Kuzul

Sunday’s game did not go as planned, as the Angels were able to outscore the A’s seven runs to four.

While it was upsetting and Mazzaro struggled in his second start in a row, it was not horrifying. While he gave up five runs in the game, he was able to last 4.1 innings, which is certainly better than his last outing.

The game made the 23 year old’s era jump up to 4.29, which is a respectful number. However, the A’s organization did not like this and decided to option the young pitcher down to AAA.

Considering it’s September when players get called up to have a chance to get to play in the bigs, (especially on a team like the A’s that were 67-69 (Though I will say they still have a chance at the division title)) it is a very confusing move.

Even if it wasn’t September, it’d still be a confusing move. Yes Mazzaro‘s last two starts weren’t desirable, but since when are players demoted because of two bad starts?

He’s a young pitcher on a young team. Consistency isn’t exactly what should be expected.

Considering he had a blister during the last start, he did his job fairly well and I could understand resting him a bit. However, demoting a player who isn’t struggling is just silly.

It’s going to mess with Mazzaro‘s confidence, and that’s very troublesome for young starters.

The most confusing part about this is the results that Mazzaro‘s given us. During 18 starts and 21 games this year he’s pitched, he has complied a 4.29 ERA, which is good enough for an ERA+ of 95.

While that may not look that good, look at the rest of the team. Due to the fact he is the worst pitcher on the team so far, he’s the 5th starter.

For a 5th starter to be pitching around league average, sounds like a nice option to me.

Look at the Phillies. They’re in line for a wild-card and have dominant aces in Hamels, Halladay and Oswalt. After that? Good ~5 eras from Blanton and Kendrick.

So would you rather have, a 23 year old pitching a 4.29 or a 29 year old with a 5.25? I don’t know about you, but I’d take Mazzaro.

So A’s, what gives?

Why demote Mazzaro?

Who are you going to pitch now?

Boof Bonser looks like the only option in the majors and his 5.17 ERA in zero starts doesn’t really excite me. (Though it has been very solid since coming to Oakland.)

So you take away a good 5th starter with a high potential and you’re likely to replace him with a 28 year old guy that hasn’t proven much. Doesn’t make much sense to me.

(The only reason I can think that this move was done was for Mazzaro to try to aid their AAA team with the day off, but it’s still confusing.)

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The former No. 4 prospect in baseball Jeremy Hermida signed a Minor League deal with the Oakland Athletics on Friday.

Hermida, 26, has been inconsistent in his major league career so far, as his best season was back in 2007 with the Florida Marlins, where he hit 18 home runs and drove in 63 runs while hitting .296 for the year.

After that season, he hit .259 in 2008 and .249 in 2007: clearly becoming worse as each new season started.

Earlier this year, Hermida signed with the Boston Red Sox, expecting him to be the 4th outfielder for the team.

He disappointed the Red Sox by hitting only .203 in 52 games and was released on Tuesday.

Even though it looks as if his career is going to be over soon, you never know. The late 20’s is the time when hitters tend to have their breakout seasons. However, with Hermida‘s inconsistency, you don’t know what you’ll get from him.

There was no risk for the A’s when they signed him, and they look forward that he will turn things around, hopefully leading to future success for the .500 team.

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In 1995, the owner of the Oakland Athletics, Walter Hass Jr., died. Successors Stephen Scott and Ken Hofman had watched Hass spend an abundant amount of money on players, and they wanted to go into an entirely different direction.

The duo immediately implored then-general manager Sandy Alderson to become cost-effective—to slash payroll, focus more on the farm system’s development, and abide by sabermetric principles in obtaining relatively undervalued players.

Alderson did what they said, but it didn’t translate into success. The Athletics had losing records from the time the new mindset was put in place until his departure after the 1997 season.

Billy Beane took over for his mentor and did what he could not. He didn’t spend much money but saw a steady increase in wins. The team improved drastically from year to year, and it was all because of Beane’s drafting, infatuation with their minor league system, and desire to continue the thriftiness.

