If the Yankees win one more game or the Athletics lose one more game, Oakland will be completely eliminated from the playoff race. What's the probability of either one of those two things happening, let alone both? Zero.

The Good

Joe Blanton and Dan Haren have been about as good a 1-2 as can be found in the big leagues. Although Haren has seen his ERA go up for 17 straight starts, that's more a testament to how great he was to start the year than anything else. On June 9th, Haren's ERA was a measly 1.58. Since then, he has posted a 4.23 ERA, which puts him at the 3.11 ERA he has for the season. Their pitching staff can again thank their defense for good support in the field, led by Mark Ellis. Ellis continues to be one of the most underrated second baseman in the game. He doesn't consistently put up good numbers offensively, sitting at .276/.339/.440, but he does a great job in the field.

On the offensive side of things, Nick Swisher continues to be one of the best picks from the Moneyball draft. Several of last year's home runs have turned into doubles this year, but he improved his on-base percentage to .385, demonstrating the disciplined Oakland A approach at the plate. However, his disciplined approach is topped by midseason acquisition Jack Cust, who is currently hitting .257/.401/.510. Observers are quickly turned off by Cust's strikeouts (141 strikeouts in 343 at bats), and that has limited his opportunities to prove himself at the big leagues. Getting his first shot at more than 100 plate appearances in the majors, Cust has proven that he can hit at this level. His horrible defense makes him more of a DH than an outfielder, but Cust is a good example of just another way Billy Beane has been able to find inefficiencies in the player market.

The other positive happened on July 16. Not only did the A's find a taker for Jason Kendall and his .226/.261/.281 line, they got actual talent back in Jerry Blevins and Rob Bowen. In addition, it freed up a spot so that they could find out what they have in Kurt Suzuki, and Suzuki looks to be their long-term solution behind the plate.

The Bad

Injuries hit this team hard, but that shouldn't have been much of a surprise to A's fans. Injuries are one thing that Eric Chavez, Bobby Crosby, Mark Kotsay, Rich Harden, and Mike Piazza have had in common in their careers. If they can ever keep their talent on the field, the Athletics would have a really good team.

Looking Forward

In terms of talent, the Athletics have what it takes to field a contender. It is all a matter of whether or not they can actually keep their talent on the field. Their trainers have a disadvantage in terms of what they have to work with, but they could be the difference makers for the A's going forward. As far as preparing the roster for next season, Billy Beane and company just need to make sure they have adequate replacements for the sure-fire injuries that will take place.

We're back with another shot at the fantasy positional rankings, starting up again with catchers. I looked at my past leagues to find that it takes about 18 runs, 7 home runs, 18 runs batted in, 13 stolen bases, and .002 points in batting average to move a spot in each category. For catchers, the replacement level is updated to 57 runs, 14 home runs, 60 runs batted in, 2 stolen bases, and a .278 batting average.

First Tier
1. Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins
Mauer tops the list with a huge advantage in runs and batting average while being above average in RBI and SB.

Second Tier
2. Brian McCann, Atlanta Braves
McCann broke out last year, displaying big power numbers for a catcher. He should be good for an advantage in runs, home runs, runs batted in, and batting average.

Third Tier
3. Victor Martinez, Cleveland Indians
Martinez doesn't quite keep up with McCann as he hits for a lower average with fewer home runs.

Fourth Tier
4. Kenji Johjima, Seattle Mariners
5. Michael Barrett, Chicago Cubs
After looking at the numbers, I've decided that I was ranking Barrett much too low and have bumped up to fifth. While Barrett was having a great season, Johjima proved that he was able to come from Japan and produce as they both provide a good supply of runs, RBI, and AVG.

Fifth Tier
6. Ramon Hernandez, Baltimore Orioles
7. Ivan Rodriguez, Detroit Tigers
Hernandez and Rodriguez will produce an average number of runs and RBI. But while Hernandez gives slightly more home runs, the difference is offset by Pudge's ability to steal bases and hit for average.

Sixth Tier
8. Jorge Posada, New York Yankees
9. Mike Piazza, Oakland Athletics
10. Jason Varitek, Boston Red Sox
11. Russell Martin, Los Angeles Dodgers
12. Ronny Paulino, Pittsburgh Pirates

All five of these guys are very close to replacement level. While Varitek might as well take the title Replacement Fantasy Catcher as he is at replacement level across the board, the other four have advantages and disadvantages that should be considered if you are choosing between them. Each of them has some advantages: Posada - R, RBI; Piazza - HR, RBI; Martin - R, SB; and Paulino - AVG. These advantages are offset by their weaknesses: Posada - AVG; Piazza - R, AVG; Martin - HR, RBI; and Paulino - HR. All things considered, these five catchers have similar value in your typical fantasy league.

Seventh Tier
13. A.J. Pierzynski, Chicago White Sox
14. Miguel Olivo, Florida Marlins
15. Paul Lo Duca, New York Mets
16. Bengie Molina, San Francisco Giants

Pierzynski is just slightly below the Varitek (replacement) level across the board. Olivo's extra stolen bases are severely offset by his low batting average, Lo Duca's lack of power places him in this category, and Molina's plodding on the basepaths limits his run scoring ability. These limitations drops these four guys into the top of the list of replacement players.

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That's the initial list. Again, I'll take any comments, complains, suggestions, etc. into consideration for a future revision of the list.

 

Before delving into the rankings, I'd like to let you know the format I am using. Although I am listing them in a ranking format, I am going to stress that I am not so worried about the individual rankings. (i.e. shouldn't Player A be listed ahead of Player B?) What am I looking for? Putting guys into groupings. This approach will demonstrate where there is a drop-off at positions. In this way, you have a better idea of when you should draft a particular position. If there is only one player in a tier at 3B and four players left in a tier at 2B, it's probably a better idea to grab the 3B. Keep in mind I'd like to hear differing opinions about players, especially if you think I've severely over- or under-rated him. Now we begin behind the plate...

1st Tier

1. Joe Mauer

2. Brian McCann

3. Victor Martinez

2nd Tier

4. Russell Martin

5. Kenji Johjima

3rd Tier

6. Ivan Rodriguez

7. A.J. Pierzynski

8. Ramon Hernandez

9. Jorge Posada

10. Michael Barrett

11. Mike Piazza

4th Tier

12. Jason Varitek

13. Gerald Laird

14. Rod Barajas

5th Tier

15. David Ross

16. Dioner Navarro

Feel free to comment and I might change things around if you convince me. The list might be a changing list to become more of a consensus listing.