The Oakland A’s have placed shortstop Bobby Crosby on the 15-day disabled list with a fractured right hand. He will likely miss the next 4-6 weeks. You had to know it was bound to happen…..Bobby Crosby getting hurt that is. He has played in 93 games this season and he is 79 for 349 (.226 avg, .619 OPS) with 40 runs scored, 8 homers, 31 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. Crosby is one of the most overrated players in the majors and the more he plays the worse he looks. Marco Scutaro and Donnie Murphy will likely split time at shortstop until Crosby is ready to return. Scutaro will probably get most of the playing time. He has played in 52 games this season for the A’s and he is 36 for 149 (.242 avg, .638 OPS) with 19 runs scored, 4 homers and 16 RBIs. Donnie Murphy hasn’t got much of a chance for the A’s this season and he has played in 8 games and he is 0 for 6 (.000 avg) with 1 run scored.

The A’s are so loaded in the outfield that they have decided to designate Bobby Kielty for assignment which gives them 10 days to release or trade him. Kielty has some value as he has pounded left handed pitching over his major league career so the A’s should have no problem finding a taker for him. Kielty has only played in 13 games this season for the A’s and he was 7 for 35 (.200 avg, .504 OPS) with 4 runs scored and 3 RBIs.

The A’s have traded Jason Kendall and cash to the Cubs for reserve catcher Rob Bowen and lefty reliever Jerry Blevins. Kendall was only 66 for 292 (.226 avg, .542 OPS) with 24 runs scored, 5 homers and 22 RBIs. Top prospect Kurt Suzuki will take over as the starting catcher on the A’s. Suzuki has played in 13 games this season and he is 7 for 35 (.200 avg, .675 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 2 homers and 5 RBIs. Bowen will take over as the A’s backup catcher. Bowen has played in 40 games for the Cubs & Padres this season and he is 24 for 113 (.212 avg, .661 OPS) with 15 runs scored, 2 homers and 13 RBIs. He also has whiffed an amazing 41 times so far this season which is way too many. Blevins is a lefthanded relief prospect. He has pitched in 39 games between A+AA ball and he is 3-3 with 9 saves, a 1.32 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP so far this season. Blevins has pitched 54.2 innings this season and he has allowed 39 hits, walked 13 batters and whiffed 72.

The A’s have designated Colby Lewis for assignment and he deserved it. Lewis is one of the worst pitchers in all of baseball and he has no business on a major league roster. He pitched in 19 games (1 start) for the A’s this season and he was 0-2 with a 8.06 ERA and a 1.71 WHIP. In 25.2 innings this season Lewis has allowed 34 hits, walked 10 batters and whiffed 13.

The Oakland A’s are getting frustrated with the brittle Rich Harden. He has been placed back on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right shoulder. He has pitched in 7 games (4 starts) this season and he is 1-2 with a 2.45 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP so far this year. In 23.2 innings Harden has allowed 26 hits, walked 11 batters and whiffed 27. He has had problems with the long ball as he has allowed 5 homers this season. The A’s have recalled Andrew Brown from the minors to pitch out of the bullpen. He was the pitcher acquired for Milton Bradley last week.

The Oakland A’s have acquired 33 year old righty reliever Julio Manon from the Reds to complete the Kirk Saarloos trade. Manon has only pitched in 6 minor league games (A+AAA ball) this season and he is 1-0 with a 4.50 ERA and a 1.75 WHIP. He has thrown 4 innings and he has allowed 4 hits, walked 3 batters and whiffed 4. Manon does have some major league experience as he has pitched in 45 games in his career. In those games Manon is 1-3 with 1 save, a 4.66 ERA and a 1.70 WHIP. Manon was tossed 48.1 innings in the majors and he has allowed 49 hits, walked 33 batters and whiffed 37. This is an example of a trade that will help no one.

Kiko Calero, Jay Marshall and Colby Lewis have all had their problems this season. Kiko Calero has been banged up most of the season and it has showed in his performance this season. Calero is 1-4 with a 6.39 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP so far this season. The A’s will need him to pitch better in the 2nd half as he is very important to their bullpen. Lefty Jay Marshall was a Rule 5 Draft Pick and he has looked overmatched at times. He is 1-2 with a 5.83 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP so far this season. Marshall will stick with the A’s all season because they don’t want to lose him. Colby Lewis just plain stinks and he doesn’t belong in the major leagues at all. He is 0-2 with a 8.39 ERA and a 1.70 WHIP so far this season. The A’s would have a better pitching staff just by getting rid of Lewis.

Dan Haren, Santiago Casilla, Lenny DiNardo, Chad Gaudin and Joe Blanton all have pitched pretty well in the first half of the season. Dan Haren started the All-Star game last night and he deserved that honor based on how he pitched in the first half of the season. Haren is 10-3 with a 2.30 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP so far this season. Look for Haren to continue having a fine season and he will be a finalist for the Cy Young Award this season. Chad Gaudin was rescued from Tampa Bay last season and he’s been outstanding this year for the A’s. He is 8-3 with a 2.88 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP so far this season. This is nitpicking a little bit with Gaudin but his ERA is likely to rise in the 2nd half unless he cuts down on his walks. Joe Blanton has rebounded from his down 2006 season. He is 8-5 with a 3.28 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP so far this season. Look for Blanton to finish this season strong as he has only walked 24 hitters in 134.1 innings this year. Lenny DiNardo was claimed off of waivers from the Boston Red Sox and he has also been really good for the A’s. DiNardo is 3-5 with a 2.72 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP so far this season. It will be interesting to see if he can keep this up or not because he likely will get to stay in the rotation for a little bit because of the brittle Rich Harden. Santiago Casilla has been lights out since the A’s have brought him up from the minors. He is 2-1 with 2 saves with a 0.45 ERA and a 0.85 WHIP so far this season. Look for Casilla to keep up the good work because he’s got nasty stuff.

The A’s need Jason Kendall, Mark Kotsay and Bobby Crosby to start hitting or they will continue having a hard time scoring runs. Mark Kotsay missed the start of the season due to back surgery but he’s been hitting like his back still hurts as he’s looking very rusty. He is hitting .230 with 11 runs scored, 1 homer and 12 RBIs this season. Jason Kendall better start hitting in the second half because hotshot rookie Kurt Suzuki is with the team right now and Mike Piazza is working on his catching on his rehab assignment. Kendall is only hitting .227 with 24 runs scored, 2 homers and 21 RBIs this season and that will just not get it done. Bobby Crosby might be the most overrated player in all of baseball. The A’s should have kept Miguel Tejada and got rid of Eric Chavez….but they didn’t because of Crosby. Crosby is hitting .226 with 35 runs scored, 7 homers, 29 RBIs and 7 stolen bases this season.

Shannon Stewart and Jack Cust are the only two A’s that have really hit the ball well so far this season. Stewart is hitting .309 with 47 runs scored, 7 homers, 26 RBIs and 8 stolen bases so far this season. He looks like he has found the fountain of youth because he’s playing as good as he ever has right now for the A’s. Jack Cust has been a godsend for the A’s as he has provided a big bat in the middle of the order for them. Cust is 48 for 180 (.267 avg) with 30 runs scored, 15 homers and 42 RBIs this season for the A’s. The A’s need Cust to keep up the good work with the bat if they are going to make a playoff run in the 2nd half of the season.