The Present ain’t Pretty, but the Future is Bright in Oakland

By Fernando Gallo

To the casual fan, the Oakland Athletics are pathetic: They trail the AL West-leading Angels by nearly 20 games, and their offense ranks near the bottom of the league in home runs (27th), batting average (24th), slugging (28th), and even Billy Beane’s beloved on-base percentage (22nd). For many A’s fans, this has been a season to forget, and we all know that the Eastern Seaboard Propaganda Network (also known as ESPN) never has a problem ignoring West Coast teams.

But the truth of the matter is that Beane has done it again - he has worked some magic and amassed a wealth of young talent. The writing was on the wall after the A’s last postseason run to the ALCS in 2006. Even though they finally got over the first-round hump that had dogged Beane’s celebrated tenure as general manager, that team was not built for the long hall: Barry Zito was in the last year of his deal, and his numbers were already on a downswing that would continue in San Francisco (ha ha); Esteban Loaiza’s career was winding down (it ended in 2008); despite his MVP-caliber season, at 38, Frank Thomas didn’t have many homers left in him; and Eric Chavez and Rich Harden were showing signs of the injury-plagued years that were to come. All of these pieces were key to Oakland’s rise, and their shelf life was dwindling fast.

So Beane did what Beane does best: He sold high and got some great young prospects in return. Despite the fact that he was becoming a dominant pitcher, Danny Haren was dealt for a cavalcade of minor leaguers. Many other veterans soon followed, and Oakland would rightfully earn the moniker of the Triple A’s as the prospects rolled in.

Now fast forward to 2009: The last three seasons have helped to develop some fantastic arms, including starting pitchers Brett Anderson (21-years-old), Trevor Cahill (21), Gio Gonzalez (23), and closer Andrew Bailey (25). Among those pitchers, both Anderson and Gonzalez appear to have ace-quality talent: After struggling mightily with control issues, Gonzalez has surrendered less than three runs in five of his last eight starts and is averaging better than 9.5 strikeouts per nine innings. Anderson appears to be hitting the proverbial wall, struggling in his last few starts, but he has had some brilliant outings this season, including a 2-hit shutout in his first career start at Fenway Park against the Red Sox. Cahill has also strung a few good starts together, and the flame-throwing Bailey was the A’s lone All-star representative in July - he currently has 21 saves in 25 chances.

Overall, the A’s have four rookie pitchers and 12 players on the everyday roster with three years of big league experience or less. Catcher Kurt Suzuki has proven himself to be a very dependable hitter (.271 career average and .405 career slugging percentage), as well as a strong leader among the pitching staff. And outfielder Rajai Davis has been a classic Beane diamond in the rough: After being cut by the rival San Francisco Giants two years ago, Davis has claimed the starting spot in centerfield with a .298 average and 30 stolen bases.

One of the most interesting developments for the A’s has been the evolution of their enigmatic general manager. Loved by stat geeks and hated by old-schoolers, Beane has been told that his vaunted “Moneyball” methods have failed in the long haul, but that is definitely not the case. Howard Bryant of ESPN wrote an article that was surprisingly even-keel by ESPN standards (but way too long), and he explains what many A’s fans have known for a long time: It’s not that Beane’s methods didn’t work - it’s that they worked too well. The Red Sox figured out that Beane’s ideas were worth copying, and their payroll dwarfs Oakland’s. The result? Two championships in four years.

“Moneyball” was never about on-base percentage; it was about exploiting the inefficiencies in the market. Home runs and .300 batting averages will always be expensive, but Beane tried to find the things that helped win games and were much cheaper than the conventional stats. In 2002, it was on-base percentage. Now that everyone has caught up to the on-base revolution, Beane has been forced to find new inefficiencies and change his methods.

So what is undervalued right now? Speed and defense. Beane was a fervent hater of the stolen base, as reflected by his team’s stats: The A’s haven‘t finished better than 14th in the majors in stolen bases since 2002, and have finished dead last in that category three times in that span. Beane felt that the risk of losing a base runner outweighed the benefit of a possible stolen base, so he never acquired speedsters and the A’s never ran. But this year, the A’s are fifth overall in steals, and Davis has been allowed to run hog wild on the base paths.

Defense has always been a hard quality to measure statistically, so Beane ignored it for the most part. He opted to try to hide bad defenders in the corner outfield spots or at first base, but lately defense has made a comeback. The re-signing of Mark Ellis proves that point: Beane doesn’t find .267 career hitters that appealing, but he gave Ellis a two-year deal in 2008 because of his great defense at second base.

