While the Oakland Athletics played in one of the ugliest Championship Series in recent memory, at least I didn’t become sick to my stomach by watching them choke away another Division Series lead.
For four years, the A’s collapsed in embarrassing fashion, including surrendering 2-0 series leads to the Yankees and Red Sox. My senior year in high school, I attended game five against Boston and wasn’t able to sleep after watching them lose 4-3. My stomach constantly churned all night as I kept visualizing Terrence Long striking out with the bases loaded for the final out of the game.
This postseason offered me some sense of validation (and stomach relief) for what the team should have done a long time ago. Although, after being swept by the Tigers, the A’s appear ready to start all over again.
But that’s why they are so interesting to watch every year. There is always a chance that the A’s can be a colossal success. But, considering their payroll, they are just as likely to land at the bottom of the division.
With manager Ken Macha’s firing and pitcher Barry Zito’s imminent departure for greater cash-flow, all that remains from Oakland’s rebirth in 2000 is third baseman Eric Chavez, who has been the only homegrown talent general manager Billy Beane’s ever given a hefty contract to.
Each year when the A’s talent level shrinks, questions arise of ‘How will they do it again?’ or ‘How can Beane work a miracle with this team?’
Beane answered those questions this season when he invested a minuscule $500,000 in an aged Frank Thomas, a player clearly past his prime but still capable of doing damage if healthy. The low-risk, high-reward move reconfirmed Beane’s ‘genius’ tag as Thomas went on to have an MVP-caliber season – ALCS performance notwithstanding.
If you follow baseball at all, you already know the list of All-Stars the A’s have lost in previous seasons because the team’s payroll dictates that it can never invest too much money into one player.
While this forces the A’s to overhaul their roster every few years, the team’s philosophy remains the same: young, talented pitchers accompanied by whatever comes cheapest at that point in time, whether it be guys who get on base or guys who play outstanding defense. Essentially, the A’s are built by drafting college superstars and signing other teams’ unwanted spare parts.
For A’s fans, the constant change makes it hard to grow attached to the players, knowing that they are likely to be gone as soon as their free agency price tag puts them out of financial reach. Still, the fans remain loyal as the team continues to be one of the most engaging franchises in Major League Baseball.
And after sweeping the Twins in the Division Series, Beane can no longer claim “My (stuff) doesn’t work in the playoffs.”
Although he’s going to have to come up with something new to get to the World Series because the team can’t always rely on pitching and defense to win games. I suspect Beane will surprise us once again and do something unusual by his own standards.
I just hope it’s not deciding to hire Dusty Baker.
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