Interesting Jenkins article today....

I found this to be a real solid read so thought I would share it.  Interesting take.

Intelligent baseball is a beautiful thing. It is not a label associated with the A's, at least lately, but they've got the recipe. On a misty Wednesday at the Coliseum, even the world champion Boston Red Sox were made to look vulnerable.

David Wells carries a sloth-like presence to begin with, and the Red Sox starter was returning from an injury to his right foot, so Mark Kotsay sent him directly into no-man's land. Leading off the bottom of the first inning, Kotsay pushed a hard bunt to the right side -- an indefensible play against Olympic sprinters when executed correctly, but especially sinister against Wells, who leans slightly toward the third-base side on his follow-through.

Wells' curveball is a big, bending menace when it's on, but Eric Byrnes didn't wait for him to find his rhythm. Nor did he try to jerk it out of the park. Byrnes sat on a low breaking pitch and lined it into left field for a single, setting up a Jason Kendall single that loaded the bases.

Eric Chavez' ensuing groundball had the makings of a double play, but when shortstop Ramon Vazquez took the throw from first baseman Kevin Millar, he was met by a derailed, onrushing train: Kendall, veering well to his right for the purposes of disruption. Vazquez didn't even bother with a throw, and the A's were on their way to a four-run first inning.

This is all basic stuff, right out of the Aggressive Minds textbook. It's nice to see from the A's, though, after a week featuring botched plays in the outfield, pitchers blowing simple coverage at first base and a reliever beginning a crucial inning with a hit batter and two walks.

So, where do the A's go from here? Nowhere near first place, that's for certain. The Angels' superiority is becoming quite evident in the American League West. With the A's appearing to be a hard-luck franchise (injuries to Bobby Crosby, Nick Swisher, Rich Harden, Kiko Calero and Octavio Dotel), it seems impossible that they could blossom into a contender.

They certainly don't lack for excitement. Byrnes handles that issue personally, whether he is swan-diving his way to a brilliant catch or telling manager Ken Macha to take a hike (as Byrnes did on Sunday, after admirably tackling some idiot who ran out of the stands). The return of Crosby and Swisher, and the expected surge of adrenaline from Kendall, will only add to the A's appeal. A number of personnel questions are at hand, however, and we offer these thoughts from the peanut gallery:

-- We have no quarrel with Macha whatsoever. He is a good man, with a clever (if mostly hidden) wit, and he deserves to ride out these troubles. Even if Macha were to lose his job, GM Billy Beane would probably continue the Macha-Art Howe trend with another bland, quietly strong type. Just wondering, though: How would the impressionable A's respond to a fiery, take-no-prisoners manager such as Ozzie Guillen or Lou Piniella? It would be fun to know, even for just one day.

-- National columnists are wondering when (not if) the A's will trade Barry Zito. They say he has lost his curveball, that he will have more market value now than in November, assuming his up-and-down pitching continues. We will agree that Zito's statistics are alarming, but that doesn't carry over to his mound presence. While not always Bert Blyleven-like with the curve, he recently threw one to Gary Sheffield (in New York) that couldn't be topped by any left-hander. Zito still makes great hitters look ordinary. Give him another season's worth of rope.

-- For Tim Hudson, the A's got a scrappy outfielder, who doesn't measure up to Byrnes (Charles Thomas), a sore-armed starter (Dan Meyer) and Juan Cruz, the reliever who committed the above-mentioned sins Tuesday night to load the bases against Boston. The Cubs and Braves both coveted Cruz until they had seen him over time. One senses a trend.

-- Too many of Chavez' comments suggest that he is a supporting-cast type -- downright lethal with a slugger or two around him -- but not a leader. Players of the Jim Thome-Richie Sexson caliber don't just fall into your lap, especially if you are burdened by the A's budget, but this team won't impress anyone in baseball without a legitimate cleanup hitter.

-- What if Juan Pierre were bestowed upon the A's, by some magical circumstance? Or, if not Pierre, another leadoff man who lives to steal bases and torment the opposition for two or three hours? Would the A's even care? Would they trade him for the next Erubiel Durazo?

-- Even at his best, Dotel is nobody's closer. He is respected, but not feared, by the league's best fastball hitters. Dotel's impending free-agent status makes him automatic trade material by the mid-summer deadline, and that will be fine, because Huston Street has everything it takes. He pitches the way Kotsay hits, the way Kendall runs the bases -- intelligently. A few more scholarships, and this high school could become a university.