Week 6 started and ended with wins.  The only problem, they lost the 4 games in between.  They dropped 2 of 3 to both the Blue Jays and Yankees and are now 18-19 and 1.5 games behind the Rangers.

In game 1 of the Toronto series, Dan Haren had another quality start going 7.1 while striking out 7 and allowing only 3 runs.  Huston Street gave up 2 runs in the bottom of the 9th but managed to earn his 5th save of the year.  In game 2, Joe Blanton gave up 6 runs in the 1st inning and the A's were unable to overcome that deficit.  In game 3, Kirk Saarloos once again had problems as he gave up 8 runs (6 earned) over 5 innings as the A's lost 8-3.

Onto New York, where the A's got a good outing from Barry Zito in Game 1.  Zito, who notoriously struggles against the men in pinstripes, went 6 innings while only giving up one run but the A's lost as they were unable to plate any men against a sharp Chen-Ming Wang.  In game 2, Brad Halsey gave up 4 runs in the first 3 innings and the Oakland bats came up a run short once again.  In game 3, Dan Haren came out and threw a gem.  He threw a complete game and gave up only 1 run while stirking out 6. 

What I liked last week:

---  Dan Haren dealing.  He threw a combined total of 16.1 innings while giving up only 4 runs and striking out 13.  Those were two tough offenses he faced and with all the injuries to the staff, the A's need someone to step up and Haren is looking like that guy.

---  Bobby Crosby finding his stroke.  Crosby went 7 for 23 (.304) last week with a HR.  He still isn't driving in as many runs as I would like but at this point I'll take what I can.

---  Mark Ellis back in the leadoff spot where he belongs.  Ellis went 10 for 26 (.385) last week with 4 runs scored.  We need more production at the top of our order and Ellis is setting the table nicely.

---  Melhuse filling in nicely.  Melhuse went 5 for 15 (.333) with 2 HR's and 4 RBI while filing in for Jason Kendall during his 4 game suspension.  I personally would like to see more of this guy as I think Kendall is a joke and hopefully his performance has opened Macha's eyes.

What I didn't like last week:

---  The injury bug still biting.  Eric Chavez was hit with a bacteria infection and was only able to DH in Saturday's game vs. the Yankees.  Justin Duchscherer was sent to the DL.  Frank Thomas is day-to-day with a strained quad.  Joe Kennedy is questionable with a strained bicep.  And no one who is currently on the DL (Harden, Loaiza, and Bradley) came off the DL.  This team needs to get and stay healthy soon or they will be in a season long struggle to get back to the top of the division.

---  "Un"-Clutch hitting.  I wrote last time on how the A's batters were struggling to drive in runs and the problem continued last week.  The A's stranded 26 runners in the Toronto sereis.   In the 2nd game of the series we lost by 2 and stranded 11 while Toronto stranded only 2.  We stranded 23 in the Yankees series.  In game 2 of that sereis, we lost by 1 and stranded 13 runners vs. the Yankees 7.  I don't know what the problem is as we averaged 9 hits per game last week, we just aren't getting the hits when we need them.  Hopefully are guys are just getting unlucky right now.

Up next for the A's:

On Tuesday, the A's open up a 6 game homestand and a run of 20 straight games without a day off with a 3 game series against the Mariners followed by the opening of inter-league play with a 3 game series against the Giants.  You know that I always have high expectations of this team, whether they're struggling or not, and I expect them to come out of this week with no less than a 4-2 record.  If all our guys were healthy, I'd expect 5-1 or 6-0 but with all our injuries and health concerns, 4-2 will do.  See you guys next week.

Week 5 started off great as the A's took 3 of 4 from the Angels and Indians.  Then they decided to leave their bats in the dugout as they dropped 2 of 3 to the Devil Rays.  They ended up going 4-3 last week and currently has a 16-15 record which leaves them a half game behind the AL West leading Rangers.

