by Jerry Feitelberg

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The Oakland A’s have a day off Monday as they return home after a disastrous road trip to Kansas City and Atlanta. The A’s went 1-6 n the trip and have lost six in a row. Their new ace, Jon Lester, lost his first game as an Athletic and the rest of the starters also lost. The A’s need Scott Kazmir, Sonny Gray, Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel to get back in the groove and get some wins for the A’s. Hammel has not pitched well for the Green and Gold and he may be headed out of the rotation. A’s manager, Bob Melvin, and his staff will have to decide to let Hammel continue as a starter or replace him with either Jesse Chavez or Drew Pomeranz. Chavez started the season well but seemed to have cooled down as he pitched deeper into the season. Pomeranz was also performing well until he broke his non-throwing hand in a fit of youthful anger. Bet he won’t do that again.

In the meantime, the A’s have called up Andy Parrino from Sacramento to play shortstop as Jed Lowrie fractured his index finger on his throwing hand and is on the 15 day disabled list. One of the big problems for the A’s is that the hitting has stopped and they are not getting the same run production as they had earlier in the season. There are several factors for that. Many people will say that the trade that sent Yoenis Cespedes to Boston has caused the decline in hitting. The argument has some merit as the A’s were 65-35 with him in the lineup this year and 228-131 over the last 2 ½ years. Also, the A’s have gone 7-10 to drop into a virtual tie for first place with the Los Angeles Angeles for the AL West lead.

Others will say that the A’s have a solid enough team to win without Cespedes and they would have had to do that had Cespedes been injured. The A’s starting pitching and bullpen are strong. The five starters with the exception of Hammel are very good as has the bullpen with Ryan Cook, Luke Gregerson and closer Sean Doolittle. Fernando Abad and Dan Otero have also made great contributions all year long.

The A’s play the New York Mets on Tuesday and Wednesday at home in Oakland. The Mets have an overall record of 59-67 and are in fourth place in the NL East. The Mets have lost six out of their last ten but , in baseball, you never know what can happen and the Mets would love to put a wrench in the A’s plans. The A’s have a day off on Thursday but then begin an important three game series with the LA Angels starting Friday night at the O.co. The A’s then travel to Houston for three and the Astros are no longer pushovers. The last time the A’s went to Houston they lost two out of three and then from Houston it’s off to Anaheim for four more games with the Angels. These A’s have to get their act together and start winning in order to win the division. Keep in mind the Seattle Mariners are now starting to make a run and are now just 5 ½ games back. They have great pitching and are gelling at just the right time. The Mariners have won eight out of the last ten and picked up five games in the standings. The A’s face the Mariners six more times this year. They play them immediately after the Angel series at home and then travel to Seattle on September 12th for the final three games between the teams.

Yes, the A’s may be tired and they may not be hitting but it is gut-check time. If the want to win the division they will have to put the pedal to the metal. If the don’t win the division , they will have to play a one game playoff game with the second wild-card team and anything can happen. Let’s hope the A’s regroup and do what they have to do to win the division. People said the A’s were favorites to be in the World Series when they acquired Jon Lester and Jonny Gomes. However, games aren’t won on paper. They are won on the field and the A’s better get that through their heads or they may end up on the outside looking in.

Jerry Feitelberg
jyf1938