So what does this all mean? It means fear not, A’s fans - your team is still in good hands. The young pitchers have gained valuable on the job training this season, and the team has switched to a six-man rotation for the rest of the year to allow the kids to rest. Beane still has to prove that he can develop a power hitter (he hasn’t had much success in doing so since Eric Chavez), but there are many viable candidates for that role in the minor leagues. All of the trades have always been part of a long-term plan, with the one-year veteran deals just there to ensure the team stays competitive. The A’s will soon be just a veteran or two away from the postseason (like they were in 2006), and a long playoff run is on the horizon. In the meantime… there’s always football!

Ichiro: I'm too sexy for home runs

By Fernando Gallo

Everyone’s favorite slap-hitter, Ichiro Suzuki, was featured in a New York Times article on Saturday, and although I tend to stay away from that elitist snob-fest, this story was too good to pass up. It discusses Ichiro’s many talents, but also has a priceless quote from the king of the first 90 feet.

“Chicks who dig home runs aren’t the ones who appeal to me,” he said. “I think there’s sexiness in infield hits because they require technique. I’d rather impress the chicks with my technique than with my brute strength. Then, every now and then, just to show I can do that, too, I might flirt a little by hitting one out.”

As a fan of true baseball, and not just ‘roid-induced home run derby-style games, I can respect the value of singles and infield hits. But calling infield hits sexy? Wishful thinking there, Ichiro. For proof, look no further than a man Ichiro is so often compared to, Pete Rose. “Charlie Hustle” was many things: A great hitter, gritty competitor, gambling manager - but certainly not sexy. But hey, maybe I’m wrong: You be the judge on that one.

For all of his accomplishments, Ichiro is still just a glorified lead-off man. He has speed, defense and the ability to hit for average, but he doesn’t walk nearly enough (even though his batting average is third-best in the majors, his on-base percentage is 27th) and he’s only reached double-digit home runs twice over his nine-year career. There are always rumors that Ichiro has great power in batting practice, but simply chooses not to utilize it in order to get more hits. But what Mariners fan wouldn’t trade in a 30-point drop in Ichiro’s average in order to get some more home runs? Since 2002, the Mariners haven’t ranked higher than 18th in the majors in team home runs - coincidentally, guess when the last time they made the playoffs was?

You may find some chicks that dig you, Ichiro, but October clearly digs the long ball. By the way, what do you care about chicks, anyway - you're married! Who do you think you are, Andrei Kirilenko?

Zito's biggest challenge yet

Barry Zito doing what he does best: looking ridiculous. Find information about this photo from Flickr here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/slgc/ / CC BY 2.0

By Jordan Guinn

Barry Zito must go deep for the San Francisco Giants on Monday in the final game of a four-game set against the Colorado Rockies. By far, this is Zito's biggest start as a member of the orange and black. While all the starts at this point of the season are big, Zito has never faced this sort of pressure in his two and a half seasons with the Giants.

He has always been considered a second-half pitcher, but the Giants have always been well out of contention by late August since he signed his insanely ridiculous seven-year, $126 million contract.

A win tonight would bring the Giants within two games of Colorado, while a loss would put the team four games back in the wild card race. A loss tonight certainly wouldn't spell the end of the season for the Giants, but it would provide them with a winning record on their current 11-game road trip and a series split with a team they are trailing in a tight race.

Few have been more critical of Zito than myself. I have blasted him on Facebook, previous columns and in person at AT&T Park. I understand that he has the worst run support in baseball this season. I also understand this is the best he has pitched since donning a Giants uniform. However, that isn't saying much. Zito has made great steps this year and has the opportunity to endear himself more to faithful Giants fans like myself. The Giants must give him some runs, but Zito cannot have a meltdown against Jason Marquis on Monday, he cannot exit before the sixth inning and he cannot give up more than two runs.

For the love of God Zito, keep the team in the game.

The Sad Saga of Sammy Sosa

Sosa in the final years of his once
brilliant career. Photo from user
shgmom56 on Flickr - her second
straight on our blog. She's good.

By Jordan Guinn

In these troubled times of rampant unemployment, massive federal takeovers of banks and private industry and Iran's sham of an election, it makes perfect sense for the New York Times to report that Sammy Sosa tested positive for steroids in 2003.

This is the most shocking revelation in the pages of the Times since it endorsed Barack Obama for president.

Since I am the resident steroid expert on our desperately under-manned staff, it falls on my shoulders to write something on the Times' earth-shattering revelation regarding Sosa's use of performance-enhancing drugs.

Sosa went from being the most beloved Cubs icon since Ernie Banks to the most reviled person in the North Side of Chicago. Even former mayor Richard Daley and his son don't incite as much vile hatred in Illinois as Sosa does.

And Chicago fans are justified in feeling this way. Sosa duped them. He duped all of us. For years, we thought of Sosa as the energetic guy with the wide smile and kind eyes. We even tolerated his infantile finger-kissing-chest-thumping ritual. The media even did its best to portray it as charming.

