| Power Rankings |
| Date | Ranking | Previous |
| 07/22/2008 | 11 | 11 |
| At Yankee Stadium on Saturday, you could practically see Huston Street's trade value wafting away. He threw exactly zero pitches with any kind of bite ... The Oakland numbers look dandy so far -- especially that plus-57 run differential -- but the merciless exiling of Rich Harden and Joe Blanton suggest that GM Billy Beane remains a pragmatist at heart. One possible reason for his pessimism: three road trips of nine games or more on the second-half schedule. |
| 07/09/2008 | 11 | 7 |
| It is tough to criticize Billy Beane, but dealing Rich Harden for those marginal prospects reeks of a white flag. We don't blame him if he feels Harden is too risky to trust in the second half, but Sean Gallagher, Matt Murton, Eric Patterson and that Class A catcher don't project to be stars like a Matt LaPorta. Joe Blanton can't be far behind on the trading block, right? |
| 07/01/2008 | 7 | 6 |
| Who could have thought Billy Beane would have been looking to add instead of subtract at the trade deadline. But it has been an upside down first half -- just look at the upstarts above the A's in Tampa Bay and St. Louis. These three teams figured to be way out of it come July 1. |
| 06/24/2008 | 6 | 6 |
| On paper, the rotation didn't look very good coming into the season. So much for the paper. Justin Duchscherer and Rich Harden look like All-Stars and the A's rotation has a baseball-best 3.51 ERA. |
| 06/18/2008 | 6 | 8 |
| Justin Duchscherer looks so good in the rotation, you have to ask why he has been stuck in relief so long. If Eric Chavez and Bobby Crosby fulfill their potential, they just might have enough offense to support that solid pitching staff. |
| 06/10/2008 | 8 | 8 |
| They dropped a series at home to the Angels, but they are still 4-2 on this homestand with the Yankees coming in. We said it was an important one for them. Eric Chavez's return has been a nice lift. |
| 06/03/2008 | 8 | 11 |
| We have said perhaps too many times they have a test coming, but this nine-game homestand (Detroit, L.A. Angels and N.Y. Yankees) can show how truly alive they are in the postseason hunt. |
| 05/27/2008 | 11 | 12 |
| They have gotten a brutal stretch out of their system and now face an equally hot Blue Jays team this week. That figures to be a well-pitched series with those two clubs. |
| 05/20/2008 | 12 | 9 |
| Rich Harden was supposed to mean a further boost on a great start. Nope. After his return, they are just 1-7. He was the lone winner in that stretch, though, so it could have been worse. This is one of the few teams that can pitch but doesn't promise to score enough runs to contend. |
| 05/13/2008 | 9 | 11 |
| They have cracked the top 10 thanks to a surprisingly impressive pitching staff -- league-low 3.29 ERA. It gives them a chance to sustain, but they really lack punch. They have scored the eighth-most runs in baseball through Monday with the sixth-worst slugging percentage. That won't last. |
