This article takes a look at how the Oakland Athletics did
in the 1999 season relative to preseason expectations. For an
overview of the approach used in this review, and a definition
of some of the key terms and statistics, please see the overview
page called 1999 Team-by-Team Performance
Reviews.
Capsule Summary
Projected Actual
Runs for 839 893
Runs allowed 870 846
Run margin -31 47
Wins 76 87
Pythagorean Wins 78 85
Placement 4th 2nd
Billy Beane is a crazy man. He seems to think he can build
a playoff contending team with a $30 million payroll, a football
stadium, uncertain ownership, and indifferent fans. The A's really
have become the red-headed stepchild of the Bay Area, with the
Giants picking off the plum TV and radio outlets and opening a
new stadium next season, while the Warriors and Raiders get Oakland
to shell out big bucks to renovate their homes (trashing the A's
home in the process.) The current A's owners had a deal to sell
the team to a group that promised to keep them in Oakland, but
major league owners effectively killed the deal by postponing
any decision on ownership changes until their task force on small
market teams completes its work. Even though the A's were in the
wild-card race down the stretch, nobody came to see them.
Despite all that, Billy Beane put together a team that outperformed
everybody's expectations, and made several trades during the season
that improved the team both in 1999 and for the future. The A's
have more players closer to their prime than they did a year ago,
with most of the 40something veterans gone, and the young players
with another year of experience. There are more young players
bubbling up through the farm system, as well. Maybe the key question
for Oakland fans (both of them) is, how long before Billy Beane
is lured away to somewhere his work will be better appreciated.
Key Position Players
Oakland's offense was projected to be middle of the pack, but
was actually 4th in the AL. Better than expected performances
at short, first base, and DH helped key the production. Oakland
has gotten both younger and older than at this point last year,
with the young players gaining a year of experience, and the 40-year-olds
from last year gone. Only three key position players for Oakland
are over thirty: John Jaha, Matt Stairs, and Randy Velarde.
One concern about Oakland is their defense. Ben Grieve is not
a good defensive outfielder, and Matt Stairs doesn't cover much
ground, either, though he has a better arm than Grieve. Moving
either of them to first base is not an option, because Jason Giambi
is entrenched there, and John Jaha has the DH slot.
Ramon Hernandez, c, age 23 (as of July 1, 1999)
AB H 2B 3B HR R RBI HP W IW K SB CS AVG OBP SPC OPS RC
Projection Oak 68 16 2 0 2 9 11 2 4 0 8 0 0 .235 .293 .353 .646 7
Prorated Oak 143 33 4 0 4 18 23 4 8 0 16 0 0 .231 .290 .343 .633 15
Actual Oak 136 38 7 0 3 13 21 1 18 0 11 1 0 .279 .363 .397 .760 20
Hernandez out hit Hinch this year, and has moved ahead of him
in the A's thinking. He's younger, and put up respectable numbers
offensively for a catcher in his limited action. With Macfarlane's
retirement, and Hinch's offensive struggles, Hernandez is the
leading candidate for the regular catching job.
A. J. Hinch, c, age 25
AB H 2B 3B HR R RBI HP W IW K SB CS AVG OBP SPC OPS RC
Projection Oak 441 110 14 0 12 49 50 6 43 1 105 4 0 .249 .320 .363 .683 54
Prorated Oak 196 49 6 0 5 21 22 2 19 0 46 1 0 .250 .318 .357 .675 23
Actual Oak 205 44 4 1 7 26 24 2 11 0 41 6 2 .215 .260 .346 .607 19
Hinch has yet to meet expectations in the majors, and though
he's young enough that he might still figure it out, he's no longer
going to get the benefit of the doubt about playing through slumps.
