Posts tagged ‘Japan’

Hello again A’s fans, it’s Jordan here, and I would like to wish baseball fans everywhere a Happy New Year. This is the best time of year for fans, and everyone is in first place, including the A’s. This is the time of year when hope springs eternal. Every team has a shot at a World Series title. The story lines to the 2008 Major League Baseball season are very intriguing. Will the youth movement of the Oakland Athletics be able to contend with the likes of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the Seattle Mariners in a fairly solid American League West? Will Johan Santana help bring the New York Mets to the promise land, or will they choke as they did last season and miss the playoffs completely? Will the Chicago Cubs win the World Series in their 100th Anniversary since their last title? Will the loaded Detroit Tigers reap the benefits of a fantastic off-season (adding Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis), or will they regret mortgaging a bit of their future, in trading away Cameron Maybin and Andrew Miler in return for the above mentioned players? How will the deep American League East shake out? These questions and so many more will be answered as the 2008 season jumps into action.

Opening Day is just hours away, and this A’s fan is really excited for the festivities to get kicked off. As you all know, the Oakland Athletics are opening up in Tokyo, Japan against the defending World Champion Boston Red Sox on Tuesday March 25, 2008 at 3:05 AM. The game will be televised live in high-definition on ESPN, and I know that I will be watching, will you? The A’s are playing two, what are to be considered home games, at the Tokyo Dome, even though there will be a huge amount of Red Sox fans in attendance. This Red Sox likely dominance of fans in Japan is very understandable, and certainly the fact that Daisuke Matsuzaka is starting game one for the Bo-Sox will create hysteria in the dome. Daisuke will be opposed by our starter, “Country Joe” Blanton. Obviously, there is no Eric Chavez in the lineup for the A’s on this trip, so the lineup is definitely going to be of interest to see how he order shakes down. There has been much debate on whether or not Chris Denorfia has earned a spot on this team, and certainly whether or not he should be our Opening Day centerfielder. In my opinion, as the only real true centerfielder on the 30-man roster in Japan, he would have to be the default starter, unfortunately. I do not feel that he earned his spot on this team, when compared to the likes of Todd Linden or Ryan Sweeney, (who has also made the squad), but I would prefer not to beat the Linden situation to death, so I will refrain from any comments here because it does not really matter. He is back in the states with us. Only Billy Beane and Bob Geren know what they will do with this lineup card or game number one, and I cannot wait to see it. On Wednesday, the A’s will send Rich Harden out to face off against Jon Lester.

The A’s played two exhibition games in Tokyo as preparation for the opening two-game set with Boston. Saturday morning at 3:05 AM PST, the A’s took on the Yomiuri Giants, and beat them 4-3. The A’s fell behind early, as projected fifth-starter Dana Eveland surrendered one run each in the second and third innings. Eveland went five innings and gave up those two runs on seven hits, while striking out three and walking two. Bobby Crosby and Jack Hannahan hit back-to-back homeruns in the fourth inning off of Giants’ reliever Takahiko Nomaguchi, which tied things at 2.

It was not until the ninth inning when the tie was broken as Rob Bowen hit a two-out RBI double. Emil Brown singled in Bowen, and the A’s held on to win. Huston Street, who pitched a scoreless eighth inning picked up the win. At 8 PM on Saturday, the A’s played the Hanshin Tigers, and dominated with a 10-2 win. Jack Cust opened the scoring in the first inning, as he hit a two-run homer to the opposite field. After Justin Duchscherer gave up a run in the bottom of the inning, Travis Buck homered for Oakland in the third, as they went up 3-1. Buck crushed a cutter from the Tigers’ starter, Shinobi Fukuhara into the right field bleachers. Daric Barton’s bloop double in the same inning plated two, as the lead grew to 5-1. The Duke went five innings, and gave up two runs on six hits, striking out four, and walking none. Rob Bowen knocked in a run in the eighth inning, and then with the bases loaded and two outs, Donnie Murphy belted a grand slam to the opposite field, as the A’s cruised. Lenny Dinardo and Keith Foulke each pitched scoreless innings, and Dallas Braden threw two shutout innings as well in the win. Bring on Boston!

