INSIDE PITCH

Posted on 2012 under Athletics | Comments are off

4 Feb

Manager Bob Melvin knows that the A's will have less experience going into the 2012 season than they did last year. He'll have a lot of young pitchers, and the lineup, with two weeks to go until camp, is lacking in power. However, Melvin told reporters at the team's recent FanFest that he does not like the term "rebuilding" and he does not plan to use it. Melvin said that he believes that all big-league teams have one job to do: win. He plans to prepare his club to do just that. With the A's in a suddenly much fiercer division -- the beefed up Angels figure to challenge the two-time AL champion Rangers -- Oakland's players are also aware that they are not going to be picked as potential favorites, unlike last year. The A's, however, plan to embrace the underdog role. New outfielder Jonny Gomes has talked a lot about the 2008 Rays team he played on that went from last place to the World Series. Likely Opening Day starter Brandon McCarthy said that even though the A's are the dark horse in the AL West, they could come together and have success if things were to break right. "We could win 60 games, or we could win 90 games," McCarthy said at FanFest. The Athletics' power issues could get a notable answer: The team is expected to be in the running for designated hitter Manny Ramirez, with owner Lew Wolff and assistant general manager David Forst both expressing interest in the free agent. Ramirez would have to sit out the first 50 games for violating baseball's banned-substance policy.