Spoiler Alert: A’s Assume The Role of Spoiler

No longer in a hunt for a “green” October, the Oakland Athletics have been reduced to nothing more than a spoiler. The team has missed the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season now, and many fans are growing frustrated with the team’s poor level of play.

General manager Billy Beane, who will be portrayed by Brad Pitt in Moneyball, helped reinvent the way many baseball executives evaluate talent, but he’s had a little trouble recently putting together a formidable team.

The A’s, with Monday’s win over the Angels reaffirmed their new role as playing a spoiler to the league’s remaining contenders. The Angels, entering Tuesday’s game three games behind the Texas Rangers for first place in the AL West, haven’t played well against the A’s this year, going 5-9 against the green-and-gold.

Oakland never did get much of a rhythm going against the rest of the AL West, however, and like the Angels, the A’s have had a tough time against its own division rivals.

For Oakland, the Rangers have been extremely tough to beat. The A’s have gone 5-11 against the Rangers this season, reaffirming that Texas remains a power house within the division.

It also serves as a reminder that Oakland has a long way to go before they even start to think about contending for a division crown. Coming into this season, many baseball analysts picked Oakland to come out on top this year in the AL West, but a slow start to the season doomed the Athletics’ chances at a green October.

At 67-80, the A’s have taken a step back this year, after finishing 81-81 last year. With just a few more games to play this month, Oakland will wrap up the season trying to spoil the Angels’, and possibly the Rangers’ chances at making the postseason. As they say, misery loves company.