After a good showing in Week 1, the A's reverted back to their old ways and are looking at another slow start.  They headed into the week at 5-2 and came out 6-7.  They got swept by Minnesota and dropped 2 of 3 to Texas.

In the first series at Minnesota, the A's once again lost the series opener.  Dan Haren got shelled and gave up 7 runs in 6 innings and that's all she wrote.  In game 2, it was much of the same with Esteban Loaiza giving up 6 runs in 4 innings.  What do you know?  In game 3, another Oakland starter got lit up.  This time it was Joe Blanton giving up 7 runs over 6 innings and to top it off Jay Witasik sprains his ankle on the final play of the game and will be out for at least a month.

Everyone was glad that the series with Minnesota finally ended and they were heading home to start a 9 game homestand.  No one plays better at home than Oakland and no one owns the Rangers like Barry Zito, guaranteed win right?  Wrong.  Zito gives up 5 early runs and the A's once again drop the series opener.  In game 2 we got "the man" Rich Harden on the mound and with a little help from the offense, we finally get a win.  In game 3, Dan Haren gives a fantastic performance giving up 1 run over 8 innings only to hand the ball over to Houston Street with a 2 run lead in the ninth and he blows the save.  I couldn't believe it.  Now we're 6-7.

What I liked last week:

---  Eric Chavez still on fire.  He went 8 for 22 (.363) with 3 HR's.

---  Nick Swisher heating up and out of the 8 hole.  He went 10 for 25 (.400) with 3 HR's.  The most important thing is that he is now using the opposite field, something that he has been working hard on in recent weeks.

---  Rich Harden the stopper.  Riding a 4 game losing streak, Harden came in and got us a win.  It's extremely important to have a guy who can do that although I don't think this staff will be having very many losing streaks.

---  The Big Hurt picking it up.  He went 5 for 17 (.294) with 2 HR's in 5 games over the past week.  With Chavez heating up, it will be important for Frank to provide the protection that Chavez needs to see good pitches.

---  Milton Bradley finding his stroke.  He went 9 for 23 (.391) with 2 HR's.  It's important for him to get off to a good start so that the fans don't give him any heat because we all know he doesn't need to face any more controversy.

What I didn't like last week:

---  Esteban Loaiza still looks like a bust.  4 IP, 8 hits, 6 earned runs, 4 walks, and 2 K's.  That line is not what you expect out o####uy getting $6 million this year from a cash strapped team.  The rumor is that his velocity is not where it needs to be and it should get better the more he pitches.  Let's hope so.

--- Houston we have a problem.  Houston Street has not made it through the final inning of 2 of his last 3 outings with the last one being a blown save.  I have no idea what's wrong but I'm not too worried as I think his stuff still looks pretty good.  They say it's because of his participation in the WBC but we'll see.

---  Mark Ellis' slow start.  He went 0 for 13 and only played in 3 of the 6 games.  Macha gave him the days off so that he could find his stroke.  Hopefully this works as he is scheduled to start in the opener tomorrow.

---  Dan Johnson finally gets a hit!  Johnson can home and got his first hit of the year.  I thought being back in Oakland and getting his first hit might spark something but instead he goes 1 for 13 last week and remains in his slump.  Plain and simple, we need this guy to hit.

---  Finally, Bobby Crosby in the 3 hole.  he went 6 for 24 (.250) last week and is currently hitting .229 with just 1 home run.  I don't know about you, but that is not the kind of production that I expect out of my number 3 hitter.  Get him out of there Macha.  This is what I want to see:  Kotsay, Bradley, Chavez, Thomas, Swisher, Crosby, Johnson, Kendall, Ellis.

Up next for the A's:

The A's continue their homestand with games against the hot hitting Detroit Tigers and the division rival LA Angels of Anaheim.  The pitching better find whatever it is that is missing because if not, they're in for another rough week.  I expect all the pitchers to bounce back this week and for the A's to take both series'.  See you next week, hopefully with a winning record.

