So...

Is the glass half empty or half full?

The Hardball Times just finished their A's season preview. While I was reading this I couldn't figure out if they were going to be optimisitc or pessimistic on the A's. I still don't after reading it a few times.

All in al, I think it's a pretty good read all in all. They seem to be a little down on Zito, I don't know why because out of the Big Three he was the one who was still efective down the stretch. His K totals also were up last season and towards the end he left fewer balls hanging in the zone. Besides, Zito's always been up and down, things are pointing towards a good season in my book.

It also says the A's offense will be "mediocre-to-below average, even when adjusted for their home ballpark." But the A's are probably short on power, ever since Giambi we've seem to be short on power, but it always seems that people ignore that we have a whole lot of high OBP guys. However I do like the porjection of Swisher turning into Brad Wilkerson-type player.

“I can’t tell.”
“You can tell me, I’m an A’s fan.”
“No, I mean I’m just not sure.”
“Can’t you take a guess?”
“No.”
“Please?”
“OK.”
(Cue bouncing tumbleweeds.)
“Well?”
“Oh, right. Let’s assume that Harden wins the Cy Young, Zito is above average, Haren emerges, and Meyer and Blanton don’t pan out. So I’ll say 88 wins.”
“Eighty-eight wins? You’re just parroting what PECOTA thinks.”
“It is true, but unlike that computer-generated forecast, I think the Angels will win more than 83 games.”
“How many more?”
“Enough to keep the A’s home in October.”
“What if they want to go to Europe instead?”
“It’s a free country.”
“The most free country in the world, Billy!”
“The name’s John, and dude, I was being ironic.”
“What’s that about Steve Austin?”
“We’re done here.”

All right, after all this analysis we get the conclusion; 88 wins for the A's and a breakout year for Rich Harden. I've been predicting that since the big trades over the winter. Still 88 wins aren't going to get you the AL West but I think the A's still have a healthy shot at the playoffs, if everything falls into place.

This analysis confirms what I've believed in all along. The A's are going to be a fun team to watch this summer.