2008 Oakland A's Picks & Predictions
May 22, 2008
Oddsmakers have the A’s listed as a long shot to win the AL Central after dealing away Haren and Swisher. Find out if they could still be a sleeper in this 2008 Oakland A’s predictions article.
Pitching
Oakland had one of the finest rotations in the AL just a few seasons ago. They dealt Barry Zito to the Giants before the 2007 season and now they will enter the 2008 season without ace Dan Haren, who will also move over to the NL to see if he can help Arizona win the World Series. Joe Blanton will now inherit the title of Oakland’s number one. Blanton has been solid with the A’s averaging 14 win per year in his three full seasons with them. The big question is how he’ll perform with the added pressure of being considered the team’s ace. The A’s desperately need Rich Harden to step up. He has started only 16 games the past two seasons due to injuries. When he’s been healthy, he’s been good with a 31-18 record for the A’s. Chad Gaudin did a solid job making the transition from reliever to starter but he will have to show that he is recovered from offseason hip surgery.
Houston Street is a fine closer, but he too underwent injury problems in 2007, missing almost two months of action. It appears the A’s will have one of the weaker pens in baseball as they use some relievers to fill in the starting gaps.
Offense
Second baseman Mark Ellis is an underrated force. The guy has been around, but he registered career highs in homeruns and RBIs last season. The A’s need him to threaten 20 bombs and 80 RBIs again in 2008. Eric Chavez is really the only All-Star quality stick, but he has caught the injury bug each of the past two seasons. Jack Cust came out of nowhere to slug 26 homeruns and add 82 RBIs last season. If his numbers prove to be a fluke, Oakland will be in even more trouble than they thought. Bobby Crosby is a former AL Rookie of the Year but injuries have really cut down on his games the past two seasons. Health is going to be critical in 2008 or Oakland could really get beaten up on.
Defense
A middle infield of Mark Ellis and Bobby Crosby sounds good on paper, but injuries to Crosby each of the past two seasons haven’t given it very much time to shine. Chavez is a six-time Gold Glover at third and the A’s think they have a good one at the other corner in Daric Barton. The outfield is sure to have some problems with the amount of youngsters that will be jockeying for spots this season. Catcher is another week spot defensively with Kurt Suzuki throwing out only seven of 36 base stealers.
Without Haren and without much pop in the lineup, I can’t see the A’s getting out of the AL West cellar in 2008. Right now, the Haren deal looks like a bad one, but hopefully the lot of prospects gained will pan out and this club will be able to get back to the top. Check out the rest of my AL West predictions to see where the rest of the division will fill in.
Odds to win AL West: 10/1
Odds to win 2008 AL Pennant: 40/1
Odds to win 2008 World Series: 65/1
AL West
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