Overall: 53-59 (3rd Place, AL West)
Last (Three) Weeks: 10-11 (1-2 vs. Rangers, 1-2 vs. Orioles, 2-1 vs. Angels, 1-3 vs. Mariners, 2-1 vs. Tigers, 2-2 vs. Angels)
In the three weeks since my A's finally unloaded the gritty, intangible remains of Jason Kendall's career to the Cubs, my sudden euphoria has eroded into indifference.
I haven't had to watch a non-contending A's team since 1998, so this is relatively unfamiliar territory for me. Hard to believe that one of the youngest and most exciting teams in the game has become the 25-man equivalent of your gassy, gout-ridden grandfather, but there ya go.
Still, to the A's credit, since they've collectively gone down the crapper, they've made sure to bring disgruntled former players and their own manager into the toilet with them.
Check out this lengthy piece that appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle over the weekend.
Erstwhile Athletic Milton Bradley goes off on General Manager Billy Beane, while it appears that first-year manager Bob Geren has already lost the A's that remain.
Quick thoughts: Bradley's reputation as a cancerous clubhouse malcontent isn't doing him any favors here. Everything he says could be the truth (and, if you read "Moneyball", it's easy to believe that Beane is an arrogant micromanaging a-hole) but, considering the bridges burned in his last three stops, Bradley comes off as the whiny Black athlete that white folk can't stand. And, that's how he'll be painted by the same people who goaded him to their tape recorders in the first place.
As for Geren, this is probably some sort of karmic justice doled out by the baseball gods. Last year, after being eliminated in the ALCS, the A's, en masse, went public with their dislike of then-manager Ken Macha. It was the most chickensh*t public burial in recent sports memory and undoubtedly was orchestrated by the puppet master, Billy Beane.
With just under two months left in the season, my boys are already playing out the string. While packing for Orlando, I caught most of their 13-inning slog versus the Rangers tonight.
They blew a 7-0 lead.
Oakland won, but still…"playing" might be too strong of a verb.
This Week: at Rangers (3), at Tigers (3)
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1 comment:
I feel your pain, Bootleg Guy. I am a huge A's fan and although I'm not fair-weather, I don't quite know what to make of this season; to watch or not to watch all televised games, etc. We have been spoiled by 2nd half runs leading up to playoff disappointments for so many years. Now we won't have to be so emotionally invested come October.
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