Although it didn't come out in the order I had predicted, the A's still finished the week with a 4-2 record good enough to put them in a tie atop the AL West with the Texas Rangers at 22-21.  Oakland ended up sweeping the Mariners but then went on to drop 2 of 3 to the Giants.

In game 1 of the Seattle series, Oakland came out swinging, scoring 12 runs on 16 hits, and went on to win 12-6 as Joe Blanton once again upstaged King Felix, giving up only 2 runs over 7 innings.  In game 2, Barry Zito continued his hot streak as he went 7 innings while giving up no runs.  In game 3, the A's got another solid pitching performance, this time coming from Kirk Sarloos and the bullpen.  Sarloos went 6 2/3 innings while giving up only 1 earned run.

In comes Barry Bonds and the media fiasco.  In game 1, Dan Haren came out and shut down Bonds and the Giants as he threw 8 innings of shutout ball and Huston Street came in to earn the save with a perfect 9th.  In game 2, Barry got 714 in his first AB and the Giants went on to win 4-2 with 2 runs off of Kiko Calero in the top of the 10th.  The A's bats remained quiet as they lost 6-0 in game 3 as Matt Cain threw a one hit shutout.

What I liked last week:

---  Oakland starting pitching dealing.  No Oakland starter, with the exception of Joe Blanton in the final game of the Giants series, went fewer than 6 2/3 innings and gave up more than 2 earned runs in any start last week.  With the Oakland offense still struggling and with all the injuries, the starters will need to pick up the slack and they did a wonderful job last week.

---  Team getting a little healthier.  Eric Chavez and Frank Thomas were both back in the lineup to finish the week.  Their bats were sorely missed during their dry spell last week and with games vs. offensive powerhouses (CWS and TEX) this week, their bats will be a welcome addition.  Also, both Esteban Loaiza and Rich Harden are starting to throw off the mound again with Loaiza being a little ahead of Harden in terms of returning to Oakland, both are at least a couple of weeks away.

---  Bats getting a little warmer.  Mark Kotsay led the way last week as he went 10 for 25 (.400) and Jay Payton wasn't far behind as he went 9 for 23 (.391).  Even Dan Johnson started to hit a little bit as he went 4 for 14 (.286) in the 4 games he started in last week.  As the bodies continue to heal the weather continues to heat up, I expect the A's bats to do the same.  These guys all have track records that suggest they are better than this and it's only a matter of time before the start hitting like they can.

What I didn't like last week:

---  Other than the fact that Kendall was in the lineup for 5 of the 6 games last week, tere wasn't too much that I didn't like.  I thought we played well and just ran into an unlucky game in game 2 vs. the Giants and an outstanding pitching performance in game 3.  Our bullpen may have let us down in game 2 vs. the Giants but they have been pretty steady overall considering all the injuries they have sustained.  Ellis did not play on Sunday and although they say he's day-to-day, that's a concern.

Up next for the A's:

Today they continue their marathon of 20 games in 20 days as they travel to Chicago to face the White Sox for a 3 game series followed by trip to Arlington for a 4 game series against our division rivals, the Texas Rangers.  This is going to be a tough week for the A's as both the White Sox and Rangers are playing well but I expect the A's to take both series'.  I expect Zito to win both of his games this week and I expect Haren to win his in game 3 vs. the Sox.  As for the Rangers, I still don't believe that they are contenders so I think the A's take that sereis.  How's 5-2 for the week sound?  See you guys next week.

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.

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.