In game 1 of the Angels mini-series, Zito threw a gem (7.2 innings, no runs) while Justin Duchscherer picked up his 2nd save of the season as the A's won 1-0.  In game 2 of the series, the A's bats came alive as they scored 6 runs in the 9th inning and went on to win 10-3.  They got a decent start from replacement Brad Halsey (5.1 innings, 3 runs) while receiving HR's from Eric Chavez and Bobby Crosby.

In game 1 of the Indians mini-series, A's pitching got rocked as they gave up 14 runs on 18 hits.  Dan Haren gave up 5 runs on 11 hits over 5.2 innings and the bullpen didn't do much better as they gave up 9 runs on 7 hits over 3.1 innings.  In game 2, the A's got their revenge as they pounded the Indians, 12-4.  We got a got start out of replacement Kirk Sarloos as he went 5 innings and gave up only 1 run and we supprisngly didn't hit any HR's on the way to scoring 12 runs.

In comes Tampa Bay and away go our bats.  We scored a combined 6 runs in the 3 game series and that is the sole reason we dropped 2 of 3 to them.  In game 1, we got a good outing from Joe Blanton as he went 7 innings and gave up only 3 runs but lost 3-1 as no one could get a clutch hit, we had 11 hits but also stranded 13 runners.  In game 2, we got an early Christmas present in the form of an Aubrey Huff error in the bottom of the 9th that allowed Jay Payton to score the winning run.  Zito once again had a nice outing as he went 7 while giving up only 1 run.  In game 3, we got HR's from Mark Ellis and Frank Thomas but that was not enough as we lost 3-2.  Halsey came out and did a good job, throwing 5.2 innnings allowing 3 runs of which only one of those were earned.  However, the two unearned runs were due to an errant throw by Halsey himself.  That error turned out to be the difference as the A's were once again unable to get a clutch hit,  they had 10 hits and stranded 12 runners.

What I liked last week:

---  Barry Zito looking like the Barry of old.  In two starts last week Zito threw 14.2 innings while only giving up 1 run.  He lowered his ERA from 5.93 to 4.07 in those 2 games.  With all the injuries to the pitching staff, Zito will need to continue to step up and pitch well.

---  Nick Swisher still swinging a hot bat.  He went 9 of 24 (.375) last week with 6 runs and 4 RBI.  He is currently on a 8 game hitting streak.  With the Oakland offense struggling as mightily as it is, they need all the help they can get.

---  Eric Chavez still in a groove.  Chavy went 8 of 27 (.296) last week with 3 runs, 6 RBI, and 1 HR.  He and Swisher must continue to carry the load as the offense tries to regain its health.

---  Huston's back!  He made 3 appearances, threw 3 innings while striking out 2, and did not give up a run.  He did not get a save in any of those games but having him back is a tremendous boost to this struggling ballclub.

---  Taking both game vs. the Angels.  All the teams in the AL West are struggling at the moment and only 3 games separate the top 3 teams so each and every game will be important come playoff time and taking 2 of 2 from a dvision rival is always a good thing.

What I didn't like last week:

---  Dropping 2 of 3 to the Devil Rays.  We cannot afford to lose to teams that we are supposed to beat.  We very nearly could have been swept by them had it not been for the Huff error in the bottom of the 9th.  The main problem was driving in runners as we were able to hit the ball (we averaged 2 hits per game) but were unable to drive in runs (averaged 2 runs per game and stranded 33 runners over the entire series).

---  The Oakland offense.  Every single regular, besides Chavy, Swisher, and Kotsay, are batting under .250 (and Kotsay is not too far above that mark at .263).  We are batting a league worst .236 and that's just unacceptable!  Guys need to start picking it up or else changes should be made sooner rather than later.

Up next for the A's:

The A's have their first day off in two weeks on Monday, which is much needed with all the injuries to the team.  On Tuesday, they start a three games series in Toronto followed by a 3 game series in New York aginst the hated Yankees.  I expect, as I always do, the A's to take both series' with a possible sweep coming in Toronto.  Haren and Blanton need to pitch well and the offense HAS to get better.  See you guys next week.

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.