Hot Stove Heater II: Gas Boogaloo

Here’s Gary Huckabay’s original that he wrote for ESPN.com .

To be fair, we are writing our s a few months after the fact. So, here goes something;

2002 Review

What went right?
Billy Beane solidified his hold on the rest of MLB and sports in general on how to build and maintain a dynasty on a shoestring budget. Maybe not even a shoestring. Just Velcro fasteners. Maybe just zip ties. The early leadoff hitter situation died after a mid-season acquisition of Ray Durham. The Giambi who did not slide was sent to Siberia West (Philadelphia) for “anyone who hits left handed”; John “F-ing” Mabry? as he was known to fans. Mabry played inspired baseball and for a two week stretch looked like a perennial All Star, not the journeyman he is.

Miguel Tejada’s production at the plate and steady defense in the field turned the spot light away from the East Coast two and A-Rod. Miguel delivered when it counted in the regular season with ‘clutch hits’ time and again. He was rewarded with the MVP award – though it was hotly debated by Sabermatricians and crackpots that A-Rod was the MVP because his stats were better.

Eric Chavez won a second gold glove and continued to pound right-handed pitching. Still struggling against lefties, Chavez is a few dozen hits off of southpaws away from winning his own MVP.

Mark Ellis (No, not Michael Ellis) provided sound hitting, defense and base running and fending off five different second baseman to earn the starting job at second by the end of the season.

Scott Hatteberg surprised critics by having a career year and owning right-centerfield. His defense improved and provided extra wattage to the light bulb above Billy Beane’s head.

Jermaine Dye slowly came back from a broken leg and by the second half of the season showed why Billy Beane seemingly over paid for his services. Terrence Long made a mockery of modern day leather craftsman and gained the nickname “Magellan” for his round about way of getting (or not getting) to balls. David Justice split time in left due to injuries and provided a presence on the field and in the clubhouse.

Ramon Hernandez struggled at the plate but not behind it. Greg ‘Crash” Myers came off the bench to occasionally spell Hernandez or left handed pinch hitting duties, including a game winning homerun of troy Percival.

Olmedo Saenz remained the teams right handed pinch hitter and Eric Byrnes added his services as designated run scorer and outfield replacement. Adam Piatt struggled after coming on early in the season. The 1999 Minor League Player of the year is out of option in 2003, literally.

Barry Zito’s brief history of second half dominance appeared in tact for a full season run. Zito went 23-5 with an ERA of 2.75 and won the AL Cy Young. Mark Mulder missed nearly a month and still posted 19 victories. After an incredible 2001 rebounding from a serious back injury, Mulder became the A’s number 1 starter. Another early injury scare kept Tim Hudson from his Opening Day duties. The ankle injury was nothing as Hudson grittily fought batters and his own bullpen to come out with a sub 3.00 ERA and 15-9 record. Eight times Hudson left a game with the lead and the bullpen eventually blew that lead. Cory Lidle again had early season troubles but was nearly untouchable in the second half ringing up two dozen plus consecutive innings of shutout ball at one point. The fifth spot wavered back and forth. The early injuries lead to a rotation of Mulder-Hudson-Zito-Lidle-and a cast of several. Eric Hiljus, Mike Fyhrie, Stomper and finally Aaron Harang filled the spot. Harang was another notch in the scouting departments favor as he came from AA Midland to keep the steady ship calm around the trading deadline.

The bullpen was outstanding at times and at others looked like Anna Nicole Smith in strecthpants…downright nauseating. Billy Koch seemed willing to blow any lead at any time and made the 8th and 9th innings reasons to stick around. Koch set a team record for appearances with 84 and matched his jersey number with 44 saves. Koch also ‘won’ 11 games pointing to his teammates ability to wrangle him out of trouble. Jim Mecir was inconsistent all year and had a tough time of getting up and down. When coming off the bench after a partial inning Mecir was routinely lit up. When coming out of the bullpen Mecir was highly effective. We plan on charting this a little better this year and we can go back and check the box scores to prove our point. Or you can trust us. Chad Bradford was brilliant at getting one-pitch double plays balls and stranding inherited runners. An occasional blip occurred now and again but Bradford kept the damage to a minimum. Micah Bowie and Ricardo Rincon were late season left handed options out of the pen. Rincon came across the field from Cleveland in a trade minutes before the first pitch of a contest and just a few hours after pitching for the Indian against the A’s. The game’s start was delayed 25 minutes while the deal was completed. Bowie was not used often and the late addition of Ted Lilly made Bowie the other, other lefty in the pen by September. Brandon Buckley was outstanding as the bullpen catcher.

What went wrong?
Terrence Long and Ramon Hernandez at the plate. Terrence Long in the field. The Carlos Pena Experience didn’t last May. The fifth starter spot was as hard to nail down as Bud Selig’s hairpiece.

