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Oakland Atheltics General Manager Billy Beane got into the act of big trades before the World Series even got started. He stepped into the middle of the Miami Marlins trying to dump Heath Bell and walked away with Chris Young in exchange for virtually nothing.

Re-energized by the Division Title and possibly by Moneyball being on BlueRay, Billy Beane is looking to make the defending American League West Champions even better in 2013.

The Young trade has given the A’s a surplus of talented outfielders. According to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, Billy Beane has no intention of trading Josh Reddick, Coco Crisp, Seth Smith, Yoenis Cespedes or Young.

But of course he will deal one of them, because there are too many teams that could use a solid outfielder and Beane is too clever to say something like “Man, I got to get rid of at least one of these guys. Let’s hear some offers.”

Coco Crisp seems like the most likely player to be moved due to his contract. But according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, Billy Beane seems to want Crisp in Oakland. “Everybody knows how important this guy is to this team,” Beane said of Crisp, adding he “is a personal favorite of mine.”

Reddick or Smith could be used in a trade for either bullpen depth of a starting infielder.

But why not Cespedes? If the objective of a trade is to get the maximum value in return, Cespedes would be the most attractive trade chip.

The Cuban defector, who had a star rookie year in Oakland, will be 27 years old next season. He is a right-handed slugger with some speed and a flair for the dramatic.

He his .292 with an OPS of .861, 23 homers and 82 RBI in 129 games his rookie year. He also stole 16 bags.

Most contenders would covet a bat like that, especially one that will be under contract for the next three seasons at a total of $28 million.

But there are some red flags. He has some wrist issues as well as hand and hamstring problems and is not a very good defensive center fielder.

That being said, his trade value is at its peak right now. And last year Beane showed the advantage of making a potentially risky trade of a young player.

In 2011, the A’s looked like they were building around young pitchers like Gio Gonzalez, Andrew Bailey and Trevor Cahill. Bailey was 27, Gonzalez was 25 and Cahill was only 23. It looked like a solid pitching foundation.

Beane instead traded all three when teams were willing to give up more for them. In the process he acquired Ryan Cook, Tommy Milone, Derek Norris, Jarrod Parker and Josh Reddick, among other minor leaguers.

The A’s would have depth in the outfield and might pick up the infielder and reliever to give them the team that would repeat as Division Champions for Cespedes.

He might never be worth more than he is now. It would be worth hearing at least what the offers are.

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Coco Crisp boosted the Oakland A’s early on, giving them a lead four pitches into the game. Then, the A’s couldn’t do anything right on offense.

Despite struggling to keep his pitch count to a minimum, Justin Verlander struck out 11 through seven strong innings as the Detroit Tigers beat the A’s 3-1 in Game 1 of the ALDS. Verlander picked up the win, while Jarrod Parker, who allowed three runs (two earned) in over six innings, took the loss.

Parker made an error that brought home a run for the Tigers, and he allowed a home run to Alex Avila. Despite having decent stats for the game, he didn’t pitch well. A lot of good contact was made, and his defense made some nice plays behind him. Yoenis Cespedes couldn’t make a great play on the ball that Avila hit, though. Parker made one of many mistakes, and Avila pounced.

He threw a high fastball, and Avila hit it the opposite way. It was a first-pitch meatball, right in Avila’s wheelhouse (it was right over the plate, too). The ball went over the left field fence for a home run, doubling Detroit’s lead.

Parker allowed two early hits to Austin Jackson and Quintin Berry to start the game, before inducing a double play to Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera. However, it brought home the tying run and negated Crisp’s home run.

Verlander woke up after his mistakes, although it took him a lot of pitches. He made some mistakes early, but he took advantage of a large strike zone, got ahead of counts and finished off hitters. He settled in during the middle innings, striking out five batters total in the sixth and seventh innings. More than half of the outs he got were by way of the strikeout, which isn’t rare for Verlander.

Joaquin Benoit came in during the eighth, and he struggled. Cespedes singled and Brandon Moss hit the first pitch he saw to deep right field. However, Andy Dirks caught it at the warning track, as Moss just got under the pitch.

Jose Valverde, who is known as an exciting but erratic closer, located his pitches and struck out two batters while jamming George Kottaras on a pop-up to finish off the game.

In the third, Berry hit a slow grounder to the right side, and Parker fielded it. He flipped the ball to first base only to realize no one was there.

