A Look At The A's 2012 Schedule (And A Few Rough Predictions), Part 3

Sorry this took so long to post, but I had school this week (break ended).

Well, the dog days of summer have arrived, and Oakland is 42-60, last place in the AL West. The pitching has been decent, the hitting has been terrible and the defense has been above average. Most players on the team have taken their lumps, but Brandon McCarthy has been a beacon of light in these dark times (9-4). Oakland approaches August hoping to finish above .500 for the month.

August

1) Tampa Bay Rays: Oakland loses Game 3 of the series.

Prediction: August begins with a loss. To be expected. (0-1; 42-62)

2) Toronto Blue Jays: We have three games in Oaktown, and Oakland's pitching decides now is NOT the time to step up. Battered by Toronto's powerful lineup (I'm looking' at you, Jose Bautista), the A's are swept.

Prediction: We won't lose 100 games, but 90 isn't out of the question. (0-3; 42-65)

3) LA Angels: The Halos enter this series sitting in second place, a few games behind the still hot Rangers. Kendry Morales is on the DL (again), but Albert Pujols is doing just fine (29 homers, 85 RBI). Brandon McCarthy wins one for Oakland and then Dallas Braden (5-9) wins another. A's take two.

Prediction: Oakland finished the home stand on a positive note. On to the Windy City! (2-1; 44-66)

4) Chicago White Sox: Oakland kicks off a 6-game road trip against the chicago White Sox. It's the 2nd time the A's are facing the White Sox, and apart from an ugly 8-1 loss, good hitting and homeruns from Coco, Sizemore and Suzuki result in a series win.

Prediction: The A's win their second straight series to sit at 20 games under .500. (2-1; 46-67)

5) KC Royals: The Royals are in fourth place in the AL Central, a few games in front of Minnesota (Detroit's first). Brett Anderson (6.63 ERA) finally turns in a good performance but Brian Fuentes gives up a three-run shot in the eighth that drops Oakland. The A's win one, lose two.

Prediction: In typical fashion, the A's avoid a sweep but still lose the series. (1-2; 47-68)

6) Cleveland Indians: The Indians are in third place, struggling to keep at .500. Tyson Ross (4-3) has been struggling to keep of the DL, and makes his second start after sitting on the disabled list for the second time this season. It's a seven-inning shutout, and Oakland sweeps.

Prediction: The last time the A's swept was at the beginning of June. It's about time. (3-0; 50-69)

7) Minnesota Twins: Francisco Liriano has been decent but against the A's he's an ace. Dallas Braden wins one for Oakland, and a great 13-inning affair gets a series win for Athletics Nation.

Prediction: A's win two, lose one. Take what you can get, I guess. (2-1; 52-70)

8) Tampa Bay Rays: Michael Taylor (.244, 77 strikeouts) finally gets a multi-homer games and then proceeds to strike out in almost all of his other AB's. Once again, the A's win two.

Prediction: Let's go Oakland! The A's are no longer last. (2-1; 54-71)

9) Cleveland Indians: Didn't we play these guys recently? Guillermo Moscoso (6-10) has been good, but the offense just hasn't supported him. Now, he gets an 11-run outburst and Oakland wins 14-2.

Prediction: Offense is nice. The A's score over 20 runs with three homers. (3-0; 57-71)

9) Boston Red Sox: The A's have gone 1-5 versus Boston, Brandon McCarthy (11-4) wins again and lowers his ERA to 2.77 with a complete game. Oakland can't keep the magic, though and loses the series,

Prediction: Oakland is 51-70 and 41 games are are left. Will our torture soon be over? (1-0; 58-72)

September

1) Boston Red Sox: See above.

Prediction: Again, see above. (0-2; 58-73)

2) LA Angels: If the A's go 30-11, they'll scrap a .500 finish. Let's just try not to finish last, OK?

Prediction: The push for not-suckiness is under way! Can the A's pull something a bunny of a hat and stun the baseball world (and will they're at it, can they pull some homers outta that hat)? Oakland take two at home to draw a bit closer to .500. (2-1; 60-74)

3) Seattle Mariners: It's time for the reckoning. The A's, knowing that the time is now, ride into Seattle and sweep the struggling M's. Yay.

Prediction: Oakland is putting on their afterburners. Hoping not to finish last (and not to finish 50 games behind the cruising Rangers), the A's sweep. (3-0; 63-75)

4) LA Angels: Sadly, Jered Weaver (15-5, 188 K's) and Albert Pujols get their revenge. Shortly after sweeping, the A's get swept.

Prediction: Bleep. (0-3; 63-79)

5) Baltimore Orioles: Coco Crisp has been having a good season (28 steals, .277 BA), and now comes out an hits a pair of homers. Oakland takes two, and the A's are now 65-80.

Prediction: The A's keep on rolling (sort of). Is 70 wins out of the question? (2-1; 65-80)

6) Detroit Tigers: Just when you thought you were safe... Justin Verlander. Max Scherzer turns in a quality performance and Oakland drops two (seeing a pattern here?).

Prediction: Come on A's! Bob Melvin has done a good job of managing a bad team, but the A's may choke in the end. (1-2; 66-81)

7) New York Yankees: Bleh. Playing the Yankees followed by the Rangers destroys pretty much any momentum the A's had. Brandon McCarthy wins one, but Oakland loses the other two. Brian Fuentes (4.88, 3 BSV) continues to be underwhelming.

Prediction: At least we don't have to face the Yanks anymore. Season's almost over, folks.... (1-2; 67-83)

8) Texas Rangers: If only we could play someone like Kansas City now. Brett Anderson pitches eight shutout innings and Balfour conserves a 2-0 win, but Oakland proceeds to lose the other three games. 70 wins is out of the question.

Prediction: Sigh. I guess we all knew it would come to this. (1-3; 68-86)

9 Seattle Mariners: Brandon McCarthy. Wow. The Oakland ace wins his 13th game and Oakland takes two. We have October baseball, everybody! Only three games though.

Prediction: This is it. Oakland will play three final games in the Coliseum to end the 2012 season. (2-1; 70-88)

October

1) Texas Rangers: This it. Ironically, Oakland wins their final series even though they suck versus Texas. Good bye, everybody. No more A's baseball 'till March.

Prediction: Well, at least we have football, right? (2-1; 72-90)

And that's it. It was a long, unforgiving season but when everything's said and done, the A's are in third place with a record of 72-90 (the Mariners are 70-92). The Texas Rangers (96-66) win the division and the Halos finish second at 91-71. Oakland's MVP was easily Brandon McCarthy, who went 13-5 with a 2.99 ERA in 33 starts. The bullpen was a fiasco at times, with Fauntino De Los Santos starting strong and then finishing with a 4.66 ERA and 19 saves in 28 opportunities. Grant Balfour posted a 2.44 ERA and had 90 strikeouts and Brett Anderson came back from injury to finish at 3-7 with a 5.59 ERA. The offense struggled, but there were a few bright spots: Coco Crisp had 35 steals and 8 homeruns, and Jemile Weeks hit .294. Daric Barton bounced back to hit .288 with 10 bombs and 70 RBI in 144 games. Josh Reddick hit .266 with 11 homeruns and Michael Taylor hit .254 and averaged about three strikeouts for every walk. But both of them - and the other youngsters - exhibited talent and showed that not all is lost. Bob Melvin managed a team that was hit hard by injuries with poise and panache, even when guys like Tyson Ross (5-6, 3.39 ERA) and Kurt Suzuki (14 homeruns, 82 RBI) spent time on the DL. And that's all. It was an underwhelming season, but 2015 is one step closer!