Mike Macfarlane, c, age 35
AB H 2B 3B HR R RBI HP W IW K SB CS AVG OBP SPC OPS RC
Projection Oak 85 21 5 0 3 11 12 2 7 1 15 0 0 .247 .316 .412 .728 11
Prorated Oak 220 54 12 0 7 28 31 5 18 2 38 0 0 .245 .314 .395 .710 29
Actual Oak 226 55 17 0 4 24 31 1 13 0 52 0 0 .243 .282 .372 .653 23
Macfarlane retired at the end of the season, and the A's have
no plans to sign another veteran catcher to provide a safety net
should Hernandez and Hinch struggle.
Jason Giambi, 1b, age 28
AB H 2B 3B HR R RBI HP W IW K SB CS AVG OBP SPC OPS RC
Projection Oak 575 168 37 1 25 86 99 5 73 5 100 0 1 .292 .372 .490 .862 106
Prorated Oak 603 176 38 1 26 90 103 5 76 5 104 0 1 .292 .371 .488 .858 110
Actual Oak 575 181 36 1 33 115 123 7 105 6 106 1 1 .315 .422 .553 .975 142
Giambi has increased his walk totals significantly each of
the last two seasons, going from 55 in 1997 to 81 in 1998 to last
year's 105. Matt Stairs and John Jaha also saw significant increases
in their walk totals. The team as a whole drew almost 140 more
walks than a year ago, leading the majors in walks in 1999. Hitting
coach Dave Hudgens must have been doing something right; unfortunately,
the team's low batting average (never mind all those runs!) doomed
him, and he's moved on to another job in the organization. Thad
Bosley is the new hitting coach. Bosley was not that big a fan
of the free pass as a player, but maybe a year of greeting all
those batters at first base has sold him on it.
John Jaha, DH, age 33
AB H 2B 3B HR R RBI HP W IW K SB CS AVG OBP SPC OPS RC
Projection Oak 63 14 2 0 3 10 11 1 11 0 17 0 0 .222 .347 .397 .743 9
Prorated Oak 478 106 15 0 22 76 83 7 83 0 129 0 0 .222 .345 .391 .736 67
Actual Oak 457 126 23 0 35 93 111 9 101 2 129 2 0 .276 .414 .556 .970 111
Oakland picked Jaha off the scrap heap in Milwaukee, where
he had seldom managed to stay healthy. The A's handed him a glove
only 8 times last season, and he got through the year without
a single visit to the DL. If he can continue to stay healthy,
the A's have a solid DH. If not, the A's can choose a DH from
a backlog of prospects (such as Texas League triple-crown winner
Adam Piatt) at third base/outfield/first base who currently have
no place to play, .
Tony Phillips, 2b/cf/lf/rf/3b/dh/ss, age 40
AB H 2B 3B HR R RBI HP W IW K SB CS AVG OBP SPC OPS RC
Projection Oak 549 143 34 1 8 94 53 4 108 4 123 9 8 .260 .383 .370 .753 86
Prorated Oak 397 103 24 0 5 68 38 2 78 2 88 6 5 .259 .381 .358 .739 60
Actual Oak 406 99 24 4 15 76 49 5 71 3 94 11 3 .244 .362 .433 .795 69
Tony Phillips was doing what Tony Phillips does best, play
everyday, without being a regular at any position. Despite being
40 years old, he was having a pretty typical Tony Phillips year
until he broke his leg. He became a free agent when the A's didn't
offer him arbitration, so he'll be elsewhere next year.
Scott Spiezio, 2b, age 26
AB H 2B 3B HR R RBI HP W IW K SB CS AVG OBP SPC OPS RC
Projection Oak 543 136 28 2 15 70 72 2 54 4 74 4 4 .250 .318 .392 .711 68
Prorated Oak 252 63 13 0 6 32 33 0 25 1 34 1 1 .250 .317 .373 .690 30
Actual Oak 247 60 24 0 8 31 33 2 29 3 36 0 0 .243 .324 .437 .761 36
Spiezio fell out of favor in Oakland, losing his job first
to Tony Phillips and then to Randy Velarde. As a backup, he put
up decent numbers, but the A's decided to let him go, and he signed
with the Angels for 2000.
