A's first quarter grades

by jakarta on May 20, 2007 4:01 PM PDT Comment 19 comments

Well, since nobody has posted a grade/first quarter of the season discussion on the main page, I figured I am not overstepping my place by posting it here in a diary.

Obviously, with the amount of injuries and flux we've had in the roster so far, it's going to be tough to assign these grades with any kind of certainty. It's difficult to know to what extent players have been playing hurt because they are trying to gut it out while their teammates are down.

On to the grades:

The Hitters

Dan Johnson A
He was prepared to earn his job in Spring Training. The hip injury isn't something he can be faulted for. He's been the best nonCustian hitter on the team.

Mark Ellis C+
The extra RBI are nice, he's stayed healthy and taken a few walks. Has the secure contract, blocking Melillo.

Bobby Crosby B+
Looked terrible at the start of the season. As he's played back into shape, he looks like the player we hoped he would be. Hit quite well over the last month. Has been able to stay in the lineup everyday.

Eric Chavez C
Has played every game. 12 2Bs, 18 XBH, and 71 TB lead the team. Defense is still pretty darned good after a few early hiccups. 15 BB to 38 K is not good.

Marco Scutaro D
Bomb against Rivera saves him from getting an F. After starting season 3 for 34, has 7 hits in last 20 ABs.

Todd Walker C+
Was a pro on the bench during the time he was here. Ultimately expendable.

Jason Kendall D
He'll rebound to .270 or so before the season ends. Has had problems with the running game again this year. Gets a bit of credit for the starting pitching performance.

Adam Melhuse C-?
At this point, I have no idea how to evaluate him.

Mike Piazza C
Seems to be a good influence in the clubhouse. Still a smart hitter and nice to have that right handed bat in the lineup.

Nick Swisher B
Hasn't really been hot yet this year. Played hurt, been adequate in CF, .418 OBP and .488 SLG. This year has hit better as a 1B than as an OF.

Shannon Stewart B-
Coming into the season I'm sure few of us figured that he'd play 41 of 42 games for the A's. His production numbers has to take into account that he probably has needed days off that he couldn't take during the great OF plague of '07.

Travis Buck B
.360 OBP .495 SLG. Can play an adequate RF in the majors. Been playing hurt for a month.

Milton Bradley INC
Depends on whether you blame him for his injury trouble or not. Too bad, he really looked focused coming into the season.

Danny Putnam C
He stayed healthy? He didn't mock the A's publicly when they asked him to play CF?

Bobby Kielty INC
Do the A's keep him over Cust when he comes back? Anybody want of half season of our lovable clown?

Chris Snelling C+
He'll be a nice player for the 40 or so games a year he's healthy.

Ryan Langerhans
who?

Jack Cust A+
Ten years from now, Jack Cust is what i'll remember about the May 2007 A's.

The Pitchers

Dan Haren A+
Leading League in ERA and IP. That's always an A+.

Joe Blanton A-
7 or more inning each of last 5 starts. Doing his part to minimize effect of a bad pen Averaging more innings per start than Haren.

Chad Gaudin B+
Has been a little lucky, and hasn't pitched as deep into games as we will need if count on him to be a frontline starter. But obvously he's done super well for being a sixth starter (and really behind Halsey and Windsor during most of Spring Training).

Joe Kennedy A
As a starter, he's allowed 1,1,1,1,1,3,1,3 (today) ER in each of his starts. He probably won't keep it up, he's been a bit lucky, but he has been great.

Rich Harden Fail
Rich gets to take this course on a pass/fail basis. Right now he is failing. If he somehow pitches regularly during the second half of the season, he can still pass.

Dallas Braden C
Has the stuff to succeed up here, has to learn how to work out of trouble. I'd be fine with him as a fifth starter in 08.

Huston Street B+
Come back soon Huston.

Justin Duchscherer D+
Has never been right.

Kiko Calero D
Can't count on him yet this year.

Alan Embree C+
a bit overused this year. Still is mostly solid.

Jay Witasick D+
7 walks in last 6 innings. not reliable.

Lenny Dinardo C+
hasn't been good enough to become a reliable high-leverage guy, still fair though.

Jay Marshall C+
Overused. Too many Plate appearances versus RHH. I still don't think it was worth the roster space to keep him instead of using Flores, but he has pitched a bit better than his ERA would indicate, and would probably get a higher grade if we could afford the luxury of using him as a LOOGY

Kotsay and Loaiza don't get grades here, nor do Robertson, Flores or Bocachica.