In retrospect, the critical decisions were:
1. Staying with with plan. Letting Jason Giambi, Johnny Damon and Jason Isringhausen go via free agency gave the A’s a bounty of draft picks and stocked their minor leagues with two or three gems that will be polished as early as 2005. The money to sign nine of their draft picks would not even equal half of Jason Giambi’s yearly salary demands. The A’s trend of turning young talent into younger talent became bedrock.

2. Billy Beane and his scouting department continue to force old baseball men and sports writers to question everything but their buffet choices. With an ownership group in place with an earnest want to win, but a stern dedication to staying within a budget the front office continues to be a marvel of 21st century sports-entertainment economics. Critical trades became fleecings and minor trades and roster shuffling became svengahli -like amazements and amusements.

3. Not signing Miguel Tejada to a long-term deal in Spring Training. Knowing what they have in their minor league system the A’s were able to let Miguel pout for a few weeks before he realized he was playing for his future. A few conversations with Art Howe helped Tejada regain his focus. The commitment to not make a commitment to a player has never been tougher than with Tejada. The experience was magnified after Jason Giambi left and has recently gone nuclear with Steve Schott’s conversation in Spring Training with Tejada that A’s do not have the resources to keep Miggi in Green and Gold after 2003.

Looking ahead to 2003

Three key questions

1. The Miguel Tejada Situation takes to the field as the behind the scenes negotiations that never began are over. Whether Tejada can stay focused and remain a team leader and jovial member of the A’s frat house will be critical to the A’s mindset. As upsetting as it is, the A’s all knew this was coming and it was easier to get the air clear before the season started. Now, the onus is on Miggi’s performance, not the rest of the organization to justify it’s position (and depth at middle infielder).
2. The A’s outfield is a question mark times four. By standards set by previous seasons the A’s outfield is below average with it’s projected starters. With four outfielders on the bench and two possibly deserving a majority of playing time it will be interesting to see how things play out. Billy Beane and his staff are banking on a time warp for Terrence Long and Chris Singleton to return to earlier forms and continue those positive projections, instead of the teetering disasters they have become. The issue is only compounded by the catcher position. Are the A’s good enough to send the 7-8-9 hitters to the plate hoping for .300 OBP?

3. Can the A’s ownership make amends with its fans for its post season ticketing debacle and public caning? Can the ownership take a lead role, instead of the passive roles it has assumed, in the talks regarding a new baseball only facility? Will the ownership remain Schott/Hoffman after 2003?

Can expect to play better

Long, Mecir, Ellis, Hatteberg, Dye and Piatt are all better than represented last year. Ellis’ first run at a full regular season will be fun to watch. We’d mention Eric Byrnes but he’s cursed by the empty outfield and overloaded bench and can’t seem to get enough playing time to prove our point.

Can expect to play worse

Zito, Tejada, Mulder, Hudson and Chavez could have sub-par seasons. As if having a bad season before age 28 was something to worry about.

Projected lineup

2B Mark Ellis

3B Eric Chavez

SS Miguel Tejada

DH Erubial Durazo

RF Jermaine Dye

1B Scott Hatteberg

LF Terrence Long

C Ramon Hernandez

CF Chris Singleton

Rotation

Barry Zito

Tim Hudson

Mark Mulder

Ted Lilly

John Halama

Closer

Keith Foulke

A Closer Look

Like every team in MLB the A’s could benefit from snappy revenue streams from a new stadium. However the reality is the A’s are at least three years from any potential deal and so the organization will continue to have to actually be smarter than it already looks.

As much finger pointing and blustering that comes from Bud Selig, his own Brewers have lost 40% of their season ticket holders in the last six months and their brand new stadium is not bringing in ‘new’ money. The Brewers organization is closer to a convenience store than a supermarket. Only the commissioner’s ties kept the Brewers off the contraction list that included the A’s, Twins and Angels – all playoff teams, by the way. Their new stadium does more to point out the problems in baseball economics than highlight the hopes of stability of its future.

The A’s future will depend on its fan base and its front office. Somewhere along the line the casual fan needs to turn into an educated fan and be able to look beyond the name on the back of their favorite player’s jersey they just bought and look instead to the emblem that simply read "ATHLETICS". If the two can meet at an agreement that fan favorites will have to come and go every few years and to pack the seats on non Dollar Wednesdays the A’s could stop pleading the 5th.

If the A’s can avoid another 5th game disappearing act the Oakland Dynasty can annex the south bay and points north. Only territorial rights $350-$500 million and keep the A’s from having the luxury of a $70-90 million payroll. The fans have increased attendance each of the last four years, just as the A’s have increased their number of wins.