David Pinto worked for ten years as the chief researcher for ESPN’s Baseball Tonight. Starting in 2002, David brought his research and insights to a wider audience through his blog, Baseball Musings.

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The Oakland Offense

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May 6, 8:12 AM

by David Pinto, Baseball Examiner

The Oakland Athletics rank fourth in the American League in runs per game with a 4.74 mark. Their 2-1 win over the Orioles last night, however, both demonstrates the strengths and glaring weakness of this team. They picked up eight hits, four walks, and no extra base hits. So for the game, their batting average was .222, their OBA .300, and their slugging percentage .222. For the season, the line is .253/.339/.362. It's a low hit, low power, high walk offense. They've draw 145 walks, most in the AL, thirteen more than the second place Tigers.

This is the type of offense that's fairly easy to shut down, and you can see it in Garrett Olson's line. He went 6 1/3 innings, allowed four hits and just one walk and the Athletics picked up just one run. It was Johnson who walked three in 1 2/3 innings, issuing one to Frank Thomas in the tenth to put the winning run in scoring position.

Put the ball over the plate, and the Athletics are a mediocre offense. Try to fool them off the plate, and they'll take those pitches and walk you to death. This is exactly the kind of team that loses in the playoffs. They go up against a team that throws strikes, and their high OBA is reduced to their low batting average. Unlike the Athletics teams of the late 1980s, this squad doesn't even have power to fall back on. Simply put, to beat Oakland, throw strikes. They can't hit them.

Topics: Baseball , Athletics , Garrett Olson

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Lovable no more

2 comments

October 5, 10:43 AM

The Cubs choked. This wasn't a typical Cubs bizarre defeat. There was no unprecedented comeback, no fan knocking the ball away. It wasn't even a hard-fought set of games in which luck just went the other way. The Cubs simply stunk in a series in which... Read More
Topics: League Division Series , MLB

ALDS: White Sox versus Rays

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October 2, 10:25 AM

The following table compares the 2008 seasons of the White Sox and Rays, opponents in the ALDS.AL Ranks2008White SoxRaysRuns/Game5.00 (5th)4.78 (9th)Batting Avg..263 (11th).260 (13th)On-Base Average.332 (9th).340 (6th)Slugging Pct..448 (2nd).422 (8th)ERA4.06... Read More
Topics: League Division Series , MLB

ALDS: Red Sox versus Angels

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October 1, 1:24 PM

The following table compares the 2008 seasons of the Red Sox and Angels, opponents in the ALDS.AL Ranks2008Red SoxAngelsRuns/Game5.22 (3rd)4.72 (10th)Batting Avg..280 (2nd).268 (7th)On-Base Average.358 (1st).330 (11th)/Slugging Pct..447 (3rd).413 (9th)ERA4.01... Read More
Topics: League Division Series , MLB

The best baseball statistics web sites

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September 30, 8:48 PM

For statistically minded baseball fans, the internet offers a bevy of sites to find the numbers on your favorite players or teams.It all starts with Baseball Reference. I remember buying my Baseball Encyclopedia in the mid 1980s and paging through the... Read More
Topics: MLB , Statistics

NLDS: Dodgers versus Cubs

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September 30, 5:27 PM

The following table compares the 2008 seasons of the Dodgers and Cubs, opponents in the NLDS.NL Ranks2008DodgersCubsRuns/Game4.32 (13th)5.31 (1st)Batting Avg..264 (5th).278 (2nd)On-Base Average.333 (6th).354 (1st)/Slugging Pct..399 (13th).443 (1st)ERA3.68... Read More
Topics: League Division Series , MLB

NLDS: Brewers versus Phillies

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September 30, 5:25 AM

NL Ranks2008BrewersPhilliesRuns/Game4.63 (7th)4.93 (2nd-T)Batting Avg..253 (12th).255 (10th)On-Base Average.325 (10th).332 (7th)/Slugging Pct..431 (5th).438 (2nd)ERA3.85 (2nd)3.88 (4th)Strikeouts/9 IP6.9 (9th)6.7 (12th)Walks/9 IP3.3 (5th-T)3.3 (5th-T)HR/200... Read More
Topics: League Division Series , MLB

AL Batting Race

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September 28, 9:26 AM

The AL batting brings two more games into the interesting category on this last day of the season. Joe Mauer leads with a .330 BA (.32954), a five point lead over Dustin Pedroia and a six point lead over Milton Bradley. Mauer can't sit on his laurels... Read More
Topics: Awards

Hitting .400

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September 21, 9:34 AM

Manny Ramirez's angelic hitting helped propel the Dodgers to the top of the NL West.Photo: Icon SMI Manny Ramirez's batting average stands at .404 since his trade to the Dodgers. Statistics are reported for each league separately, so if Manny maintains... Read More
Topics: Hitters

Rays take command

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September 18, 8:48 AM

17 Sep 2008: Jason Bartlett congratulates Willy Aybar of the Rays after Aybar hit a home run that gave the Rays the lead in the first inning.Photo: Icon SMIThe Rays put an exclamation point on their championship season Wednesday night, mauling the Red... Read More
Topics: Division Races