Oakland Athletics

If you were looking to pick your greatest ever Athletics lineup, based on single-season offensive performances, where would you start?

For a team with a storied 109-year history, there are options from every era and at every position.

The outfield might be as good a place as any, with a host of Hall of Fame members and All-Stars among their number.

How about the stars from the championship-winning teams that three-peated in the mid 1970s?

Sometime in the spring of 2007, I was sitting in an AP English Language classroom as a high school senior. Since I had already gotten into college, I wasn't really 100 percent engaged anymore, and the works of Henry James and Joan Didion did little to motivate me. I was pretty much going through the motions.

Still, one assignment that we got piqued me interest. It was simply: "Write a persuasive essay of three pages on anything you want."

Over the course of the offseason, I've looked at a few individual players and also broke down the starting pitching situation for the Oakland A's.
Rather than continuing with the individual approach, I thought it would be better to present everyone in the organization by position, and offer a brief breakdown of where they stand going into 2010.
I'll start behind the plate.
Here are 16 catchers in the organization, some information about them, and what to expect from them in 2010.

I recently had the great pleasure of interviewing former MLB catcher Rob Bowen, a 28- year-old former member of the Athletics, Padres, Cubs and Twins. 

Bowen was a switch hitter and threw right-handed. During his MLB career, he was known for his great fielding abilities. We spoke about his career, baseball free agency, his new company, a possible comeback, and a lot more.

Steven Merriam: Who had the biggest impact in your baseball career?                     

THE TRADE

He A's have traded Matt Spencer, Jeff Gray, and Ronny Morla for Jake Fox and Aaron Miles.

A's lost

Matt Spencer 
age: 23
drafted: 3rd round 2007
positions:  OF-188, 1B-26

Oakland A's GM Billy Beane made it clear that the A's have no real intention to test the free-agent market in an effort to address the organization's biggest needs.

Beane reiterated that point earlier today because ESPNChicago reporter Bruce Levine has reported that the Cubs sent 3B Jake Fox and 2B Aaron Miles to the A's in exchange for RP Jeff Grey and minor-leaguers Ronny Morla and Matt Spencer.

The A's 3B situation is crucial, especially with Gold Glover Eric Chavez's inability to stay healthy enough to play.

With the A's coming off their third-straight sub .500 season, General Manager Billy Beane has made it clear to the A's very small and ever thinning fan base that rebuilding is key for future success.

The A's over the past two or three seasons have spent most of their efforts trying to replenish their depleted farm-system.

However, last season's off-course "spending spree" that ultimately backfired, caused Beane and the rest of the A's front office to re-evaluate their situation and their biggest organizational needs. 

Like most sports fans, I take a lot of pride in my predictions that come true. I said the Red Sox would win the 2004 ALCS even when they went down 3-0. I predicted Kurt Warner would be a great NFL QB before he ever took a snap in the league (and I was only nine at the time). I've made a number of other far-fetched predictions that came true in different sports.

However, baseball is a game that is largely random. The year-to-year player variations are staggering, and nobody, no matter their expertise, gets them all right.

Let’s be honest; Moneyball hasn’t quite worked out over the last few years.

The Oakland Athletics had gone 457-353 under Billy Beane’s leadership when Moneyball was published after the 2002 season. They continued their success for the next four years, going 368-280, but have gone just 226-260 since 2007.