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Ervin Santana went 7.2 shutout innings and Mike Trout and Albert Pujols paced the Los Angeles Angels’ offense as the Oakland A’s fell 4-0 in Anaheim.

Losing pitcher Bartolo Colon allowed four runs on 12 hits in 6.2 innings while striking out four. He is now 3-4 on the season. The A’s only managed five hits and could not get a big hit with two chances late in the game.

In the sixth inning, the A’s loaded the bases on walks by Cliff Pennington and Josh Reddick and a single by Jemile Weeks. But the threat was ended when Seth Smith struck out. In the eighth inning, the A’s had runners on the corners, but pinch hitter Jonny Gomes grounded out to second. Beyond that, the A’s did not do much against Santana, who struck out nine. 

Good: N/A. Nothing good about being shut out and having your starting pitcher allow 12 hits in less than seven innings.

Bad: Bartolo Colon. He was not terrible, but another uneven start has his earned run average at 4.13. This is more indicative of the pitcher the A’s signed. He is good, but not great.

Ugly: N/A.

Now 19-18, the A’s will head to Arlington to face the Texas Rangers for two games starting Wednesday. Tom Milone will start against Japanese sensation Yu Darvish. First pitch is scheduled for 5:05 p.m.

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Oakland A’s slugger Yoenis Cespedes was scheduled to play in his first game Saturday, since missing four games due to a strain in his left hand.

That plan did not go as the A’s had expected.

Cespedes was not only scratched from the lineup against the Detroit Tigers, but Cespedes was placed on the 15-day disabled list before the game began on Saturday.

Cespedes felt discomfort in his injured left hand after two rounds of batting practice, forcing the scratch and the placement on the DL. The DL stint will be retroactive to May 7th, but there is currently no timetable for his return.

The A’s are hopeful that the injury will get better over the next week, as manager Bob Melvin’s spokesperson told the media, “(Cespedes) took batting practice and was still feeling it a bit, so I wanted to be precautionary with it.”

Cespedes thought he had put the injury behind him. Unfortunately for the A’s, he will be missing at least another week, and they will be missing their team leader in RBI.

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With this type of run support, Tom Milone could win 20 games. After getting nine runs in his last start, the A’s offense gave Milone 11 total runs and thumped the Detroit Tigers 11-4 at the Coliseum.

Josh Reddick went 4-for-4 with two home runs and five total RBI. Brandon Inge added four RBI, including his fifth home run, a three-run blast that busted the game open.

That was more than enough for Milone, who bounced back from a shaky first inning to go seven strong innings. He allowed two runs (one earned) on five hits and struck out six total. 

The A’s responded in the first inning with a Kila Ka’aihue double and Inge singled to right to score him. After that, the offense put up crooked numbers in the third, sixth and seventh innings. Reddick’s first home run and a Seth Smith double made it 4-2 in the third.

The A’s would then score seven runs in the sixth and seventh, buoyed by Reddick’s second home run and Inge’s blast. 

Good: Josh Reddick. Milone was solid, but the night belonged to Reddick. He had two singles and two home runs to raise his average to .292 with eight home runs and 19 RBI. If he stays hot, Reddick could play himself into All-Star consideration.

Bad: Andrew Carignan. I questioned his recall and Carignan struggled in his one inning of relief. He threw 31 pitches (only 13 for strikes) and allowed two runs on two hits and two walks. His earned run average is 8.44 for the year. 

Ugly: Daric Barton. He went 0-for-5 to lower his batting average to .188. There is no reason why he should be starting over Ka’aihue at this point. It just does not make sense. 

Now 17-16, the A’s will send Brandon McCarthy against Detroit’s Doug Fister on Saturday, May 12. First pitch is scheduled for 8:05 p.m. ET. 

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The Oakland A’s put runs on the board early and Jarrod Parker made them stand up. But it took Jordan Norberto to bail out scuffling Grant Balfour as the A’s defeated Boston 5-3 tonight at Fenway Park.

Parker went a solid 6 2/3 innings. He allowed a single run on four hits and two walks while striking out four. The key was getting ahead in the count and Parker threw 59 strikes in 98 pitches.

Up 5-1 in the ninth, Balfour could only record one out before allowing a two-run, bases-loaded single to Boston shortstop Mike Aviles. Norberto entered and struck out pinch hitter Lars Anderson and retired Dustin Pedroia to end the game.

