MVN - Most Valuable Network

A’s Need Homers; Big Hurt The Solution?

As great as the A’s looked offensively over the weekend versus Kansas City, it remains hard to believe that the team will continue to score runs at a respectable clip if they don’t start depositing some balls over the fence with some regularity. The A’s lack of homerun power so far this season isn’t all that surprising given that the team let go its best homerun hitter (Nick Swisher) during the off-season and is still missing Eric Chavez. However, I don’t think anyone expected that the A’s would only have seven homers 20 games into the season.

To be fair to the guys in green and gold, the weather has probably played some factor in the lack of bombs. There were at least three balls hit in the cold in Cleveland, for instance, that looked like homers off the bat, only to be knocked down by the biting wind. The A’s have also played a lot of games at home in the early going and the Coliseum does diminish homer totals somewhat, especially when the weather isn’t warm. That being said, the A’s opponents have been playing under the same conditions as Oakland and they have hit nearly double the number of homeruns off of an A’s pitching staff which is arguably better than any that their opponents have faced given that the A’s currently lead the league in team ERA.

The A’s struggle to hit homeruns has coincided with the release of former A’s slugger Frank Thomas from Toronto. Thomas was let-go by the Blue Jays over the weekend after he was informed that he wouldn’t be playing everyday and asked for his release. Thomas is off to a poor start to the season (.167 BA and a .333 SLG), but that has been par-for-the-course for Thomas over the past few seasons. Some observers claim that Thomas is washed up, although there were similar rumblings about Big Frank when he got off to a slow start with Oakland in 2006. We all know what happened starting in June that season.

There are some obvious benefits to bringing Frank Thomas on-board. One, he is one of the best power hitters in the history of the game and he has hit 65 homers over the past two seasons. Two, he is a run-producer, having driven-in 114 in 2006 and 95 in 2007. Three, he is an on-base machine, having walked exactly 81 times in each of the past two seasons. Four, he is a box-office draw. The fans loved him when he was here in 2006 and he could bring some positive attention to an A’s team that has flown under-the-radar thus far this season.

There are, however, a number of downsides to bringing Thomas on-board. One, he is currently struggling. You have to believe strongly that Thomas’ early-season struggles are nothing but his normal slow start and ignore the scouts that say he is cheating to get around on a fastball. Two, he can’t play in the field and is a liability on the bases. Mike Sweeney hasn’t been a big offensive force for the A’s thus far this year, but at least he can play first base if the team needs him to and he can score from second on a single. Three, Frank can get cranky if things don’t go his way. The A’s are still looking to build for the future and if Frank is pouting in the clubhouse because he isn’t playing, it could negatively affect the development of the young core of the team. Four, he is an injury risk. Thomas has been remarkably healthy since the start of 2006, but he is still an injury waiting to happen. The A’s are already starting to pile onto their DL like last year. They probably don’t need another injury risk added to the pot.

All that said, it is hard not to want Thomas on the team. His 2006 campaign was one of the most enjoyable to watch of any A’s player in recent memory. I’m not convinced that he would be a great fit for the A’s right now given the make-up of the club (i.e. already carrying two DH-types in Jack Cust and Mike Sweeney and another player (Daric Barton) who can only play first base), but if the A’s feel that Thomas still has something left, it could be worth the risk. At worst, the A’s could always cut Thomas loose if it becomes clear he has nothing left.

This entry was posted on Monday, April 21st, 2008 at 9:29 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.