He especially excelled in the pitching department, which was my focus in this 2009 piece praising his genius:

“He was behind the drafting of right-hander Tim Hudson in 1997, and wasted no time in his first year at the helm stocking the minor league system with more prime pitching talent, drafting left-handed pitcher Mark Mulder out of Michigan State with the second overall selection. His pick was a wise one; starting his minor league career in Triple-A, Mulder became the Athletics’ top prospect…second-ranked in all of baseball, and was in the majors to start the 2000 season.

“On June 7th, 1999, the day before Tim Hudson struck out 11 San Diego Padres in his five-inning debut, and while Mulder was in the midst of his fast track to the major leagues, Beane selected left-hander Barry Zito with the ninth overall pick. Zito, a UC-Santa Barbara product, nearly beat him to the majors despite being drafted a year after Mulder, and like Mulder, as well as Hudson before him, he flourished immediately. So, watching his team from his suite, Beane saw his three draftees, three immediate aces, take the mound every fifth day.”

The trio of aces led the A’s to four straight playoff appearances from 2000-2003; in 2001 and 2002, the team won 102 and 103 games. But then the three were gone. In line for big contracts, they left. Beane couldn’t afford them. It was as simple as that.

The rebuilding would begin, right? Surely the A’s couldn’t keep up their winning ways with such formidable pitchers elsewhere.

Beane found a way: The A’s won 91, 88, and 93 games from 2004-2006. And he’s still finding a way, growing a new crop of young arms to pick up an offense that is unflattering statistically yet somehow effective enough to put the Athletics in the playoff hunt.

From ’04-’06, the A’s were led by third baseman Eric Chavez before his career came to a sad, injury-plagued end; up-and-coming Nick Swisher, who is now extremely valuable for the New York Yankees; and in the latter of the three seasons, Frank Thomas, who amazingly hit 39 homers in just 137 games as a 38-year-old, clubbing the most per plate appearance of his Hall of Fame career.

Oakland didn’t manage winning records the next three seasons, but considering their payroll sat near the bottom of the league, the 75, 75, and 76 wins they did collect weren’t all that bad. This year, they are on a better pace, with 65 wins and 32 games remaining.

That .500 record has them just 7.5 games behind the Texas Rangers in the American League West. Now, unless the Rangers have a Metsonian collapse, the A’s won’t make the playoffs. But an 80-win season is in their sights. This is hard to fathom.

But not entirely unbelievable when the following is considered: Their pitching staff is among the best in baseball and, obviously then, the main reason behind their success. Their team ERA, even after allowing 11 runs to the New York Yankees, is 3.48, which is second in the major leagues.

Trevor Cahill, their 22-year-old ace, leads the team with 14 wins and has a 2.82 ERA, and as a result is in the Cy Young conversation. He has allowed just 119 hits in 158 innings, and that is after surrendering eight runs on nine hits in just four innings against New York.

Twenty-four-year-old Gio Gonzalez, who was acquired a few years back from the White Sox for Swisher, is 12-8, and Dallas Braden, 27, who tossed a perfect game earlier this season, is 9-9 with a 3.28 ERA.

There is a new trio of aces in town—and that’s not all that has Oakland buzzing. Their offense is an eyesore statistically, but improbably it has done enough to back the pitching. The A’s don’t have a hitter hitting over .300. Catcher Kurt Suzuki is leading the team in home runs with twelve. Twelve. Think about that.

Their offense is 24th in the majors in runs, 19th in batting average, and 26th in RBI. Yet their offense is well versed in small ball, manufacturing just enough to back their pitching staff. Case in point: Oakland is 22-18 since the All-Star break despite batting .241. Why such a good record? Their team ERA is 2.64. In the A’s case, averaging four runs a game is enough.

Despite their poor statistics, the A’s offense has some productive hitters. Coco Crisp anchors their lineup and has hit .275 in the 58 games he’s played this year, while Daric Barton has been their best hitter, batting .294 with seven homers and 46 RBI.

Kevin Kouzmanoff is tied with Suzuki in the home run category, has a team-leading 65 RBI, and has been stationed in the middle of their order for all but two games this year. Yet he has a .260 batting average and an obscene .295 on-base percentage.

The team isn’t far behind in the on-base percentage category, and their batting average is worse than his mark. But an 80-win pace is what good pitching and good situational hitting can do.