Yoenis Cespedes continued his trend of timely hitting with a one-out RBI single in the first to score Jemile Weeks. In the fourth inning, Cliff Pennington hit a two-out double to center field to score Kurt Suzuki. Weeks followed with a single that plated Kila Ka’aihue and Pennington and would later score himself on a wild pitch by losing pitcher Felix Doubront.

The Red Sox scored their only run off Parker in the bottom of the inning on an RBI ground out by designated hitter David Ortiz.

But the story of the night was Parker, who earned his first major league victory by keeping the Red Sox lineup off balance and spotting his fastball, which varied from 89 to 94 miles per hour. 

Good: Jarrod Parker.

Congrats are in order for his first major league victory. Nights like this make Billy Beane’s offseason moves look smarter and smarter.

Bad: Jonny Gomes.

He was 0-4 with three strikeouts. He has been feast or famine all season as his .189 batting average and .488 slugging percentage can attest.

Ugly: Grant Balfour.

He’s had two blown saves and a shaky outing in a week. His ERA has ballooned to 4.72 and he seems unable to consistently locate his pitches. Not a good formula for late-inning success.

With the win, the A’s improve to 12-13 and will look to even their mark in the finale tomorrow. Brandon McCarthy takes the ball for the A’s and will be opposed by Boston’s Daniel Bard.

First pitch is scheduled for 4:10 p.m. 

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The Oakland A’s are one of the teams that are thankful for the extra wild-card spot in the playoffs.

Although they are still long-shots to make the playoffs, a winning start has boosted fans’ spirits as the season unfolds.

Last season they began the season very similar to this year, by hovering around .500. Their downfall began after they were 27-27.

In the following 14 games they lost all but one, including 10 in a row at one point. The season was all but lost after that run.

This season they have a couple key pieces that might help them stay strong throughout the season.

Bartolo Colon is shaping up to be the A’s ace this season.

Last year they were led by Gio Gonzalez, whose production dissipated after the All-Star break. He was the owner of a 2.47 ERA before the break and a 3.94 ERA after the break.

They will rely on the veteran arm of Colon to stay strong throughout the season and in crunch time.

The biggest piece of this team’s equation is Yoenis Cespedes.

Cespedes is the offensive firepower that the A’s have lacked in previous seasons. Cespedes has a chance to hit 35 or more home runs and be a big threat to other teams.

Last season in Cuba he hit 30 home runs in 90 games.

In the stretch that the A’s lost 13 of 14, they lost nine of the 13 games by three runs or less. The A’s have the pop in the lineup to get those runs back quickly. 

The big question is if he can be more productive than Josh Willingham, who Oakland parted ways with during the offseason. 

What is lost in Willingham’s production from last year (29 home runs, 98 RBI) is that 18 of his 29 home runs came after the All-Star break. The A’s season was lost by that point.

Cespedes will not get the job done by replacing Willingham’s numbers; he will have to surpass them. Most importantly, he will have to put up huge numbers throughout the entire season to help the A’s stay in the race.

These two guys might have a huge say towards the end of the season when the wild-card spots are up for grabs.

Most importantly though, the A’s are exciting fans and putting a quality product on the field.

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The Oakland Athletics have a glaring hole at third base—one that could be filled effectively by Brandon Inge.

The former Detroit Tiger was cut Thursday, ending a 12-year career in the Motor City.

Inge is only a .234 career hitter.

In nine games this season, he’s 2-for-20, and his .100 batting average is well below the Mendoza Line.

Still, there’s a couple of reasons the A’s should take a chance on Inge.

The Current Incumbents Aren’t Great

As of right now, the two players receiving the most repetitions at third base are Eric Sogard and Josh Donaldson.

Donaldson is a converted catcher. He hasn’t manned third base since college, and it’s obvious.

He’s made three errors and owns a .917 fielding percentage.

His hitting is worse.

Donaldson is 3-for-21 (.097). He has just one RBI.

The better option is Sogard, who played second base and some shortstop in Triple-A.

But Sogard is hitting .167/.239/.333.

Luckily, of his seven hits, he’s hit a double and two home runs. He’s also scored six runs.

Defensively, Sogard has two errors. He’s had six less chances to field a ball than Donaldson and nearly the same amount of errors. His fielding percentage is .933.

