something out of lookout landing

His defense, I guess. At least that used to be average.

Just because my opinion differs and I don’t like a certain guy on the team doesn’t me I’m a “douche.” It’s a little annoying you can’t offer a negative opinion on anyone in this organization around here besides Emil Brown without getting chastised. There was a thread a few weeks ago where a new guy posted a FanPost about being frustrated with the team. The guy got absolutely destroyed. One of the older posters around here said something along the lines of this place is starting to have a real “clubby” atmosphere. It’s like there are a select few around here, who for some reason think they are smarter than everyone else. As they go around denouncing others’ opinions they preach their own as fact. It’s entirely contradictory and hypocritical.

I think Nico said it in the other thread, how good Cust is, is open to interpretation. I don’t know if that was sarcasm or not, but thats all I was referring to when I said no one’s mind was going to change on the issue. I think of lot of the “smart” people around this site spend more time looking at fan graphs or looking at newly contrived stats than they do watching games. When I watch Cust day in and day out I see a guy who doesn’t take the bat off his shoulder if a breaking pitch is thrown. If a pitcher can throw their slider or curve for a strike they will strike out Cust almost every at bat. Every once in a while (about 20 times so far) Cust gets lucky and his uppercut makes contact with a fastball right down the center of the plate and he hits a HR. Which if anyone has made it out to see the A’s in person, would easily understand, as Cust looks more out of the WWE than a MLB dugout.

I don’t want to start another Cust debate in this thread, but I never really justified any of my comments before, but Cust has 76 hits to 139 strike outs this season. I haven’t had a chance to confirm this, but it’s probably the worst ratio in the league. The walks he gets are nice and all, but they don’t do a lot to help this offense. I think his wasted outs are often understated. If he comes up with 0 out and runners on base, way more often than not, that runner is not going to be given a chance to advance. When you don’t have a lot of power throughout the lineup moving the runners is key. Just look at the Angels. Maybe some of this has to do with how the entire A’s offense is so bad Cust is placed in the top of the order, but regardless, the guy struggles to make contact:

Series,Opponent, hits, so
3/25 Red Sox: 1/10 6SO
4/8 Jays: 0/12 5SO
4/11 Indians: 1/5 4SO
5/5 Orioles: 2/9 4SO
5/13 Indians: 1/12 4SO
5/19 Rays: 1/8 2SO
5/23 Red Sox: 2/9 6SO
5/30 Rangers: 1/12 6SO

I could do this all day, but I’ll end with: 7/18 Yankees: 1/9 8SO

As I said I don’t want to spark a Cust debate, but I really just want to justify my beliefs for why I feel he is terrible. I don’t really think my views on Cust are that outrageous that it makes me a douche or my opinion idiotic, but then again, I’m probably biased in that regard.

Oh, and one more thing. This goes out to that select few whose opinion is fact. It seems to me, and maybe it’s because there was a book written about our favorite franchise, who think A’s fans are generally way way smarter than the rest of the baseball population (people even get called out on their interpretations of said book. A book that carries many themes, not just buy low, sell high). From the majority of talk on AN this is probably true to an extent. I’m not sure anywhere else a GM is going to do interviews or there are enlightened neat articles by Grover, Sal, or Devo. Thats not what I’m referring to though. It’s the over the top analyzation of trades, players we pick up, and justifications for certain things. Someone will drop OPS or ERA + in some conversation like they are the be all end all stats in baseball. If someone even barely mentions a “simple” stat like BA or RBI they are treated like they aren’t intelligent enough to carry on a conversation. It’s borderline ridiculous. The A’s have yet to make it to a World Series in over a decade. Beane is not a god, and everything he touches isn’t gold. Heck, the guy listens to five hours of soccer podcasts a day. I’m not even sure if his heart is in baseball anymore. Plenty of other GM’s have led their teams farther than the A’s with the same amount of resources. The A’s aren’t that unique. If you think five playoff appearances accompanied by four “unlucky” early exits is a sign of brilliant franchise management, talk to a Braves fan.

I visit AN far more than any other site on the net, but I’m getting more and more reluctant to post anything besides blind optimism for fear the only response will be verbal attacks. It’s just not that fun, there is absolutely no way to have a good light hearted debate about something without someone who takes things way to seriously jumping in and dishing out insults. I’ve been an A’s fan since the day I was born, and grew up going to games with my grandfather who was a former fairly high ranking employee of the organization with season tickets. I live on the other side of the country now, but I still make it a point to get to a few games a year. I’m a college student entering my senior year at a decent school, who hopes to make a decent enough living so I can one day have my own season tickets. I will be an A’s fan forever, even if it takes me to Vegas, Fremont, Charlotte, Portland, or Birmingham. I like to think that I’m pretty far from being a short sided numb skull with no clue.

Early contender, eternal truths division.