It’s pretty much only their pitching, as they aren’t a particularly good fielding team, ranking 18th with 80 errors. Again, how in the world are they conceivably within range of Texas? Situational hitting and top-of-the-line pitching: two things the A’s, run by the genius that is Billy Beane, have always successfully and remarkably been built around.

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Moneyball is a baseball film starring Brad Pitt and Oscar winner Philip Seymour Hoffman, and it’s set to open sometime in 2011.

Hoffman will perform as former big league manager Art Howe, and Pitt — one of the most famous people in the universe — will be playing Billy Beane, the “mastermind” general manager of the Oakland A’s.

Can you imagine that? Beane has been so successful in Oakland that a movie is being made about his innovations and triumphs as the A’s leading man. Not only is the film being made, but Beane’s character was given to one of the most recognizable faces in the business — a sex symbol, nonetheless.

And who can blame Hollywood for wanting a piece of this action? Beane has achieved so much during his time in Oakland…wait a second…

Has a Beane-led A’s team ever won anything?

This is Beane’s 13th season as GM of the Athletics, and his club has won the World Series zero times during his reign. Wait, it gets better.

In the previous 12 seasons, the A’s have won zero American League championships.

During that time period, they’ve only appeared in the ALCS once (2006). Beane’s Athletics performed well in that series against the Detroit Tigers…if “well” means getting swept. The Tigers made quick work of the light-hitting boys from Oakland.

Simply put, these results don’t make any sense. They don’t make any sense because Michael Lewis’ Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game is likely the most popular baseball book in publishing history. It may not only be the most popular baseball book of all time, it is arguably the most popular book of all sports.

Lewis’ detailed work elevated Beane to a stratosphere never before occupied by a general manager. As far as media coverage and attention, GM’s are often secondary to the skippers that patrol the dugouts of their respective teams.

Thanks to Lewis and Moneyball, things are quite different in Oakland. Beane is the star. The managers (Howe, Ken Macha, and Bob Geren) are puppets manipulated by the front office’s many strings and hindrances. 

The question is: does Beane deserve the stature he has achieved?

Many consider him the best general manager in the game; is he worthy of that distinction?

Well, at the very least, I can’t argue with his ability to evaluate starting pitching. It started with the extremely impressive trio of RHP Tim Hudson (an all-star again this year), LHP Barry Zito (having a bit of a bounce-back season), and LHP Mark Mulder.

Then there was RHP Rich Harden, an incredible but oft-injured talent. RHP Justin Duchscherer has been an all-star, and Beane’s trade for RHP Dan Haren came at exactly the right time in his career.

Today the A’s have a slew of capable young arms, including sinkerballer Trevor Cahill, flame-throwing lefty Gio Gonzalez, workhorse Dallas Braden (of the Perfect Game fame), electric closer Andrew Bailey, and potential long-term ace LHP Brett Anderson.

But the 2010 Oakland Athletics are a mere .500 ballclub. This infusion of impressive arms isn’t leading them to playoff-type success. And why, you ask?

Because Billy Beane teams don’t hit. Not since the steroid star power of 1B Jason Giambi and then-SS Miguel Tejada have the A’s had a lineup for opposing pitchers to fear. Their leading regulars this season are OF Ryan Sweeney (.294 BA) and limited-pop 1B Daric Barton (.279).

Although for Beane, it’s not about batting average; it’s about OBP and OPS. Unfortunately, Oakland’s on-base experts are 25th in the bigs in runs scored. What good is a razor-sharp understanding of the strikezone if you can’t drive in runners in scoring position?

Not much good at all, of course.

While we’re on the topic of offense, I can’t ignore the fact that Beane traded OF Carlos Gonzalez (aka “Cargo”).

Cargo, now an immensely popular member of the Colorado Rockies, is currently leading the National League in batting average at .326. In addition to that impressive average, he has 29 HR, 90 RBI, 20 SB, 86 R, and a .955 OPS.

With those outstanding numbers in mind, Cargo is locked in a nip-and-tuck MVP battle with Reds’ 1B Joey Votto. Both candidates have the statistics to warrant an MVP award, but Cargo is the better all-around player.

