State of the Team for September 2, 2009

Today the A's put a beating on the Royals by the tune of a 10-4 final to close the season series between these two clubs at 7-2 in Oakland's favor. Landon Powell continues to be a solid backup catcher, launching a grand slam off Yasuhiko Kabuta in the 2nd inning of today's contest. The Athletics are now 22-25 since the break, a .040 winning % improvement over what they were prior to that...not really big news, but the mild improvement says little about the change in A's baseball since then. The post-AS-break record may not speak volumes, but anyone who's followed this team all year knows the A's have played much better in the second-half, whether the record is indicative of that or not.

Rajai Davis, since the All-Star break, is leading the Major Leagues in stolen bases.

I wanted to hold off on saying too much about Rajai yesterday, but today I can't help myself. Today, Rajai was 2 for 3 with 2 RBI and 1 run scored. All of the players, when asked what they thought of the A's playing better baseball, they all point to Davis. Whether it's him running down balls that would be gappers if someone else was in center, or turning a routine single into a double, Rajai is the spark plug to the otherwise incombustible engine that is the Athletics offense. The guy may not hit for much power (7 HR in 677 career AB's, .378 career SLG) but how often does he take second after reaching first via BB or base hit? He makes up for the lack of doubles by putting himself on second base through walks and singles a couple of pitches after reaching first. And while his career numbers may be average (with the exception of stolen bases) this season has been his breakout. Davis, .270/ .330/ .378 on his short career, is hitting .297/ .357/ .417 in 288 plate appearances this season to go along with his 30 steals. I truly hope this is a sign of things to come, and as long as Raj continues to be consistent then I have a hard time believing that won't happen. Every hitter slumps from time to time, but speed never does and that is the name of Rajai Davis' game.

Once again, big one coming up this weekend, I'll make sure all my big ones happen then...Comments? Not sure why I ask...