How the tables have turns for these two teams. The A's have been at the top of the American League West for the past few seasons and even looked like the best team in baseball at one time last year. Now they are sellers and 12 games out of first place in the West.
On the other side, the upstart Astros took to pieces from the A's success the past few seasons and added them to their roster -- Jed Lowrie and Scott Kazmir. For this season, the A's and Astros are joined at the hip in a way with the Scott Kazmir trade.