The story of the Oakland A’s 2011 season was an effective pitching staff: 
…and a similarly anemic offense.
Grade: D-
Notable Additions: 
Josh Reddick, Tom Milone, Brandon Moss, Brad Peacock, Jason Pridie, and Seth Smith.
Notable Subtractions:
Trevor Cahill, Andrew Bailey, Gio Gonzalez, Craig Breslow, David DeJesus, Andy LaRoche, Guillermo Moscoso, Josh Outman, Ryan Sweeney, and Josh Willigham.
Why?: Let’s clear up a few things right away as most of the people reading this haven’t read one of these entries before, 1) I know nothing about prospects unless they are highly touted 2) my lists of “Notable” additions and subtractions are simply done by my name recognition. Feel free to correct me on any of them if you know more about the given team than I do. 3) Most of what comprises the “grade” in these entries is in the impact it has on the team’s 2012 season. The GM could have done a masterful job in getting back a bunch of talent for an aging star, but unless the young players he traded for project to help the team’s record in 2012, the grade will suffer. Generally, a C grade is the team treading water and keeping their team at the same level, a C+ would be a slight improvement, and a C- would be a slight regression.
Now, the reason I gave the A’s a D- is because Billy Beane essentially crippled them for the 2012 season. Their offense was anemic enough without losing Josh Willigham and David De Jesus among other, and he traded away arguably the two best starting pitchers on a very good rotation in Trevor Cahill and Gio Gonzalez. If that wasn’t enough, he also traded away a very talented closer in Andrew Bailey, who was a big part of this team, because when they did win, it was usually in a save situation due to their lack of offense.
I’m not saying the A’s can’t win in a few years, but the situation looks dim for 2012. Also, as I write this, Hideki Matsui is still unsigned. If he comes back, they will still be in an interesting situation, but if he doesn’t, you can add him to the list of Notable Subtractions.
Predicted Record Range: 62-67 wins
Next team: I don’t know, you tell me. The poll shuts off automatically at 2:37 am, but I might close it off at midnight if their is a team with a majority already selected by then.
Filed under: Offseason Recap and Preview Tagged: Andrew Bailey, anemic offense, Athletics, Billy Beane, Craig Breslow, David DeJesus, Gio Gonzalez, Guillermo Moscoso, Hideki Matsui, Jason Pridie, Josh Outman, Josh Reddick, Josh Willigham, Seth Smith, starting pitchers, subtractions, Trevor Cahill
