let's all laugh at the A's this morning

[fordman84]

All 4 teams should be better including the Astros. Be interesting to see what they do with Samardzija, as I highly doubt they extend him beyond next year. Wouldn't shock me if they dealt him this winter

Unless the A's are planning on increasing spending, this year hurt them. The only thing the A's had going for them was a constant stream of young players. Cespedes will hurt a little, but losing Sanburn and Russell are the real thing look at.

 

[msgkings322]

If we're going to laugh at the As for being just barely on the losing side of an all time classic game, what do we do to the Pirates?

 

[Hornsstampede2.0]

Lester had nothing to do with the loss. He pitched into the 8th with a lead. That is the definition of getting a quality start.


The lack of offense without Cespedes had nothing to do with the loss. They freaking scored 8 runs.


The bullpen imploded.
They could not four run lead in the 8th and 9th.
They could not hold a lead again in the 12th.


Fault Beane for not getting a stronger pen. Don't fault him for getting Lester.


It was the correct move 100 times out of 100.

 

[navamind]

Lester had nothing to do with the loss. He pitched into the 8th with a lead. That is the definition of getting a quality start.


The lack of offense without Cespedes had nothing to do with the loss. They freaking scored 8 runs.


The bullpen imploded.
They could not four run lead in the 8th and 9th.
They could not hold a lead again in the 12th.


Fault Beane for not getting a stronger pen. Don't fault him for getting Lester.


It was the correct move 100 times out of 100.

I think most people would have brought Lester in for the 8th. He had a rocky start, but he had settled down and retired 13 of his last 14 batters faced prior to the 8th. And he had a pretty low pitch count.

Despite A's relievers having the 3rd best ERA, they had the 3rd worst SV% in baseball (60%, it was only 53% in the 2nd half). 21 blown saves in 52 opportunities. The offense wasn't the only issue the A's had in the 2nd half.

 

[UVA_Guy81]

A's are going to really regret trading Cespedes for a two month rental of Lester. That offense went down quite a bit once he got traded. Not that Lester was bad for them but the chances of him signing a long term contract with Oakland I would imagine being extremely slim, with the Cubs and Red Sox probably being the front runners. Plus, you would have still had Cespedes for at least next season.

 

[Hornsstampede2.0]

Nah they were starting to trend downwards before that trade
It just wasnt as noticeable and easy to pinpoint
They were somewhat mediocre the last 15 games or so before the trade....


And they had not played Anaheim or Kansas City much at all that season. (3 total games with Cespedes). Those two teams had the A's number and kicked the crap out of them in the 2nd half.


Almost 30% of their 2nd half losses could be attributed to not being able to beat those two teams.
Who is to say they could beat KC/Anaheim with Cespedes?


We had no sample size at all to show how Oakland played versus them with him prior to the trade.

 

[ColinCoby]

Not bad. Pretty dominant until he got hurt.

Thanks for asking

I always find it "laughable" when fans get so much joy out the failures of another team.

You root for a team that missed the playoffs with the second highest payroll, and you're giddy about the small market A's coming up a bit short?

 

[ColinCoby]

A's are going to really regret trading Cespedes for a two month rental of Lester. That offense went down quite a bit once he got traded. Not that Lester was bad for them but the chances of him signing a long term contract with Oakland I would imagine being extremely slim, with the Cubs and Red Sox probably being the front runners. Plus, you would have still had Cespedes for at least next season.

Cespedes probably would have been traded in the offseason anyway. Big contract and not a traditional A's-type of player. (doesn't see a lot of pitches, etc.)

 

[bksballer89]

I always find it "laughable" when fans get so much joy out the failures of another team.

You root for a team that missed the playoffs with the second highest payroll, and you're giddy about the small market A's coming up a bit short?

Nobody expected the Yanks to make the playoffs. Most people had the Yanks missing the playoffs with 82-85 wins.

EVERYONE had pencil in the A's to be a lock for the ALCS at least once they got Lester so yes it is funny to see. I have nothing against A's but it always fun to see the team who the media think is a lock to make a deep run to either not make the playoffs or go out extremely early as Oakland did.

 

[BSUSeahawk]

Lester had nothing to do with the loss. He pitched into the 8th with a lead. That is the definition of getting a quality start.


The lack of offense without Cespedes had nothing to do with the loss. They freaking scored 8 runs.