Then there’s Luke Hughes.

Three errors in two games at third base combined with an 0-for-6 batting average doesn’t make him a feasible option at this point.

Brandon Inge is an upgrade defensively.

He only played in eight games with the Tigers in 2012 before getting cut, but he only made one error. (The error was at second base.)

He’s spent most of his big league experience at third base, and his career fielding percentage is .961 at the hot corner.

The A’s have players who are filling in at third base. They aren’t actually third basemen.

But Inge is the opposite.

He’s a third baseman who has filled in elsewhere as needed constantly throughout his career.

Brandon Inge Could Benefit From a Change of Scenery

Yes, his hitting is atrocious.

But Oakland could be the rebound he needs.

Inge has been under the pressure of losing his job in Detroit for the last several years. He’s been bounced around from position to position. He’s constantly had the prospect of being cut lurking over his shoulder and zero consistency.

Now, he’s just been cut from the team he called home for his entire career.

Questions loom whether this is it for his baseball career. But if he’s not ready, he has to use this as a spark.

No one wants to leave the game hitting .100, cut in April. Most want to leave the game behind on their own terms.

It’s the perfect fit.

One last chance for Inge, and Oakland needs a third baseman. I’m not saying Inge will come in and magically hit .350 and carry the team to the playoffs.

Not even close.

The A’s have only five players hitting above .200. If Inge can man third effectively and hit .230, it’d be a win-win for both sides.

It’s not going to hurt Oakland’s budget any either.

Inge currently makes $5.5 million. Due to being released, Detroit must pay the majority of his contract whether he sits at home or suits up for someone else.

All the A’s have to pay is the pro-rated minimum salary for a veteran of his stature.

Upgrade at defense? Absolutely.

Cheap? Definitely.

Can he hit as well as anyone else on the team? I’m sure he can.

If he can’t, it’s not hurting the A’s any.

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The first step to being successful is getting over .500 and the Oakland Athletics have taken that step. 

The A’s took a 3-1 lead on an Eric Sogard two-run home run and never looked back on Friday night. 

Josh Reddick added a home run for Oakland and finished the game 2-for-4 with two RBI.

Brandon McCarthy picked up his first win of the year. He was solid for seven innings allowing two runs while striking out four and issuing three walks. 

The win gives the A’s an 11-10 record and puts them one game over .500 for the first time since May 18, 2011.

The A’s won despite Yoenis Cespedes having an 0-for-4 night. It has to be encouraging for fans to see the team get a win without the centerpiece of the offense breaking through.

Oakland has the opportunity to pile up wins in the early part of the season and put some distance between themselves and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The A’s are still trailing the Texas Rangers, but are doing their best to keep things close within the division.

It will be hard for them to have a chance in the division with the Rangers great lineup but they certainly still will have a shot at the playoffs.

If the A’s can keep themselves in contention through the first half of the year then they can make a legitimate push for a playoff spot come October.

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The Oakland A’s have not been in the playoffs since the 2006 season. This could have been the year to make it back had they not traded away Gio Gonzalez.

Gonzalez was the ace for the A’s before the offseason trade to the Washington Nationals. Now he is the Nationals’ second ace, behind Stephen Strasburg, and will pitch his fourth game for Washington on Tuesday night. 

Gonzalez has started the season with a 2.04 ERA, a 0.91 WHIP and he has struck out 21 and only walked five. 

Gonzalez has been a major contributor to the NL East-leading Nationals, and he could have had the same effect on Oakland if they did not make the trade.

Oakland has started the season under .500, but where would they be with Gonzalez still on the team?

Assuming that Oakland still would have signed Bartolo Colon, they would have had a very good front three in their rotation with Gonzalez, Brandon McCarthy and Colon.

Last season Oakland was 74-88 with Gonzalez. It looks as though the A’s are a better team this season and would be a playoff contender if they had that one big pitcher to compliment Colon.

The additional wild card spot would have given the A’s a better chance to make the playoffs this season if they still had their ace on the staff. Without Gonzalez, this team does not appear to have enough weapons to keep their heads above water in 2012.

The back end of their rotation is unproven and will not be able to carry this team to the playoffs. They might come close this season but they will be one ace short.

