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motnahp -> RE: 1975 Oakland A's: What Should Have Been (9/16/2007 7:37:36 PM)
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A little early season analysis on my 1975 A's. On paper, this team appears to have everything a manager might want in order to succeed.
There are 3 exceptional starting pitchers with Hunter, Blue, and Holtzman. The bullpen features a good balance of quality with right-handers Fingers and Todd, coupled with lefties Lindblad and Hamilton.
There appears to be a surplus of power with Jackson, Bando, Tenace, and Rudi. Future Hall-of-Famer Billy Williams has some power and hits for a decent AVG as DH.
Team speed is abundant, with North, Campaneris, Claudell Washington, and Garner playing nearly every day. There's also a couple of sprinters (Herb Washington and Don Hopkins) available for pinch-running duties.
Of course, games aren't played on paper! Into late April, about the only things I can count on are Catfish Hunter on the mound and some speed threats on the bases.
Bando isn't hitting at all. Tenace is struggling. Jackson, Rudi, Williams, and Garner are OK. Rudi and Williams have stayed at or above .300 all year. There has been a severe power shortage, though. There are at least 4 guys on this team who should end up at or above 25 homers. So far, none of them are looking very powerful.
Hunter has started 4 games and allowed exactly ZERO runs. Blue has been decent, but Holtzman has struggled and received no run support while doing so. The 4th starter, Glenn Abbott, actually has one victory, but I don't feel too comfy with him out there. Mike Norris came up from AAA for a start and was shelled. He won't be making another start unless someone else gets injured. Reliever Dave Hamilton looks like the best candidate for a 5th starter, when needed.
Early-season grades for the A's:
Batting: C. Only Rudi and Williams have been steady. Everyone else has already had slumps. Bando is still in one. Leadoff man North is around .200. His ability to steal bases is useless when he flies out. Claudell Washington started very slow, but has been hot lately. I need to find somewhere to put him in the lineup, so he has someone to drive in. Tenace and Bando both love to draw walks. Unfortunately, they're also the slowest runners in the lineup and move station-to-station on the bases.
Power Hitting: C (minus). Team is performing far below expectations. AI managers are issuing lots of intentional walks and inducing many DP grounders. Apparently, they're not afraid of the 3-run homer.
Speed and Baserunning: B (plus). Even with North and Campaneris at or below .200 for most of the season, there are enough threats to give the AI managers fits. We've hit a few triples already and have been very successful and aggressive taking the extra base. Only the base-clogging of Bando and Tenace keep this mark from being an A or A (plus).
Starting Pitching: B. Without Hunter, it would be a C (minus) or lower. When Hunter comes back down to earth, someone else will need to step up. Blue shows the potential to be that guy. Holtzman has pitched in terrible luck and should turn it around soon. If all three of them are on a roll, watch out American League. If we can get 5-6 innings from Abbott every 4th day, that will be enough. If he starts getting knocked out in the 2nd or 3rd inning, we are in trouble. There are no dependable long reliever types in the pen.
Relief Pitching: A. Other than one fluke outing from Fingers, all of the short and middle relievers have been stellar. For long relief, John Odom is about 5 years past his prime and his performance shows it. The more times I can keep Odom OUT of a game, the better. If he's appearing more than once every 8-10 days, it means we're in trouble. After his one horrible start, Mike Norris will be in the pen, at least until he goes back to AAA. He needs to sit and watch, since he imported with STUFF of 33 and poor control.
Fielding: C (minus). I counted up 11 errors in 15 games. That doesn't sound too bad, but two different times, we've had 3 errors in a game. Too many of these are outfield errors. Making 3 errors in a game will cost the team ball games over the long haul.
Bench: D. The only threat of any kind on the bench is the pinch-running of Herb Washington. Since he had no real-life ABs or appearances in the field, he did not import at all. I created him and arbitrarily assigned him a SP of 67. There is another sprinter, Don Hopkins, at AAA. We'll see him up with the big club soon. Big lefty swinger Jim Holt is the first pinch-hitter off the bench. He's been dreadful, batting around .100. No one on the bench has homered. Ray Fosse is the #2 catcher, allowing some flexibility for manager motnahp to occasionally start Tenace at 1B or DH. Fosse's days as a power threat are behind him. Backups Ted Kubiak and Angel Mangual are adequate, but neither strikes fear into opposing pitchers. Larry Haney is the #3 catcher. He has done an admirable job warming up pitchers in the bullpen. He is also responsible for picking up any "debris" left by the mule "Charlie O" when he circles the field before each home game.[sm=character0095.gif]
Manager: C (minus). Manager motnahp has yet to find a consistent lineup. With this team's combination of speed and power, placement in the lineup is very important. Two of the regulars, Tenace and Bando, are great at drawing walks. Unfortunately, their slow foot speed presents problems. Too many innings have ended with ground ball double plays. One possible remedy for this is to call for the hit & run with Tenace or Bando on first base. Motnahp has been criticized for his apparent lack of imagination in this area.
Also, motnahp has steadfastly refused to move Bill North and his .200 average from the leadoff spot. Maybe he figures the switch-hitting speedster will eventually start to hit something other than fly balls. The #2 spot has been a problem, as well. Claudell Washington started off ice cold and was moved down to the 7th spot. Bert Campaneris took over the #2 spot and was even worse than Washington. Claudell has heated up and returned to the #2 spot, but usually has no one on base when he hits his doubles or triples.
Overview: There sure was some GOOD starting pitching back in the 1970's. It seems as if EVERY team had at least two "#1 starters", as they would be called today. With 4-man rotations and the modern closer usage "OFF", it seems as if the A's face a quality starting pitcher for 8 or 9 innings almost every game. We are not scoring enough runs to beat these quality starters. I have been guilty of waiting for the 3-run homer. I'm still waiting. I will need to start manufacturing runs. Also, I have not attempted any steals of 3rd. I may need to start doing some of that, as well. There will be many more hit & runs called for with my slow runners on base or at-bat. With Hunter, Blue, Holtzman, and my quartet of relievers, the opponents will be scoring 0, 1, or 2 runs in many games. We need to start scoring more than 0 or 1 ourselves.
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