Series Preview: August 29-September 1

by Ryan on Aug 29, 2011 4:38 AM EDT in Series Previews

Josh Willingham now has some help in the lineup.

Date	Time	CLE Starter	OAK Starter	Tickets
August 29	7:05 PM	David Huff	Brandon McCarthy	Tickets
August 30	7:05 PM	TBA	Trevor Cahill	Tickets
August 31	7:05 PM	Ubaldo Jiménez	Rich Harden	Tickets
September 1	12:05 PM	Fausto Carmona	Gio Gonzalez	Tickets

The Indians haven't played the Athletics since early May, and the team they'll be facing will look a bit different. Their starting rotation is largely the same, but a third of their starting lineup has changed.

The New Guys

1B Brandon Allen. The A's acquired him from Arizona at the July trade deadline for Brad Ziegler. The 25-year-old was originally in the Chicago White Sox organization, and was dealt to the Diamondbacks in 2009 for Tony Pena. He had some success in his short stints with Arizona, but lost playing time to Paul Goldschimdt, and was deemed expendable. Since arriving in Oakland, he's been hot, hitting .327/.367/.655 in 60 plate appearances.First base has been a black hole for Oakland, with Daric Barton (68 OPS+) and Conor Jackson (84 OPS+) getting most of the playing time at the position.

2B Jermile Weeks. Oakland dealt Mark Ellis to Colorado at the end of June, and Weeks has been playing second base since. Oakland drafted Jermile was Oakland's first round pick in the 2008 draft, and was tearing it up in AAA before his callup to the majors. He's the brother of Milwaukee's Rickie Weeks.

3B Scott Sizemore. We've seen him playing for the Tigers, but mainly as a second baseman. But after going to Oakland for David Purcey, the A's moved him to third base (replacing LGFT Kevin Kouzmanoff and Andy LaRoche, both of whom were having terrible seasons). He's hit well since coming to Oakland (117 OPS+).

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So Oakland's been able to fill three of their gaping offensive holes on the fly, and the lineup that the Indians will face this week will be a lot better than the one they faced in early May. Oakland's been hitting .276/.344/.449 since the All-Star Break, quite an improvement over the first half of the season (.233/.299/.337). Josh Willingham, who was a trade possibility for the Indians in July, has been Oakland's best offensive player, hitting .249/.331/.482 with 23 home runs. LGFT Coco Crisp has 37 stolen bases, which ties the league lead.

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The 25-year-old was originally in the Chicago organization

Which one?

by JulioBernazard on Aug 29, 2011 10:14 AM EDT reply actions

White Sox.

by emd2k3 on Aug 29, 2011 10:30 AM EDT up reply actions

The Indians haven’t announced a starter for Tuesday, but is there any reason to believe it won’t be Gomez?

by AllenSmith on Aug 29, 2011 11:20 AM EDT reply actions

He seems like the logical choice.

by hans on Aug 29, 2011 8:57 PM EDT up reply actions

Hamilton confirms Gomez during tonights broadcast.

by hans on Aug 29, 2011 9:00 PM EDT up reply actions

He hasn’t pitched since the 22nd so he will be well rested.

by palcal on Aug 29, 2011 1:38 PM EDT reply actions

J-Willi would look nice in this lineup right about now.

by JulioBernazard on Aug 29, 2011 1:43 PM EDT reply actions

I wish we would’ve made an offer for Allen. I know it would’ve been hard to give up a relief pitcher at that point, but Allen could have been a contributer for us for multiple years into the future. He fit pretty well with the versatility to play 1B and corner OF as well.

If they wanted a side armer, I think I would’ve offered CC Lee. Don’t know if they would’ve taken him over Ziegler, but his numbers are impressive, he probably could’ve stepped right into their ML bullpen and would have allowed us to keep ours intact.

by TKilbane on Aug 29, 2011 1:51 PM EDT reply actions

I guess I should note that it’s entirely possible that we did make an offer and it just wasn’t reported.

by TKilbane on Aug 29, 2011 1:53 PM EDT up reply actions

I just picked up Allen for the fantasy playoff push and he has really done quite well.

by NewCavsfan on Aug 29, 2011 2:01 PM EDT up reply actions

We could’ve given them Porty (if they’d have taken him).

by JulioBernazard on Aug 29, 2011 4:43 PM EDT up reply actions

Ziegler is a MLB player. Arizona is in a playoff chase. CC Lee would have not helped them.

by emd2k3 on Aug 30, 2011 12:37 PM EDT up reply actions

I think you’re probably right. Depending on how highly we think of Allen though, given the unpredictability of bullpen guys from year to year and the plethera of options we seem to have coming through the pipeline, I may have been willing to part with one of our MLB guys at that point.

by TKilbane on Aug 30, 2011 1:34 PM EDT up reply actions