(Sports Network) - When Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane traded for Matt Holliday and acquired a few veteran free agents in the offseason, it garnered quite a bit of debate as to exactly how those moves jived with the team's rebuilding plans.

Now, with half the season now in the books and the A's planted firmly at the bottom of the American League West standings, that very same topic is still up for debate. In addition to Holliday, free agent pickups Orlando Cabrera, Nomar Garciaparra and Jason Giambi haven't done a whole lot to justify their presence in the clubhouse, either.

An MVP candidate in 2007, Holliday has averaged 32 home runs over the past three seasons to go along with his career .315 batting average. But he has gone deep just nine times this season and his batting average is down to .277. At first base, the combination of Giambi (.191), Bobby Crosby (.210) and Garciaparra (.250) has been almost laughable. Cabrera (.265) has hardly provided the production the team envisioned batting out of the No. 2 hole.

With the trade deadline now just two weeks away, Beane certainly would like to cut his losses as much as he can. Still, the team's offensive woes aren't limited to those aforementioned players. Designated hitter Jack Cust is hitting just .231 and has a lower slugging average than leadoff man Adam Kennedy. Second baseman Mark Ellis has been a liability even at the bottom of the lineup, hitting just .213. And $66 million-dollar man Eric Chavez has seen enough doctors over the years that he could probably pass an MCAT exam.

That leaves Beane -- the very same GM whose mastery has netted a book deal and a Hollywood film -- to shoulder the blame. Beane has always been respected amongst his peers -- and deservedly so -- for his ability to identify and develop young talent. Yet for every Jason Isringhausen, Ray Durham, Ted Lilly, Nick Swisher or Joe Blanton -- guys handpicked by Beane, there are the Omar Quintanilla's who never quite panned out, or the Nelson Cruz's who flourished after being shipped out of town.

Over the years, veterans like Tim Hudson and Dan Haren have been dealt for prospects. In turn, those prospects are often flipped for more prospects and the cycle continues. Such is the way of a small-market team trying to keep up with the bigger fish.

And now that the All-Star break is over, there won't be any time for the team to regroup if the struggles continue, as the A's are in the midst of a club- record 28 straight games without a break. Manager Bob Geren knows that unless his lineup starts producing, it will be a long, long second half.

"We've got to get the players that are right here just to perform at their very best," Geren said earlier this week. "We have some guys that I truly believe will have better second halves."

ANGELS NEED TO TAKE CARE OF BUSINESS IN AL WEST

Coming out of the All-Star break with a four-game series against the last- place A's, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have a solid opportunity to create some distance between themselves and the rest of the division. Problem is, knocking off division opponents has been easier said than done.

The Angels have gone a pedestrian 11-16 in their own division, yet they entered Friday with a two-game lead over the Texas Rangers. In contrast, they've managed to go 17-9 against the AL East, arguably the toughest division in all of baseball. That fact is not lost on manager Mike Scioscia, who doesn't feel it has been a matter of teams merely 'playing up' to the Angels.

"We need to play well against everyone," Scioscia said on the team's website. "We haven't played well against some clubs in our division. We need to bring a level of play whether it's in the division or outside the division. It's still in-house, trying to be a consistent club and playing a high level of baseball."

The team could get a big boost if starter Ervin Santana returns to form. Santana, despite not having top velocity on his fastball, yielded just three hits over eight innings in Thursday's 6-2 win over Oakland. It was his first win in six weeks.



RANGERS IN UNCHARTERED TERRITORY TO START SECOND HALF

In the first two years under manager Ron Washington, the Texas Rangers entered the All-Star break trailing the division leader by 15 games and 7 1/2 games, respectively. This year, they entered the break just 1 1/2 games back of the Angels.

"Theres no doubt that we've gotten better," Washington told the Star-Telegram on Thursday. "Our confidence is higher than its been. Our team is better than its been. I don't feel we're going any place."

Washington said he feels good about his rotation and the fact that guys are rested, but that "you can never have enough starting pitching," a feeling evidently shared by general manager Jon Daniels. According to the team's website, the Rangers have inquired about highly coveted Blue Jays' starter Roy Halladay. Of course, the price is steep, with Toronto reportedly asking for first baseman Justin Smoak and at least two quality young starting pitchers in return. And while the Rangers could obviously use Halladay's services, Daniels doesn't appear ready to mortgage the team's future.

"We like our five guys," Daniels said. "We expect them to have a quality outing every night. Obviously, we have some inexperience toward the back end but they are still more than capable."



MARINERS CAN THANK PITCHING FOR FIRST-HALF SUCCESS

Entering the season's backstretch just four games off the pace in the AL West, the Seattle Mariners so far have been amongst baseball's biggest surprises. All-Star hurler Felix Hernandez has anchored a pitching staff that boasts a 3.72 ERA, tops in the American League. Ichiro Suzuki continues to be as automatic as it gets, hitting a robust .360. And Russell Branyan has made the most of his opportunity to be an everyday player, ranking among the Major League leaders with 22 home runs.

The natural question, then, is how long can they possibly keep this up? Branyan offered an interesting perspective on the team's mindset.

"It takes passion, and there's not one person here who'd rather be somewhere else," Branyan said.

A few months ago, that kind of answer would have been met with plenty of skepticism. After all, Seattle was not expected to be in contention, and contract-year players like Erik Bedard surely would be on the trading block. But funny things happen sometimes when a team gets written off, as Seattle has proven so far this year. To a man, every player in the clubhouse believes they've got a shot at winning the division.

It will take some luck, and some health -- Adrian Beltre is about a month away from rejoining the team -- but the Mariners have proven they are not to be taken lightly.







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