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After tonight’s game against the Cleveland Indians, the Oakland Athletics will be 16 games into the season, putting Oakland only 34 games away from Manny Ramirez’s return to Major League Baseball.

The way I see it, the Athletics need to begin preparing their players now for Ramirez’s return. I say that because, with the way the roster is set up right now, some rather drastic lineup shuffling will be necessary when Ramirez touches down in Oakland.

For example, Ramirez would operate well in both as a designated hitter and an outfielder.

Without Ramirez, the Athletics have four possible designated hitters (Jonny Gomes, Yoenis Cespedes, Josh Reddick and Seth Smith) as well as five outfield candidates (Gomes, Cespedes, Reddick, Smith and Coco Crisp).

For those scoring at home, that’s too many people for the available spots on the field and in the lineup, without Ramirez. Adding an explosive talent like Ramirez complicates things.

Having established the need for some lineup changes upon Ramirez’s arrival, I am going to periodically put out there what I think the lineup should look like, starting with right now. Here is the lineup, with an explanation to follow.

1. 2B, Jemile Weeks

2. SS, Cliff Pennington

3. DH, Manny Ramirez 

4. CF, Yoenis Cespedes

5. LF, Jonny Gomes

6. RF, Josh Reddick

7. C, Kurt Suzuki

8. 1B, Seth Smith

9. 3B, Daric Barton

(Before you go to bashing, let the record show that I slaved over this. A lot. And will continue to slave over it as this series of columns continues. Maybe I should get another hobby…)

Weeks and Pennington were the clear choices both for their positions and lineup spots. I feel like Ramirez will get more hits and RBI than Cespedes will, therefore he’s in the 3-hole over Cespedes. Besides, now that Cespedes is getting comfortable in the cleanup spot, I feel hesitant to make him go through more changes than he already has, with the new league and new country.

I put Gomes in the No. 5 spot because he’s hot. I could see him moving down if he cools down and gets to a more consistent level of baseball. He is in left field because Coco Crisp is cold as ice at the moment, and therefore not in the lineup. When Crisp starts hitting the ball, he will probably return to his spot in LF.

Reddick is in the 6-hole mostly because he has the potential to hit Gomes to third or even score him when he gets on first, and can easily score him from second. I like the idea of getting good RBI possibilities in the 3-6 spots instead of the 3-5 spots.

Suzuki is hitting the ball better than Smith and Barton at the moment, moving him up to the seventh spot. The fielding alignments here are a little crazy, however. Eric Sogard is out of this lineup, either a bench player or moved down to Triple-A.

In taking Sogard out of the lineup, I am not giving up on the Sogard project. I would like to option a different player to Triple-A and keep Sogard to give certain guys relief in days off. But, as of right now, he is the one that gets bumped out of the lineup if Ramirez were inserted.

This opens up the third base slot, which Barton fits best since he played a couple games for Oakland at third base in 2008. That is a long time ago, I am aware, but Barton’s fielding is good enough that I feel like the move would be like riding a bike for him.

If he were to work on fielding at third base and getting reps at that position in practices and pregame workouts, I am confident Barton would prove to be a good third baseman.

Smith replaced Barton at first for two reasons. No. 1, I wanted his bat in the lineup. Smith can do good things for the A’s at the plate and I did not want to waste him on the bench. No. 2, he’s 6’3″, a good height for a first baseman. Plus he’s a lefty, which also works well for that position.

Columns like this one work best with feedback, so don’t hesitate to comment on the column and get the debate going. For more MLB writings from Brett, check his BleacherReport writer profile and follow him on Twitter, @BrettH_MLB 

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This weekend, the Oakland Athletics will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the organization’s 1972 World Series championship, as part of their three-game series hosting the Cleveland Indians. The highlight of the weekend will be the fan giveaway for Saturday’s matinee—a Rollie Fingers bobblehead doll, featuring his awesome signature handlebar moustache.

Renowned for his famous facial hair, Fingers also happened to have a Hall-of-Fame career as one of the first premier relievers in baseball history and clearly the most successful in the redefined role of the modern closer. His excellence on the field not only revolutionized the role of the closer in modern baseball, but it also paved the way for a long line of great closers in Oakland Athletics team history.

In honor of Fingers’ illustrious career and all the wonderful closers over the past 40 years of A’s baseball, let’s take a look at eight of the greatest closers in Oakland team history.

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