BASEBALL PREVIEW '03: A's want more than a first-round flop

By GREG BEACHAM
AP Sports Writer

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) The Oakland Athletics are weary of the wait.

``We've got potential, but now we need to see some results,'' AL Cy Young winner Barry Zito said. ``We keep hearing about how we're this great young team, but we've never won a playoff series. I think this year is the time.''

After another season of carefree fun and fantastic feats like a league-record 20-game winning streak, the A's went home early last October for the third straight year.

While Anaheim which finished below division champion Oakland in the AL West standings and the cross-Bay San Francisco Giants met in the World Series, the A's wondered why they weren't there.

``I felt like we were better than those teams,'' outfielder Terrence Long said. ``I couldn't watch a lot of the games. It hurt.''

After two division crowns and three first-round defeats over the past three years, the A's still hunger for the success that has seemed to be their destiny ever since general manager Billy Beane began assembling one of baseball's best young rosters.

So they spent the spring with a palpable determination in their preparation. The youthful A's, with their girlie posters in the clubhouse and remote-control cars on the infield, are gradually giving way to a core of veterans determined to make their mark.

``Oh, there's definitely a good focus so far this year,'' said new Oakland manager Ken Macha, who was promoted after four seasons as Art Howe's bench coach. ``It's not all the coaching staff's doing. ... It's these guys who want to win and want to take that next step. To finish the playoffs the way we did last year wouldn't be acceptable to them this year.''

Despite their October failures, the A's have plenty of that quiet confidence bred by success and skill. They seem to have no doubt they'll make the playoffs, even while playing in what's generally considered baseball's toughest division.

After all, Oakland still has the game's best young trio of starting pitchers in Zito, Tim Hudson and Mark Mulder. Then there's AL MVP Miguel Tejada, emerging superstar Eric Chavez and Jermaine Dye who's completely healthy after struggling last season in the heart of a stable order.

But what's different about the A's this season is a sense of determination and urgency partially because of their three straight playoff failures, and perhaps from Tejada's all-but-certain departure, either in a trade or when he becomes a free agent next winter.

The man most responsible for the A's success after the Big Three starters, of course is Beane, who turned down offseason overtures from the Boston Red Sox to stay in California and work his annual magic against Oakland's small budget and stadium revenues.

``This is definitely a talented team, but there's a lot of things we still have to work on and improve,'' Beane said. ``Depth will be a challenge, but I think if the right people emerge, we'll be able to stay at the level we like.''

Starting last season, Beane made several tweaks to his roster that should pay dividends. He was forced to trade closer Billy Koch and No. 4 starter Cory Lidle in blatant salary dumps last winter, while David Justice retired.

Beane acquired Keith Foulke from the Chicago White Sox to step in for Koch, and former Yankees prospect Ted Lilly appears ready for an outstanding season. The left-hander, acquired last summer, pitched just 23 1-3 innings because of injuries but he was the talk of Papago Park with his spectacular spring training.

Erubiel Durazo, Chris Singleton and Ron Gant will be expected to replace Justice and add some pop to a lineup that slumped at times last season. Beane has high hopes for Durazo, the often-injured Mexican League star acquired from the Diamondbacks.

Lilly will take Lidle's spot in the rotation, and new acquisition John Halama will get the first shot at the No. 5 spot though Aaron Harang, another promising young starter, will take over if Halama's mediocre spring carried into April.

The bullpen is in flux, with Foulke, Chad Bradford and Ricardo Rincon as the top returnees. Newcomers Jeremy Fikac and Mike Neu seem likely to earn spots as well.

There probably isn't another 20-game winning streak in the A's future and they hope that's not that only thing that's different about this summer.

``Turnover is inevitable for us,'' Beane said. ``But the things we count on are still the same the same guys doing the same things. The rest is just opportunities a chance for young guys to step up and be a part of a good team.''

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)