matsui to DH, outfielders Josh Willingham and David DeJesus. Both Willingham and DeJesus bring a little extra pop to this lineup, which was something they lacked of last year. They also strengthened their bullpen by signing Grant Balfour and Brian Fuentes, two great late inning relievers. Balfour brings intensity out of the bullpen to go along with his mid-90’s fastball and Fuentes, a former closer now left-handed specialist is a nice option to have out of the bullpen late in the game.
Last season, the Athletics finished 81-81 which was good for 2nd in the AL West right behind the Texas Rangers. The emergence of this young pitching staff last year lead by Dallas Braden and Trevor Cahill will only make them more hungry this year. Their starting rotation I believe coming into this year has the potential of being very good. Cahill showed signs of dominance last season and stayed constant throughout the year while Gio Gonzalez and Brett Anderson have another year under their belt as well having a better understanding of the hitters in the league. The Athletics also brought back SP Rich Harden, who will probably round out the rotation in the 5th spot and if he can stay healthy, he is very capable of winning 10 games and racking up quite a few strikeouts along the way.
The main reason why I believe that the Athletics will make a strong push for the playoffs this season is not only because they have shown great signs of improvement over the past year, but that the Rangers just are not the same team from last year. Sure, many of the same guys are there on the Rangers team, but unrest between Michael Young and the front office will cause distractions amongst the players in the clubhouse throughout the course of the season until Young is traded. Don’t forget that SP Cliff Lee did not come back after a strong effort by the Ranger front office to try and persuade him back. C.J. Wilson will have to be the ace throughout the season and lead this pitching staff. I’m not saying he can’t do it because he is very capable of doing so, but this is going to be his second full season of being a starter in the majors and I feel that the innings piling up will play a factor on Wilson as the season goes on. Fatigue could set it on Wilson and then the rotation starts to get a little skimpy from there. Colby Lewis pitched well in the playoffs this past October, but lets see if he can duplicate his success from last regular season. There is also the word about flamethrower closer Neftali Feliz making the transition to the starting rotation and that would leave a big gap at the back end of their bullpen. The Rangers are still a good team, but I don’t see how they will manage another playoff berth will all of these mitigating factors.
The Angels are always a cause for concern too just because of their head coach Mike Scioscia. Scioscia has been to the playoffs eight times within the past decade. He always manages to get the best out of his players even when he doesn’t have the best talent. I believe the Angels are too much of a veteran team this year to keep up with the youth of the Athletics. I still expect the Angels to be in it come August and September, but taper off towards the end. The Mariners are still not ready to compete this season as they have a lot of holes to fill in their lineup and starting rotation. The need better quality pitching to follow King Felix if they want to get anywhere.
The Athletics have it their in front of them this season and they know it. No one is going to run away with this division. Their starting rotation is talented enough, the bullpen is better than last season and now their lineup also got a shot in the arm as well with a few key acquisitions. I fully expect the Athletics to make a playoff berth this season and as long as that front office holds onto their core starting staff, they should be good for a few years to come.
Stay tuned for my sleeper pick in the National League.
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