2014 Oakland Athletics Thread

Originally posted by DelCed2486:

And the theory holds, pitcher with ERA under 4.00 throttles the A's, CG 3-hit shutout. Unless Samardzija/pen hold the Royals to under 2 runs tomorrow then most likely A's lose. And this series is a preview of what I'm afraid will happen in the playoffs, A's get pitching that's good enough to win, but their offense is totally inept against any above-avg pitcher.

This team is frustrating. They have the most wins in baseball, I believe. But they give me a headache. They need to pull it together and start bringing in runs.

Called it, A's scored 3 so they needed Samardzija/pen to hold KC to 2, but Cook went gas can...and like I said, Royals take 3/4.

I've heard Dallas Braden and a couple others comment that they already notice teams pitching differently to the A's without Cespedes anchoring the lineup. I give credit to Beane for trying to make things happen but I think he overplayed his hand...he made an already strong pitching staff slightly stronger, but made an inconsistent offense one that's now consistently feeble. I might yet be proven wrong, but I think in his desperation to finally get a ring he ironically weakened the team that might have been able to do it....not to mention the return he could have got on Cespedes if he had waited until the offseason to deal him.

Even if they somehow hold off the Angels and win the West, I just don't see how this team can get out of the first round, let alone get to and win the WS.

YOu guys are about to go on a 3 game winning streak, trust me

At this point my guess is that by the time the A's finish up their 3-game series vs. the Angels next weekend that they will be 2nd place at least a game out...and that MelBeane will keep pretending that they can afford to keep running Hammel out there every 5 days to get shelled.

And if they keep sucking at this rate, they'll be looking up at the Mariners before too long.

Originally posted by DelCed2486:
At this point my guess is that by the time the A's finish up their 3-game series vs. the Angels next weekend that they will be 2nd place at least a game out...and that MelBeane will keep pretending that they can afford to keep running Hammel out there every 5 days to get shelled.

And if they keep sucking at this rate, they'll be looking up at the Mariners before too long.

You are a joy ... I love the optimism

Originally posted by Bluesbro:

Originally posted by DelCed2486:
At this point my guess is that by the time the A's finish up their 3-game series vs. the Angels next weekend that they will be 2nd place at least a game out...and that MelBeane will keep pretending that they can afford to keep running Hammel out there every 5 days to get shelled.

And if they keep sucking at this rate, they'll be looking up at the Mariners before too long.

You are a joy ... I love the optimism

And the clown pops back up for more drive-by comments...I've been right about far more to do with this team than I've been wrong. Care to actually refute my comments with anything that might resemble a fact or at least halfway intelligible logic? Probably not. Come back soon, clown.

Name calling ... that the best you got? OK, let's talk. I agree about Hammel, time to switch him and Chavez. Cespedes is not the sole reason for the slide. The A's were not hitting before the trade. He is a streaky hitter with power, so he is a plus. But he is not Miguel Cabrera by a long shot. Lester if for sure a big game pitcher. To get someone like him you have to give something up. Are you saying that if they had not made the trade that things would be different now? They have played the hottest team in the league in what will be 7 of the last 10 games. Give some credit to the Royals, they may be the best team in baseball right now. And they have probably the next best team in baseball in their division., If they were in the East they would be up by 7 games, despite this bad streak.

Go ahead and call me names if you like, but you sound like a reactionary that does not really understand the game ... and the ebbs and flows of a long season. If the A's do lose this lead, it will most likely be because they are not the best team. Considering their payroll limitations, it is amazing that they can consistently compete. That has to be factored into the equation.

Originally posted by DelCed2486:
Called it, A's scored 3 so they needed Samardzija/pen to hold KC to 2, but Cook went gas can...and like I said, Royals take 3/4.

I've heard Dallas Braden and a couple others comment that they already notice teams pitching differently to the A's without Cespedes anchoring the lineup. I give credit to Beane for trying to make things happen but I think he overplayed his hand...he made an already strong pitching staff slightly stronger, but made an inconsistent offense one that's now consistently feeble. I might yet be proven wrong, but I think in his desperation to finally get a ring he ironically weakened the team that might have been able to do it....not to mention the return he could have got on Cespedes if he had waited until the offseason to deal him.

Even if they somehow hold off the Angels and win the West, I just don't see how this team can get out of the first round, let alone get to and win the WS.

100% agree. The first thing I thought with the cubs trade was that Beane just put them over the top. Then he trades Cespedes for Lester and I thought he just blew it and doomed them to another first round exit. I thought that right after the trade, and since then the support is starting to pile up that the A's even with Cespedes was a suspect offense. He made the wanting offense a lot worst and made the SP unnecessarily better

Originally posted by Bluesbro:
Name calling ... that the best you got? OK, let's talk. I agree about Hammel, time to switch him and Chavez. Cespedes is not the sole reason for the slide. The A's were not hitting before the trade. He is a streaky hitter with power, so he is a plus. But he is not Miguel Cabrera by a long shot. Lester if for sure a big game pitcher. To get someone like him you have to give something up. Are you saying that if they had not made the trade that things would be different now? They have played the hottest team in the league in what will be 7 of the last 10 games. Give some credit to the Royals, they may be the best team in baseball right now. And they have probably the next best team in baseball in their division., If they were in the East they would be up by 7 games, despite this bad streak.

Go ahead and call me names if you like, but you sound like a reactionary that does not really understand the game ... and the ebbs and flows of a long season. If the A's do lose this lead, it will most likely be because they are not the best team. Considering their payroll limitations, it is amazing that they can consistently compete. That has to be factored into the equation.

