GM Billy Beane thought he was slick in getting rid of Ken Macha proving that he doesn’t know everything. Geren led the A’s to a 75-87 record (46.3%) last season. In his three years with the A’s, Geren is 226-259 (46.6%) which just isn’t cutting it. I don’t think Geren will have much more time unless he starts winning more ballgames. Geren has given a lot of his players the green light on the bases which goes against Beane’s Moneyball approach.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE MANAGER IN 2010: C-

The Oakland Athletics have signed 27-year old righty starter/reliever Chad Gaudin to a 1-year deal. Gaudin pitched in 31 games (25 starts) for the Yankees & Padres last year in which he was 6-10 with a 4.64 ERA and a 1.51 WHIP. He has now pitched in 216 games (75 starts) in his 7 years in the majors and he is 34-35 with 2 saves, a 4.50 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP. Gaudin is back with the A’s who he pitched for from 2006-2008. He pitched in 115 games (40 starts) in his time with the A’s and he was 20-18 with 2 saves, a 4.00 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP. I like this move for the A’s no matter what role they use Gaudin in.

The Oakland A’s are going to have one of the best bullpens in all of baseball in 2010. It all starts with 25-year old righty closer Andrew Bailey who was the Rookie of the Year in the American League in 2009. He pitched in 68 games (0 starts) for the A’s last year and he was 6-3 with 26 saves, a 1.84 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP. He only gave up 49 hits in 83 1/3 innings last season for the A’s while whiffing 91 batters showing how nasty his stuff is. Bailey comes right at hitters with his wicked arsenal daring them to swing at him.

31-year old righty Michael Wuertz had a career year in 2009 for the A’s. Wuertz pitched in 74 games (0 starts) for the Athletics last season and he was 6-1 with 4 saves, a 2.63 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP. Wuertz only gave up 52 hits in 78 2/3 innings last season for the A’s while whiffing 102 batters showing just how dominating he was. Look for more of the same out of him in 2010.

30-year old righty sidearmer Brad Ziegler started last season as the closer before turning the job over to Bailey. He pitched in 69 games (0 starts) for the Athletics last year and he was 2-4 with 7 saves, a 3.07 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. Ziegler has now pitched in 116 games (0 starts) in his two years with the A’s and he is 5-4 with 18 saves, a 2.17 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP.

26-year old righty Joey Devine will be back in 2010 after missing the 2009 season due to injury. Devine pitched in 42 games (0 starts) for the Athletics in 2008 in which he was 6-1 with 1 save, a 0.59 ERA and a 0.83 WHIP. He only allowed 23 hits in 45 2/3 innings for the A’s in 2008 while whiffing 49 batters showing how nasty he is when healthy.

29-year old Craig Breslow will likely be the A’s top lefty in 2010. Breslow pitched in 60 games (0 starts) for the Athletics last season in which he was 7-5 with a 2.60 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP. He only gave up 35 hits in 55 1/3 innings for the A’s last season showing that he is more than capable of putting away lefty swingers.

27-year old lefty Brad Kilby will likely be the A’s #2 lefty out of the pen in 2010. Kilby pitched in 11 games (1 start) for the Athletics last season in which he is 1-0 with a 0.53 ERA and a 0.82 WHIP. Kilby only gave up 10 hits in his first 17 major league innings of his career while whiffing 20 showing what kind of stuff he has. Kilby also pitched in 45 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball last season in which he was 4-2 with 2 saves, a 2.13 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP. He only gave up 40 hits in 63 1/3 innings in the minors last season while whiffing 77 batters.

26-year old lefty Jerry Blevins will likely be starting the year in AAA. He pitched in 20 games (0 starts) for the A’s last season and he was 0-0 with a 4.84 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP. He is clearly behind Breslow and Kilby heading into this season but I would think that Blevins would surface at some point in 2010 for the A’s.

31-year old righty Jason Jennings could win a job as a long reliever for the A’s in 2010. Jennings pitched in 44 games (0 starts) for the Rangers last season in which he was 2-4 with 1 save, a 4.13 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP. He can handle multiple innings at a time as he was a starter not to long ago in his career.

28-year old righty Edwar Ramirez was just acquired by the Rangers from the A’s. He pitched in 20 games (0 starts) for the Yankees last season and he was 0-0 with a 5.73 ERA and a 1.96 WHIP. Ramirez is a better pitcher than he showed last year but he will have a uphill climb trying to make the A’s in 2010.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE BULLPEN IN 2010: A

The A’s have acquired 27-year old righty reliever Edwar Ramirez from the Rangers for 25-year old righty swinging 2B/SS Gregorio Petit. Ramirez pitched in 20 games (0 starts) for the Yankees last season in which he was 0-0 with a 5.73 ERA and a 1.96 WHIP. In his three years in the majors, Ramirez has pitched in 96 games (0 starts) in which he is 6-2 with 2 saves, a 5.22 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP. The A’s will likely use Ramirez early in games if he makes the A’s pitching staff. Petit played in 11 games for the A’s last season in which he was 7 of 31 (.226 avg, .484 OPS) with 2 runs scored and 1 RBI. He played in 25 games in his career with the A’s and he is 15 of 54 (.278 avg, .637 OPS) with 6 runs scored and 1 RBI. Losing Petit won’t hurt the A’s while Ramirez might turn into a asset down the road so I like this trade for them.

The A’s will be without 25-year old righty reliever John Meloan in 2010 as he will undergo season ending surgery on his right elbow this week. Meloan pitched in 6 games (0 starts) for the A’s last season and he was 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA and a 0.60 WHIP. He also pitched in 44 games (2 starts) in AAA-ball last season and he was 0-0 with a 4.37 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. The A’s won’t miss him too much in 2010 as their bullpen is loaded.