Geren I'll grade on a pass/fail basis so far and I'll give him a pass.

I'd have to think really hard about what to give Beane and the front office at this point. Who are the other PTBNL? Why did we feel we could trade McBeth for Denorfia who is out for the season? Sure would be nice to have grabbed Joakim Soria or Josh Hamilton instead of Goleski. But sticking with DJ all the way, getting Cust, trusting Kennedy even after the scary Spring, starting Gaudin, and recognizing that Buck was ready enough are all positives in the front office's favor. Now about those injuries though...

What do you all think?

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Basically solid grading, IMO

I'd give Ellis a higher grade for having a ton of RBIs and playing, with the exception of one play, an outstanding second base.

I'd probably have to give Johnson an A- for poor defense. Factoring in defense, I'd downgrade Crosby to a B and upgrade Chavy to a C+. I wouldn't give Kennedy an A--he's been as lucky as Gaudin has and hasn't pitched deep into games all the time; A- tops. But those are all minor quibbles.

I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal

by Nico on May 20, 2007 4:08 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Luck?

I agree about Kennedy being lucky; he just doesn't have the stuff to strike people out and get out of jams. What scares me about his is he looks like this years Watasik: An average to below average player having a career year that will cause Beane to sign him to a 3 year deal this off season, and the A's will have to hide him in AAA with an injury after he comes back down to Earth next year.

Gaudin on the other hand deserves an A- at least. Chad Gaudin 2006 and Chad Gaudin 2007 are different players. I remember when he came up last year he would blow away the first batter or two and then walk two or three straight. To have come from loosing control after two batters to being able to go 7 innings in LESS then a year is amazing. He has the second best raw stuff on the team, but he still has minor control issues with pitch placement that cost him hits. He reminds me on Dan Haren circa-2005,2006--a player with great stuff but doesn't have the experience to control it to it's potential yet. He's going to be a top of the rotation starter in the next year or two.

The other reason Gaudin deserves an A is that without him our rotation would be in the same position our offense would be without Jack Cust.

by Threepwood XX on May 20, 2007 5:01 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I would be surprised

if Kennedy was offered any kind of lucrative deal that tied the club's hands. Beane didn't do it for Lidle or Saarloos, and Redman was a case of Beane trying to be too cute.

We all give our grades or evaluations based on our expectations for the players, and I had higher expectations for Gaudin than for Kennedy.

Besides, look at their game logs. In May, Kennedy has pitched 28 innings over 4 starts and allowed 8 runs. Gaudin has pitched 23 2/3 innings and allowed 11 runs.

I agree though that Gaudin is a far more valuable piece of the A's puzzle going forward than Kennedy is. JMHO

by jakarta on May 20, 2007 9:06 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Swisher

A .906 OPS is better than adequate. It's not quite elite superstar level, but it's very, very good. Among AL outfielders he has the third best OBP and fifth best OPS. Put it another way: right now he would be the best outfielder on the Yankees or Red Sox.

That's worth an A- at least.

by matthias on May 20, 2007 6:50 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I meant Swisher's defense in CF was adequate

Swisher is a very talented hitter. The expectations for him are higher than for many other A's hitters (like DJ or Cust or rookie Buck). He is still having some poor ABs with RISP. If Putnam put up Swish's numbers I'd give him an A or an A+.

But I sure am glad to have him on the team, and am very glad that he has been signed through his arby years and beyond.

by jakarta on May 20, 2007 9:22 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

kendall

kendall should be an F. Every single catcher the A's have had people have said "handled the staff well." Hes brings nothing to the table. In 2004 when melhuse got playing time he hit very well and for more power then kendall.

Lets go Oakland! Check out my blog:http://sportsrus33.blogspot.com/

by bballfanr33 on May 20, 2007 8:18 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

ROBB'S BACK!

Where ya been? Studying? No seriously, where ya been?

I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal

by Nico on May 20, 2007 9:02 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

chillen

ive been on the site a lot. I just dont comment much. Whats up Nico, I miss CHEZ NICO!!!!!!!!

Lets go Oakland! Check out my blog:http://sportsrus33.blogspot.com/

by bballfanr33 on May 20, 2007 9:28 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Don't worry, they're coming--

I don't do them until school's out but there will be much chezing in the summer.

I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal

by Nico on May 20, 2007 10:20 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Agree on Kendall.

If Piazza isn't the starting catcher when he comes back, I will be very unhappy.

