29-year old lefty swinging shortstop Stephen Drew started out slowly in his first few games for the A’s in August, but he has been on fire with the bat for them in September.  Drew has played in 24 games so far this month for the A’s and he is 28 for 95 (.295 avg, .837 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 5 homers and 14 RBIs.  He has given the A’s a nice jolt at the top of the lineup as he has been leading off or batting second most of this month.  Drew has now played in 34 games for the A’s so far this year and he is 36 for 133 (.271 avg, .761 OPS) with 17 runs scored, 5 homers, 16 RBIs and 1 stolen base.  The A’s need Drew to remain hot at the plate.

Lefty swinging 1B/OF Brandon Moss is swinging a very hot stick this month for the A’s. He has played in 16 games so far this month for the A’s and he is 17 for 50 (.340 avg, 1.051 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 4 homers and 7 RBIs. Moss has now played in 74 games overall this year for the A’s and he is 63 of 231 (.273 avg, .913 OPS) with 37 runs scored, 19 homers and 41 RBIs. The A’s need Moss to keep ripping the ball to help them hold onto the Wild Card spot they now are currently in hold of.

The A’s have lost lefty starting pitcher Brett Anderson for the rest of the 2012 regular season due to an oblique injury. He has made a sterling return from Tommy John Surgery. He started 6 games for the A’s in 2012 and he was 4-2 with a 2.57 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP. Anderson is holding out hope that he will be healed up to take the hill in the playoffs (assuming the A’s make it there). Lefty Travis Blackley will take over for Anderson for the rest of the regular season. He has pitched in 21 games (12 starts) for the A’s so far this year and he is 5-3 with a 3.36 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP.

25-year old righty reliever Ryan Cook has settled into the set-up man role after being replaced by Grant Balfour as the closer. Cook has pitched in 62 games (0 starts) for the A’s so far this year and he is 6-2 with 14 saves, a 2.44 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP. Cook has only given up 36 hits and he has whiffed 67 batters in 62 2/3 innings this year while walking 27 batters. He is already a darn good pitcher, but if he tightens up his control, he’s going to be a truly dominating reliever.

26-year old righty swinging 3B Josh Donaldson struggled for the A’s early this year, earning a demotion to AAA. But, when Brandon Inge got hurt, the A’s called up Donaldson and gave him another chance…..and he is running with it so far. Donaldson has played in 25 games for the A’s since August 1st and he is 30 for 92 (.326 avg) with 13 runs scored, 6 homers, 17 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. He has now played in 53 games overall this year for the A’s and he is 45 of 190 (.237 avg, .697 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 7 homers, 24 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. The A’s hope that Donaldson stays hot the rest of the 2012 season.

29-year old righty starting pitcher Brandon McCarthy is up out of his hospital bed and walking as his recovery is well under way. He had to have surgery to repair a fractured skull after getting hit by a line drive in a recent game. His recovery is proof that prayer works as baseball fans everywhere likely hit a knee for him. Hopefully he can come back and pitch some day, but for now, his return to health is the only thing that matters. McCarthy pitched in 18 games (all starts) for the A’s this year and he was 8-6 with a 3.24 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. He has pitched in 43 games (all starts) in his first two years with the A’s and he is 17-15 with a 3.29 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. The A’s are going to miss McCarthy the rest of the 2012 season.

34-year old righty reliever Grant Balfour is back to closing for the A’s. He started the year as the closer before losing his gig to Ryan Cook. But, since he got his job back as the closer on August 11th, Balfour has been lights out. He has pitched in 9 games after getting his closer gig back and he is 0-0 with 8 saves, a 2.16 ERA and a 0.48 WHIP. Balfour has now pitched in 61 games (0 starts) overall this year and he is 2-2 with 15 saves, a 2.64 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP. The A’s are going to need Balfour to keep up the good work, as the A’s can’t afford to blow any games late in their pursuit of the Texas Rangers in the A.L. West.

35-year old righty swinging 3B Brandon Inge needs surgery to repair his right shoulder. He is likely to be shut down immediately by the A’s. He played in 74 games for the A’s this year and he was 64 of 283 (.226 avg, .675 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 11 homers and 52 RBIs. This is a loss for the A’s, but Josh Donaldson has been really playing well at the hot corner while Inge has been out of action.