Spring training arrives this week. And A’s fans, you should be excited for this season. Yes, that’s something that you hear every year. We get it. But no, really, this team should excite you. Now, how many games they win or if they get into playoff contention is still a question.



Matter of fact, let me just be honest and answer that: the A’s will most likely be on the outside looking in come October because of the juggernaut American League West, which includes the World Series champion Houston Astros, who are my pick to come out of the division, and the Los Angeles Angels, who acquired Japanese phenom Shohei Ohtani and still have the best player in baseball in outfielder Mike Trout.



A’s manager Bob Melvin even joked during the team’s pre-FanFest media session that it seems all the best players in baseball come to their division, and he wishes the rest of the free agents will just stay away.



But that isn’t a reason for...