Game of the Week July 20th - CLE @ OAK

[dbackhon]

Cleveland Indians (58-33) @ Oakland A's (53-39)

Three key stats about Cleveland

6 - The number of players in Cleveland's starting lineup that have 10 or more home runs this season, despite the fact that no Indian has more than 14 HR this season the depth of the lineup has allowed Cleveland to be second in the American League in home runs and first in batting WAR.

309 - The number of runs the Indians have allowed this season, this is number 1 in the American League by a wide margin. In fact, their lead over #2 (Kansas City) is the same as the gap between KC and #6 Seattle.

10 - The number of games the Indians have won this month where they have held their opponent to two runs or less.

Three key stats about Oakland

2.9 - Jose Altuve's WAR this season, despite only playing 59 games thus faar this is higher than his WAR for any season for the past decade.

7 - The number of players in Oakland's starting lineup that are 29 years of age or older. Despite an older lineup many of these players are having career years.

6.55 - The ERA of the struggling Matt Diaz who was ranked as the second best closer in the league coming into the season.

Three Questions for Cleveland

Despite a great record this year, your team lacks an elite power hitter. Is that something that you are looking to acquire?

What players on your team that don't get a lot of national or even local attention have been key to your success this season

You have quite a bit of money coming off the books at the end of the year, many of it spent on players that haven't contributed much this season. How do you plan to approach spending this money?

Three Questions for Oakland

Many of your players are in their 30's having career years, are you concerned that they will regress in the second half of the year?

You have managed to weather losing two starting pitchers quite well. What do you think contributed to the squad not missing a beat despite losing Puk and Romo?

Many of the veterans having career years this year are in the final year of their contracts, should we expect to see many of these players on the team next year?

[oaklandgm]

Many of your players are in their 30's having career years, are you concerned that they will regress in the second half of the year?
We almost feel the opposite - Altuve is clearly having a career resurgence but a lot of the veterans we brought in came in after Spring Training and didn't have a chance to get warmed up for the season - guys like Meadows, Crawford, Sanchez - we think they could all be in for big second halves. Darrick Hall clearly has underperformed but is a great hitter across his career, we think he could be a key player for us in the second half if he can get right.

You have managed to weather losing two starting pitchers quite well. What do you think contributed to the squad not missing a beat despite losing Puk and Romo?
One of our big focus points has always been building a deep bullpen of power arms that can go multiple innings to take pressure off needing to find a ton of high priced starting pitching. While we'd clearly prefer having Puk and Romo on the team, we have been able to find guys like Ofelky Peralta and Rob Singleton who have succeeded pitching 3-4 innings and turning it over to what we think is an elite bullpen.

Many of the veterans having career years this year are in the final year of their contracts, should we expect to see many of these players on the team next year?
While we'll never say never, a lot of our built to the current success has come from avoiding many longer term deals. We've had some conversations about a few of the guys and what it would take for them to be here in 2030, but my guess is that we're back to looking at free agents in April 2030 for some of our gaps.

[chriscleveland]

Three Questions for Cleveland

Despite a great record this year, your team lacks an elite power hitter. Is that something that you are looking to acquire?

With a limited budget and depleted farm system, we will keep an eye on the market for anything that might fit, but I cannot predict what moves, if any, we will make before the deadline.

What players on your team that don't get a lot of national or even local attention have been key to your success this season?

C Juan Aguilar has been a really key player, behind Contreras. Willy has had some injuries and Juan hasn't skipped a beat when he's playing.

You have quite a bit of money coming off the books at the end of the year, many of it spent on players that haven't contributed much this season. How do you plan to approach spending this money?

We have quite a few players due raises in arbitration, so I don't believe the net of those salaries will equal much money to spend in the offseason. There will be some money, so most likely we will pick a target or two and
try to bring them in. It may ultimately end up that we bring back one of our key free agents.

[dbackhon]

Oakland 4 - Cleveland 3

With Arutro Rivera leading the charge, the Oakland A's defeated the Cleveland Indians 4-3 at home. Rivera hit two home runs, batting in 3, to lead the A's to their victory. While now this game has little impact on the playoff implications of either team (both are up big in their respective divisions), it served as a potential playoff preview.

Three Questions for Oakland

How would you describe your offensive approach this season?

Why do you think so many older players have career years with your squad?

Despite the win what do you see as your teams greatest weakness?

Three Questions for Cleveland

Luis Retana struggled in this game, is it difficult to win when he plays poorly?

Ortega gave up a few bombs tonight, do you see his HR/9 as an issue potentially going into hitters parks in the playoffs?

Despite the loss, what to you see as your teams greatest strength?