Oakland Athletics scouting report - MLB - CBSSports.com Live Scores, Stats, Schedules

We asked four veteran major-league scouts to break down the eight playoff teams for us during the last week of the regular season. We asked each scout to cover two clubs for us, going over each club's batting order, anticipated playoff rotation and closer, and this is what they said:

Scouting Report

Oakland Athletics

"They have outstanding starting pitching, and the rest of the club just seems to play well. (Miguel) Tejada has shown himself to be a great player, (Eric) Chavez is a great player who gets big hits in big situations. And (Jermaine) Dye is heating up, too. He hasn't been healthy, that leg has been bothering him. But he's starting to sting it. That great starting pitching covers up a lot of stuff -- you think back to the Dodgers' great teams, maybe the infield or outfield wasn't great defensively, but you'd never know it because nothing was hit hard. They're not as gifted defensively as the Twins, nor do they need to be with the pitching being so outstanding."

Ray Durham, DH

"He's been a big pickup for them. He can steal a base, he can get on, he doesn't have big strike zone -- but if you lay one in there, he's got some power. Offensively, he's a hell of a guy."

Scott Hatteberg, 1B

"Hatteberg is a guy who you couldn't figure out why they got him, yet he's had a hell of a year. He's a tough out, he plays hard at first, he's not great over there but he blocks balls. He's patient at the plate. He bought into their program, and he's gotten some big hits for them."

Miguel Tejada, SS

"What can you say, he's done it all. He hits .260 with nobody on and about .400 with guys on -- that's not too bad. He takes a big rip, makes good contact, he's strong and he doesn't try to pull everything. He was coming into his own and maybe (the departure of Jason Giambi) has made more people notice. I like (Nomar) Garciaparra, A-Rod (Alex Rodriguez) and all that, but this guy isn't far behind. He's in the wrong league. If he was in the NL, he'd stick out like a sore thumb."

Eric Chavez, 3B

"He's really become a great player. He's great defensively. He gets big hits, he has power and he's become a tougher out. He'd waste at-bats early in his career because the game came easy to him. With Giambi gone, he's taken more of a leadership role. He's maturing. It's hard to find anybody you'd rather have -- a left-handed hitting third baseman with power and a Gold Glove. That's pretty darn good."

Jermaine Dye, RF

"He's getting better. It's been a long haul, he probably came back too early from the (fractured shin he suffered in the playoffs last October) and it hampered him. He wasn't moving good, he didn't have as much power as he had in the past, but the last few weeks, he's started to hit the ball with authority. He's played good defense despite not having the speed he once had. He can really throw."

David Justice, LF

"He struggled at times this year, but he seems to step it up. He's on the downside of his career, but he seems to like being around the younger guys. I think he's got the most playoff experience of anybody who has ever played, and that can't hurt. He's got something to prove -- he struggled in the playoffs last year."

Terrence Long, CF

"He's started to come on. I didn't understand why he was hitting .230 (earlier in the year). I think playing center field bothered him, and he put a lot of pressure on himself. When the pitching stepped up, maybe he loosened up. I would have figured him to be a 25-homer guy instead of a 15-homer guy. He's hitting his stride now."

Ramon Hernandez, C

"You don't even notice him. He throws pretty well and makes contact at the plate. I've seen them hit and run with him. He makes contact there and he can stay out of the double play. Throwing, he's got good feet and has thrown some guys out."

Mark Ellis, 2B

"He's a tough out. You lay one in on him and he's hit a couple of balls out of the park, which I didn't think he'd ever do. He can bunt and steal a base. He doesn't look good catching the ball, but he makes plays. He's just one of those guys who does his job."

Tim Hudson, RHP

"He's finally got his control in the last 11 games or so. Early in the year, he was overthrowing the ball. He's not a real big guy, and you'd always worry he was trying do too much and would hurt himself. He throws lot pitches because he never lets you off the hook. His slider and fastball are above average. He's a fierce competitor. If he needs to pitch around guys, he'll pitch around them."

Mark Mulder, LHP

"Great stuff. He's got a few different pitches to get you out with. He's got great control, and he's a great athlete. He's going to throw strikes that are hard to hit, so he's going to win most of the time. He's got that two-seamer just off of his fastball, it's real late, and guys just don't hit it. His curve is above average and his fastball is well above average."

Barry Zito, LHP

"He's got that big curveball which kind of sets up everything else. He'll throw anything at any time. He's got late movement on his pitches. You look at the radar gun and it's not that impressive -- 88, 89, 90, but something happens at the plate. The ball jumps late. His curve looks like it's on the same plane as his fastball, so you can't protect yourself. And he'll throw his change-up anytime."

Billy Koch, closer

"He'll throw every day. He'll let you have it, too. He'll throw his good stuff, you might hit it, it doesn't bother him. He'll keep throwing it. It was a wise thing to get him. To me, he's more of a sure thing than (last year's closer Jason) Isringhausen."