Omar Infante rushed home with the go-ahead run, although a spectacular running catch by Cliff Pennington allowed Parker to escape further damage. Parker got a lot of help from his defense, as they made three great plays behind him.

It wasn’t enough for the A’s to win, though. There weren’t many bright spots aside from the defense in this game, but Pat Neshek was one of them. His son lived less than 24 hours and died suddenly Wednesday night, which deeply saddened Neshek, his family, the A’s, MLB and the baseball world. However, he bounced back and was able to pitch.

He did well, too, which was great for the team. Unfortunately for the A’s, it wasn’t enough. They failed to figure out Verlander, who was able to throw heat in the later innings and stop the A’s while keeping his bullpen fresh. They couldn’t capitalize on a chance against Benoit, and they couldn’t start a rally against Valverde, who isn’t known for 1-2-3 innings.

They’ve been doing it all year, but they couldn’t do it against the Tigers. Will it matter? Will they learn from their mistakes? What’s next for the A’s?

Those are all reasonable questions, and they will probably be answered in Game 2. However, if the A’s can’t start capitalizing on chances, if they can’t stop striking out (they went down 14 times by way of the strikeout) and if they can’t figure out Verlander (who will start Game 5 if there is one), this magical season may come to an end.

This article was originally published on Golden Gate Sports.

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Last night, the Oakland Coliseum was rocking. And no, it wasn’t for the Raiders.

Because of their improbable, amazing second-half run, the Athletics had finally earned the fan support they strived for. It seemed inevitable that the A’s were going to miss the playoffs, especially after entering the All-Star break with a 43-43 record.

Oh, and September wasn’t going to be very kind to the A’s, either.

However, the A’s dominated in July and August, excelling in close games. They didn’t limp through September, when everyone thought they would crumble. The Rangers, Angels, Orioles, Tigers and Yankees were among the teams who faced the A’s, and Oakland dominated in those games.

Their poor hitting didn’t stop them. Their lack of experience didn’t stop them. Actually, nothing stopped them. Now they are in the playoffs, and they are just two wins away from winning the AL West. 

In their game last night against the Rangers, Grant Balfour, Oakland’s inexperienced closer, threw a nasty, cut fastball. It hit 97 mph, and it was enough to fan Mike Napoli. Balfour struck out the side in the ninth, mixing his high heat with his nasty slider to KO the Rangers.

A whole city erupted with joy. Everyone in the country smiled. The A’s did it. A team without much talent or money came through in the clutch, just like the 2002 team that had a movie and book dedicated to them.

A’s fans were clamoring to bring in top prospects and make a big trade. After all, the Rangers and Angels were in their division, the Orioles and White Sox were doing well and the Red Sox were sure to make a run at the playoffs (they didn’t, though). And how could you count out the Rays, who had made an improbable run in 2011.

Then, their offense exploded against the Twins, as they swept Minnesota. The Rangers took the first of a two-game set, but a walk-off home run from Brandon Hicks propelled the A’s to a win in the second game.

The Yankees were next, and that was the series that changed the season for the 47-44 A’s. They won four consecutive one-run games, capping it off with a comeback win. Seth Smith hit a tying home run in the ninth, and Coco Crisp capped off the sweep with a walk-off hit.

Balfour, Ryan Cook and Brandon McCarthy were sure to stay in Oakland. The fans got into it. Everyone started talking about the A’s. Eventually, they climbed into the playoff race, winning nine straight at one point. Now, the team with 14 walk-offs is headed to the playoffs.

Despite having Cliff Pennington (or Adam Rosales), Derek Norris and Josh Donaldson in their lineup, Oakland’s offense exploded. Yoenis Cespedes performed well, Brandon Moss always came up with clutch hits, Crisp and Stephen Drew got on base a lot at the top of the order, Donaldson exceeded expectations while replacing Brandon Inge at third base and much, much more happened.

Jarrod Parker won 13 games while getting the win in the clincher and pitching like an ace, especially with the pressure elevated. Balfour, Cook and Sean Doolittle became a formidable relief trio, while Tommy Milone, Travis Blackley and A.J Griffin exceeded expectations as inexperienced rookies.

Now, the lights are shining even brighter. Blackley and Griffin are in charge of winning the AL West for Oakland, which would make them the top seed. Even if they can’t, there will be a one-game playoff at Camden Yards, Yankee Stadium or the Coliseum. 

Playing in Yankee Stadium would frighten most young, inexperienced teams. But the A’s aren’t like those teams. They come up with big hits, key pitches and great performances. Usually, that leads to wins. It has certainly led to wins in the second half, where Oakland is 49-25.

