The A’s and the Giants have played 43 games on their way to 162 in this 2002 season.

The Giants trail Arizona by one half game in the NL West, the A’s can barely see the Mariners, ten games in front of the AL West.

Are both these teams in trouble?

I’ll tell you what I think.The A’s need the most help right now.

Fans, writers, experts are starting to jump off the A’s bandwagon, when one well placed winning streak will put this team right back into the thick of the AL West race.

I said last week that Mark Mulder’s start was huge for this team. Mulder came through his outing in Toronto quite well.

Now, I’m concerned about Tim Hudson.

Pitcher’s of Hudson’s caliber just don’t get bombed with the regularity Hudson is being hit, without a reason.

Is he just not locating his pitches? Is he hurting? Is it lack of run support, leading him to the idea that he has has to pitch a perfect game every time out? Is he in a slump?

Something is not right and the A’s better find out what is ailing the righty soon.

Cory Lidle is on the DL. How long will he be out?

Barry Zito seems to be on the right course, registering the only A’s wins, during this losing skid.

Eric Hiljus is an inconsistent fifth starter. Enough said, don’t expect too much.

Mike Fyhrie is a career minor leaguer, trying to stop the bleeding, while Lidle is recuperating on the DL.

Solution number one: Get the big four healthy.

Next, the team ERA is 4.91.

That stinks.

The bull pen hasn’t had a meaningful chance in three weeks.

I think that’s important in assessing this pen’s ability. Save chances bring out the best in a pen or the worst. Let’s give them some slack until the team starts winning again.

Jeff Tam hasn’t pitched well all year. His role is important since he is called upon in the seventh inning, the inning starters usually falter.

Tam needs to go to AAA to work out his problems.

Now the offense.

The A’s haven’t hit with any authority over the last 18 games, going 4-14.

Will they hit?

Absolutely. Baseball is a game of cycles and averages, it all works out by the end of the season.

Sometimes it is painful until the cycles run their course.

Jermaine Dye didn’t start playing until late April.

Dye only has 74 at bats. Let’s talk about him when he has 200 at bats. He didn’t have a spring training, plus he is coming back from a severe leg injury.

The three experiments Dave Justice, Carlos Pena, and Scott Hatteberg have not given Billy Beane the production he expected.

It’s no crime. These were roll of the dice moves that are not working out at the moment, one of the reasons this team isn’t scoring runs.

Are they the problem?

Yes, to a small dgree.

The core group returning to the A’s haven’t helped the offense enough to offset the losses of Jason Giambi and Johnny Damon.

Terrence Long, Ramon Hernandez, Eric Chavez, Frank Menechino, Randy Velarde, and Olmedo Saenz are the real problem that this team is struggling on offense.

What do you do now?

The A’s lack an established threat in the middle of the lineup.

Miguel Tejada, Dye, and Chavez fit into the four, five and six spots quite well.

Jeremy Giambi is a decent number two hitter.

Where do you find a three hitter this early in the season?

In Tampa Bay, that’s where.

Greg Vaughn is hitting .129. Don’t laugh.

Vaughn has always hit well in Oakland.

He has power.

He is a threat. Pitchers have to respect him. He has game.

He is a veteran.

He will give the clubhouse badly needed veteran leadership.

He’s been a winner.

He appears to be healthy.

Tampa Bay will probably pay most of his salary to move him. When Dave Justice comes back, Art Howe can platoon them both in the DH spot. Thereby, saving them from wear and tear injuries.

Would you rather have Jason Grabowski or Larry Sutton from Sacramento?

Sending half the team to AAA won’t work. Although, Carlos Pena should be sent down to learn how to deal with the fastball.

Firing the hardest working staff in the majors won’t help.

What will help is playing the next 119 games as if they are the seventh game of the world series.

What will help is making pitches that get batters out, instead of pitches that turn into home runs.

What will help is hitting first pitch strikes and not getting into the hole early, in what seems to be every at bat.

Scare the opposing pitchers, throw them off their game. Then, go back to the wait ’em out philosophy.

And above all don’t panic, there is a lot of baseball left to be played.

I like the fact that Anaheim and Texas are playing better. They can keep Seattle closer to the pack.

One good winning streak and you’ll forget your worries.

You’ ll see.

Now the Giants.

Much less concern right now.

Their angst concerns the offense.

Jeff Kent and Reggie Sanders will hit enough to make fans forget about their slow starts.

JT Snow is a different story. Damon Minor should get some more playing time. He can knock the ball out of the park. He may be able to hit on the road, a place the Giants fail miserably.

Rich Aurilia will be fine. David Bell has exceeded expectations and seems to be getting more comfortable every day.

Barry Bonds will hit .400 this year. You heard it here first. As the season moves on, his run at .400 will give the rest of the team a boost, just as his run at 73 homers did last year.

The starting pitching is fine.

Jason Schmidt pitched beautifully last week against Atlanta. Ryan Jensen throws well almost every time out.

No worries there.

The Giants need to get the big boys going with the lumber.

They have track records of success. They will hit enough to win the West.

Hey, remember this is the NL, where five runs will win the game.

The Giants can score five runs per game .

No sweat.

The Giants have a lot less to worry about than the A’s.