If the Rockies find a way into the postseason, in my opinion, Cargo should take home the hardware.

Can you imagine that? Beane, the “mastermind” at the helm of an offensively-starved franchise, traded an all-world talent when he was just 23 years old. Even worse, he traded Cargo for a one-year rental in LF Matt Holliday, who was shipped to the St. Louis Cardinals as soon as the wheels fell off the A’s 2009 season. 

Go figure.

And yet, in the end, I know Billy Beane is a talented executive. I completely understand the financial deficiencies of the Oakland A’s franchise. I know that Beane has drafted and developed some excellent major league ballplayers.

But…the best general manager in professional baseball? Really?

Hollywood, a full-length movie, and Brad Pitt? Really?

I’m sorry folks, but I’m not buyin’ it…

Unless Billy Beane is sellin’ it. I’d probably rip him off in a deal.

(John Frascella is the author of “Theo-logy: How a Boy Wonder Led the Red Sox to the Promised Land,” the first and only book centered on Boston ‘s popular GM Theo Epstein. Check it out on Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble online. Follow John on Twitter @RedSoxAuthor.)

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Over the past 10 games, the Oakland A’s are 7-3 and have scored five or more runs five times. They are averaging four runs per game and have Athletics’ fans wondering where the offense has been all year.

The offensive outburst could be related to the fact that the A’s have had games against Toronto and Cleveland, but nevertheless the offense is a welcome sight for Oakland fans.

The A’s currently sit eight and a half games back and while this is probably too big of a hole to climb out of, they do have three games against the Rangers over the weekend. If Oakland can find a way to sweep Texas, then the AL West race might become interesting.

Oakland always has strong starting pitching and this year is no different, the pitching has carried the team all year, so it is nice to see the offense step up for a change

However, this recent offense does not mean that the A’s should keep this same team for the 2011 season. Oakland still needs to find a power hitter in the offseason to make sure that offense in Oakland becomes expected rather than surprising.

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After Wednesday night’s victory over the Indians, Trevor Cahill improved his record to 14-5.

            Cahill was named to the American League All-Star team this season and is having a season in which he is worthy of Cy Young consideration.

            Cahill currently has a 2.43 ERA, which is second among American league starting pitchers. He also has a WHIP just over one (1.005).

            Although he may be worthy of a Cy Young, Cahill will have a hard time getting recognition because he plays in the small market of Oakland and is not on a contending team.

The A’s are currently 63-62 and eight and a half games back in the American League West.

            Cahill is hardly ever talked about and it seems not many people know who he is or what kind of year the 22-year-old right-hander is having.

            If more people begin to take note of Cahill, he can become the first Oakland Cy Young award winner since Barry Zito. However, it seems Cahill is being ignored right now and it is hard to believe there will be a drastic change in the next month and a half.

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A look at last week’s least-owned, best performing sluggers and hurlers.

Coco Crisp is as fast as the Flash. Homer Bailey is stingy, allowing one run in 13 IP. Yuniesky Betancourt takes over against the White Sox. Can they keep it up the rest of the season?

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The Oakland A’s took the first two games of the 1972 World Series from the favored Cincinnati Reds in Cincinnati. The A’s were in an enviable position since no team had ever lost the first two games at home and won the Series.

The teams traveled to Oakland for the next three games, but rain caused the third game to be moved up a day.

One of the Series’ most memorable plays, which has been almost forgotten with the passage of time (which means it is no longer considered memorable, but still is worth remembering) occurred in the eighth inning.

The Reds sent right-hander Jack Billingham to the mound to face Oakland’s John “Blue Moon” Odom. California Governor Ronald Reagan threw out the first ball, and as was expected, both pitchers were on their games. There was no score after six innings.

The Reds struck in the seventh inning.

Tony Perez led off with a single to left field. Denis Menke sacrificed him to second, bringing up Cesar Geronimo, who singled to center.

The field was still wet from the previous day’s rain, which caused Perez to slip rounding third, but Oakland center fielder George Hendrick had already made his relay to the infield, no Oakland player noticed Perez’ quandary, and Tony scored the game’s only run.