Jorge Velandia, 2b/ss, age 24
AB H 2B 3B HR R RBI HP W IW K SB CS AVG OBP SPC OPS RC
Projection Oak 69 15 3 0 0 6 6 1 3 0 9 1 1 .217 .257 .261 .518 4
Prorated Oak 46 10 2 0 0 4 4 0 2 0 6 0 0 .217 .250 .261 .511 3
Actual Oak 48 9 1 0 0 4 2 1 2 0 13 2 0 .188 .235 .208 .444 3
A utility infielder, Velandia is the primary backup right now
for Randy Velarde, as well as the backup shortstop for Miguel
Tejada. Velandia is coming off an ankle injury, Velarde is 37
years old, and playing your shortstop 159 games a season takes
a toll. The A's could use some more help here.
Randy Velarde, 2b, age 36
AB H 2B 3B HR R RBI HP W IW K SB CS AVG OBP SPC OPS RC
Projection Ana 575 148 35 3 10 79 64 6 88 0 125 14 8 .257 .361 .381 .742 82
Prorated Ana 363 93 22 1 6 49 40 3 55 0 78 8 5 .256 .358 .372 .730 50
Actual Ana 376 115 15 4 9 57 48 4 43 1 56 13 4 .306 .383 .439 .822 65
Prorated Oak 244 62 14 1 4 33 27 2 37 0 53 5 3 .254 .357 .369 .726 33
Actual Oak 255 85 10 3 7 48 28 2 27 1 42 11 4 .333 .401 .478 .880 47
Prorated Tot 607 156 36 3 10 83 67 6 92 0 132 14 8 .257 .359 .376 .735 85
Actual Tot 631 200 25 7 16 105 76 6 70 2 98 24 8 .317 .390 .455 .845 112
Velarde came over in the trade that also brought Omar Olivares,
and stabilized the second base position after Tony Phillips went
down with a broken leg. He had a great couple of months with the
A's, prompting them to sign him to a two-year deal. Normally,
I'm not a big fan of signing 37-year-old middle infielders, but
Velarde should give them more than Spiezio or Phillips, and there's
not much in the way of immediate help at second base in the farm
system.
Miguel Tejada, ss, age 23
AB H 2B 3B HR R RBI HP W IW K SB CS AVG OBP SPC OPS RC
Projection Oak 533 125 26 2 17 74 71 10 36 0 117 10 8 .235 .292 .386 .679 58
Prorated Oak 609 143 29 2 19 84 81 11 41 0 133 11 9 .235 .292 .383 .675 66
Actual Oak 593 149 33 4 21 93 84 10 57 3 94 8 7 .251 .325 .427 .751 83
Tejada played 159 games at short last year, which is not ideal.
If you've got a shortstop capable of hitting 21 homers, don't
wear him out by playing him every day; get him some rest, and
it will pay off.
Eric Chavez, 3b, age 21
AB H 2B 3B HR R RBI HP W IW K SB CS AVG OBP SPC OPS RC
Projection Oak 599 176 51 1 28 98 100 1 35 5 94 10 7 .294 .331 .523 .854 100
Prorated Oak 375 110 31 0 17 61 62 0 21 3 58 6 4 .293 .328 .512 .840 61
Actual Oak 356 88 21 2 13 47 50 0 46 4 56 1 1 .247 .333 .427 .760 51
Chavez struggled at times in his first full major league season,
especially against left-handed pitching (.184, no homers), but
he was only 21 years old. Even so, he was right about average
for AL third basemen, and the A's expect big improvement. His
minor league numbers suggest they have good reason for those expectations.
