The Oakland Athletics added some power to their lineup in the offseason, but make no mistake: the A’s hopes in 2011 hinge on the talented four arms at the top of Oakland’s rotation.

The A’s finished at .500 last season, going 81-81 in finishing nine games behind AL West winner and eventual World Series qualifier Texas. To get to that point, the A’s will have to pitch well.

They’ve definitely got the arms to do so. Right-hander Trevor Cahill will get the nod on opening day. Brett Anderson, Gio Gonzalez and Dallas Braden, who fired a perfect game last season, will round out the top four.

The A’s were active in the offseason, bolstering their power with the likes of Hideki Matsui and Josh Willingham in an attempt to score enough runs for the talented pitching staff.

Oakland opens its season at home against Seattle on April 1. After that initial three-game series, the A’s hit the road for a nine-game road trip to Toronto, Minnesota and Chicago.

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In exchange for Willingham, the Athletics have sent two minor league prospects to the Nationals.

The A’s, as per usual, have been one of the most active teams in the offseason, especially when it comes to making trades.

Willingham gives the A’s another big bat in the middle of their lineup, something they lacked last year.

He will team with new signee Hideki Matsui to add some pop to the lineup and hopefully boost the club’s low home run totals.

As April closed, the Oakland A’s found themselves sitting in first place in the AL West.

But don’t fault the A’s and their fans for seeking a little more consistency from their first-place squad.

Oakland put their fans through a bit of a roller coaster in the first four weeks of the season. Twice, the A’s ran off winning streaks of three in a row or more. Twice, the A’s loss three or more consecutive games.

The two good streaks came in the first 13 games of the season. Oakland won four games in a row after losing the season opener to Seattle. A three-game winning streak a few days later pushed the A’s record to 9-4 on the season.

That didn’t last long, as Oakland promptly lost three straight games. The A’s rebounded to win three out of four, then lost four straight to end the month.

Sitting at 12-12 entering the first game of May, Oakland snapped the skid to beat Toronto 4-3. The win keeps Oakland ½ game up on Texas in the AL West.

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