The play occurred in the Reds’ eighth inning.

Left-hander Vida Blue came in to pitch. Future Hall of Famer Pete Rose hit a screaming line drive to the right side that second baseman Ted Kubiak speared for the first out.

Future announcing great Joe Morgan walked and moved to third on a Bobby Tolan single to center. That was it for Blue.

Manager Dick Williams brought in Rollie Fingers to face Johnny Bench with runners at the corners and only one out.

Tolan stole second, which dictated an intentional pass to the second greatest catcher in baseball history, but Dick Williams marched to his own tune. He had Fingers pitch to Bench, with Tony Perez on deck.

Forget the potential inning-ending double play. Forget about the potential force out at home. Pitch to Bench.

The count went full when Williams had a change of heart. He strolled to the mound, made the signal to give Bench ball four, and had a brief conference with Fingers and catcher Gene Tenace.

Tenace went back behind home plate, stood tall, and signaled for ball four as he moved to the right.

Fingers nodded assent and went into his delivery, but Tenace quickly jumped back behind the plate as Fingers was delivering the ball.

Fingers fired a slider that caught Bench sleeping as it caught the outside corner for a called third strike.

It was a play that is thought about often, but that is rarely executed. Williams had the guts to pull it off in the World Series. Turn an “intentional” ball four into strike three.

Tony Perez really was walked intentionally to load the bases. Fingers retired Menke on a pop-up to second to end the threat.

It was all for naught when Billingham and Clay Carroll combined to shut out the A’s, but all turned out fine when the A’s won the Series in seven games.

Those who saw the third game will never forget what happened to Johnny Bench.

Neither will Johnny.

Reference

by JOSEPH DURSO. Special to The New York Times. (1972, October 19). Reds Win, 1-0, on 3-Hitter, A’s Now Lead Series, 2-1: Reds Win on 3-Hitter, 1-0; A’s Lead, 2-1 Carroll Saves the Shutout for Billingham. New York Times (1923-Current file), p. 97. Retrieved August 19, 2010, from ProQuest Historical Newspapers The New York Times (1851-2006). (Document ID: 79475397).

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In baseball, the art of being able to recognize and take pitches out of the zone is key to success. Although hitting statistics like home runs and batting average are glorified, walks greatly contribute to wins. Here are the five most disciplined hitters, based on their O-Swing % (the amount of pitches out of the zone at which they swing). 

Begin Slideshow

When Billy Beane made no moves at the All-Star break to improve the Oakland A’s lineup, it was only a matter of time before the overachieving A’s squad started to crumble, and now that time has come. 

Over the last 10 games the A’s have gone 4-6 and went from second place in the American League West division, to third place, with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim now one and a half games ahead of the A’s. 

In that span, the A’s offense has averaged 2.5 runs per game. Looking further at just how miserable the offense has been, the A’s have been shutout twice and have scored two or less runs three times. 

Meaning that in five of the 10 games, the A’s have either been shutout or scored two or less runs. Luckily for the A’s, and why the record in the last 10 games isn’t even worse, is because of the A’s pitching. 

When looking over the 10 game span, the A’s pitchers have allowed 28 runs. It’s not hard to see why the A’s have the best ERA in the American League, but it’s also easy to see why the A’s have struggled so much. 

Today the A’s nearly got no hit by the Minnesota Twins and yet when the dust settled and the game was over, all the A’s could manage was two hits and two runs, which nearly was enough to win, but a three-run home run by Jim Thome made it virtually impossible for the A’s to comeback from a 4-0 deficit. 

Yet, the score could have been different in the game. In fact, the A’s could have come out with a 2-1 victory over the Twins, but another fine example of the fine managing of Bob Geren came into play. 

Jerry Blevins relieved Vin Mazzaro in the bottom of the seventh inning after Chris Carter misplayed a flyball off the bat of Orlando Hudson. Blevins came in to face Joe Mauer who he proceeded to walk. Jason Kubel struck out on a nasty off-speed pitch from Blevins. 

Michael Cuddyer then was robbed of extra bases on a tremendous diving stop by Daric Barton at first base, a play that saved the A’s at least two runs at the time. So, it looked like the A’s were out of the woods right? 

