The Chicago White Sox are primed to pick up where they left off last year. The New York Yankees, with the addition of Johnny Damon, are ready to end their five-season championship drought. And the new-look Boston Red Sox feature defensive improvements and young gun Josh Beckett.
Yet many experts have avoided those usual favorites in favor of this year's trendiest pick: the Oakland Athletics.
The A's lulled fans into sub-par standards in 2005 when they finished second to the Los Angeles Angels after their run of three straight appearances in the playoffs. But Oakland General Manager Billy Beane believes that this season's Athletics team might have one of the deepest rotations since the beginning of his tenure in 1997.
Their oldest starting pitcher is Barry Zito, who is only 28 years old and in a contract year. In spite of the plethora of rumors that had Zito being shipped out of Oakland like the rest of the "Big Three" (Zito, Tim Hudson and Mark Mulder), Beane has kept him on the team.
At least for now. There is no guarantee that Beane won't move him at the trading deadline depending on the status of the A's in July, but he might keep Zito around for the season and either let him walk or try to resign him after the season. Whatever the case, Oakland needs Zito to return to his 2002 Cy Young-winning form, when he won 23 games, pitched 229 innings and finished with a stellar 2.75 ERA, in order to compete against baseball's goliaths in 2006.
Zito did show flashes of his glory days last season, but he will have to control his curveball again if he is to return to top form.
Rich Harden, who had a 2.53 ERA and 121 strike outs in 128 innings pitched in 2005, will be a Cy Young contender in 2006. Harden's heater already baffles the best hitters in the league and there's no question that this season he'll be a little wiser.
While Harden has yet to pitch more than 200 innings in his career, it certainly does not mean he is incapable of the mark, considering that Johan Santana of the Minnesota Twins hadn't pitched more than 159 innings before winning his Cy Young in 2004.
In addition to the home-grown pitching talent that will earn him praise, Beane shelled out $21.4 million this season to bring in Esteban Loaiza. Loaiza is a steady starter who is capable of winning 10-14 games a season and possibly more, as he did in his 2003 Cy Young season, but considering that Oakland already has Zito and Harden, he can relax knowing the weight of the pitching staff won't rest upon his shoulders.
While the starting rotation is filled with more than its share of capable arms, the bullpen is not too shabby either, especially with 2005 Rookie of the Year Huston Street closing out games. Street's arrival in the Majors turned plenty of heads as he shut the door on opposing teams in the ninth. He recorded a 1.72 ERA with 72 Ks in 78 innings pitched last season.
The pitching staff also enjoys the luxury of carrying young arms such as Joe Blanton, Justin Duchscherer, and Dan Haren.
The pitching gets most of the ink, but you can't ignore the offensive potential of this year's club. The A's have a healthy Bobby Crosby and the always-reliable Eric Chavez, along with Nick Swisher, another candidate for Rookie of the Year last season.
Beane also made interesting moves bringing in Frank Thomas and Milton Bradley, two players who were less-than-popular in their former clubhouses. While it might be wishful thinking to believe that Thomas can contribute on a consistent basis, if healthy, he can provide the pop that the A's haven't had since Tejada left following the 2003 season. Furthermore, if manager Ken Macha can contain the hot-headed Bradley for an entire season, it would be quite the accomplishment, considering Bradley's problems in the past.
While the team is young, it still has a good chance of making the playoffs. Now the question is whether Oakland can go past the divisional round of the playoffs for the first time since 1992, back when Tony LaRussa was manager and Mark McGwire was considered king.