Olmedo Saenz, 3b/1b, age 28
AB H 2B 3B HR R RBI HP W IW K SB CS AVG OBP SPC OPS RC
Projection Oak 66 17 3 0 3 10 11 3 5 0 8 0 0 .258 .333 .439 .773 10
Prorated Oak 260 67 11 0 11 39 43 11 19 0 31 0 0 .258 .331 .427 .758 37
Actual Oak 255 70 18 0 11 41 41 15 22 1 47 1 1 .275 .363 .475 .837 45
Saenz provides solid backup for Chavez and Giambi, with good
power numbers off the bench. He's a right-handed batter who made
the team after a strong performance last spring (.368, 5 homers),
and manager Art Howe chose to start him in place of Chavez against
lefties (Saenz had 33 starts to 2 for Chavez). But he hit well
enough to get plenty of atbats against right-handed pitching,
too.
Ben Grieve, lf, age 23
AB H 2B 3B HR R RBI HP W IW K SB CS AVG OBP SPC OPS RC
Projection Oak 592 176 42 1 23 104 109 9 90 3 121 2 2 .297 .397 .488 .885 117
Prorated Oak 475 141 33 0 18 83 87 7 72 2 97 1 1 .297 .396 .480 .876 92
Actual Oak 486 129 21 0 28 80 86 8 63 2 108 4 0 .265 .358 .481 .840 83
Grieve got off to a slow start before finally breaking out
in June and exceeding projections from that point through the
end of the season. Even with his slump, he was still a better
than average offensive left fielder, and is still several years
away from his peak. Grieve, Chavez, and Tejada make an exciting
young core for the A's to build around.
Tim Raines, lf, age 39
AB H 2B 3B HR R RBI HP W IW K SB CS AVG OBP SPC OPS RC
Projection Oak 69 20 4 0 1 12 9 0 11 0 10 2 1 .290 .383 .391 .774 11
Prorated Oak 139 40 8 0 2 24 18 0 22 0 20 4 2 .288 .380 .388 .769 22
Actual Oak 135 29 5 0 4 20 17 0 26 1 17 4 1 .215 .337 .341 .678 17
Raines was not having a good season, but it got much worse
in August when he was diagnosed with lupus. Though Raines had
hoped to play in the majors long enough so that his son Tim Jr.
could join him, it seems likely that his career is over after
21 seasons. In his prime, Raines was a quality leadoff hitter,
known for his stolen bases but just as valuable for his ability
to get on base. He finishes with over 2500 hits and over 800 stolen
bases, but likely falls a little short of the Hall of Fame.
Rich Becker, cf, age 27
AB H 2B 3B HR R RBI HP W IW K SB CS AVG OBP SPC OPS RC
Projection Mil 69 17 3 1 1 10 7 0 10 0 20 2 1 .246 .342 .362 .704 9
Prorated Mil 150 36 6 2 2 21 15 0 21 0 43 4 2 .240 .333 .347 .680 18
Actual Mil 139 35 5 2 5 15 16 0 33 0 38 5 0 .252 .395 .424 .820 26
Prorated Oak 131 32 5 1 1 19 13 0 19 0 38 3 1 .244 .340 .321 .661 16
Actual Oak 125 33 3 0 1 21 10 2 25 0 43 3 2 .264 .395 .312 .707 17
Prorated Tot 282 69 12 4 4 40 28 0 40 0 81 8 4 .245 .339 .358 .697 36
Actual Tot 264 68 8 2 6 36 26 2 58 0 81 8 2 .258 .395 .371 .766 43
So far, the A's have been unable to pry Jim Edmonds loose from
the Angels, so they'll be looking for a center field solution
among a pool of candidates including Rich Becker. Right now, it
doesn't look like anybody has the inside edge, but Becker did
help himself in the race by posting that .395 OBP last year. Ideally,
the A's would like their center fielder to also lead off.
Ryan Christenson, cf, age 25
AB H 2B 3B HR R RBI HP W IW K SB CS AVG OBP SPC OPS RC
Projection Oak 616 160 37 5 9 105 64 2 71 0 169 11 10 .260 .335 .380 .715 83
Prorated Oak 277 72 16 2 4 47 28 0 31 0 76 4 4 .260 .332 .375 .708 36
Actual Oak 268 56 12 1 4 41 24 1 38 0 58 7 5 .209 .305 .306 .611 27
Christenson's advantage in the center field derby is that he's
perceived as a good defensive center fielder. With Matt Stairs
and Ben Grieve in the outfield, the A's need somebody to cover
a lot of ground in center. Other candidates for the job include
Mario Encarnacion and Terrence Long.