As Thome strolled to the plate, Brad Ziegler began to get himself ready in the bullpen. The first three pitches from Blevins were not even close to the strike zone and with two outs there was no reason to give in to Thome with a base open and Danny Valencia coming to the plate. 

Instead of doing what most managers would have done in the situation and that is put Thome on base, the A’s chose to go after Thome. That was a bad move on the A’s part as Thome took Blevins’ next pitch out of the ballpark. 

At the time of the home run, the A’s were trailing 1-0, that home run brought the score to 4-0. That at-bat by Thome is just another example of why the A’s need to fire Geren. 

Another reason is what happened in the top of the ninth inning. With Kevin Kouzmanoff opening the inning off with a single, he wasn’t pinch run for. In that situation, with the way the A’s offense has been going, Kouzmanoff should have been ran for. 

A reason for that is to keep the A’s from hitting into a double play, which is exactly what happened. Rajai Davis ended the game by grounding out to shortstop. 

Further proof of just how bad the A’s offense has been can be seen by each hitter that’s been in the lineup.

1. Coco Crisp: .394 average, three doubles, 15 hits, a homer, and five RBI

2. Daric Barton: .267 average, two triples, a double, eight hits, no homers, and one RBI

3. Kurt Suzuki: .162 average, two doubles, six hits, no homers, and three RBI

4. Jack Cust: .178  average, a double, five hits, no homers, and one RBI

5. Kevin Kouzmanoff: .114 average, two doubles, four hits, no homers, and three RBI

6. Mark Ellis: .294 average, four doubles, 10 hits, no homers, and four RBI

7. Rajai Davis: .243 average, three doubles, nine hits, no homers, and two RBI

8. Chris Carter: .000 average, zero doubles, zero hits, zero homers, and zero RBI

9. Cliff Pennington: .333 average, two doubles, a triple, zero homers, and zero RBI

Totals: 18 doubles, three triples, one home run, and 19 RBI

That’s the lineup the A’s have put out a majority of the time in the last 10 games. The question is, will the A’s snap out of the offensive funk the team is in? Not very likely because of the upcoming games the A’s have. 

The next few series the A’s play are against the Toronto Blue Jays, Tampa Bay Rays, Cleveland Indians (only winnable series for the A’s), Texas Rangers, and New York Yankees. 

With the way the A’s offense has been playing it wouldn’t be a surprise to find the team hovering around 10 games under .500 rather than at or above .500, the reason being is there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight for the A’s offense. 

Conor Jackson is scheduled to come off the disabled list. It may mean that Chris Carter gets sent down or one of the relievers. Even with Jackson’s bat in the lineup, it still doesn’t give the A’s much more offensively. 

What is the light at the end of the tunnel for the A’s? The answer is when September begins and the rosters expand, the A’s have a few call ups to make. 

First will be Michael Taylor since Carter is already up. Since Taylor started the season so slowly he’s done a much better job. He’s now hitting a respectable .264 after being in the .220s at the beginning of the year. 

Jeff Larish who’s already up will get a look he can play first, third, or be the designated hitter. 

Dallas McPherson is another option as he can play third base, first base, or be the designated hitter as well.

Corey Brown, an outfielder, could be called up, he’s got excellent speed and a good eye at the plate. 

Displaying these hitters will show what the A’s can look forward to the 2011 season. The pitching staff has been great all year. If the A’s are to make a run at the playoffs, the A’s need hitters. 

Regardless of where the players are in their development either at Sacramento or Midland, something needs to be done to ignite the A’s offense and give A’s fans some hope for the 2011 season.

The pitching is already there but the hitting is nowhere close. 

Besides the offense the question becomes when does it stop being the players fault and instead becomes the coaches fault? If a managers not able to get the best effort out of his players game in and game out doesn’t that mean it’s time for a change as well? 

If a manager refuses to go 100 percent into a different offensive philosophy based on the team’s roster? Is it fair to say that the manager should be gone? 

The answer is yes and until the A’s replace Geren, bring up some bats either from the minor leagues or trades in the offseason, and buy 100 percent into the offensive philosophy the A’s are going to continue to struggle. 

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