Athletics’ roster features lots of new faces

The Oakland Athletics are carrying 31 players on their roster, including only nine who played for them in 2011. Shortstop Cliff Pennington and pitchers Brett Anderson and Jerry Blevins are the only ones around from 2009.

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Yes, Miguel Cabrera has a real shot to win the Triple Crown, but his biggest hurdle is catching Josh Hamilton and Adam Dunn for the home run lead. His 10 career home runs at U.S. Cellular Field are his second most away from home, and he needs only two in the four games this week to surpass his total at Progressive Field in Cleveland.

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Startling factoid, courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com: In Tuesday’s 18-9 loss to the Minnesota Twins, the Chicago White Sox became the first team to get 10 doubles and lose since the 1935 Detroit Tigers did it against the Washington Senators. The Twins became the second team this year to win 18-9 and have no doubles (the Colorado Rockies did it against the New York Mets on April 27), and that wasn’t done from 1918 through 2011.

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Erik Kratz, a 32-year-old rookie catcher with the Philadelphia Phillies, hit nine home runs in his first 120 plate appearances and threw out 13 of the first 27 runners trying to steal against him.

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Kratz’s manager the last few years, Ryne Sandberg, is finishing September as an extra coach with the Phillies. General Manager Ruben Amaro Jr. stops short of calling Sandberg the heir-apparent to Manager Charlie Manuel, but he would be an easy choice if Manuel is fired or resigns. That’s not going to happen before 2013, however, so look for Sandberg to again interview for big league jobs this off-season. Baseball America selected Sandberg its minor league manager of the year.

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Yes, the Cleveland Indians really did hit Russ Canzler and Thomas Neal fourth and fifth Sunday after calling them up from the minors Saturday. But the big news in Cleveland last week was closer Chris Perez’s honesty about his team’s plight, which could trigger his trade in the off-season.

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Among the notable prospects not promoted for September — Kansas City Royals outfielder Wil Myers, who was Baseball America’s minor league player of the year; Tigers third baseman-outfielder Nick Castellanos, and Cincinnati Reds shortstop Billy Hamilton. The common thread is none has to be added to the 40-man roster this winter, and their teams are worried about overcrowding.

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The San Francisco Giants’ Aubrey Huff, who tore up his knee celebrating Matt Cain’s perfect game, is back as a pinch-hitter and believes he can get a big hit or two to help win games down the stretch. He was a late-season hero in 2010 but has represented $22 million poorly spent the last two years.