Oakland A's 2002 Season Preview

by James Floto

How many low budget teams could lose a player who was the MVP in 2000, put together another MVP-type season last year, and still be considered a red-hot contender? I don't know. Not too many, but the Oakland A's are one that intends on doing just that. Although Maddux and Glavine are still as good as any one-two starting punch in baseball, the A's have a triumverate of dazzling young pitchers reminiscent of the Braves' glory days of the mid-'90s. In fact, the A's Big Three--Tim Hudson (18-9, following two 20-win seasons), Mark Mulder (21-8) and Barry Zito (17-8) are just entering their prime and should become even better. At 26, Hudson is the dean of this remarkable crew, Mulder is 25 and Zito turns 24 in May. Add to them the surprising Cory Liddle (13-6) and this is a staff that can make any team a contender. All four of these starters were among the top 10 in ERA.

While it is going to be difficult to replace Jason Giambi (.342, 38, 120, .477 OBP, .660 SLG), the A's have three young hitting stars, 3B Eric Chavez (.288, 32, 114), SS Miguel Tejada (.267, 31, 113) and CF Terrence Long (.283, 12, 85) who are, respecitvely 25, 26 and 26 years old. Like the Big Three starting pitchers, they are just reaching their prime. Each has improved his offense numbers over the past few years and each one is capable of doing more damage this season. That would take up some the slack right there. If Tejada could learn more discipline at the plate, he would be the equal, offensively, of any shortstop in the game -- he's close now. RF Jermaine Dye, acquired from KC before 2001, is also a run producer, with an impressive .282, 26, 109 line last year. At 6-5, 200 he is an imposing figure, and at 28 he should be right in his prime. Giambi's younger brother Jason has improved each year, and last year, the DH-LF had as many as 371 ABs for the first time, he hit .283, with 12 homers and 57 RBI, posting a .391 OBP. Although he will never be the superstar Jason is, at 6 feet, 200 lbs. and 28 years old he is another Athletic who could produce some of the runs that will be missed due to his brother's absence.

Billy Beane is one of the most canny GMs in the game. He has developed a reputation for building this club with homegrown talent (with the exception of Dye, Jeremy and Liddle, all the players discussed so far matriculated out of the A's rich farm system.) Two 2002 prospects are already earning rave reviews, OF Eric Byrnes and pitcher Mario Ramos, a left-handed finesse pitcher who many think will snag the number five spot in the rotation in this, his rookie year. Byrnes is one of those players who has a stronger work ethic than he does natural skills, but in just a few months last year went from an iffy fourth outfielder to a spot on the post-season roster. Also 26, Byrnes is a good match with the players on this club who are just reaching their prime and he is thought to have 20-home run power.

Beane also has a reputation for finding undervalued players at bargain prices. Veteran second baseman Randy Velarde has had only four seasons in a 15 year career in which he had enough ABs to qualify for the batting title and two of them were with the A's: 1999, when he had his career year, .317 on 200 hits, 16 homers and 105 runs scored (actually, he played half that season with the Angels), and 2000, when he hit .278. Last year they dealt him to Texas, confident that rookie 2B Jose Ortiz would develop in the Tejada-Chavez mold. Instead, Ortiz bombed and was dealt to Colorado, allowing the scrappy Frank Menechino to take over. Velarde is back for 2002 and at 39 will share 2B duties with Menechino (an old fashioned good field-no hit second sacker) and be the veteran presence the club needs with cheerleader and mentor Jason Giambi gone. Velarde taught Tejada a lot about fielding during his first tour with the A's and may put the finishing polish on Tejada's fielding game. Miguel plays as spectacular a shortstop as anyone in the game, but when he misses the ball, he misses it equally spectacularly. Meanwhile, Beane brought in another veteran, DH/LF David Justice, who is still a dangerous low fastball hitter. He slipped to part-time status with the Yanks last year, but is only a year away from a 41 homer, 118 RBI season in 2000. At 36, he still thinks he can play full time and contribute and he, too, is looked at to replace some of Giambi's power numbers.

As for the fire department, if you have to lose closer Jason Isringhausen to free agency, you are doing pretty well if you can pick up Toronto free agent Billy Koch. Along with agressive setup man Jeff Tam (70 GP, 3.01 ERA) and veteran middle reliever Jim Mecir, Koch and his bullpen mates ought to be able to keep the strong young starters, who generally go 5, 6, even 7 innings per start, in the win column. Beane also acquired two veteran southpaw relievers, Mike Magnante and Mike Holtz, both solid pitchers.

