Oakland Athletics

The Athletics prepare to defend their HH World Series title...

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Athletics Wrap Up Successful  First Half 

 

Expectations for the 2002 HH Oakland Athletics were high. Anything less than another World Series championship would be a disappointment. This years lineup is arguably stronger than last years version, so it is easy to see why so much is expected of this team. Championships are won on the field, however, not on paper, and the Athletics would be a marked team at every ballpark they play in this season.

 
 
Eric Chavez (R) had a great first half before injuring his back in June.  Jim Mecir (L) saved 24 games before the All Star break.

With a schedule stacked with divisional opponents, the A's knew April would be a crucial month. Oakland 
exploded out of the gates, winning 15 of their first 20 games and grabbing the early lead in the AL West. 
Included in that early stretch were sweeps over the Rangers and Mariners. The suprising young Orioles would 
bring Oakland back to Earth by taking two straight in Baltimore. The tough Chicago White Sox would take 2 
out of 3 from the A's to close out the month, giving Oakland a 16-9 record in April. With the rest of the 
division struggling below .500 the A's would grab a comfortable 4.5 game lead.

What was unexpected about the Athletics good start was the players leading the way. At the end of last 
season 39 year old Jeff Andrews was watching most of the post season from the bench. Andrews surprised many 
when he didn't retire and got off to a blazing start, going 5-0 with a 1.45 ERA. Also, Mark Mulder appears 
to be emerging as the pitcher the A's hoped he'd be. Mulder went 2-1 with a 2.30 ERA including a 1-hitter 
against Texas in his first start of the season. Firstbaseman Jason Giambi got off to a slow start, hitting 
just .259 with 2 homeruns. However, there were plenty of other bats to pick up the slack. Brook Fordyce 
looked fully recovered from his injuries, blasting 7 homeruns in April to lead the team. Eric Chavez also 
looks to be an emerging star, hitting .282 with 5 homeruns. Last season's Rookie of the Year Jose Ortiz 
also found some power, hitting 5 homers on the month. At the other end of the spectrum, Jeremy Giambi 
struggled badly. Giambi's average is well below .200 and has been losing playing time to Eric Byrnes. 
There are trade rumors that the A's are interested in acquiring Jermaine Dye from Kansas City. If the 
Royals and Dye continue to struggle, look for these rumors to heat up.

There were many other early surprises around the league. The Baltimore Orioles grabbed an early 1 game lead in the AL East over the Yankees. The Chicago White Sox posted the best record in baseball and held a commanding 6 game lead on the rest of the Central. 

Heading into May the usual suspects began to take over for the Athletics. Tim Hudson and the Giambi brothers began to look more like their normal selves, leading Oakland to victories in 6 out of the first 7 games of the month, including a sweep of Minnesota. The A's would take a pair of series from Cleveland and the White Sox before sweeping the scrappy young Orioles in Oakland, knocking Baltimore into second place. Just when the A's were flying high, a trip to Boston appeared on the schedule. The tough Red Sox would win 3 games in the 4 game series. Two of the wins were by just a run. The Athletics would extract their revenge on the hapless Detroit Tigers by sweeping a three game set in Oakland to end the month.

The A's found themselves leading the Mariners by 6.5 games with Texas and Anaheim already falling well off pace. The Chicago White Sox pace had cooled quite a bit, and the Twins pulled withing 3.5 games in the Central division race. After stumbling in Oakland, the Orioles rebounded and moved back into first place on the last day of the month, leading the Yankees and Toronto by a game.

Mark Mulder went 10-1 in the first half and is beginning to look like the pitcher the A's expected him to be.

Early in June Oakland would suffer their first injury of the season when Eric Byrnes badly sprained an 
ankle. Byrnes was placed on the DL and Adam Piatt was recalled early from his AAA rehad assignment to take 
his spot. Piatt was considered one of Oaklands top prospects, but a serious injury cut short his promising 
rookie season. Since Piatt could also play third base, the A's also bid farewell to Olmedo Saenz and 
replaced him with outfielder Ryan Christenson.

It turns out that Adam Piatt came off the DL at just the right time, because not long after his return 3B 
Eric Chavez would go down with a serious back injury. With Chavez out for at least a month, Piatt was 
inserted into the lineup at thirdbase. Piatt would respond by hitting .311 with 9 homeruns, 20 RBIs, and 22 
runs scored in the next 36 games he played. Miguel Tejada would also go on a power binge, hitting 13 
homeruns in the month of June and first week of July. 

However, Oakland's starting pitchers were still the heart of this team. Barry Zito led the team in 
strikeouts and had the best ERA at just 2.52. The A's did not give him enough run support, otherwise his 
record would have been better than 6-5. Mark Mulder continued his breakout season, going 10-1 with a 3.00 
ERA. Corey Lidle was solid and consistent, posting and 8-2 record. Overall, Oakland only allowed 3.17 runs 
per game, which was the best in baseball. Put that next to 5.05 runs scored per game (5th best in 
baseball,) and it's easy to see why the Athletics were so successful.

Oakland torched the rest of the league with a 26-9 record in the 6 week period heading into the All Star 
break. The run would help the Athletics boost their lead in the West to a whopping 17 games. The A's would 
send Johnny Damon, Tim Hudson, and Jeff Andrews to the All-Star game, though none of them would play a 
significant role in the outcome of the game, won by the National League 3-1.

If the Athletics were the hottest team going into the All-Star break, the Boston Red Sox were a close 
second. Boston posted a 22-12 record from June 1 until the break and catapolted themselves into first 
place. Meanwhile the Orioles spiraled downward and ended up in 4th, just behind the Blue Jays and Yankees. 
The White Sox stuggled to maintain their momentum, but the Twins were unable to capitalize and still trailed 
Chicago by 3.5 games. 

NATIONAL LEAGUE REPORT

The first half of the National League pennant race features some surprise teams as well as the usual suspects.

In the National League East, it was the Montreal Expos who jumped to the early lead, 2.5 games up on the 
Braves. No surprise in the Central, where Cincinatti is looking to defend their division crown. The Reds 
had the early 1 game lead on the Cardinals, Astros, and Cubs. In a battle of mediocrity Colorado and 
Arizona held a tie for first, each with a .500 record.

May still had the surprising Montreal Expos doing all the damage. The Expos expanded their lead in the NL 
East to 6.5 games over the Atlanta Braves. In the Central, the Reds stumbled in May and the Astros and Cubs 
took advantage. Houston took first in the division, leading the Cubs by 3.5 and the Reds by 5.5. The big 
turn around in the West was posted by San Diego. The Padres were in last place and had lost 12 straight 
before they resurrected their season and got back in the hunt. The Dodgers pulled into first, with the 
Padres just 2 games behind. The Giants were also starting to play well, but Colorado fell all the way from 
first to last place in the division.

The Mets made a surge before the All-Star break to push into second place in the East past Atlanta, but 
still trailed the surprising Expos by 6.5 games. The Astros continued to push the pace in the Central. 
Houston upped their lead over Chicago to 5 games. The Pirates were starting to show some signs of life and 
got themselves back in the race with a June push. The Dodgers used a solid month of play to take control of 
the West Division. Los Angeles took a 7.5 game lead over the Giants heading into the break.