I know it's only been a week and there's a long way to go before this season is anywhere near over but I can't help but be impressed with the way that the A's have started their season.  You must remember, this is coming from a fan that saw his team trade 2 out of the 3 "aces" from a staff that led the team to 4 straight playoff appearances and then went on to start the season 17-32 with no hopes of seeing the playoffs anytime soon.  So when my team wins both series' in the first week, one from the always hated Yankees and the other a four game series vs. the division rival Mariners, it doesn't get better than that.

What I like about those wins was the way in which we won those games.  The season couldn't have gotten off to a worse start after watching Barry Zito get shelled while lasting only 1.1 innings against the team that we truly hate.  Losing 15-2 on Opening Night in your home stadium is not a confidence booster for a team that many pick to go all the way this year.  As soon as that game was over, all the haters came out saying how the A's couldn't handle the pressure of being expected to win and how they still can't compete against the big market teams and how even if they get to the playoffs, it will be like previous years and they will not make it out of the first round.  Pleeeaaassseee, it was one bad game and over the next two nights that A's proved it was just that.  They won the next game 4-3 with a solid outing from, a guy whom I think will win the Cy Young this year, Rich Harden and solid pitching from our relief pitchers (0 runs in 1.1 innings).  The third game was a statement game in which the A's showed off their improved offense and won 9-4.  The two "controversial" offseason pickups (Frank Thomas and Milton Bradley) came up big, each driving in 3 runs a piece as the pitching was once again solid, giving up only 4 runs to the potent Yankee lineup.

After taking 2 of 3 from the Yankees, it was onto Seattle for a 4 game set against division foes the Seattle Mariners.  Once again, the A's dropped the series opener as the other key offseason pickup (Esteban Loaiza) struggled in his first start.  In game 2, all the hype was surrounding King Felix Hernandez making his first start of the season but Joe Blanton was the one people were talking about after the game as he threw 8 innings of 2 hit ball.  In game 3, it was more of the same as Barry Zito and 3 other Oakland pitchers combined for a 1 hit shutout of the Mariners.  In game 4, it was Harden's turn as he gave up 1 run over seven innings while striking out 8.  With that, the A's have won their first two series' and have gotten off to a 5-2 start.

What I liked so far:

---  Oakland dropped both series openers but came back to win the rest of the games in the series showing their solid makeup.

---  Harden looks healthy and Oakland won 3 out of the 4 games in which Bobby Crosby missed due to a cut finger.  A big deal was made about the A's needed Crosby to win last year which I think was blown out of proportion.

---  Eric Chavez getting off to a hot start batting with 3 home runs and 6 RBI over the first 7 games.  He is a notorious slow starter so getting off to a good start is extremely important to him.  He tried something a little different in prepartaion for the season this year which it seems to be working and I expect a big year out of him.

---  The bullpen looks very strong as the three key setup men (Kiko Calero, Justin Duchscherer, and Joe Kenedy) along with their closer (Houston Street) have yet to give up an earned run in 14 innings of work.  This pen is deep and gives manager Ken Macha a lot of options late in the game.

What I didn't like so far:

---  I'm concered with Esteban Loaiza's first start as I feel we overpaid for him.  However, I think if he reaches 200 innings, no matter what his record may be at the end of the season, he did his job by keeping the bullpen fresh.

---  I'm concered with the slow starts of Milton Bradley (.217 avg), Frank Thomas (.091 avg), and Dan Johnson (.000 in 19 ABs).  These 3 guys will be key run producers for the Oakland offense and when the pitching struggles, these guys will need to pick it up.

Up next for the A's:

This week they head out to Minnesota for a 3 game set vs. the Twins and then return home for a series vs. division rivals the Texas Rangers.  I expect the A's to take both of these series' as well as both the Twins and the Rangers are struggling right now.  I'll be back next week with another week in review.