Why did the A's not get on base?

I was very shocked last year when the Oakland A's, who preach OBP, had the second lowest team total in all of Major League Baseball in 2008. What happened to their philosophy, and will it rebound in 2009?

The A's had four players last year with OBPs above .340: Jack Cust, Frank Thomas, Ryan Sweeny, and Kurt Suzuki. On the other hand, they had four players with 300+ ABs who had an OBP at or below .305: Carlos Gonzalez, Bobby Crosby, Emil Brown, and Jack Hannahan.

This is not what we would expect from a Billy Beane squad. Let's see how many players will change this, and what to expect in 2009.

The expected starting roster in 2009, along with their OBP for 2008 and their career:

C - Kurt Suzuki (.346 - 2008, .341 - Career)
1B - Daric Barton (.327 - 2008, .341 - Career)
2B - Mark Ellis (.321 - 2008, .337 - Career)
SS - Bobby Crosby (.296 - 2008, .306 - Career)
3B - Eric Chavez (.295 - 2008, .346 - Career)
LF - Matt Holliday (.409 - 2008, .386 - Career)
CF - Travis Buck (.291 - 2008, .347 - Career)
RF - Ryan Sweeney (.350 - 2008, .334 - Career)
DH - Jack Cust (.375 - 2008, .382 - Career)

I think Beane has found getting OBP guys to be much more difficult in the past three to four years, and he has really had to take on injury risks to get guys he likes. This led to the Holliday trade, and although Gonzalez had to go in the trade, he is a poor OBP guy as well, so it’s not a large loss in Oakland's eyes.

Let's look at any changes they could make. The real concern besides injuries again in 2009 is the bat of Crosby at SS. He is not a Billy Beane type player, and the A's had gone after Furcal, but Furcal has now signed with the Braves. I still think they would like to replace Crosby, but the other choices left are just as poor, such as Orlando Cabrera and his career OBP of .322. The team has also been trying to bring back Jason Giambi and his career OBP of .408 (.373 in 2008). But Giambi would push Cust to the outfield, which might cost them too much defensively.

I really like the A's to rebound in 2009. They have solid pitchers and some good prospects ready to come up. They also have a great pen and won't miss Street at closer.