Matt Stairs, rf, age 30
AB H 2B 3B HR R RBI HP W IW K SB CS AVG OBP SPC OPS RC
Projection Oak 543 158 33 1 30 91 108 5 68 3 95 5 3 .291 .372 .521 .893 107
Prorated Oak 543 158 33 1 30 91 108 5 68 3 95 5 3 .291 .372 .521 .893 106
Actual Oak 531 137 26 3 38 94 102 2 89 6 124 2 7 .258 .366 .533 .899 105
The overall numbers for Stairs are right in line with projections,
with a few shifts here and there: fewer doubles, more homers,
fewer hits, more walks. The main concern with Stairs is a history
of small, nagging injuries; if the A's have to play Stairs at
DH, then John Jaha is relegated to the bench, and Ben Grieve has
to move to right, neither of which is ideal.
Key Pitchers
The pitching staff was the weak link for the team going into
last season, but the pitching staff coming out of the season bears
little resemblance to that one. During the season, GM Billy Beane
traded for two starters (Kevin Appier and Omar Olivares), brought
another starter up from the minors (Tim Hudson), and traded his
closer away for a new one (Jason Isringhausen). After the season,
Beane has gone to work on the bullpen, clearing out some of the
role pitchers who weren't effective last season and signing some
new arms. The staff looks much stronger headed into next season,
with some young arms in the minors waiting in the wings.
Kevin Appier, starter, age 31 (as of July 1, 1999)
Tm ERA G GS W L S INN H HR BB K AVG OPS
Projection KC 4.40 32 32 10 10 0 178 186 22 63 161 .270 .761
Prorated KC 4.40 26 26 8 8 0 142 148 18 50 129 .270 .761
Actual KC 4.87 22 22 9 9 0 140 153 18 51 78 .279 .783
Prorated Oak 4.40 13 13 4 4 0 73 76 9 26 66 .270 .761
Actual Oak 5.77 12 12 7 5 0 69 77 9 33 53 .280 .826
Prorated Tot 4.40 39 39 12 12 0 215 224 27 76 194 .270 .761
Actual Tot 5.17 34 34 16 14 0 209 230 27 84 131 .279 .798
The A's picked up the option on Kevin Appier, probably assuming
that they had no chance to sign Omar Olivares. Of the pitchers
with sure rotation spots for next season, Appier had the worst
season, and though he'll probably begin the season as the top
starter, he may lose that distinction to Tim Hudson if he doesn't
improve over last year. Appier was coming off shoulder surgery
the season before, so it's not unreasonable to expect improvement
for next season.
Tom Candiotti, starter, age 41
Tm ERA G GS W L S INN H HR BB K AVG OPS
Projection Oak 5.69 32 32 8 14 0 187 222 32 62 99 .297 .849
Prorated Oak 5.69 10 10 2 4 0 57 68 10 19 30 .297 .849
Actual Oak 6.35 11 11 3 5 0 57 67 11 23 30 .298 .873
Prorated Cle 5.69 3 3 1 1 0 16 19 3 5 9 .297 .849
Actual Cle 11.05 7 2 1 1 0 15 19 3 7 11 .306 .934
Prorated Tot 5.69 13 13 3 5 0 73 87 13 24 39 .297 .849
Actual Tot 7.32 18 13 4 6 0 71 86 14 30 41 .300 .886
Candiotti didn't have a good season for Oakland, obviously,
and the combination of the emergence of his age and the arrival
of Tim Hudson earned him his unconditional release.
