Happy Wednesday A’s fans!
News flash: the Athletics return to Oakland and catapult to the top of the American League.
April Fools! But the A’s did get their first win of the season yesterday, defeating the Atlanta Braves 5-2.
April 1st starts the first full-month of the regular-season. Perhaps it will be the beginning of a winning streak for the A’s.
While the A’s are off to a 1-4 start, the good news is that they have 157 games remaining. There are plenty of games left for Mark Kotsay’s team to improve and mold into a force capable of challenging for a playoff spot this season.
In order to get back to winning ways, the A’s offense must wake up and get back to performing like they were this spring in the Cactus League. So far, A’s batters have been too aggressive, constantly chasing pitches outside the strike zone, resulting in strikeouts or weak ground outs at the expense of walks or long at-bats where the pitcher gets tired and makes a mistake.
Additionally, Kotsay must figure out how to best leverage the relievers on the A’s roster to protect any late leads. At the moment, the A’s lack a true closer, so bullpen roles remain uncertain and it is hard for A’s fans to trust any reliever entering the game.
The A’s should make the most of this season given the potential for a strike-shortened 2027 campaign. 31 years ago yesterday, the 1994-95 MLB strike ended. The work-stoppage began the prior year due to players’ resistance to 0wners’ push for a salary cap. It resulted in the cancellation of the 1994 World Series and the truncation of the 1995 regular-season to 144 games. The strike, which affected baseball’s revenue and popularity for years to come, did not result in the implementation of a salary cap. That remains a hotly debated issue and will likely be the focus of the next round of collective bargaining discussions between the MLB players union and team owners next offseason.
A’s right fielder Lawrence Butler had some fun with the Braves mascot before the game last night.
This preseason ranking seems a bit pre-mature given the team’s strikeout heavy slow start to the season at the plate. Yet, the A’s have too many quality hitters to continue scuffling, so hopefully the runs start coming in bunches sooner rather than later.
Hitting four home runs in the season’s first five games, Shea Langeliers has cemented himself as one of the best offensive catchers in the league. How many home runs will he hit this season?
If you have any April Fools jokes, feel free to put them in the comments. How do you think the Athletics will perform in April as the MLB season truly gets going? Can they parlay the momentum from their win yesterday into a winning month or will there be more losses to come in the next few weeks?