2008 Oakland A’s

In 2007 the Oakland Athletics came into the season as defending AL West champions, and a playoff team five out of the last seven seasons. But in 2007 they fell all the way to third place in the division with a 76 – 86 record and were only one game ahead the last place Texas Rangers. The team traded away almost all of its veteran talent by the end of the season, and even more of them were traded this past off-season. The biggest names to go were P Dan Haren, OF Nick Swisher, and OF Mark Kotsay. The only offensive players left in the lineup are Eric Chavez, Mark Ellis, and Bobby Crosby. Manager Bob Geren will have a lot of work in front of him, as he will have to work with a bunch of young talent in 2008. It could be interesting if the team decides to make any more moves before and during the season to continue bringing in young talent.

Pitching:

Rich Harden will try to pitch a full season for the first time since 2004. Harden has the stuff to be good and will need it in 2008 as he is expected to be the team’s ace. Joe Blanton had a pretty solid 2007 for a bad team when he went 14-10 with a 3.95ERA. The bottom spots are likely going to go to Chad Guadin, Justin Duchscherer, and the fifth spot still up in the air. The bullpen has a little more promise, Huston Street will be the teams closer and when healthy was pretty dominate last year. Alan Embree did a pretty solid job filling in the closers role and will be a solid setup man in 2008. Overall this is a pretty young staff and both starters and relievers are likely to struggle.

Offense:

With a lot of new faces it’s hard to say what to expect from this lineup. While they should have a healthy Eric Chavez for the first time in two years, its uncertain how long Chavez will remain an A’s player. OF Carlos Gonzalez is one of the big prospects that were brought in from a trade from Arizona and is expected to LF. 2B Mark Ellis was a bright spot in the lineup last year when he broke the club record for RBIs for a second baseman with 76. Ellis also set a personal record with 19HRs. 1B Daric Barton showed fans some of his potential when he hit .347 with 4 HRs in just 18 games. Barton could have a big year this year, as he is expected to take over full time duties. The really hopes that SS Bobby Crosby can get healthy and return to the form that made him AL Rookie of the Year in 2004.

Defense:

It’s hard to say what to expect on this side of the ball because they have so many new young players and players coming off injuries. Chavez is a proven Gold Glove winner and could return back to that form in 2008 if he can stay healthy. They are pretty solid up the middle with the combo of Ellis and Crosby. For as young as the team was in 2007 they didn’t commit to many errors, so maybe that will roll over to 2008.

Prediction:

The team is in obvious stage of rebuilding from the bottom up and that usually doesn’t mean to many wins off the bat. This could be a really bad team or just a bad team. It depends how the young guys do. We have them picked to finish last in the West.

2008 Oakland Athletics Odds to Win World Series 100 – 1

For every team’s odds head over to Sportsbook.com and check them out. You can also go to Sportsbook.com to look at the odds for teams to win their division or league pennant. Feel free to leave any comments in the comment section.

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