Jimmy Haynes, starter, age 26
Tm ERA G GS W L S INN H HR BB K AVG OPS
Projection Oak 5.90 32 32 8 14 0 180 215 23 95 143 .298 .850
Prorated Oak 5.90 25 25 6 11 0 141 168 18 74 112 .298 .850
Actual Oak 6.34 30 25 7 12 0 142 158 21 80 93 .282 .837
The A's gave up on Haynes after waiting three years for him
to put it together. Instead his ERA got worse each year. Now Milwaukee
will give it a try.
Tim Hudson, starter, age 23
Tm ERA G GS W L S INN H HR BB K AVG OPS
Actual Oak 3.23 21 21 11 2 0 136 121 8 62 132 .237 .662
Hudson was the surprise of the season, making the move from
AA to AAA to the majors in his third professional season. Had
he put up those numbers for a full year, he would have trailed
only Pedro Martinez in ERA.
[TT: Although Hudson had performed very well in the low minors,
we projected no 1999 playing time for him because he had accumulated
only 22 starts above A ball through the end of the 1998 season
and wasn't especially impressive, walking 71 batters in 135 innings
and posting a 4.54 ERA. The big difference was that his control
was better in 1999 than it had been at any of his minor-league
stops.]
Gil Heredia, starter, age 33
Tm ERA G GS W L S INN H HR BB K AVG OPS
Projection Oak 5.46 32 32 9 15 0 208 259 30 37 132 .307 .827
Prorated Oak 5.46 30 30 9 14 0 197 246 29 35 126 .307 .827
Actual Oak 4.81 33 33 13 8 0 200 228 22 34 117 .283 .759
Heredia had a better than expected year for the A's, and has
earned a spot in the rotation for 2000. Should he stumble, there
are several good young pitchers poised to take his place. Mark
Mulder, Ron Mahay, Brett Laxton, and Barry Zito will all be battling
it out for the last rotation spot, and whoever doesn't win it
will be waiting for someone else to stumble.
Omar Olivares, starter, age 31
Tm ERA G GS W L S INN H HR BB K AVG OPS
Projection Ana 4.87 32 32 12 12 0 201 219 21 95 115 .281 .792
Prorated Ana 4.87 20 20 7 7 0 125 136 13 59 72 .281 .792
Actual Ana 4.05 20 20 8 9 0 131 135 11 49 49 .273 .736
Prorated Oak 4.87 12 12 4 4 0 73 80 8 35 42 .281 .792
Actual Oak 4.34 12 12 7 2 0 75 82 8 32 36 .283 .820
Prorated Tot 4.87 32 32 12 12 0 199 216 21 94 114 .281 .792
Actual Tot 4.16 32 32 15 11 0 206 217 19 81 85 .276 .767
The A's didn't expect to be able to re-sign Olivares, but when
the free agent market wasn't as lucrative as Olivares had hoped,
he and the A's were able to work out a deal. With Olivares, Appier,
and Hudson, the A's have a solid top of the rotation, and there
are lots of young arms to help fill out the bottom.
Mike Oquist, starter, age 31
Tm ERA G GS W L S INN H HR BB K AVG OPS
Projection Oak 5.87 27 4 3 5 0 69 84 11 26 47 .302 .855
Prorated Oak 5.87 55 8 6 10 0 140 170 22 53 95 .302 .855
Actual Oak 5.37 28 24 9 10 0 141 158 18 64 89 .283 .830
Oquist had a better than projected season for the A's last
year, but not good enough to be a favorite in the battle for rotation
slots next season. Oquist signed a minor league contract with
the Detroit Tigers.
Kenny Rogers, starter, age 34
Tm ERA G GS W L S INN H HR BB K AVG OPS
Projection Oak 4.21 32 32 12 12 0 210 213 21 77 120 .266 .737
Prorated Oak 4.21 19 19 7 7 0 124 126 12 45 71 .266 .737
Actual Oak 4.30 19 19 5 3 0 119 135 8 41 68 .288 .740
Prorated NYN 4.21 11 11 4 4 0 74 75 7 27 42 .266 .737
Actual NYN 4.03 12 12 5 1 0 76 71 8 28 58 .253 .723
Prorated Tot 4.21 30 30 11 11 0 198 201 20 73 113 .266 .737
Actual Tot 4.19 31 31 10 4 0 195 206 16 69 126 .275 .734
Rogers was due to become a free agent, and the A's didn't figure
to be able to resign him, and didn't seem to have a lot of interest
in doing so. As a result, he was traded to the Mets for a couple
of prospects, including Terrence Long, who will be given a shot
to win the center field job.
