Without a doubt in my mind I would vote for 25-year old righty reliever Andrew Bailey of the A’s as the Rookie of the Year in the American League this season. He wasn’t even on the radar when this season began as Brad Ziegler was expected to close after Joey Devine’s injury. But, when the A’s got a good look at Bailey on the mound they knew he had closer’s stuff. He has pitched in 56 games (0 starts) this season for the A’s and he is 6-3 with 20 saves, a 1.90 ERA and a 0.92 WHIP. Bailey has whiffed 75 batters in 71 innings this season for the A’s while only allowing 43 hits which shows just how nasty his stuff is. Bailey made the All-Star Game this season and no other rookie can say that so I would definately vote for him as Rookie of the Year in the American League.

28-year old righty swinging outfielder Rajai Davis had been a backup player his whole major league career…..that is….until now. With the trade of Matt Holliday to the Cardinals the A’s needed someone to step up in the outfield and Rajai Davis has answered the bell. Davis has now played in 93 games for the A’s this season and he is 73 for 252 (.290 avg, .755 OPS) with 41 runs scored, 2 homers, 29 RBIs and 29 stolen bases. The A’s “Moneyball” system doesn’t believe much in using the stolen base but Davis is starting to change their thinking as it’s his main asset. Look for Davis to continue to start as long as he keeps hitting well.

The Oakland A’s are aware that 29-year old righty swinging infielder Bobby Crosby wants out of town but they can’t even give him away because he’s just not a good baseball player. He has played in 87 games for the A’s this season and he is 47 for 211 (.223 avg, .659 OPS) with 32 runs scored, 6 homers and 27 RBIs. Crosby has been with the A’s for 7 years now covering 667 games in which he is 562 for 2,364 (.238 avg, .684 OPS) with 317 runs scored, 61 homers, 261 RBIs and 34 stolen bases. When he came up he was supposed to make A’s fans forget about the departing Miguel Tejada. What a joke! I say don’t let the door hit you in the ass when the season’s over Bobby.

The A’s have acquired 30-year old righty reliever Scott Patterson from the Padres for a wad of cash. Patterson has pitched in 54 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball this season and he was 3-3 with 1 save, a 4.07 ERA and a 1.59 WHIP. He whiffed 67 batters in only 59 2/3 innings in the minors this season but he did walk 40 and that’s way too many. Patterson has also pitched in 4 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 0-0 with a 1.93 ERA and a 1.71 WHIP. The price was right for the Padres to take a chance on Patterson.

The A’s have lost 40-year old reliever Russ Springer to the Rays on waivers. Springer pitched in 48 games (0 starts) for the A’s this season and he was 0-1 with a 4.10 ERA and a 1.58 WHIP. The A’s were o.k. with letting Springer go for nothing as they will save approximately $1 million dollars this season.

The A’s have released 38-year old lefty swinging 1B/DH Jason Giambi. Giambi played in 83 games for the A’s and he was 52 for 269 (.193 avg, .697 OPS) with 39 runs scored, 11 homers and 40 RBIs. But, Giambi’s bat speed was lacking this season and the result was 72 whiffs. In 8 years with the A’s, Giambi played in 1,036 games in which he was 1,100 for 3,667 (.300 avg, .938 OPS) with 640 runs scored, 198 homers and 715 RBIs. Giambi’s release does not tarnish his legacy in Oakland.

The A’s have signed 36-year old righty reliever/starter Brett Tomko. Tomko pitched in 15 games (0 starts) earlier this season for the Yankees and he was 1-2 with a 5.23 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. He has now pitched in 383 games (260 starts) in his major league career and he is 96-101 with 2 saves, a 4.69 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. This was a nice little signing for the A’s as Tomko can help them down the stretch in either the bullpen or the starting rotation.

21-year old lefty swinging 2B Adrian Cardenas was the #5 rated prospect in the A’s minor league system coming into this season according to Baseball America. He was the key of the Joe Blanton trade with the Phillies last season. He has played in 97 games in AA+AAA ball this season and he is 117 for 387 (.302 avg, .786 OPS) with 64 runs scored, 3 homers, 66 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. He has had some trouble adjusting to AAA pitching but he could get called up in September if he gets back on track.

The Oakland A’s have recalled Cliff Pennington with the idea of giving him his big shot to win the starting shortstop job. He was 1 for 3 with a run scored in his first game with the A’s this season. He has also played in 99 games in AAA-ball this season and he was 95 for 360 (.264 avg, .712 OPS) with 48 runs scored, 3 homers, 40 RBIs and 27 stolen bases. Pennington was the #17 rated prospect in the A’s system coming into this season according to Baseball America so he has the talent to handle the starting job. Pennington has now played in 37 games in his major league career and he is 25 for 102 (.245 avg, .639 OPS) with 15 runs scored, 9 RBIs and 4 stolen bases.

The A’s have traded 34-year old righty swinging shortstop Orlando Cabrera to the Twins for 21-year old righty swinging shortstop Tyler Landendorf. Cabrera played in 101 games for the A’s this season and he was 116 for 414 (.280 avg, .683 OPS) with 41 runs scored, 4 homers, 41 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. The dropoff from Cabrera to Cliff Pennington or Bobby Crosby is pretty huge so this trade definately hurts the A’s. Landendorf has played in 32 games in A + Rookie ball this season and he is 39 for 121 (.322 avg, .899 OPS) with 25 runs scored, 4 homers, 21 RBIs and 3 stolen bases.