Catcher Ramon Hernandedz is yet another young star. Although he has only average offensive stats (.254, 15, 60), he is one of the most underrated defensive catchers in the game. As well as having a good strong arm and above average footwork, his strong suit is handling his young staff. When they get into a jam, he has the ability to get them back into focus, especially the high strung Barry Zito, a southpaw with one of the best curves in the game. Greg Myers, who has spent his entire 14-year career as a backup catcher, was signed to continue in that role. Finally, they snagged Scott Hatteburg, an experienced role player who can catch, play first or DH.

The A's, then, have a solid core of young stars who will be the every day starters, with lots of veteran back-up players on the bench. It's a shame that the A's owners, Bay Area realtors Hoffman and Schott, are such tightwads. Wisely, Beane signed Hudson, Mulder, Zito, Tejada, Chavez, Long and Hernandez to long term contracts--contracts that will keep this exciting young team together until they start reaching free agency in a few years. Then, they will probably start walking off into the sunset, as all these young men can command much higher salaries than the A's ownership is willing to give up. A couple of years ago, the A's were for sale, and two groups, one of which included Joe Morgan, made serious offers and it looked like the A's would get the influx of capital they need to remain contenders, a la the Indians of the '90s. Somehow the offers got lost in the quagmire of major league baseball politics. Likewise, for years it has been rumored that the A's will move, some stories having them going to Las Vegas, others having them remain in the Bay Area but further away from the Giants long marketing arm, like San Jose. But the Giants consider San Jose their territory and nothing has come of that proposal, either. The idea of the move is that in spite of the cheapskate owners, their attendance figures would soar (even with the great A's team of the early '70s--Vida Blue, Reggie, Catfish-- and the late '80s-early '90s--Stewart, Bash Bros., Hendersons--Oakland has never have drawn very well. Oakland is a football town.)

So, barring an attack of common sense and good will, the A's will schlep along, developing talent, maybe even reaching a World Series this year or next (they made the playoffs each of the past two seasons), and then they will have to try and trade off their young stars before losing them to free agency. It is also likely that Beane will eventually move on to a team where he has more financial freedom.

Meanwhile, A's fans can look forward to another 100-win season this year.

Ten Years Ago...

Our A's Preview from April 1992, by James Floto:

Strength and weaknesses: Go out in the ocean in a Boston Whaler and watch it capsize; that is what the Oakland A's are like: A good boat with a major leak. I have seen them picked everywhere from 1st to 7th, usually 2nd or 3rd. The team lots of people love to hate: they have Canseco and Henderson. O.K. What would Canseco and Henderson do for your favorite team? They don't all of a sudden look so bad, right? Add to the mix the cool Dave "Hendu" Henderson, Terry Steinbach - a .270 hitter who catches Stewart, Moore and Welch, Eckereley (and a bunch of erratic youngsters), Mark McGwire (wanna bet he goes back up to 30 homers this year?), the return of Carney Lansford and Walt Weiss, as well as injured relief aces Honeycutt and Nelson.

Stew is a question, with his bad ribs and new-found delivery problems, Welch is out for part of the year and Mike Gallego will be sorely missed, but they have Bordick and Borsius, Slusarski and Van Poppel on the way. Harold Baines is a pretty decent DH, eh wot? Willie Wilson as a reserve(294 at bats, 20 steals), and soulful Randy Ready.

Outlook: The odds are that not all the players who didn't come through last year will come back at once, but some of them will, and some of the kids who were rushed up last year benefitted by their trial by fire ("Hi, I'm Joe Slusarski from the Tacoma club and I'm here to replace Dave Stewart.").

Perspective: The A's are stacking up a dreary record of letting key players disappear, then having them help other clubs: Dave Parker, Tony Phillips, Scott Sanderson, and probably Gags this season. Never count this team out, though, and Stewart, Baines, Moore, Steinbach and McGwire are potential free agents after '92, so look for some good years from the heart of the team.

Further comments: Mr. Consistency: Back-up catcher Jamie Quirk hit .261 for the year, on the road, at home, before and after the break.