The one thing that I am most looking forward to this season for the A’s is a team that is having fun, and enjoying baseball by playing hard. This is something that I feel lacked in the disappointing 2007 squad. That is not to say that they did not play hard, but that it just did not always look like it. It seemed as though the team went through the motions a lot on their way to a 76-86 season, in which the A’s finished 18 games behind the division champion Angels. It was a major letdown, as expectations were high following a season where the team made it to the ALCS just one year prior.
Now comes the fresh start. After the trades of ace Dan Haren and fan-favorite, Nick Swisher, the A’s have replenished their organization with talent from the inside out. The minor league teams now have so much more talent, and are set up to feed that talent to the big league team within the next 2-3 years, depending on a variety of circumstances. I look forward to seeing a youthful exuberance out on the field. Travis Buck can emerge as a young leader and seems like a face of this franchise as it builds towards the future. Catcher Kurt Suzuki figures heavily in the team’s plans, and is primed to have a breakout season behind the plate. Originally, I was really down on this team when the trades were made, and already penciled them in as a last place finisher in the American League West. As time has passed however, and I had the opportunity to see the team in action down in Phoenix, I am beginning to feel more and more optimistic about the ‘08 campaign. I saw a young group of guys out there that are hungry to prove they belong in this league. I saw great hustle, and I see great potential (Carlos and Gio Gonzalez anyone?).

The key to this season is health, period. Without it, this team may well hit the cellar. We need Rich Harden to play a full season, because when he is healthy, he is one of the most effective starters in baseball. We need Eric Chavez to overcome his injuries and return to the Chavy that everyone fell in love with earlier in his career. And please Bobby Crosby, do not break down again physically or mentally. With a complete slate of health, this team can compete, should compete. The young players need to grow as baseball players and mature. This season should provide both a maturation process, as well as a great piece of experience for these guys.

In the worst case scenario, this season is a wash. Hopefully, if this happens to be the case, some of the players I mentioned before can build up their trade value and the A’s can continue to rebuild. This is not what most people may want to hear, but, it could be worse. At least I feel confident that the A’s as an organization have a plan. They plan to compete with a young team, as they always do, but if it does not work out, thy have some pieces to build around, and some others to trade in order to build. That, ladies and gentlemen is what I liked best about this off-season’s trades. Billy has a plan, and although his recent track record has been somewhat questionable, I think he did the right thing this time. It sets the team up well for the future as long as some of those prospects we received pan out, and only time will tell. My projection for a healthy ‘08 A’s? 84-78. An unhealthy ‘08? 73-89. And can we please figure out what to do with Dan Johnson?

Eric Chavez has apparently had some setbacks in the health department. We all knew that he would not be accompanying the team to Japan, but a setback has come to pass in Phoenix, and Chavez has been shut down for the time being. He will now most likely open the season on the disabled list. Head trainer Steve Sayles said that Eric’s left side is very sore, and keeping him from being able to bend over. This does not sound good, and while I am not quite worried yet, I still wish that he would just take his time and get healthy before he rushes back. I just stated how important health is, and Chavez is one of those question marks, so hopefully he gets healthy quickly. Sayles said that Chavez will be starting back at square one on rehab, so we can all only hope that he gets it right this time and comes back in good form. It looks as though Jack Hannahan will be filling in at third for the beginning of the season. According to Sayles, and www.oaklandathletics.com, starter Chad Gaudin will also start his season on the disabled list, but is doing well in his rehab, and is apparently set to play for the first time on April 12th in Cleveland.

Again, the A’s open up at 3:05 AM PST, so don’t miss it. This could be the start of a fun year for the green and gold, as they celebrate their 40th anniversary. Again, I would love to wish you a very Happy Baseball New Year! If you would like to share your comments on anything, projections for the season, or have any questions, feel free to email us at hosts@athleticscast.com, call us anytime at 415-691-6185, comment on our Myspace page, or on our Facebook page. Take care everyone, and stay tuned for our next episode.

That’s how I see it…Let’s Go Oakland!