With all those players coming back who will be sent down?  Kotsay and Bradley will mean a demotion for Boccachica, Cust, or Murphy.  Loaiza and Duchere will mean a demotion of a couple of relief pitchers to many to name because anyone of them could go down.  

Thanks for the encouraging news! :)  I especially look forward to seeing Milton back in the lineup - and if he plays in RF that might help keep him healthy (we hope). :)

about Loiza being effective with a torn miniscus.  Pitching relies so heavily on a pitchers lower half that I fear after a couple poor starts we will lose him yet again...this time to surgery.  Would in not have been better for him to get the surgery when diagnosed?  Seems like he is just waisting time...something that we don't have a lot of.  On the other hand, we can live without Loiza, but our bullpen is another story.  We really do need Duke back.  

It really will be nice to see Kotsay back,, especially if he can recapture some of his old performance.  It may be that he can finish out the season without nagging injuries.  That would be a tremendous lift to the team.  Bradley....what good is a terrific hitter is he is constantly sidelined?  Even if he comes back we will all be left to wonder for how long.  That he will go down again is a given.  

Like you I am escited for the chance at some optomism, but at this point the cynical nature in me is having full reign.    

The word was that he would be out either ten days or a year and a half with Tommy Johns surgery.  I don't think he's begun throwing yet and he was placed on the DL 13 days ago, so should we assume that this ulnar nerve thing is probably season ending?

Also, what about Harden?  He's not even really throwing the ball yet either and he's been out over a month due to a "minor shoulder strain."

This has honestly been the most frustrating season I can recall as an A's fan in a long time.  The combination of so many injuries, the new restriction on asking players about injuries, and the FO's covert and secretive tactics is infuriating -- almost to the point of ruining the A's baseball experience.  I would almost rather fallow a shitty team which is reliable and transparent than one that is decent if healthy but perpetually DL'd and cryptic.  

For some reason doesen't get me too excited. His defense isn't what it used to be and he put up some very unimpressive offensive numbers last season.

Here's some good news - Daric Barton is 4-4 with a triple so far today and Melillo is 1-1 with a double and 3 walks.

I constantly see a reference to the fact that the a's have been playing .500 ball with all the injuries and that in fact are in a better position to make a playoff run as compared to say, last year.

the reality is not as simple as all that. even if the a's do turn it on in the second half and get healthy (not a given), they have to contend with (1) the angels being a much better team this year than last year and clearly off to a hot start (in spite of their share of injuries); (2) the fact that the a's have not been able to take advantage of an easier schedule to open the season, the schedule gets really tough for the a's come july and post-asb; (3) the a's have not shown signs of dominating the division while the angels have. we won the division last year while dominating the mariners who are clearly are an improved team this year; (4) the wild card race is going to be tight this year with several teams likely in the fray come september.

going into the road trip, there were some encouraging signs but they've been snuffed out with some ugly games against the white sox and o's. we were getting good starting pitching and now the backend of our rotation has begun to implode. we were beginning to get more consistent offense up and down the lineup but some of our hot hitters are coming down to earth. and we all know the mess that our bullpen is in and how important street and/or harden's return is to the pitching staff for our playoff run. what's been most disappointing over the past week is that the injuries appear to caught up with the a's mentally. they just did not appear to be mentally present in the last 2 games and have the belief of a playoff contender. i felt like i was reliving the alcs versus detroit when the injury to mark ellis seemed to have a similar effect on the team after we dominated the twins; the a's appear to have lost the plot mentally.

too many questions. and i fear not many answers. how the a's play in june is really going to tell us a lot about the character of this team and its playoff chances.

for the week that he is here before he blows out his hamstring again and goes back on the DL again