FanPost

Buck optioned to Sacramento - can someone get to the bottom of this?

Once again the A's front office has demoted Buck down to Sacramento after almost zero playing time since being called up. Blez, Nico, anybody, can you get an interview with someone from the front office or Geren who can clarify why Buck seems to be on everyone's sh!t list?

Update (July 7th): Via SF Chronicle, Travis Buck seems to be saying the right things:

Asked if he believes he's still in the team's plans, Buck said, "Yeah, I definitely have that feeling right now, but it's just not my time. When it does happen, I'll be ready. There's still three weeks before the trading deadline. Who knows what's going to happen?"

 

Yet I'm still mystified as to why they won't give him playing time, particularly with Geren's carefully worded answer to this question:

Buck, 25, once was projected as an everyday player, but his value nose-dived with injuries and ineffectiveness. Asked which has been more costly to Buck's development, manager Bob Geren said, "It's a hard game to play, period. When you're in and out of the lineup, it's even harder, due to one factor or another."

 

Original Post:

Mychael Urban reported the news on his blog and said it best:

 

He's been optioned to Sacramento, about an hour after manager Bob Geren referred to him as a "player with a bright future."

 

He promises to have more on this later. I certainly hope so. Anybody else have any idea why A's management keeps screwing Buck around? I'd be surprised to find out that he is that much of a malcontent of a player, I think something would have leaked out in the press via the players or the A's beat reporters. So what gives? We traded away Ethier because supposedly we had a similar player in Buck, but we'll never find out if he's never given consistent, daily playing time. If the A's think that lightly of him, then trade him off so he can be productive elsewhere.

Athletics Nation front pagers and Blez, I'm hoping you can use your connections to settle the Buck question once and for all. What happened and why are the A's jerking him around?

Anyone else have any info please speak up.

 

Update: Quick and simple note on the Ethier / Buck comparisons. Here's a quick look at their college (both attended ASU) and minor league stats, for what it's worth.

ASU Ethier 2002 - 0.363 / 0.459 / 0.538 - 14 2B / 4 HR

ASU Buck 2003 - 0.326 / 0.432 / 0.456 - 13 2B / 4 HR

ASU Ethier 2003 - 0.377 / 0.488 / 0.573 - 13 2B / 10 HR

ASU Buck - 2004 - 0.373 / 0.486 / 0.573 - 16 2B / 9 HR

ASU Buck - 2005 - 0.382 / 0.446 / 0.549 - 24 2B / 6 HR

Ethier, Minor League Career - 4 seasons - 1161 AB - 0.317 / 0.389 / 0.464 - 66 2B / 12 3B / 27 HR

Buck, Minor League Career - 5 seasons - 748 AB - 0.328 / 0.405 / 0.499 - 69 2B / 7 3B / 15 HR

Don't read too much into this, just pointing them out, not trying to reach any specific conclusion.