Lowell Cohn: Top pitcher Sonny Gray leads a squad of new faces for trade-happy A's
Now playing left field for the Oakland A’s, Whatsisname.
Now playing shortstop for the Oakland A’s, Whatsisface.
The A’s in 2015 are a combination of Whatsisnames and Whatsisfaces - that’s how completely general manager Billy Beane - no Whatsisname himself - has turned over a squad that qualified as a wild-card team last season. This squad is so new - so recently put together - every fan at Monday’s opening night should be given a brochure, like at the American Conservatory Theater, explaining who’s who in the cast, I mean on the team. And where the players are from and their previous productions, I mean teams.
The A’s hope this show doesn’t close before it hits the big time.
And there’s no reason to think it will close.
Beane never has put together a great team. He almost surely never will (See the usual excuses). But he consistently puts together very good teams, although this team is not as good as last year’s. Beane creates teams that compete at a high level. Teams that compete hard (See superb manager Bob Melvin). So without further ado, as they say, let’s take look at this year’s squad before Beane trades it away.
The A’s have one and a half terrific starting pitchers.
Sonny Gray is gold. One of the best pitchers in the big leagues, a No. 1 on just about any staff. He throws hard and he throws fast and he commands the best curveball in the bigs. Well, one of the best. And he has a No. 1 starter’s mentality. He is killer. He is the real deal. He will put you away.
The No. 2 starter, Scott Kazmir, is the half of the one and a half. He is a gifted pitcher and a strong competitor, but he weakened in the second half of 2014. That may be a warning sign that he is fragile as pitchers go. His career fell apart once before and the A’s should at least be aware of that and have a Plan B.
After Gray and Kazmir, Beane has put together a big question mark. Several question marks. Look at it like this:
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Top-notch starters Jarrod Parker and A.J. Griffin won’t return from injuries until midseason, which creates a certain amount of ambiguity in the rotation. Parker is recovering from his second Tommy John surgery. Who knows what he will be. Will he become a reliever?
The current putative No.3 starter is Jesse Hahn, 25. Whatsisname?
This is Hahn’s second year in the majors. His rookie season with San Diego his record was 7-4, and his 3.07 earned run average was good. He may be Beane’s next great discovery. Beane specializes in next great discoveries. Remember a guy named - Whatsisface? - Josh Donaldson?
Who is the No.4 starter? That’s a good one. The envelope please. I mean the nametag please.
Kendall Graveman. That’s who. Last year was the 24-year-old’s first in the majors. He threw 64 innings - a small sample size. He has no wins. As in zero. He may be very good, but he is very green for a fourth starter. He had a great spring training.
Drew Pomeranz is the fifth starter unless he flops and Jesse Chavez takes that spot. Pomeranz can be an excellent fifth starter.
Even with its injuries, the A’s rotation has serious potential. The bullpen is strong plain and simple.
Closer Sean Doolittle is one of the best. He is injured but will return in a month. Until he returns, Tyler Clippard is the closer. Last season with the Nationals, he had a low, low ERA, 2.18. Microscopic. Behind Clippard are Dan Otero and Eric O’Flaherty and others. The usual suspects. All very good. The A’s have one of the best ’pens in the universe.
Now come the position players. The A’s have a good infield, although no one knows for sure just how good. Ike Davis will play first base except for the times he won’t. He bats left-handed and the A’s are platoon-crazy. Lefty vs. righty. Righty vs. lefty. That deal. Davis is a good player, not as good as left-handed hitter Brandon Moss, gone the way of all former A’s. In this case to Cleveland.
The new and improved second baseman is Ben Zobrist, the crown jewel of the infield. He may be the A’s best position player. “Position” is the key word with him. He plays a million positions, could play all nine on a slow day down at the yard, although it is unlikely he could pitch and then dash to home plate and catch the ball.
Zobrist takes over at second from Eric Sogard, and Zobrist is an upgrade. Kind of sad. Sogard is, let’s face it, one of the cutest, most cuddly players in the history of the big leagues. Sogard also is versatile and can play second and shortstop. He can play short when alleged starter Marcus Semien - 24 years old, .240 lifetime average - isn’t playing.
Third base is a downgrade because Beane traded Whatsisface Donaldson to Toronto. That doesn’t mean third base is bad. Beane never gets bad players. The new guy until further notice is Brett Lawrie, 43 home runs in four seasons. Whosits Donaldson had 53 the past two seasons. Oh, and Donaldson was an All-Star last year. Still, Lawrie will be a good player for the A’s.
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