NewsMaking the grade: Offense
Beat writer Mychael Urban assesses A's hitters
By Mychael Urban / MLB.com
10/21/09 8:30 PM EST
"Making the Grade" is a four-part series analyzing the performances of various units of the 2009 Oakland A's. It kicked off last Wednesday with starting pitching, followed by a look at the bullpen last Friday. Today: offense, followed by a look at the defense on Friday.OAKLAND -- Coming off two seasons in which their offense ranked near the bottom of the American League in virtually every significant category, the A's entered 2009 with high hopes and one of the best on-paper lineups in the league.
Outfielder Matt Holliday, a legitimate superstar over the previous three seasons in Colorado, had been acquired in a blockbuster trade. First baseman/designated hitter Jason Giambi, who'd hit 36 home runs with 96 RBIs and a .373 on-base percentage with the Yankees in 2008, had been brought back for a hugely hyped homecoming.
Shortstop Orlando Cabrera, a proven winner, represented an offensive upgrade over his star-crossed predecessor, Bobby Crosby. And Nomar Garciaparra, who was introduced as a free-agent signee on the same spring day as Cabrera, was penciled in to spell Giambi at first, Eric Chavez at third and serve as the top right-handed option at DH.
A's fans know all too well how far short the aforementioned expectations fell. Holliday and Giambi were abject failures in Oakland and were gone by August, as was Cabrera, who wasn't nearly as bad but wasn't an impact player, either. Chavez missed most of the year -- again -- with injuries, and Garciaparra was never healthy enough to make much of an impact.
By the 2009 All-Star break, the A's were every bit as poor offensively as they'd been in '07 and '08.
Strange and unpredictable game, baseball.
To wit: Oakland, which recommitted to its prospects after the break (and particularly after the departures of Holliday, Giambi and Cabrera), was a totally different -- and far better -- offensive team in the season's second half.
The A's started to hit after the break, posting the fifth-best team batting average in the Major Leagues. They started to run, leading to their highest stolen-base total since 1992. And most important, they started to score, giving their core of young pitchers the margin for error that Holliday and Co. were expected to provide.
The long ball never did become a big part of the proceedings, though. Oakland's 135 homers ranked last in the AL, and it's an area in which the team will need to improve dramatically to be competitive next season.
But the A's played .500 ball (44-44) after June 29¸ and given the performances of several young players in the second half, there's reason for optimism that the first half of 2010 won't be the washout it was this past season.
(Note: Only players who appeared in at least 40 games are graded, ruling out, among others, Eric Patterson, who had a huge year at Triple-A Sacramento before batting .287 in 39 games with the A's. Players who didn't finish the year in the organization are excluded, too, but their performances factored into the overall grade.)
Overall: C
Despite a solid spring, Rajai Davis was Oakland's fourth or fifth outfielder for much of the first half, but he was given a shot at winning the starting job in center and literally ran with it, stealing a career-high 41 bases to go with a team-high .305 batting average while becoming the sparkplug behind the club's offensive resurgence. A solid "A."
Catcher Kurt Suzuki was consistent and clutch, hitting 15 home runs and leading the team with 88 RBIs. He gets an "A-," grading out slightly lower than Davis in part because of his .313 on-base percentage.
Outfielder Ryan Sweeney gets a "B+" for showing considerably more pop while posting a .319 batting average after the All-Star break. He, too, was quite consistent, but he'll need to improve upon his RBI total of 53 to hang on to the No. 3 spot in the order that he held down late in the year.
Infielder Adam Kennedy was one of the biggest surprises of the season, providing steady production after being picked up in a Minor League trade in May. He got off to a ridiculously hot start and finished third on the team with 63 RBIs, earning a solid "B."
Rookie shortstop Cliff Pennington was handed the starting job after Cabrera was dealt, and he did extremely well under the circumstances, batting .279 while providing aggressive baserunning and doing many of the little things that make for good offensive baseball. Another strong "B."
First baseman Daric Barton didn't make his season debut with the A's until June, and he batted .118 in 17 games for the month before batting .188 in 17 games in July. He was much better after Giambi was cut loose and had a very good September (.310, 16 RBIs), finishing with a respectable .269 batting average and a .372 OBP -- enough to merit a "C+."
Outfielder/DH Jack Cust reached the 25-homer mark for the third consecutive year and finished second on the team with 70 RBIs, but he regressed overall. He finished the year strong, bumping his grade to a "C."
Second baseman Mark Ellis had a torrid August, batting .340 with 22 RBIs, but he was otherwise average at best. A calf injury cost him much of the first half, limiting him to 105 at-bats before the All-Star break. Another "C."
Catcher Landon Powell drove in 30 runs in 46 games, but he batted .226 with a sub-.300 on-base percentage. It might not be fair to downgrade him for playing behind an ironman in Suzuki, but nobody said baseball is fair. "C-."
Infielder Bobby Crosby lost his job to Cabrera, didn't get it back when Cabrera was traded and had to learn three new positions at the game's highest level. His .223 batting average is difficult to defend, though, and his sub-.300 OBP leaves him with a "D+" in what surely was his last year in Oakland.
Outfielder Scott Hairston was acquired in early July and, before shutting himself down for the year in September, said he played hurt for most of his time with the A's. It looked like it: .236 batting average, .262 OBP. "D."
Mychael Urban is a national writer for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
