Monday, June 15, 2020
State of the Athletics
The Oakland A's are an ongoing embarrassment for MLB as they have been stuck in a terrible stadium situation for reasons that are not entirely clear. This is a reason/excuse for ownership to severely limit spending on player payroll which ironically has led A's management under Billy Beane to be the darlings of the sabermetric world due to Beane's ability to field winning teams despite the aforementioned limitations.
Ownership:
Current owner is John Fisher, a billionaire worth an estimated $2.5 B. His parents made their stash as owners of the Gap stores. Per Wikipedia, his first job was working in the mailroom of the Republican National Committee. He eventually got a business degree and his main holdings now are in real estate including the Fairmont hotels in San Francisco. The A's were one of the first teams to announce a cessation of paying their minor leaguers. This was reversed last week, possibly due to pressure of public opinion or because Fisher realized not paying his minor leaguers might have a chilling effect on signing a bunch of UDFA's for $10 K each. Oh, and he reportedly donates very large sums of money to Republican dark money funds.
Grade F.
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Management:
The A's are still under the management of Billy Beane who has moved up in title but is still very much involved in player personnel decisions. While Beane is respected for his baseball acumen, gotta wonder to what extent his baseball brilliance and savvy has enabled terrible ownership.
Bob Melvin has been Field Manager since 2011 and sports a winning record of 731-664 for a .524 winning percentage.
Grade A.
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Current Roster:
Starting Eight: Sean Murphy C, Matt Olson 1B, Franklin Barreto 2B, Matt Chapman 3B, Marcus Semien SS, Mark Canha LF, Ramon Laureano CF, Stephen Piscotty RF, Kris Davis DH.
Bench: Austin Allen C, Chad Pinder IF, Tony Kemp IF/OF, Vmail Machin IF, Robbie Grossman OF.
Starting Rotation: Mike Fiers RHP, Sean Manaea LHP, Frankie Montas RHP, Jesus Luzardo LHP, AJ Puk LHP.
Bullpen: Liam Hendricks RHP(Closer), Lou Trivino RHP, Yusmeiro Petit RHP, Jake Diekman LHP, Joakim Soria RHP, Daniel Mengdon RHP, Chris Bassitt RHP, J.B. Wendelken RHP.
The A's might have the most interesting roster in MLB. It's a combination of established stars and young players, including several rookies, who are looking to become stars. The risk is in the starting rotation where seeing Mike Fiers listed as the #1 starter is a red flag. If all the young pitchers looking to bounce back from injury pitch up to their potential, Fiers could drop to #5 and it could be one of the best rotations in baseball. If Fiers is still #1 at the end of the season, it could be one of the worst.
Grade B.
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Farm System:
3 of the top 4 prospects in the system, Sean Murphy, Jesus Luzardo and AJ Puk, will have major roles on the Opening Day roster. That leaves a thin system. The A's were the beneficiaries of Robert Puason's contract with ATL being vacated as part of the commissioner's punishment for cheating in the international market. Puason should be a fairly fast mover in the system, but there are not many recognizable names after him in the MLB top 30 list.
Grade A-.
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I don't like Oakland. I don't like the American League. I don't like Green uniforms. I abhor the DH.
ReplyDeleteThat said (and who cares what I like anyway), I like what they've done with what they have.
For the 8 years from 2012 through 2019, the A's made the playoffs 5 times, failing, however, to advance to the ALCS.
For the 20 years, 2000-2019, the A's made the playoffs TEN times, finishing in their division:
1st 6
2nd 7
3rd 2
They won >100 games twice, 97 twice, and 96 twice.
With all that winning, they drew over 2 million just 6 times, peaking at 2,216,596 in 2003. (Giants outdrew them by some 20,000,000 over the period with their bright and shiny stadium!)
As Doc says, they stayed in that abominable stadium forever, BUT for much of the time they dreamed on moving to San Jose which would have been a game changer for the A's AND the Giants, but that's another story of mystery and intrigue, not all of which shines favorably on the Giants, at least for A's fans.
Things are changing.
There are plans to build a modern waterfront stadium SOON, perhaps a Game Changer especially if the NL goes DH.
Doc, you might be a little harsh on the Ownership, they deserve some credit for putting a good team on the field and faithfully staying with Oakland despite decided lack of support.
At 80 yo, I may not live to see the worm turn, but it can happen.
But they'll still wear Green!