2015 Oakland Athletics

[Crazysilver03]

And the As lose yet again to Tampa, giving them more than twice as many losses as wins. They also lost Mujica to a broken hand on a comebacker. And the Billy Butler contract continues to look insanely idiotic. And in the not so shocking department, Crisp has another injury to his neck.

I know they were waiting for Zobrist to return but this team seems to be as dead as a team can be in May.

[DrungoHazewood]

And the As lose yet again to Tampa, giving them more than twice as many losses as wins. They also lost Mujica to a broken hand on a comebacker. And the Billy Butler contract continues to look insanely idiotic. And in the not so shocking department, Crisp has another injury to his neck.

I know they were waiting for Zobrist to return but this team seems to be as dead as a team can be in May.

It's pretty hard to rebound from being 13 or 14 games out on Memorial Day. Probably haven't been a half dozen teams in history to pull that off. The only one that comes to mind is the 1914 Braves, who (if memory serves me) were about 13 out in early July and won the Series.

[Frobby]

I'm kind of enjoying it. I get a little sick of the "Billy Beane is a mad genius" narrative, even though he's been very successful. He tampered with a winning formula last July and has paid dearly for it.

Thing is, even if the A's blow this year, he is capable of shuffling the deck and cobbling together a good team next year.

[DrungoHazewood]

I'm kind of enjoying it. I get a little sick of the "Billy Beane is a mad genius" narrative, even though he's been very successful. He tampered with a winning formula last July and has paid dearly for it.

Thing is, even if the A's blow this year, he is capable of shuffling the deck and cobbling together a good team next year.

I like Beane, I think the pushback after Moneyball was inevitable. But it's nice to have a counter-example to the folks who constantly complain about do-nothingness. Beane frickin' went for it, he went all in, he acquired like three TOR starters just like everyone always wanted to guarantee success. Then he made a bunch of trades and signings in the offseason. And it all went down like the Titanic. While the O's went on a great run despite only a few low-profile acquisitions last year. Yet everyone still wants to go for it like Beane, still emphasizing that if you're not churning the roster you're going backwards.

[Crazysilver03]

I like Beane, I think the pushback after Moneyball was inevitable. But it's nice to have a counter-example to the folks who constantly complain about do-nothingness. Beane frickin' went for it, he went all in, he acquired like three TOR starters just like everyone always wanted to guarantee success. Then he made a bunch of trades and signings in the offseason. And it all went down like the Titanic. While the O's went on a great run despite only a few low-profile acquisitions last year. Yet everyone still wants to go for it like Beane, still emphasizing that if you're not churning the roster you're going backwards.

Very true. He went into video game mode. And lost.

[weams]

Career Ender

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="enwitter"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Melvin says that Crisp is dealing with the same issue as last year so it's more rest/rehab/ttreatment. Surgery would be a career ender.</p>— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) <a href="

">May 22, 2015</a></blockquote>

<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[CA-ORIOLE]

Career Ender

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="enwitter"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Melvin says that Crisp is dealing with the same issue as last year so it's more rest/rehab/ttreatment. Surgery would be a career ender.</p>— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) <a href="

">May 22, 2015</a></blockquote>

<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

That's kinda sad. Crisp was a good little player.

[Crazysilver03]

Add another one to the loss column.

[Chavez Ravine]

I don't put much weight in the elusive idea of chemistry, but there is a something to be said about being part of a team endeavor. I wonder if after the Cespedes trade everyone else in the A's clubhouse was wondering if they would be the next person summarily exiled to Siberia (or Yawkey way). I mean if your cleanup hitter's dream of being in a pennant race can be instantly cut short, who else is safe? It's like one of those cautionary psychology experiments.

Their problems this year are complex. They have brought in Ron Washington as a fixer! It is fascinating to watch.

[Crazysilver03]

Feel bad for Chavez. Give up an unearned run in 8 innings and take a loss.

[Chavez Ravine]

Another day, another one run loss for the A's. This time they were all earned, but perhaps even worse they all came as a result of Yoenis Cespedes. To add insult to injury Kazmir exited after three with shoulder “tightness”. The Tigers took two of three from the A's.

[OFFNY]

o

(MAY 28th, 29th, 30th, and 31st)

The Athletics took 3 out of 4 games from the Yankees.

The northern Californians might have swept all 4 games in the series if not for their atrocious defense on Saturday night.

[OFFNY]

o

(JUNE 5th)

Quietly, the Athletics have been creeping back towards respectability.

They have won 4 straight games (including a sweep of the Tigers), 6 out of their last 7 (including taking 3 out of 4 from the Yankees), and 9 out of their last 12.

Their defense this year has been horrendous though, which is a major reason why they are still well below .500, at 23-33.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/team/schedule/_/name/oak

[Chavez Ravine]

I haven't had a chance to watch them over their recent run, but from the box score it seems like they have started hitting just enough to cover up their other flaws. If they were just mediocre in a couple of areas instead of being shockingly atrocious they could be competing for the division! Tonight they lost to the Red Sox by a score of 4-2, only 3 of the runs were earned and they committed 3 errors.

[Crazysilver03]

I haven't had a chance to watch them over their recent run, but from the box score it seems like they have started hitting just enough to cover up their other flaws. If they were just mediocre in a couple of areas instead of being shockingly atrocious they could be competing for the division! Tonight they lost to the Red Sox by a score of 4-2, only 3 of the runs were earned and they committed 3 errors.

They are doing their best Orioles impression. Be just good enough to not change your approach but not bad enough for firesale.