Oakland Athletics: Consistency Is Key to Success

Aug 11, 2013; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Oakland Athletics left fielder Yoenis Cespedes (52) celebrates their victory with second baseman Eric Sogard (28) against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. The Athletics beat the Blue Jays 6-4. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports

The Oakland Athletics are currently 67-50, a half game behind the Texas Rangers for the first spot in the American League West. After coming off a tremendous season in 2012, the A’s have been fairly consistent throughout this year as well.

Despite a recent second half slump, there is no reason to not believe that the A’s will continue to fight and show resilience through the remainder of the year.

Lack of production offensively is the main reason why the A’s have struggled this second half. Some say the fact that Oakland does not have one All-Star bat could finally be catching up to them, with no one batting .300 or over right now. It felt as if everyone was slumping terribly as soon as the second half of the season began, except second baseman Eric Sogard ,who has hit incredibly well recently. Sogard has played nearly every day since the All-Star break, and has responded nicely by reaching base in all 13 games in which he’s had an at- bat.

However, third baseman Josh Donaldson should have been an All-Star, as he was batting well over .300 at the break. Right now Donaldson is hitting .296 with 17 homers and 64 RBI, which are still respectable numbers across the board. Him and shortstop Jed Lowrie have been the two most consistent hitters for the A’s all season long. Lowrie is currently batting .288 with 48 RBI’s and 9 homers. Both players have not been playing how they were the first half of the season, but they’ve still been relatively productive and are extremely valuable to this ball club.

The Athletics power slugger Yoenis Cespedes is someone that needs to pick it up desperately. He is an amazing physical talent with big time power, as he was the winner of this year’s home run derby. However, he has been batting with a low average throughout the year with a current .227 BA. Last season he finished off averaging .292, significantly better. If he can pick the weight up, even just a little, the A’s can become that much better of a ball club.

Other players such as Chris Young, Seth Smith, Coco Crisp, and Josh Reddick need to pick up the slack as well. Josh Reddick has played very well as he totaled five home runs in two back-to-back games on the 10th and 11th against the Blue Jays. Nevertheless, I need to see this from Reddick more often, because he has been terribly inconsistent throughout the year.

Ultimately, the A’s are going to be just fine. They are behind a great manager in Bob Melvin and surrounded by other great coaches too. There is a bunch of talent in this clubhouse, and they have shown tremendous resilience dating back to last season.