Apprehensions, Predictions, Rants and Whatnot

by javaball on Apr 15, 2009 8:30 PM PDT

The Good

1. Jason Giambi is back with the A's.

The green and gold fits him much better than the pinstripes. It's exciting to see him make those signature scoops again at 1B at the Coliseum, his old playground. He's also been hitting well and driving in runs, as he has done for so many years. The young players can learn quite a bit from him.

2. Travis Buck seems to be coming into his own.

Billy Beane said Buck did nothing but hit when he came up. For some reason, he hasn't really done well at this level. From what I've seen, he's got power, speed, and plate discipline ("good eye"), and he plays great defense. There is no reason why he can't develop into a great player.

The Bad

1. Chavez is still hurt.

I'm afraid his career is over. Chavez has been a big part of the A's success in the early 2000s, which is quickly becoming history. Unfortunately, the A's just don't have a strong candidate to fill in at 3B. With all the trades Beane made over the past three years, why hasn't he signed a good backup third baseman?

2. Fundamentals and Coaching

The A's have made quite a few base-running and defense errors last year, e.g., runners were doubled up/picked off or failed to tag, pitchers failed to cover first base, etc. Those mistakes cost them quite a few close games. The trend seems to be continuing this year. That, to me, suggests problems with the coaching staff or the minor league system, because the players have not been properly taught / trained.

3. Geren

Is it purely a coincidence that the A's have had two losing seasons in a row since Geren took over as manager? There have been injuries, but, all teams have injuries and slumps, the good managers can navigate through the problems and still lead their teams to win. Geren's "look on the positive side" approach is just not good enough.

Last year I wrote about Geren's use of the bullpen, and held him responsible for Devine's injury. Devine still hasn't recovered from the injury, and I still blame Geren for it.

And The Ugly

The veterans (Giambi, Garciaparra, Chavez) will have trouble staying healthy all year, and the young rotation will fade in the second half. I fear that the A's will have another losing season under Geren.

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Comments

To Bad #1

Beane did sign a good backup third baseman. His name is Nomar. Crosby is still learning there. Hannahan is very good defensively, and Baisley is Hannahan with worse defense.

Oakland has plenty of backup third basemen (but NONE of the third baseman are really good, since Chavvy appears to be far past his prime), he just doesn’t have a good prospect at the position—though Cardenas could be that guy.

by NateHST on Apr 15, 2009 9:30 PM PDT reply actions

IMHO they should'nt have Nomar played full games

Look where it landed us.
That said Nomar was a great sign for the A’s- hope he gets back in soon!

Bobby Crosby = ground-out triple play...

by brian.only on Apr 15, 2009 9:42 PM PDT up reply actions

have played* oops

Bobby Crosby = ground-out triple play...

by brian.only on Apr 15, 2009 9:43 PM PDT up reply actions

i'm not seeing a problem with the coaching

Did you look at the roster Geren was working with the last couple of years? To get 75 wins out of that crew, he should have been coach of the year.

by RayJEdd on Apr 16, 2009 4:04 AM PDT reply actions

We had a very talented team last year and were leading the division for a while.

But everything fell apart around the All-Star break. If the young players have talents, but can’t realize their potential, there is definitely a problem with coaching.

by javaball on Apr 16, 2009 1:01 PM PDT up reply actions

You mean it fell apart right after the talent was gutted from the rotation?

I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal

by Nico on Apr 16, 2009 4:33 PM PDT up reply actions

Are there any Geren defenders on this site?

Back in the day the Macha hating got pretty out of control on this site, but I always felt Macha was a very good manager. But it seems like Geren deviates from the statistically-inclined style of managing way more than Macha, who got fired in no small part because he started Kotsay over Kielty against lefties in the 06 playoffs against Beane’s wishes. But Geren routinely calls for bunts with a runner on first and no one out, even with bad bunters at the plate, completely misuses the closer (remember when we’d use Koch/Foulke for multiple innings in tie games and they’d amass 8-9 wins on the year?) and the rest of the bullpen for that matter. You can’t blame our losing records the last two years on Geren, but he’s been an absolute wreck. i don’t think he’d ever have gotten the job if not for his personal relationship with BB.

by swatnick on Apr 16, 2009 11:36 AM PDT reply actions