Everybody is so positive...

The thing is, they aren't terrible either.  If they are primarily used to eat innings in games that are already basically over, then they won't do much damage.  If we find ourselves in a situation like last year, where Kennedy is used as a Harden substitute, then we are skrooed.

Kendall could be a weak spot.  I just hope that last year's performance was an anomaly and not the beginning of a career decline.

I like this team going into '06. If they get Frank and he plays up to his potential the lineup will be well balanced. The SP staff is stacked and one of the best in MLB. I suppose there is an arguement that the BP could be slightly improved but it appears solid. The bench looks better than most years.

My weakest link is Macha. For my money Kenny has yet to prove that he is the type of Championship caliber manager that will win the team games and take them to the Promised Land. This may change but if it smells like pig, and snorts like pig, and tastes like pig, well........  

a k/9 of almost 11 = "can't get anybody out"

a weak link as the fourth right-handed reliever out of the bullpen? Which team has a fourth right-handed reliever out of the bullpen who is superior? I'm not a Witasick fan and would be very concerned if he were the set-up man, and a little concerned if he were the next guy. But as one of the last guys out of the bullpen, he is a luxury, not a liability.

Weak link right now? "Everyday health." Chavy, Kotsay, Crosby, Harden, et al are only as good as their ability to play, and play at 100%.

I have a feeling Witasick might turn out to be our weakest player, but not necessarily our weakest link. Like Yabu last year, if he looks like he's struggling, he just won't see the time to hurt us too much. Kennedy, though, I do see as a risk. He was good in the 'pen last year before starting, but I have a slight worry about his new position as the possible only lefty, the consequential tag of "specialist" he's going to get, and the timing of his inclusion in games because of it. It's not something I'm really worried about, but if anything's going to blow up in our face it might be that. I'd feel more comfortable with a Flores or someone in tow to give us an option. I guess with all the talk about depth this offseason, the one place we don't have it has to be the liability.

Well, painful as my saddle sores are, I'm gonna climb back on Monkeyball's Hobbyhorse #2: Our Underperforming Offense (#1, of course, being Our Inflexible Roster Management With Only 21 Players, which seems to have been addressed by Beane this offseason).

I think the offense is the weak link on the '06 A's as the roster currently stands. It's definitely upgraded from '05, but it's still, IMHO, a league-average-at-best offense.

Even if we add Thomas, he's still likely to only give us <300 PAs -- and he could, despite our expectations, not be able to maintain his previous OPS levels.

1. Chavy's unfathomable cold streaks when he can't seem to make contact with BP fastballs down the middle of the plate. He was like that for what, about a third of last season?
2. Kendall's inability to throw out runners.
3. Crosby's bat. Let's face it, we rely on this kid to be a big part of our offense. If he dosen't settle down at the plate in clutch situations there's going to be a lot of outs when he tries to pull a pitch that's on the outer half of the plate.
4. There is no No. 4
5. Because it's an odd number.

(heh heh)

don't often get the opportunity to blow many games. Assuming Huston, Duke and Calero stay healthy, they will be excellent middle relievers.

This team does not have any holes. Its only weakness - if you can call it that - is the teamwide balance. We have good and very good players at every spot on the roster - but aside from a completely healthy Rich Harden, none of them are top end players.

Got shut out 12 times, 12 times, no offense at all in the beginning of the year, no clutch hits when it mattered most. Bullpen would be worriesome if Witasick becomes the next Arthur Rhodes.

since I interpreted the question as not who will be the worst player on the team -- that would be somebody like Scutaro, Perez or some other scrub -- but most likely to disappoint.

Kotsay's back hurts on offense and defense and there's no real replacement for him -- unless you move Swisher to OF full time.  Most likely to be fully healthy and still disappoint would be Ellis for whom last year was hit lucky and out of character with his history or Johnson who tailed off badly the second time around the league.