The A’s Dream is Over

Every player on the A’s should wear a jersey that says Bad on it right now. Mandatory Credit: Bob Stanton-USA TODAY Sports

I’ve been optimistic since “the trade” and through the greatest downward spiral in recent memory. I can’t be optimistic any more. There is something wrong with this team and it’s not going to be fixed in the next 10 games. Even if by some small miracle, they are able to hold on to a wild card berth, I doubt it will be in Oakland and I’m not real confident they’ll win. There’s always next year.

The A’s have opened their final homestand by being swept by the Texas Rangers. In case you forgot, the Rangers are, statistically, the worst team in baseball although I’d make the argument can be made that the A’s are the actual worst team in baseball at the moment. The A’s gave the Rangers 14 runs in three games. In the last 18 games, Texas has averaged 3.22 runs per game and have lost 11 of those games. This was the team the A’s would spank all over the field and prove to the world that they were, indeed, post-season ready. They’ve been swept.

If it wasn’t bad enough that the A’s have allowed so many runs, they’ve only managed to score 6 in the series. The same team that scored six or more runs in 12 April games is struggling to get six runs in three games combined now. The A’s have abandoned their third straight division win, that title being clinched by the Angels last night, and have the second wildcard berth. I use the quotes because if it ends up being an Oakland/Kansas City tie, the tie breaker goes to KC.

The platoon system that Bob Melvin insists he won’t abandon should probably be abandoned now. Managers have figured out how to get the A’s best hitters out of the lineup in the sixth or seventh inning and pitchers know that if they just throw strikes, they’ll probably get strikes. Pinch hitting is not working. Jonny Gomes is 0/6, Nate Freiman is 1/5, Sam Fuld is 2/7, Craig Gentry is 2/15, Derek Norris is 4/15, and Nick Punto is 0/12. Of those guys I mentioned, only because they are often used as pinch hitters, they are batting .150. If Josh Reddick were batting .150, he’d never hold a bat again but if “the platoon” is hitting .150, it’s simply how they do business.  Maybe we are learning that the advantage or disadvantage balances out over the course of the season and that not playing guys every single day puts them at a greater disadvantage when they’re in an unfavorable situation. Continuing with a strategy that has stopped working is like filling your sinking boat with water because you had been filling it with water before it started sinking.

A’s fans have gone through the five stages of grief about this team. When they started to sink, we all said it was a rough patch and that it was no big deal. Denial. Then we got swept by LA and started screaming at our tv in disgust. Anger. We went into the Houston series six games out of first and said that if could just sweep the Astros, we’d be right back in it. Bargaining. When we lost three of four against Chicago we started to weep openly and dream about the way things used to be. Depression. Now, we’ve been swept by the worst team in baseball, we’re out of contention for the division and we’re slipping out of the wildcard spot and the fans are starting to make dinner plans for October. Acceptance.

Maybe it just wasn’t meant to be this year. The dream is over. Pollyanna is dead.