Buddy Groom, middle relief, age 33
Tm ERA G GS W L S INN H HR BB K AVG OPS
Projection Oak 4.42 70 0 4 4 1 71 81 7 28 49 .288 .775
Prorated Oak 4.42 44 0 2 2 1 44 50 4 17 30 .288 .775
Actual Oak 5.09 76 0 3 2 0 46 48 1 18 32 .274 .677
Groom was the designated lefty last season, the guy who gets
brought in to face the tough left-handed batter, and then comes
right out of the game. With a .245 batting average allowed to
opposing left handed batters, he wasn't as effective as the A's
would have liked, so Groom was allowed to leave as a free agent.
Doug Jones, reliever, age 42
Tm ERA G GS W L S INN H HR BB K AVG OPS
Projection Oak 3.94 53 0 4 3 0 75 81 11 14 68 .275 .757
Prorated Oak 3.94 72 0 5 4 0 102 110 15 19 92 .275 .757
Actual Oak 3.55 70 0 5 5 10 104 106 10 24 63 .267 .717
Doug Jones is insurance in case Isringhausen falters or gets
hurt, though he'd be a stopgap at best. Jones only converted 10
of 16 save opportunities last season, and he'll be 43 next season.
Greg McMichael, reliever, age 32
Tm ERA G GS W L S INN H HR BB K AVG OPS
Projection NYN 3.90 23 0 2 2 0 32 33 3 11 28 .266 .716
Prorated NYN 3.90 14 0 1 1 0 20 20 2 7 17 .266 .716
Actual NYN 4.82 19 0 1 1 0 19 20 3 8 18 .270 .810
Prorated Oak 3.90 12 0 1 1 0 16 17 2 6 14 .266 .716
Actual Oak 5.40 17 0 0 0 0 15 15 3 12 3 .283 .936
Prorated Tot 3.90 26 0 2 2 0 36 37 3 12 31 .266 .716
Actual Tot 5.08 36 0 1 1 0 34 35 6 20 21 .276 .866
In a limited stint with the A's, McMichael didn't show much
to convince the A's to re-sign him. At press time, McMichael is
still a free agent.
Brad Rigby, reliever, age 26
Tm ERA G GS W L S INN H HR BB K AVG OPS
Projection Oak 5.72 27 27 6 11 0 146 179 21 47 72 .304 .840
Prorated Oak 5.72 12 12 3 5 0 63 77 9 20 31 .304 .840
Actual Oak 4.33 29 0 3 4 0 62 69 5 26 26 .284 .777
Prorated KC 5.72 4 4 1 2 0 23 29 3 8 12 .304 .840
Actual KC 7.17 20 0 1 2 0 21 33 6 5 10 .351 .963
Prorated Tot 5.72 16 16 4 6 0 86 106 12 28 42 .304 .840
Actual Tot 5.06 49 0 4 6 0 84 102 11 31 36 .303 .828
Rigby was projected as a starter, but instead spent his time
in Oakland in the bullpen, where he was moderately effective.
Rigby was included in the package sent to Kansas City for Kevin
Appier.
Tim Worrell, reliever, age 31
Tm ERA G GS W L S INN H HR BB K AVG OPS
Projection Oak 4.98 40 0 3 4 0 69 75 9 25 51 .279 .800
Prorated Oak 4.98 41 0 3 4 0 71 77 9 26 53 .279 .800
Actual Oak 4.15 53 0 2 2 0 69 69 6 34 62 .256 .737
At first glance, these numbers don't look that bad. Worrell
only gave up a hit an inning, his walk to strikeout ratio was
near 2, and a 4.15 ERA was right around the league average for
relievers in 1999. So why are the A's ready to dump Worrell? Maybe
because he allowed half the runners he inherited to score, and
the league average is around 35%.