Gosh, was that so hard? You could've done that to begin with. It's been me and a few others following the A's along in this thread all season, and then you pop in with a couple one-liners and stupid laughy faces and that's it. And thanks for the condescension, but in 4 decades of playing, coaching, and following this game I think I have a grasp on the whole 162-game thing.

If you had followed along, you'd know I haven't been the biggest Cespedes fan...I've been WANTING for Beane to trade him, but at the RIGHT time and for a good return. Short of at least a WS appearance that Lester is a major contributor to getting there, then no, giving up Cespedes for a 2-month rental is not a good trade, especially when you consider that Cespedes with 1 year left on his contract coming off a strong 2014 campaign would have brought quality major leaguer and/or top shelf prospects in return. Do I think things would've been different right now sans the trade? Yeah, I do.

I'm well aware the A's have struggled even with Cespedes...but IMO adding Lester while losing Cespedes did not make this team BETTER. It made very good pitching a little better, but severely weakened an already-inconsistent offense. Cespedes was a force in that lineup, offense and defense, it probably had a little something to do with the ~.640 winning pct with him in there. He had an effect on how others around him got pitched to, and besides losing his production there's added stress on guys to replace him...Vogt has stated he's been pressing since the trade since he's one of the main guys expected to pick up the slack.

I agree, it is pretty amazing that the A's consistently compete...but after the Samardzija trade, I really thought they had a team with a legit shot to win the WS. It would've been nice to add a bat after that, but instead Beane trades his 3-hole hitter, the most dynamic player on the team for another pitcher? Granted it's Lester, but refer back to making a strength marginally better but greatly weakening something that was already a question mark...to me it's a net loss. Not to mention Tigers likely pushed the button on the Price deal only because the A's got Lester. Maybe I'm wrong and the A's go 2010 / 2012 Giants and pitch/scrap their way to the WS, but not going to hold my breath.

Welp.... There goes our division lead. The A's are playing bad baseball right now. Hard to see them winning the division without Cespy and crisp sucking.

When is Gentry due back? I am thinking that this team could manufacture runs in lieu of doing it with power. Something like Crisp and Fuld/Gentry 1 and 2, then the other at the bottom of the lineup. Then once the lineup rolls over, you could have virtually 3 guys with great speed in a row. I think utilizing their speed could make up for the lack of pop, or consistent hitting in general. I can't remember what Gentry's injury was though.

We are a few innings away from being swept by a team who has been downright awful lately. This isn't how I saw our demise. I hope Beane admits to his mistake of trading a great clubhouse guy and our number 3 hitter midseason for really no real reason. If we wanted Lester that badly we could have traded Russell for him instead of trading for Samardjiza.

Look, I understand that we are still in the middle of the playoff hunt but before we traded away cespy, this was the best roster of the past 10-15 years. I still can't fathom why you would shake that up. I am still trying to stay positive but honestly if we don't win this year, I'm afraid Beane will trade away all of our good players and start rebuilding again in the offseason.

Originally posted by socalfan21:

We are a few innings away from being swept by a team who has been downright awful lately. This isn't how I saw our demise. I hope Beane admits to his mistake of trading a great clubhouse guy and our number 3 hitter midseason for really no real reason. If we wanted Lester that badly we could have traded Russell for him instead of trading for Samardjiza.

Look, I understand that we are still in the middle of the playoff hunt but before we traded away cespy, this was the best roster of the past 10-15 years. I still can't fathom why you would shake that up. I am still trying to stay positive but honestly if we don't win this year, I'm afraid Beane will trade away all of our good players and start rebuilding again in the offseason.

Absolutely agree. Like I said, Beane overplayed his hand... I think he so desperately wants a ring that it clouded his judgement. He saw a chance to get Lester and thought it was the final piece in the puzzle. But I think he underestimated all that Cespedes brought to the table, on the field and in the clubhouse, and what you get from Lester/Gomes/Fuld doesn't come close to making up for it... I do believe this trade blindsided the team and they still haven't recovered from it. One thing to trade Cespedes in the offseason, quite another to trade your #3 hitter / best player, that everyone loves, with 2 months to go while in 1st place and in a dogfight. Pretty ironic that the trade Beane thought would finally get the A's a WS title could be the one that destroyed their chances.

Originally posted by DelCed2486:

Originally posted by socalfan21:

We are a few innings away from being swept by a team who has been downright awful lately. This isn't how I saw our demise. I hope Beane admits to his mistake of trading a great clubhouse guy and our number 3 hitter midseason for really no real reason. If we wanted Lester that badly we could have traded Russell for him instead of trading for Samardjiza.

Look, I understand that we are still in the middle of the playoff hunt but before we traded away cespy, this was the best roster of the past 10-15 years. I still can't fathom why you would shake that up. I am still trying to stay positive but honestly if we don't win this year, I'm afraid Beane will trade away all of our good players and start rebuilding again in the offseason.

Absolutely agree. Like I said, Beane overplayed his hand... I think he so desperately wants a ring that it clouded his judgement. He saw a chance to get Lester and thought it was the final piece in the puzzle. But I think he underestimated all that Cespedes brought to the table, on the field and in the clubhouse, and what you get from Lester/Gomes/Fuld doesn't come close to making up for it... I do believe this trade blindsided the team and they still haven't recovered from it. One thing to trade Cespedes in the offseason, quite another to trade your #3 hitter / best player, that everyone loves, with 2 months to go while in 1st place and in a dogfight. Pretty ironic that the trade Beane thought would finally get the A's a WS title could be the one that destroyed their chances.

Lester could have been the last piece of the puzzle but we gave up one of our other pieces in the process. It's so foolish.

Originally posted by valrod33:

YOu guys are about to go on a 3 game winning streak, trust me

Or not