Saturday, June 18, 2005
By LOWELL COHN
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
"Which is next to worst? A lot of competition here. But even though every team is a contender for next to the worst the A's surely deserve this distinction. They had a good thing going and they tore it apart. A team loses points for that kind of carelessness. You can talk about Moneyball all you want, about getting position players on the cheap, but the A's were good because they had three terrific pitchers, and now they have only one - and he was the weakest. Boo on the A's.

The Giants sit a rung above the A's, one measly rung. With a little slippage they could be at the A's level. That means the Giants are awful in their own right. They are an old team, and what's worse they are highly boring. Boring is not good...."
http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050618/NEWS/506180348/1057/SPORTS0920

Another sports writer who does a superficial job of analyzing teams...repeats the same old lame mantra about the Hudson/Mulder trades....as if, the only way the A's could ever win is with those guys...he gives not attention to the fact that the A's are at the bottom of the list in terms of hitting, home runs and run production.
See my reply:
"Dear Lowell:
I am somewhat surprised at your comments about the A's poor performance this year as it indicates a lack of understanding of the real reasons for their current ranking in the standings which can be mainly attributed to their lack of power and poor hitting this year rather than the departure of Hudson and Mulder.

Your comment that "the A's were good because they had three terrific pitchers, and now they have only one - and he was the weakest. Boo on the A's" displays a superficial knowledge of the rebuilding process going on and the fact that the A's actually have three or four top starting pitchers that are as good or better than than last year's top three and  they have also improved their bullpen which was one reason that even stellar pitchers like Hudson often lost games in which they pitched well. Admittedly, the trade for Hudson was a "bust" thus far but the trades for Mulder have panned out very well indeed. Their top three pitchers this year can be considered to be Harden, Haren and Zito....followed by Blanton who has finally found his "groove" ....having won 3 of his last 4 games despite the feeble hitting of the A's. Haren, who they got for Mulder in addition to Calero, an excellent relief pitcher, and a top hitting prospect, now has an ERA better than Mulder and has pitched well in his last eight games. As for Harden who is coming off an injury, even Hudson anointed him last as a rookie as having the better "stuff" than the "Trio" on the staff. At this early stage, Harden can out pitch Hudson, Mulder or Zito and he has many more years ahead of him and is now locked in under a contract for many years. Zito has actually pitched very well lately and has been a victim of the A's anemic hitting this year as Hudson and Mulder also would have been. Injuries to key players like Harden, Crosby, Dotel, Durazo, etc. are other factors but every team has injuries. Since the return of Crosby, the team has now won 12 and lost 7 without even having Harden. With Harden returning soon and Blanton much improved, they will soon have a solid starting rotation. Thus far, I have not even mentioned Huston Street who has performed in spectacular fashion as a rookie playing like a veteran and now filling the shoes of their former "closer" Dotel who is disabled. Street should be a leading contender for Rookie of the Year to follow the first year performance of Crosby....not a bad sign of a team that knows how to pick and develop young talent. In summary, if their starting pitching and bullpen are improved at midyear over last year (keeping in mind that Hudson and Mulder had deficiencies in the health department and Mulder was an unmitigated disaster during the critical second half last year), a true in-depth analysis of the A's performance and potential must focus in on their shortfall  in the power and hitting department. With the lack of home run production, the A's management must decide to either start going with speed and the "small ball" which they traditionally resist or trade for some extra power in the lineup."