Year	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	BB	K	OBP	SLG	AVG
2000	OAK	138	584	104	168	34	18	80	43	77	.366	.452	.288
2001	OAK	162	629	90	178	37	12	85	52	103	.335	.412	.283
2002	OAK	162	587	71	141	32	16	67	48	96	.298	.390	.240

Terrence Long, Age 26



Chris Singleton, Age 30

Year	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	BB	K	OBP	SLG	AVG
2000	CWS	147	511	83	130	22	11	62	35	85	.301	.382	.254
2001	CWS	140	392	57	117	21	7	45	20	61	.331	.431	.298
2002	BAL	136	466	67	122	30	9	50	21	83	.296	.410	.262

There seems to be a bit of confusion. This is where numbers don't make sense. We could throw up defensive statistics, but we don't think it would help matters. They are argumentative and sometimes misleading. Except for in Terrence's case in 2002. He sucked. Sucked so bad it was argumentative that he could have gotten an error even if Art Howe stuck him at DH.

Let's focus on the mental side for the rest of the week.

Chris Singleton has the problem of being with two organizations in the last three years that were on the verge of canibalizing themselves. You really have to sit back and wonder how a player like Singleton would have handled the atmosphere in each locale. Further, you have to question the coaching he received as a bit player and fourth outfielder.

How many times do you see a player get a rather meaningless at-bat in a game and try and swing for the fences? Singleton's numbers might actually be a bit more compelling if we take that into account.

Then, again, we're not here to white wash anything. It's called tough love, get used to it.

T Long's struggles have been written about in this space before. We don't care about him having to move to centerfield out of AAA. We don't care about him having to move to left field with the arrival of Johnny Damon. We don't care about him moving back to center.

Are you trying to tell us an "athlete" as good as Long never played centerfield before? How professional do you have to be to bring your attitude about defensive placement to the dish when you're at-bat? If you're lucky enough to be in a MLB line-up, you better lick the pine tar rag in gratitude that they let you put on the uniform no matter where the put you in the field.

Can't Score From the Bench

Singleton actually has a bit of empathy from us in his on-base percentage. Singleton may very well have been fighting for a roster spot the last 18 months. Kind of a fight or flight sequence where you just do whatever the batting coach tells you to do.

Swing at a 3-1 count? Sure thing, coach.


Slap the ball into the turf and Ichiro it to first? You got it, coach.


Shift butt cheeks in the top half of the odd numbered innings to avoid hemorrhoids? Thanks for the tip, skip.


With Long, you have to wonder what the hell he was doing most of the time at the plate. Some hitters are able to set up pitchers. Some are able to see the ball and hit the ball. Others just flail at the ball hoping to make contact. T Long looked like he was waving a rhythmic gymnast's flag pole thingy. Honestly, it appeared Long was more interested in how he looked swinging the bat than his production at the plate.

That being said, Long would show two or three consecutive at-bats of being a brilliant hitter. Working counts. Turning on balls on the inner half of the plate. Then, he would look like a AA jackass trying to pull balls on the outer half and hit them within a hailed cab's distance of Fairfield an at-bat later.

Moving Terrence Long to left field is something that we'll need to come back to again and again in 2003. Is it worth it to appease a less than mediocre player and his replacement in center at $1.4 million rather than just stick Eric Brynes out there and let him win the spot?

We all lay our hopes in the infinite wisdom of Billy Beane and hope he isn't pulling a three Mikes on us. If you recall, last year, in the off season, Beane grabbed Mike Holtz as a free agent and paid him $1 million plus. He kept aging bullpen has-been Mike Magnante on the roster, not to mention Mike Venafro-who never seems to be on the same page as his left arm. A few months into the season and Holtz was packing his non-Oakland Atheltic bag out of town, Magnante was out of work, period and Venafro was pouting in Sacramento.

Beane grabbed three left-handers and just hoped one would make things work. By the trading dealine Beane had to go and grab Ricardo Rincon. Great deal, but it was done under the black cloud that Beane had put himself in.