"Their batters are patient to the point that it's annoying." -Ryan Franklin, Seattle Mariners

by Helloooo 1st on May 20, 2007 9:17 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

how about if I stipulate

that D is NOT a passing grade? If it were pass/fail, a D is a fail. What if we give Kendall an E? Still not good enough? He needs that F?

okay. First quarter F

by jakarta on May 20, 2007 9:28 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

What are the grades based on?

I guess I am curious as to whether they are based on performace vs expectation, or performace alone.

If performace vs expectation, then I would adjust some as follows:

Chavez - D - His performance is average, but WAY below what the salary leader on the club should produce. C implies passing - and frankly well no!

Blanton - A+ - Many here wanted to dump Blanton at the start of the season for basically a prospect as if he were some easily replaceable pitcher. He has FAR exceeded that expectation, and I don't think many would now consider Blanton for Milledge a very good deal for the A's.

Swisher - A or A- Others have already posted his stats - pretty good to me

Marshall - a victim of being used wrong. For a rule V guy used inappropriately I think he deserves a bit higher. Certainly deserves to stick - at least a B

Embree - been used often. Personally I didn't have high expectations, so am pleasantly surprised. If someone exceeds my expectations, they deserve at least a B

Good diary and good discussion - well thought out

by onlysaying on May 21, 2007 1:49 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

performance relative to expectations

and our expectations all differ somewhat, and that seems to me the interesting part of this exercize.

I don't want to fight hard to defend these grades, I just enjoy the excuse to discuss the team.

Here we are with the same run differential and expected winning percentage as the Angels. We trail them in the standings though. Usually during our May swoon we are being soundly beaten and outscored. We've had lots of players in roles that we didn't see them in last year or expect them to fill this year. So it was an excuse for me to look at a whole bunch of game logs and reflect on what has happened so far.

by jakarta on May 21, 2007 10:24 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Just a few quibbles

I don't see how Crosby can get a B+ and Swisher a B based on performance rather than expectations. Maybe a little (half grade) rough on Ellis and Stewart, and easy on Kendall. Generally agree with the pitching grades, though might bump Gaudin to an A-, especially considering he wasn't a starter until the last week of ST. I'd give DiNardo a solid B. Not his fault that he doesn't get important innings. He's sure performed well when he's been in there.

by boilerdan on May 21, 2007 7:25 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

team a+

for this team of mostly castoffs (albeit lovable for a's fans) excluding by my count only 5 frontline players - haren blanton chavez swisher street - to be at .500 and in the race is another reason to be aware how lucky we are to be in our division.

by oakath on May 21, 2007 8:27 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Trainer and Medical Staff get an 'F'

.. if there were a lower possible grade, I would give them that! We got away with a lot of injuries last year, but this year the injuries could cause us not to compete with the Angels .. already the injuries are catching up to us, just hope desperately that we get healthy before the Angels have put us FAR behind in their rear view mirror ..

.. the Athletics may be small-market but they have BIG-heart! ..

by Randy Bell on May 21, 2007 8:32 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Apa kabar?

I think you're too hard on Ellis who by ZR is one of the top 3-5 2B in baseball. He and Buck are the only A's rated that high, and the run prevention is the reason this team is above .500. They don't really have a strikeout staff.

Your Crosby rating is generous given that he really sucked in April and has been pretty good in May. April still counts for 1/2 the grade so far.

I really like the job Beane's done so far -- picking up Cust and Snelling (he has to come back eventually). Even Walker and Stewart were useful. And he stuck with DJ even though many didn't want to. His biggest mistakes were made in prior years -- Kendall, Loaiza. I don't fault him for giving Crosby and Harden long term deals. It's part of the overall strategy.

I also like that Geren moved Kennedy and Gaudin into the rotation and has stuck with Stewart and Crosby even when they sucked in April.

I like Swisher as much as anyone else, but he hasn't been remotely adequate in CF, especially since the hamstring problem.

by WaddellCanseco on May 21, 2007 8:51 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Baik-baik saja

The Crosby rating has everything to do with the fact that he missed Spring Training completely, wasn't good last year, and was looking like a big time liability and hole in this team's future.

To me Crosby's resurgence is super important because it allows the A's to relax and count of him being the useful piece they thought he was when they signed him through his arb years. Especially with Scutaro struggling, and with Petit and Pennington still having to prove that they are prospects to be everyday players in the show, Crosby is our only real choice right now to be a better than replacement level shortstop. That's my reasoning at least.

by jakarta on May 21, 2007 10:13 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs