OURS IS A LEVER, NOT A BUTTON

Look, I'm a huge A's fan. But I am not afraid to question, critique or outright lambaste the organization after analyzing and considering any of the actions at any time. They have hit the "PANIC" button for the 2007 season - in April.


The A's have made a few trades in the last week that are starting to clearly reveal that Billy Beane is not in control of the Good Ship Athletics. David Forst took over day-to-day duties of the general manager last year and has been placing his personal stamp on the team. And hopefully trying to clean up a lot of the mess in the minor league system.

April 29
Athletics Acquire:
OF Ryan Langerhans


Atlanta Acquires:
Player to be Named Later


April 27
Athletics Acquire:
OF Chris Denorfia


Cincinnati Acquires:
RHP Marcus McBeth AAA)
Player to be Named Later

The arrogance of these deals is the A's continued stance that they

"wanted Player X for a long time and they finally got an opportunity to acquire him".

What do you think they would say -

"we made a lot of bad decisions to get to the point we are. We have to fill a need very quickly and we're not sure if we even did that with Player X. We're just praying we come out smelling like a flower of any kind."

The A's never admit defeat or fail to hype the BayArea media that is too willing to be their de facto Public Relations depart.


There are several areas of importance we can look at and determine why the A's have decided to start breaking out the inflatable life rafts.

• The Draft

- The A's have failed to draft outfielders that have power to play the corner outfield spots.


• The Player Development

- The A's have failed to develop players that can fill the outfield void.


• The Front Office

- The A's have failed to adequately and efficiently stock the outfield with players capable of playing every day.


• The Management

The managers of the A's have failed to platoon, rotate, rest or otherwise create a situation where players thrive rather than merely survive.


• The Market

- The A's have failed to determine the market price for outfield prospects and until this week make a considerable acquisition.

Everything above is ready for lengthier analysis and discussion. Let's skip that and get right to the quick hit linear reasons why the A's made the deals.

• Mark Kotsay

- The A's took a huge gamble on Mark Kotsay when the extended his contract. His health has more alarms than something with a lot of alarms. His range had deteriorated, due to health or otherwise, over the last two seasons. Further, he has become the Jason Kendall of centerfield in baseball. Kotsay cannot hit enough to justify being in the number 2 spot in the batting order, let alone an every day player. Had the A's developed a single centerfielder in the last 10 years (save Eric Byrnes) they would not be in this quandary.


• Milton Bradley

MB can play centerfield. It doesn't mean he should play centerfield. With his track record of injuries and coming out of Spring Training he should have been given a day off every few games. Bobo seems hell bent on running his players into the ground. Bradley was a great acquisition and if the A's would learn that playing a guy 162 games at 80% is just not worth the risk if they played 140 at 95%.


• Nick Swisher

Swisher is not a centerfielder. He is a passable corner outfielder. Taking Swisher from 1st base and allowing him to play center was a bad idea for several standpoints. Swisher can't read balls off the bat in center and has largely made any ball hit deep to the gaps a sure double. Routine flyballs that should be run down are bouncing before the warning track. This is not Swisher's fault, he shouldn't be out there. Physically he was not up to the task, mentally he was not up to the task - but he sure did get a lot of media play didn't he!


• Shannon Stewart

One of the most horrible things I hear about Stewart is that he should be able to play centerfield. Some fans couldn't quantify that statement. When asked why - they alluded to the fact that he is African American so that he should have the athleticism to play center. That is repugnant thinking but not surprising considering the source. These same fans think Swisher should play centerfield.


• Danny Putnam

I like Danny Putnam. I do. But he is an AA hitter that wasn't ready for AAA just yet and I fear that he might have been slighted by his experience at the major league level. Is there anything worse than reaching the highest level you have in your career and the organization telling you - still isn't good enough, kid?


• Bobo

Bob Geren should have known that part of Ken Macha's dismissal was for his ignorance to injuries, resting players and generally having any relationship with them whatsoever. Bobo should have had a different line-up every night for the first three weeks of the season just as a ramp up to the grind. Instead two weeks into the season and Bob had different line-ups because of creaks, pains, pulls and tears.


• Bobby Kielty

What the hell is this guy doing on the roster and why is he getting paid so much to do it? Kielty is a platoon player - he should face left-handed pitching and nothing else. He should NOT platoon with Travis Buck as that kid can flat out hit. The A's paid the price for being gentle with Eric Chavez against left-handed pitchers and he has never developed as a hitter overall because of it. Excuses generated before they are needed breeds laziness.


• Jermaine Dye

Beane pulled off a great deal in getting Jermaine Dye. He failed to parlay that by signing Dye to a three year deal before getting a clearance on Dye's health. It was a damn shame that Dye broke his leg. It hurt the A's in the playoffs and probably has shortened his career. It doesn't mean you pay a guy $12 Million a year for $2 Million worth of production. Dye hit 51 homeruns over three seasons with the A's at a cost of $30 Million. With the White Sox over two seasons Dye has hit 75 homeruns at a cost of $9 Million.


• Javier Herrera

I am still waiting for this uber-prospect to come out and shine. He looked fat and lazy in spring training and already has one suspension for 'steroids' under his belt.


• Matt Watson

Just curious if the A's were regretting messing with his career. The A's seem to have a lot of fun screwing with the players under their control; Brad Halsey, Adam Melhuse, Keith Ginter, Erubiel Durazo, Mike Rouse. . .

More on the actual players later.