Ron Mahay, reliever/starter, age 28
Tm ERA G GS W L S INN H HR BB K AVG OPS
Projection Oak 4.05 53 0 3 2 0 53 54 7 27 43 .262 .763
Prorated Oak 4.05 15 0 1 1 0 15 15 2 8 12 .262 .763
Actual Oak 1.86 6 1 2 0 1 19 8 2 3 15 .123 .377
The A's kept Mahay in AAA most of last season to give him some
experience as a starter, which he had never done before. He's
now one of the leading candidates for the starting rotation for
next season. There's a lot of competition for the rotation though,
so Mahay could find himself back in the bullpen, particularly
if newly signed lefty reliever Mike Magnante struggles.
TJ Mathews, setup man, age 29
Tm ERA G GS W L S INN H HR BB K AVG OPS
Projection Oak 3.87 70 0 6 4 2 98 95 10 39 80 .256 .735
Prorated Oak 3.87 40 0 3 2 1 56 55 6 22 46 .256 .735
Actual Oak 3.81 50 0 9 5 3 59 46 9 20 42 .215 .665
A solid performance for Mathews, despite bone spurs in his
elbow. Mathews will be coming off arthroscopic surgery this season,
but it's not expected to present a problem.
Jason Isringhausen, closer, age 26
Tm ERA G GS W L S INN H HR BB K AVG OPS
Projection NYN 5.23 4 4 1 1 0 21 25 2 10 15 .301 .813
Prorated NYN 5.23 7 7 2 2 0 39 47 4 19 28 .301 .813
Actual NYN 6.41 13 5 1 3 1 39 43 7 22 31 .279 .894
Prorated Oak 5.23 4 4 1 1 0 23 28 2 11 17 .301 .813
Actual Oak 2.13 20 0 0 1 8 25 21 2 12 20 .223 .648
Prorated Tot 5.23 12 12 3 3 0 62 74 6 30 45 .301 .813
Actual Tot 4.73 33 5 1 4 9 65 64 9 34 51 .258 .801
Isringhausen asked for a shot at the closer job left open by
the trade of Billy Taylor, and converted 9 saves in 9 opportunities
for the A's. Isringhausen is now the A's closer. The major concern
here is his history of arm troubles.
Billy Taylor, closer, age 37
Tm ERA G GS W L S INN H HR BB K AVG OPS
Projection Oak 3.67 70 0 4 6 29 74 72 6 26 66 .257 .715
Prorated Oak 3.67 42 0 2 4 17 44 43 4 16 40 .257 .715
Actual Oak 3.98 43 0 1 5 26 43 48 3 14 38 .287 .747
Prorated NYN 3.67 15 0 1 1 6 16 16 1 6 14 .257 .715
Actual NYN 8.10 18 0 0 1 0 13 20 2 9 14 .345 1.002
Prorated Tot 3.67 57 0 3 5 24 60 59 5 21 54 .257 .715
Actual Tot 4.95 61 0 1 6 26 56 68 5 23 52 .302 .813
Taylor was less effective in the closer role than in the past,
converting less than 80% of save opportunities, and allowing more
baserunners than in the past. That's probably why the A's were
willing to trade their closer in the middle of a pennant race
even though there was no obvious replacement.
Outlook
I wouldn't go so far as to make the A's the favorite to win
the AL West, but I wouldn't be shocked if they did it next season.
Nobody else in the division looks like they're going to run away
with the crown, and if the A's young players put it together next
season, and they get another solid pitcher out of their minor
league system, the A's could be in the playoffs next season. Will
anyone notice?
Projections and text: Copyright © 2000.
Diamond Mind, Inc. All rights reserved.
Actual 1999 statistics: Copyright © 1999. STATS, Inc. All
right reserved.
