Khris Davis hardly cares how many home runs he hits this year if he can

OAKLAND A. J. Pollock Jersey , Calif. (AP) — slug the Oakland Athletics much deeper into the postseason.Sure, he has some numbers in his head. How could he not after leading the majors with 48 homers last year? Perhaps 50 is now within reach.There was time for reflection, and it has now passed.“I did at the end of the season. Now I’m kind of like over it,” Davis said. “I want to pick up where I left off. I felt like I ended the season on a good note, making it to the playoffs. Nobody thought we’d get there. Even though we lost, there was a lot to be proud of. It was by far the most fun I’ve had playing baseball, because we won so many games. And winning is way better than losing.”With a young power-hitting lineup, the A’s realize they won’t surprise the rest of baseball as they did last year with their knack for late-game rallies and winning the close ones. Oakland lost the AL wild card game to the New York Yankees.“We’ve come a long way as a team to get into this type of position,” manager Bob Melvin said. “It’s easier to envision where the lineup’s going to be and look a little bit farther down the road with this type of team than with teams where you’re kind of always having to mix and match.”Here are some things to watch for as the A’s look to start strong, beginning in Japan on March 20 against the AL West rival Seattle Mariners:MOMENTUM TIME: Melvin expects his A’s to have swagger, a well-deserved confidence after the remarkable turnaround of 2018.The A’s trailed the Mariners by 11 games in the wild-card race on June 15 then propelled themselves into the playoffs with a superb second half.“We were able to, through confidence http://www.diamondbacksfanproshop.com/authentic-zack-greinke-jersey , create the success, and now we have that kind of confidence to go into the season,” said Melvin, the reigning AL Manager of the Year.PROFAR’S PRESENCE: New second baseman Jurickson Profar joins a talented infield with a pair of slugging Matts — Matt Chapman at third and Matt Olson at first — along with much-improved Marcus Semien at shortstop.Profar knows how good his new club can be after watching the A’s beat his former Texas Rangers so many times before being traded.“Now I get the chance to play with them. So far, it’s fun,” he said. “I’m excited to get it started already and have a good year with everybody.”Profar batted .254 with 20 homers and 77 RBIs in 146 games last season while playing all four infield spots for the Rangers.He is embracing a new opportunity with Oakland.“They did great last year and we’re still young. I’m looking forward to doing it again, go to the playoffs and not only one game like last year. Keep going.”POWER PLAY: Davis, who received a $6 million raise this offseason to $16.5 million, also had a career-high 123 RBIs. He jokes about the fact he has hit .247 for each of the past four seasons.Olson hit 29 homers and drove in 85 runs while Chapman had 24 homers and 68 RBIs in his first full major league season. He is coming off left shoulder surgery in December.“Now that I think about it, wow, it was because of these young guys,” Davis said of the recent success. “They bring something fresh Shelby Miller Jersey , and that’s what Oakland needs is some freshness.”ROTATION FACES: The A’s are counting on veteran starters Mike Fiers and Marco Estrada to lead the rotation until everyone is healthy again.Fiers returned on a $14.1 million, two-year deal in December, then Estrada received a $4 million, one-year contract in January.The A’s acquired Fiers in August from Detroit, and he helped the club reach the playoffs for the first time since 2014. He went 5-2 with a 3.74 ERA in 10 outings with nine starts after joining Oakland.Brett Anderson is back with the A’s and the lefty also is slated to be in the rotation when the season starts.Lefty ace Sean Manaea pitched a no-hitter against Boston on April 21 then underwent shoulder surgery in September. He is expected to be out until around the All-Star break.Jharel Cotton had Tommy John surgery in March, followed by three others who also underwent the elbow ligament replacement surgery: departed 2018 opening day starter Kendall Graveman, Daniel Gossett and top prospect A.J. Puk.TOP PROSPECT: While Jesus Luzardo didn’t get named to the roster for Japan, he is still hopeful of breaking camp with a big league spot. He will remain in Arizona to stay on a throwing schedule.The prized lefty made all of four starts at Triple-A Nashville last season, when he also pitched in Double-A and Class-A ball. The veteran catcher helped to guide one of the best pitching staffs in Rockies history."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Scaling the RocksPebble ReportRockpileRockies Game ThreadsRockies Fan ExperienceRockies Player ReviewsChris Iannetta’s value in 2018 was not found on the stat sheetNew,29commentsThe veteran catcher helped to guide one of the best pitching staffs in Rockies history.ByJordan Freemyer@jfreemyerOct 17, 2018,7:00am Chris Iannetta’s value in 2018 was not found on the stat sheetYou’re reading the 2018 edition of Ranking the Rockies Chris Owings Jersey , where we take a look back at the season had by every player to play for the Rockies in 2018. The purpose of this list is to provide a snapshot of the player in context. The “Ranking” is an organizing principle that’s drawn from Baseball Reference’s WAR (rWAR). It’s not something the staff debated. We’ll begin with the player with the least amount of rWAR and end up with the player with the most.鈽?鈽?鈽匩o. 32, Chris Iannetta (-0.4 rWAR)After using five different catchers in 2017, none of whom started more than 66 games, the Rockies brought back Chris Iannetta, who was with the club from 2006-2011, on a two-year, $8.5 million deal over the offseason.Iannetta, at age 35, brought a measure of stability behind the plate for the Rockies, starting 83 games in 2018.Spending just over $4 million per year on a 35-year-old catcher means you likely are not expecting said catcher to light the world on fire offensively, and Iannetta didn’t. He hit .224/.345/.385 in 360 plate appearances with 11 home runs. One positive for Iannetta at theplate was retaining his high walk rate, taking a free pass at a rate of 13.9 percent in 2018.Given his body of work http://www.diamondbacksfanproshop.com/authentic-zack-greinke-jersey , rWAR viewed Iannetta’s contribution to the Rockies as a net negative in 2018, with fWAR rating it as a slight positive (Iannetta had 0.4 fWAR this season). However, neither r- nor fWAR account for catcher defense, so neither are really equipped to measure the real value Iannetta had to the Rockies this season.Perhaps the biggest contribution Iannetta made to the Rockies in 2018 was the partnership he formed with Kyle Freeland, who set a franchise record for single-season ERA. Iannetta caught 32 of Freeland’s 33 starts this season, and the southpaw posted a 2.86 ERA with Iannetta behind the plate.Iannetta has one more year left on his contract, so you can count on him being back with the Rockies in 2019, but his role may be more limited if the Rockies choose to bring in another backstop that can provide some more pop at the plate.