Oakland has power, pitching and clutch hitting. This formula has been amazingly successful in the second half, and Bob Melvin has helped. He has mixed and matched his team to perfection, and his strategy is working perfectly.

Can the A’s continue their magical run? Certainly. The teams around them won’t overwhelm the A’s. They’ve had success against the Yankees, Rangers and Orioles, and the Tigers are definitely beatable.

Parker will have to pitch like an ace and continue to hit his spots. Griffin will have to keep his magic going. Blackley will have to piece together a decent performance, and Milone will, too. Balfour will have to be as dominant as he was against the Rangers, and Doolittle and Cook will need to lock down the seventh and eighth innings.

But in all honesty, there’s no limit for the A’s. They are a great team, they play the game the right way and they come up clutch. So, while it might seem like the A’s are going to falter, they won’t. Because they aren’t going to back down. So unless the A’s are outplayed, they won’t lose. What does that mean?

It means that the A’s can win the World Series.

This article was originally published on Golden Gate Sports. 

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When people mention the name of Oakland A’s general manager, Billy Beane, many adjectives follow: Overrated, brilliant, shrewd and ring-less are a few. And while there are those who may never give Beane the credit he deserves for having built a solid small-market playoff contender during the 2000s, the job he has done in 2012 simply cannot be overstated.

Understand, the A’s were simply supposed to be a bad rebuilding team working towards a new stadium in Oakland or elsewhere. It was expected that their nucleus would not be solidified until at least 2014, and this was supposed to be the year when the bottom finally fell out completely to allow the A’s to reload through the MLB Draft like the Washington Nationals and Tampa Bay Rays.

Instead, the Oakland A’s sit on top of the American League Wild Card and a mere four games from the top of the AL West standings. Much has been made of this story, but considering that Beane made moves that all seemed to shake in Oakland’s favor, it is high time he is given the credit due for turning this team into a mostly unlikely playoff contender.

The moves Beane made have turned a middling franchise into the talk of baseball. And here are his best of 2012 and why he should be Executive of the Year.

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As the 2012 MLB season trickles down to the final stretch, a handful of teams are seeking playoff berths, while others seek vacation destinations following game 162. 

For the first time since 2006, the Oakland Athletics are putting their postseason paradises on hold. 

Oakland’s midseason surge peaked in July during the 19-5 stint and has yet to fully subside. 

Boasting a 31-14 record since the All-Star Break break, Bob Melvin’s Athletics have patched up their 2012 season quilt with variations of miscellaneous fabrics—and boy, is it warm. 

Following the series-opening 20-2 demolition of the Boston Red Sox, the A’s preserve the top spot in the AL wild card race in front of the Baltimore Orioles on the shoulders of these second-half standouts. 

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Do not be fooled by the logjam in the American League Wild Card standings.

Although there are five teams within 2.5 games of each other for that Wild Card play in game, in reality this is about three teams: the Detroit Tigers, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the Tampa Bay Rays.

That is all you see on the sports networks; that is all you hear on the radio. 

Except there are still 38 games to play for the surprising Oakland A’s, who have managed to win in ways that would surprise even the most faithful fan, still just 0.5 games out of those standings. Like the other surprise team in this picture (Baltimore), the A’s face a daunting September schedule that looms as a potential derailment on the playoff train.

That said, the A’s fortunes will largely hinge on how much of a cushion they can give themselves as they embark on the next 16 games of their season.

Starting tonight against the Kansas City Royals, the A’s play four teams with a combined record of 30 games under .500 in 2012. Even though 10 of the 16 are away from the Coliseum, the A’s will have to win in double figures to position themselves for the playoffs.

Let’s start with the Royals.

At 49-65, it has been another long year for Kansas City. Some of their young talent in the field has not lived up to the hype (namely Eric Hosmer). But despite their record, they have played the A’s tough, splitting six games so far this year. With Jarrod Parker’s elongated rest between starts, Brandon McCarthy and Dan Straily pitching, the A’s have to get at least two in this series.

From Kansas City, Oakland comes home to face the slumping Cleveland Indians.

A surprise team earlier in the year, the Indians have faded quickly. Posting a record of 10-21 since the All-Star break, Cleveland has been relegated to playing out the string in 2012. The A’s play the Indians seven times between Aug. 17 and Aug. 30. The aim should be to win five games against a team that has sunk down the stretch.

