Series 6 Pack: Oakland A’s

1.       What happened to Kevin Kouzmanoff?  Is he completely responsible to blame for ending up in the minors?

Kevin Kouzmanoff, who was demoted by Oakland to Triple-A Sacramento back in June, is actually no longer a member of the Athletics. He is now starting for the Colorado Rockies, after the Rockies acquired Kouzmanoff and cash from Oakland. The A’s will receive a player to be named later as part of the deal. The A’s had high hopes for Kouzmanoff, who led the team last season in home runs (16) and RBIs (71). His poor start this season, however, prompted Oakland to make a change, and Kouzmanoff found himself back in the minors for the first time since 2006. In 46 games this season for the Athletics, Kouzmanoff put together a .221/.262/.353 line with four home runs and 17 RBIs. Defensively, he wasn’t much better, as he committed nine errors in 46 games. 

2.       The deal that almost happened between Boston and Oakland would’ve seen Oakland receive 1B Lars Anderson and a player to be named later from the Red Sox.  In your opinion, was this enough for starter Rich Harden and was this a deal you were hoping would’ve gotten done?

I’m a big Rich Harden fan, but the deal that would’ve shipped the A’s right-hander to Boston was a deal that made sense to me. Putting aside my admiration for Harden’s talent, I have to say that 1B Lars Anderson probably would’ve been enough to land a starter like Harden. In the end, however, Boston was skeptical about Harden’s health, and the deal fell through. Anderson, who doesn’t have a future in Boston unless Adrian Gonzalez leaves town, would’ve fit perfectly in Oakland. The A’s have a million questions surrounding their current situation at first base, and Anderson could have been the answer. Daric Barton, who played decent baseball last season, fell completely off the rails this season, and I’m guessing he’s not in good-standing with the organization. He’s never lived up to all the hype that once surrounded him during the Mark Mulder trade, and I think his career in Oakland may be over. Chris Carter, one of Oakland’s top prospects, has had success in the minors, but he’s having trouble replicating that kind of success on the big league level. Carter may be better suited for a designated-hitter role with the club. But yeah, the Harden-to-Boston deal was a deal I was hoping to see get finalized. 

3.       Josh Willingham, Hideki Matsui, just a couple of veteran names that were brought into Oakland this past offseason to try and improve this club.  It’s almost the end of August and the A’s are out of contention in the AL West.  What went wrong with the group of veterans this year that they underperformed so drastically?

The A’s have remained a mystery to me this year, and I’m not sure what to make of this season. Entering the season, Oakland was actually an early favorite to capture the AL West, but losing two pitchers, Dallas Braden and Brett Anderson in combination to a very slow start by the offense, doomed this team. Veteran players Josh Willingham, Hideki Matsui, and David DeJesus were brought onboard to fix an offense that lacked power and the ability to score runs. Unfortunately, general manager Billy Beane’s offseason additions didn’t get going until the start of August. Matsui batted .209/.290/.327 with six home runs and 34 RBIs at the All-Star break, but has since batted .348/.399/.507 with five home runs and 27 RBIs in the second-half. I really don’t know how to explain it. These guys had proven track-records, and while they’re certainly playing better baseball these days, that wasn’t the case in April, May, June, July…

4.       There has been much speculation about the current GM opening with the Chicago Cubs, including Red Sox Theo Epstein and Oakland’s Billy Beane.  Should Beane leave the A’s, what type of hole does this leave for the organization?

If you asked me a few years ago, like let’s say, in 2006, I’d say that Billy Beane is irreplaceable. But now? While he’s certainly regarded as being one of the better GM’s in the game today, I think fans are growing tired of the fact that Beane is rarely held accountable to his mistakes. The Matt Holliday trade included. That trade was bogus, and it makes a lot of fans, including myself, angry. The A’s, who are always looking for ways to improve their offense, had two guys named Andre Ethier and Carlos Gonzalez at one point in time in the organization. Ethier, of course, was packaged in the Milton Bradley deal, and Gonzalez was the centerpiece of the Holliday trade. That being said, Beane might just decide that it’s time for a change. The Chicago gig would give him a lot more freedom financially, and I’m guessing with a bigger payroll Beane would probably have a little more success than he’s had recently in Oakland. The A’s in turn, would likely hand the job over to assistant GM David Forst, who has worked under Beane long enough to know what he’s doing.

5.       Does Rich Harden get moved before the waiver wire deadline?  If so, where do you think he goes and who should Oakland target in return?

Rich Harden isn’t going anywhere. The Cleveland Indians recently made a claim on the right-hander, but a deal was not worked out between the A’s and Indians, meaning he will not be traded this month.

6.       Who do you think wins the AL West; Texas or the LA Angels?  Why?

Well, I can tell you who’s not going to win the AL West this year. All kidding aside, I see the Rangers repeating as division champions this season. The Angels have good pitching, but the offense doesn’t stack up with Texas’ firepower. I generally see Texas as a team that is well-balanced, as both the offense and pitching are getting the job done this year.

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