Well, the A's sweep of the Red Sox kind of screwed up the premise of this diary, now that everyone is all happy, but I'll write it anyway.

We have a lot of be pleased with concerning the team, including some things that have gone a bit unnoticed.  It's not clear how far this team is from true contention, and there are some crosscurrents that make this difficult to predict, but the outlook is a lot brighter than I ever expected.

I'll return to my random thoughts format, in part because I like it, and in part because I don't have a big theme...

-- Think about the Dan Haren trade.  Haren is performing as well as expected with the Diamondbacks, giving them an important piece of a possible World Series winner.  But the trade still looks like a steal for the A's.  The supposed keys to the deal remain in the minors, but the two starters we got in return have lower ERAs than Haren's and look pretty impressive after almost a third of the season.  I don't know the WHIP and all the other stuff, but that's pretty impressive.  They'll struggle at times, as the league adjusts, but both look like keepers to me.

-- The "throw-in" of the Swisher deal may turn out to be the best Major League player. 

-- I have not been a fan of the Geren choice as manager, less because of Geren himself than because of the whole "best man" weirdness.  But I must admit that he's done a nice job juggling an awful lot of people and giving them enough playing time while maximizing their chances for success.

-- Bobby Crosby isn't awful.  This point has been made periodically, but it should be emphasized, because he has been everyone's favorite whipping boy for years.  I remember a conversation at AN Day a couple of years ago (I think) in which I argued that we need to ratchet down our expectations for Crosby.  He's not a budding superstar, or even a star, but he is a capable defensive shortstop who wouldn't be a problem if he just could stop swinging at crappy offspeed pitches and trying to hit home runs.  He's not perfect now, but he's been fine.

-- I'm not sure how Barton is going to turn out.  I've always been a little skeptical about a first baseman without power, because guys like that have to be on-base machines to be terribly useful.  I don't mind his struggles, because that's what happens with young players.  But I do wonder about the long-term potential of a slow, powerless first baseman with an average glove at best.

-- Let's do ourselves a favor and not get too excited about Chavez's possible return.  Whenever he returns, whether tomorrow or later in the year, it's going to take him a while.  I will concede a twinge of excitement simply at getting the pre-injury Chavez back.  I have given up hope that he will be a great hitter.

-- The A's are one of the few teams that can lose its two right-handed setup guys and not appear to miss a beat.  Bullpen depth is handy.

--  The team has a lot of decisions to make, but many are dilemmas created by good performances.  We're all eager to see CarGon, but I think the team's current performance - and that of the current outfielders - argues for keeping him in Sacramento until July or until he's totally dominating AAA pitching.  I'm cheap, and think life would be simpler if he's more affordable years down the road.  Besides, who's to say he would play better than Sweeney if called up early?

-- The minor league pitching looks more promising than it has in years, despite the recent injury problems.  Hitting remains a need, though.  I assume that's what we will be targeting, in the draft and any major trades.

-- Harden doesn't have enough of a track record of health to yield much of a return, so I don't really see the point of trading him now.  We'll see how things look at the end of July.

-- I remain uncertain of Blanton's trade value, and am not sure dealing him is wise as long as the team remains in the race.  But he's probably the most valuable trading chip, especially for a team that loses a starter in the next month.  

-- While the American League is as weak as it's been in years, I think the Wild Card is very unlikely.  Some team will get hot.  And the Angels are probably just too good.  That's okay, from my perspective.  The team is hanging around, proving entertainment to those of us who pay attention, and might get lucky.  More likely, the A's are setting themselves up to be a legit contender as soon as next year.

-- Frank Thomas remains a presence in the lineup, and takes pressure off everyone else even when he's not hot.  Of course, if he has a good year, he will probably be playing somewhere else next season.

-- The outfield is crowded already, as is the bullpen (despite the injuries), so those are likely places where deals will be made.  The trouble is that I don't see any of those players yielding high-potential prospects.

-- Good pitching covers a multitude of sins.  But the team needs to get better defensively (something that should start to happen as injured players return and prospects get called up) and needs to develop or acquire a stud hitter.  For all of my optimism, I remain concerned about the team's ability to find somebody like that.  They're not usually lying around, waiting to be found.