The A’s host the Minnesota Twins from Aug. 20 to Aug. 22 in Oakland.

In many ways, the Twins were the team that jump started Oakland into postseason contention, as the A’s swept them at Target Field to begin the second half of 2012. That series was in stark contrast to the three-game sweep Minnesota gave the A’s during their nine game losing streak in late May.

The one constant between the two teams has been that Josh Willingham has bashed the A’s. So far, Willingham has hit five home runs in six games against his former team. Keeping him (somewhat) in check and getting to Minnesota’s weak starting rotation will be key. Two out of three games here should be a minimum, with a sweep being the ultimate aim.

Finally, the A’s will travel to St. Petersburg from Aug. 23 to Aug. 25 in a big three-game series against current Wild Card leader Tampa Bay.

The Rays took two of three from the A’s in Oakland as its starting pitching allowed a measly five runs in three games. The series is even at three games apiece, but Oakland will need to play well at Tropicana Field as that set sandwiches series between Cleveland and Minnesota. 

Ultimately, I feel the A’s will have to win 89 games to qualify for the postseason. I project that based on the number of teams still playing, the schedules of the other contenders and, ultimately, the schedule that awaits Oakland.

With that said, to have a reasonable chance to get to that figure, the A’s will have to win 11 of the next 16 games, thus putting their record at 72-58 going towards September.

While the team does have the benefit of playing every other contender, Oakland’s schedule is fourth toughest (.507 opponents win percentage), and they play 27 of the final 48 games on the road.

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At the last checkpoint, the Oakland A’s were 39-42 at the midway point of the season. On pace for 78 wins, they have gone a blistering 16-3 since to move to 55-45 and are on the verge of taking the lead in the American League wild-card standings. For the month of July, they are 18-3 and show no signs of slowing down.

What is all the more remarkable about this turnaround is that is has happened without many of the cogs people expected the A’s to need to have any kind of chance to contend for anything in 2012. For starters, Jemile Weeks, expected to be the catalyst for the Oakland offense, continues to languish around .220 for the year. The A’s shortstops have combined for splits of .184/.244/.276 as of July 28th. That is by far the worst in baseball. Catchers have not been much better, performing at splits of .198/.250/.269 in 2012. 

Meanwhile, the A’s have the No. 1 pitching staff in the American League despite having three rookies in the rotation. The team ace Brandon McCarthy has missed chunks of the season with a balky shoulder and rotation stalwarts Brett Anderson and Dallas Braden have yet to make one pitch at the major league level. 

So what have the A’s done well? First off, they are getting great production from Yoenis Cespedes. Backed by a hot July, Cespedes currently has splits of .302/.361/.541 for an OPS of .902. Considering “The Cuban Missile” has missed about 30 games to injury, the production he has had is all the more remarkable.

Even more of a surprise has been the amazing play of Josh Reddick. Billy Beane looks like a genius for acquiring the right fielder for Andrew Bailey and Ryan Sweeney. All Reddick has done is lead the team with 22 home runs, drive in 50 runs and compile his own slugging percentage of .537 with an OPS of .885 in 2012. By far the A’s most consistent hitter during the year, Reddick has helped the A’s balance out their lineup over the course of the season. 

Of course, Oakland’s success could not happen without great pitching. The trio of Jarrod Parker, Tom Milone and A.J. Griffin has done more than just complement veterans Bartolo Colon and the surprising Travis Blackley. They have become the lead story in a rotation that continues to surprise.

Parker, while having some struggles in July, still sits at 7-4 with a 3.38 ERA on the season. Milone has been lights out in Oakland, going 9-7 overall, while Griffin has truly been a pleasant surprise. In six starts, Griffin has gone six innings in each, winning his last three decisions while posting an ERA of 2.25 on the year. Instead of being a warm body until other starters got healthy, Griffin appears to be firmly planted in the rotation. 

Knowing how quickly the situation can change, it is important to note that the A’s still have a tenuous schedule to navigate. The 10 games with Los Angeles and six with Texas will likely determine if Oakland has a position in the 2012 playoffs. But there are also six games with Tampa Bay, three more with the Yankees, three with another division/wild-card hopeful, the Detroit Tigers, as well as six with the always pesky Seattle Mariners.

Either way, to be on pace for 89 wins with this team, there is no doubt that Bob Melvin deserves more than just a little consideration for AL Manager of the Year. Whether he will merit it will depend on his team in the next few weeks.

