The Oakland A’s were expecting a power surge out of 29-year old righty swinging 3B Kevin Kouzmanoff when they acquired him over the winter in a deal with the Padres. After all, Kouzmanoff had averaged 19.7 homers and 82 RBIs in his three years with the Padres playing half of his games at Petco Park. This season though, Kouzmanoff has actually shown less power than when he was with the Padres and I’m positive the A’s GM Billy Beane didn’t see than coming. Kouzmanoff has played in 137 games for the A’s this year and he is 132 of 526 (.251 avg, .683 OPS) with 56 runs scored, 14 homers and 69 RBIs. The A’s hope he gets his act together in 2011.

The A’s are sending 26-year old righty closer Andrew Bailey to see Dr. James Andrews because of right elbow soreness. Bailey has pitched in 47 games (0 starts) for the A’s this year and he is 1-3 with 25 saves, a 1.47 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP. He has only allowed 34 hits in 49 innings this year showing he still has great stuff. Michael Wuertz and Craig Breslow will likely get the saves the rest of the year for the A’s. 31-year old righty Wuertz has pitched in 47 games (0 starts) for the A’s this year and he is 2-2 with 6 saves, a 4.19 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. 29-year old lefty Craig Breslow has pitched in 70 games (0 starts) for the A’s this year and he is 4-4 with 3 saves, a 3.15 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP. I look for Wuertz and Breslow to do a good job closing games but the A’s have to have their fingers crossed because Dr. Andrews is often the bringer of bad news.

I honestly have no idea why A’s GM Billy Beane signed 30-year old lefty swinging outfielder Gabe Gross as he has stunk his whole career and 2010 was no different. Gross has played in 93 games for the A’s this year and he is 49 of 208 (.236 avg, .584 OPS) with 22 runs scored, 1 homer, 23 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. He has now played in 645 games in his 7 years in the majors and he is 345 of 1,447 (.238 avg, .714 OPS) with 198 runs scored, 40 homers, 184 RBIs and 22 stolen bases. I think the A’s would have been better served to give a youngster like say Travis Buck the 200+ empty at bats that they gave Gabe Gross.

30-year old switch hitting CF Coco Crisp could be done for the year due to a broken left pinkie finger injured in a slide into first base over the weekend. Crisp has played in 75 games for the A’s this year and he is 81 of 290 (.279 avg, .779 OPS) with 51 runs scored, 8 homers, 38 RBIs and 32 stolen bases. This is a bad break for both the A’s and Crisp as he has played very well when healthy this year.

25-year old lefty swinging 1B Daric Barton is having the best year of his career for the A’s in 2010. He has played in 141 games for the A’s this year and he is 138 of 495 (.279 avg, .810 OPS) with 69 runs scored, 8 homers, 49 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. Barton has shown off a great eye at the plate too as he has walked 100 times this year. But, the A’s need power out of the 1B slot in the batting order so Barton could be replaced there next year. Barton has now played in 353 games in four years in the majors and he is 307 of 1,173 (.262 avg, .771 OPS) with 175 runs scored, 24 homers, 128 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. Despite having the best year of his career, Barton will have to improve to keep his job in 2011 for the A’s.

The A’s have designated 23-year old righty starter/reliever Jeff Lyman for assignment. Lyman pitched in 10 games (8 starts) in AA-ball for the A’s this year and he was 0-4 with a 8.58 ERA and a 1.94 WHIP. He has pitched in 163 games (75 starts) in his six years in the minors and he is 19-41 with a 4.72 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP. This is no big loss for the A’s.

The A’s have signed 31-year old lefty swinging 3B/2B Akinori Iwamura for the rest of the 2010 season. Iwamura played in 54 games for the Pirates earlier this year and he was 30 of 165 (.182 avg, .558 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 2 homers, 9 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. He has now played in 398 games in his four years in the majors and he is 409 of 1,514 (.270 avg, .726 OPS) with 219 runs scored, 16 homers, 113 RBIs and 32 stolen bases. This was a good move for the A’s as Iwamura is a much better player than he showed with the Pirates. Hopefully a return to the A.L. will wake his bat up.

26-year old righty closer Andrew Bailey is having a strong second season in the majors. He has pitched in 43 games (0 starts) for the A’s this year and he is 1-3 with 21 saves, a 1.40 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP. Bailey has now pitched in 111 games (0 starts) in his first two years in the majors and he is 7-6 with 47 saves, a 1.68 ERA and a 0.90 WHIP. Bailey is now one of the best closers in all of baseball bar none and the A’s hope he stays healthy the rest of the year.

The A’s have signed 25-year old lefty swinging outfielder Jeremy Hermida. Hermida played in 52 games for the Red Sox earlier this year and he was 32 of 158 (.203 avg, .605 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 5 homers and 27 RBIs. He has now played in 568 games in his six years in the majors and he is 484 of 1,866 (.259 avg, .755 OPS) with 236 runs scored, 62 homers, 237 RBIs and 21 stolen bases. This signing doesn’t surprise me as Hermida is the type of player that A’s GM Billy Beane likes to take chances on.