But things started going downhill for Sosa on June 3, 2003. It was on that fateful day that Sosa broke his bat and cork sprayed across Wrigley Field's infield and forever changed the way Chicago, America and baseball itself viewed him. To his credit, Sosa's excuse was a fine one: That he mistakenly grabbed the bat he used to put on a show for the fans during batting practice.

Brilliant.

Too bad everyone but naive Cubs apologists saw right through it. Sosa came back to Wrigley after an eight-game suspension to cheers and fanfare, but the damage was done. Never again would Sosa be the favored son of Chicago. His reputation continued its free-fall in subsequent years and culminated with his abandonment of the Cubs on the final day of the 2004 season, when he left the stadium well before the game had ended. Sosa said he didn't leave, even though security footage showed his car exiting the garage while the game was still being played. He was traded to Baltimore after the 2004 season.

But corked bats and team abandonment would pale in comparison to what waited on the horizon for Sosa: a Congressional hearing. The St. Patrick's Day hearing in 2005 featured Mark McGwire's legacy-murdering testimony, Rafael Palmerio's finger-wagging and Sosa, ahem, forgetting how to speak English.

Sosa had a dismal 2005 with Baltimore and had to take 2006 off because no one wanted to risk signing him. In 2007, the organization he broke into the majors with, the Texas Rangers, inked him to a minor-league deal. Sosa made the team and went on to hit his 600th career home run. Had Sosa played a little bit longer, he could have broken Reggie Jackson's all-time record for strikeouts. Sosa's career ended 291 k's short of the record. It should be noted that Jackson played for 21 years and Sosa only played 18.

But Sosa thinks his career .273 batting average, copious strikeouts and zero Gold Gloves have punched his ticket to Cooperstown. In an interview with ESPNDeportes on June 4, Sosa said, "I will calmly wait for my induction to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Don't I have the numbers to be inducted?"

No Sammy, you don't.

Oh, before I forget, Commissioner Bud Selig did not make an on-the-record comment regarding the New York Times' report in Tuesday's paper. My birthday is just chock-full of surprises.

The Roundup: Marshall on the move? Kobe gets his and the boy wonder skips the prom

Press coverage? No problem.
But watch out for that Big
Mac box! Photo by user
JeffreyBeall on Flickr

I’m Lovin’ it

Brandon Marshall is a dope, plain and simple. He’s also immature, as evidenced by his inability to take the hit for previous injuries he inflicted on himself by supposedly slipping on a McDonald’s wrapper. As a man who’s enjoyed his share of McChickens in his day, I can tell you that I’ve never been close to slipping on a wrapper. I guess making a tip-toe catch in the back of the endzone is easier than avoiding a piece of paper from Mickey D’s.

But now Marshall has decided he’s done with the Denver Broncos, and everyone has a different opinion about what happens next. Should the Broncos trade him? No. As much of a child as Marshall is, he is still very talented and the Broncos need all the talent they can get right now. But then again, they shouldn’t have traded Jay Cutler, and we all know how that worked out. Josh McDaniels can’t afford to have disgruntled players in his first year as head coach, so Denver is likely to move Marshall if they get a decent offer. The Jets, Bears and Raiders are all teams that would get immediate upgrades from a guy like Marshall, provided he doesn’t fall over a Chicken McNuggets box at some point in 2009.

300 is the Loneliest Number

Is Randy Johnson the last 300-game winner?
Photo taken from Flickr. Photo can be found
here. Licensing info here.

By Jordan Guinn

Randy Johnson punched his ticket to Cooperstown with win number 300 in our nation’s capitol on Thursday. Amid all the controversy with Johnson’s personality and former teammates voicing their displeasure with him and his aloof nature, no one can debate that the Big Unit is the best pitcher of his generation, and possibly all-time.

He may not be personable, approachable or even much to look at, but he is steroid-free and fundamental. He has provided baseball fans with timeless clips of making hitters across several decades look foolish or downright petrified. Him buzzing John Kruk is one of my favorite All-Star game memories. Kruk was bailing out of every swing after Johnson sent a 100-mph fastball sailing over his head; it was like someone had a rope tied around his front ankle and tugged on it as every pitch came in.

What a Lucky Bastardo

One of the members of our list.
Do you know his strange name?
This photo was taken from a Flickr
account which can be found here.
Licensing info here.

By Fernando Gallo

Tuesday night was the major league debut of Phillies pitcher Antonio Bastardo, whose last name does indeed mean bastard in Spanish. The 23-year old got the victory against San Diego after six strong innings in which he gave up only one run, a solo shot by Adrian Gonzalez. Since Gonzalez is leading the majors in home runs (what the hell!?), I’d say that’s a pretty good start for the young Bastardo. In honor of his strange last name, Unsportsmanlike Conduct presents:

The Top Ten Strangest (and Funniest) Last Names in Sports: