I'm currently getting by on the hypothesis that the A's are only 2 'happenings' away from a WS title: (1) signing Barry Bonds, and (2) a healthy team.  I'm going to tackle the first issue in this diary by looking at what the A's numbers 'with Bonds' and 'without Bonds' would've been in 2007.  I've taken out Mike Piazza's 2007 numbers as well as the fill-in outfielders, including Langerhans, Bocachica, Thompson, Kielty, Putnum, and Davanon.  I'm obviously replacing some of our weaker links with Bonds, so the results will be overstated, but take a look just for fun.

A's 2007 numbers:
AVG/OBP/SLG/OPS
A's 2007 numbers: 0.256/0.338/0.407/0.745
Numbers with Bonds: 0.259/0.352/0.421/0.773

Would this add up to significantly more runs for the A's?  The A's scored 741 runs in 2007.  Teams comparable to the A's+Bonds were the Cincinnati Reds (OPS .772 and 783 runs), the Atlanta Braves (.774, 810), and Cleveland (.771, 811).  

With an additional 60 runs, the A's run differential would have been +43, which would've put us around 86 wins, still not enough to have made the playoffs this year.  Add in a healthy Rich Harden replacing starts by Braden, Meyer, and Lewis, and you could certainly make a case that the A's would've been in the race for the AL West.  Add in a healthy Street, Duke, and Calero, and you could make the case that the A's would've been the team to beat in the AL.

Or maybe I'm just daydreaming...