The bullpen imploded.
They could not four run lead in the 8th and 9th.
They could not hold a lead again in the 12th.


Fault Beane for not getting a stronger pen. Don't fault him for getting Lester.


It was the correct move 100 times out of 100.

Exactly right.

 

[ColinCoby]

Nobody expected the Yanks to make the playoffs. Most people had the Yanks missing the playoffs with 82-85 wins.

EVERYONE had pencil in the A's to be a lock for the ALCS at least once they got Lester so yes it is funny to see. I have nothing against A's but it always fun to see the team who the media think is a lock to make a deep run to either not make the playoffs or go out extremely early as Oakland did.

Small market team, playing in a shit-hole football stadium, making almost all the right moves just to contend…That's a franchise I can respect.

Funny to see them fail? That's what most people are feeling these days about the BoSox and Yanks. (not that I share this feeling)

Laugh away my friend.

 

[broncosmitty]

Lester had nothing to do with the loss. He pitched into the 8th with a lead. That is the definition of getting a quality start.


The lack of offense without Cespedes had nothing to do with the loss. They freaking scored 8 runs.


The bullpen imploded.
They could not four run lead in the 8th and 9th.
They could not hold a lead again in the 12th.


Fault Beane for not getting a stronger pen. Don't fault him for getting Lester.


It was the correct move 100 times out of 100.

Ummmm, maybe if they score runs in 4 out of 5 games thru the rotation when Lester isn't pitching, they don't play a WC win or go home game? Your "correct move 100 times out of 100" was wrong the one time we watched it play out. But thanks for playing.

 

[UVA_Guy81]

Cespedes probably would have been traded in the offseason anyway. Big contract and not a traditional A's-type of player. (doesn't see a lot of pitches, etc.)

Perhaps but they probably could have gotten some players in return that would have lasted a while in the organization though instead of a guy that would've lasted 3 months at most in Lester (if they had made it to the World Series).

 

[StanMarsh51]

Perhaps but they probably could have gotten some players in return that would have lasted a while in the organization though instead of a guy that would've lasted 3 months at most in Lester (if they had made it to the World Series).

I guess the question is what caliber guys who aren't free agents would they get for Cespedes, who may have already peaked in his rookie season. I don't think there would be many (if any) quality players out there who would be under control for next season in exchange for a 28 year old who's basically been average by corner outfielder standards the past two years.

 

[Hornsstampede2.0]

Since when is Cespedes a godlike player??


he is going to be 29 in a few days and probably is not going to radically improve.


He is a good but not great player.

 

[navamind]

Since when is Cespedes a godlike player??


he is going to be 29 in a few days and probably is not going to radically improve.


He is a good but not great player.

"he had a bunch of RBIs and won a HR Derby!!!! also look at his showcase video!!!"

Unless you're playing Willie Mays-esque defense, a ~110 OPS+ corner OF certainly isn't great. Cespedes is a good defender (with a fantastic arm), but he's no Alex Gordon.

 

[BigRedMoe]

Man, Mamba's got to be having a shitty week.

 

[redseat]

Man, Mamba's got to be having a shitty week.

Yeah.. He must be but I think he took the Oregon loss in stride.

 

[dredinis21]

Small market team, playing in a shit-hole football stadium, making almost all the right moves just to contend…That's a franchise I can respect.

Funny to see them fail? That's what most people are feeling these days about the BoSox and Yanks. (not that I share this feeling)

Laugh away my friend.

Preach brother. As a Giants fan, I admire the stomach that A's fan possess considering all the variables they have to contend with that has nothing to do with baseball.

Beane is consistent in having good, young players that fill a 2-4 year window on the roster. If you gave him an open checkbook, he would probably re-sign quite a few of the players he lost at one point. You think he wanted Giambi gone?

I applaud the A's and their junkyard dog mentality. They are the perennial underdog and they never disappoint on effort and excitement. Billy Beane swung for the 3-run HR and grounded out to short instead. For a franchise that is spending peanuts in comparison to their competitors, it is quite the accomplishment. Can anyone truly blame Beane for what he thought he was getting? If the A's received a Lester who actually acted as if he wanted to lead the A's filthy rotation in a playoff run, then the burn of Cespedes would be significantly less. Instead, the A's got a Lester on quaaludes that showed complete indifference from the onset.

Tip of the cap to Billy Beane for the effort.