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Ryan Cook has been almost lights out for the A’s this season. Tonight was not one of those nights. The San Francisco Giants overcame a 3-1 deficit with four in the ninth to beat Oakland 5-4 and take the opener of the Bay Bridge series in Oakland. Cook took the loss, while Giants reliever Clay Hensley got credit for the win. Former A’s reliever Santiago Casilla allowed Josh Reddick’s 16th home run in the ninth, but picked up his 20th save.

A’s starter Jarrod Parker went six-plus innings, allowing only a single run on four hits and two walks while striking out four. Struggling Giants starter Tim Lincecum actually resembled his former dominant self after the first inning, going six innings and allowing three runs on only three hits. Lincecum struck out eight. But he did walk four batters, as his control remained elusive.

After Parker went 1-2-3 in the first, the A’s immediately struck against Lincecum. Coco Crisp led off with an infield single. He then promptly stole second and third base and scored on Jemile Weeks’ single to center field. Josh Reddick then snapped his 0-for-19 slump with a bloop single that landed just in front of Nate Schierholtz. A walk to Yoenis Cespedes loaded the bases.

Then Seth Smith hit a grounder to Giants first baseman Brandon Belt. 

Belt, instead of tagging first base for the force out, stepped over the bag and threw home, where Weeks slid home to beat the tag of backup catcher Hector Sanchez. Brandon Inge followed with a bases-loaded walk to force home the third run of the inning. To Lincecum’s credit, he stopped the bleeding, striking out Brandon Moss, Kurt Suzuki and Cliff Pennington in order to keep the score 3-0. 

The Giants scored their run in the top of the third when, after a leadoff single by Sanchez, Parker threw a wild pitch to advance him to second. Gregor Blanco then singled to right field for the RBI, making it 3-1.

But Parker would allow nothing else, and the bullpen effort of Jerry Blevins and Grant Balfour was splendid. Cook just could not shut the door. Belt’s two run double and RBI singles by Sanchez and Blanco put the victory in the Giants’ win column.

Good: Jarrod Parker. He definitely deserved to win. Unfortunately for him, it was one of those deals where the closer just didn’t have it. But Parker was solid. He threw six-plus innings and did enough to exit with a 3-1 lead. He kept the Giants guessing with his fastball and changeup and continues to impress at home.

Bad: A’s 7-8-9 hitters. You can’t completely scapegoat the bottom of the lineup, but they do deserve some criticism. It’s is not really the overall performance (1-for-10 with five strikeouts), but the lack of production in the first inning, when the A’s could have ended the game right away. With the bases loaded and no outs, Moss could not put the ball in play. Needing only a sacrifice fly, Suzuki could not put the ball in play. And the last chance to produce, Pennington, struck out meekly. The A’s gave the Giants an opening and they took it.

Ugly: Ryan Cook. It was bound to happen. Most closers have a bad appearance or two in the course of a season. Cook’s was definitely tonight. His control was off from the beginning and walks—a season-long issue—were his undoing tonight. In total, he was charged with four earned runs. That is double the two he had allowed entering the game. This was a disheartening loss for the A’s, who appeared well on their way to getting the opener against their Bay Area arch rivals. 

Looking to bounce back from this tough loss, the A’s will send Tyson Ross against Madison Bumgarner on Saturday, with first pitch scheduled for 4:15 p.m.

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Josh Willingham hit 29 home runs for the Oakland A’s in 2011. Tuesday night he hit a walk-off home run for the Minnesota Twins that defeated the A’s.

It was a pitchers duel for most of the night but in the seventh inning, the Oakland A’s looked like they might pull off the victory after they broke through for a run and followed it up in the eighth inning with another run.

The Twins were shut out for eight innings and broke out in the ninth to defeat the A’s 3-2.

Brian Fuentes came in to close the game for Oakland and allowed a single to the first batter he faced. He walked the next batter, Denard Span, but was then able to get two outs before he had to face Willingham.

With two outs in the bottom of the ninth and trailing 2-0, Willingham smashed a three-run walk-off home run to hand the A’s their seventh straight loss.

The A’s are reeling and are now 7-14 since losing Yoenis Cespedes on May 7 to a strained hand muscle.

The A’s are hoping that their slugger can return soon and if all goes well he will be penciled in the lineup on Friday.

Oakland will finish their series up in Minnesota on Wednesday before having an off day on Thursday. Their road trip continues to Kansas City on Friday, hopefully with Cespedes’ present, it will provide a boost this team desperately needs.

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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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