Reign of Piss

I didn't get into the specifics of the A's trading Joe Blanton last week to the Phillies, but here goes. I'm not nearly as crestfallen that my team moved on another guy who was coming up on his arbitration years. Blanton puts the ball in play, keeps you in the game, fields his position fairly well and takes the ball every fifth day.

Notice that I didn't say gets a lot of people out without damage. Cupcakes is very hittable, and one suspects that even though he's going to the weaker league, he's going to have a rough ride from the Phillies having a bandbox park and a worse defense. What Blanton does is worth a lot of money on the open market, but only to organizations that don't stockpile tolerable arms at the minor league level. For the Phils, he gets Adam Eaton off the mound, so that's a plus.

On the individual player standpoint, at least he might get some run support and win some games now and again, and perhaps meet teammates that can afford picking up a check now and again, not to mention having an interest in going out to a place that they didn't go to during college. For the A's, aka the Peter Pan Team of Cheap Boys Who Are Not Allowed To Grow Up, not so much. The prospects they got back all seem reasonable, and Gio Gonzalez is ready to start his clock towards serving somewhere else any moment now, so it's all good, right?

Actually, no.

Here's the reason why... Rich Harden has been just as good as you'd imagine for the Cubs since they sold him off. The offense doesn't score runs. Since the offense hasn't scored runs for years, I'm starting to wonder if it ever will again. I'm also starting to wonder if this team is worth my fandom.

This isn't entirely Harden related, though he may be the straw that breaks my back. The simple fact of the matter is that the A's teams of the past 3-4 years have been, to put it lightly, No Fun To Watch At All. Every player that's any good is on a clock to be moved. The team is designed to win 85 to 90 games a year, and either squeak into the playoffs by the skin of their teeth or miss while driving ticket sales, especially to the MLB+ teams. The new stadium seems to be on shaky ground, and if they could find anyone to take Eric Chavez and his contract off their hands, the entire payroll could be picked up by A-Rod even with alimony payments.

I like offense. I like players that can hit, steal bases, and develop in ways that allow me, as a fan, to feel like there's a point to watching this. I'm not very interested in watching a random collection of economically advantageous talent win a few more, or a few less, games than it loses.

I like baseball that's exciting. I don't like the A's. And I haven't for a while.

So what, exactly, is the point of rooting for this laundry anymore?

Billy Beane defended the Harden trade as being standard operating procedure for the franchise, and not indicative of a salary dump or anything but the building of the next great generation of A's baseball. Um, Billy? You know what else has been standard operating procedure for your franchise? Not getting to the playoffs very often. Not winning in the playoffs when you get there. Having an offensive player -- when your best is Frank Thomas having his last good year, that's not good enough -- that truly puts some fear into the opposing club. Having a fan base that isn't dwarfed by a terrible Giants franchise or any of the plus market teams that come to town. Watching every good young player walk, because you are a de facto farm team, rather than an actual MLB entity. Being the Angels' bitch.

Beane knows more about getting value out of a market than anyone in baseball. He's managed to keep the team from being uncompetitive. Many of the prospects that they've received in the constant churn of players seem good. He's stockpiled reasonable pitching as far as the eye can see, and when an everyday player gets hurt, his AAA call-up is much more likely to be tolerable in the job than, say, what the Yankees recall.

But championships -- and hell, even divisions -- are not won by the Jack Custs and Matt Murtons of the world. Championships are won by star players performing at the peak of their abilities, carrying their teams to victory. Watchable offensive teams are not constructed from every player being patient and making the pitcher work; someone actually needs to hit the damn ball, preferably with a line-drive or better amount of anger. And championships are not won, at least not anymore, by a team refusing to spend money, despite lining up at the revenue sharing trough every year like a trustafarian. Because the good MLB+ organizations are also smart, and unlike the A's, they do spend money, and are interested in winning.

So, Billy, please... don't piss on my back and tell me its raining. Don't tell me that the A's are buyers and sellers every year at the trade deadline, when all you've done for the past five years is sell. And especially, don't pat yourself on the freaking back for dealing the Harden black chip for a handful of whites while telling me what a great deal you've made, and how this is business as usual.

Because your offense sucks. Your high draft picks haven't been worthwhile (Jeremy Brown, anyone? Cliff Pennington, any takers?). Every trade hasn't worked out (Dan Meyer and, at least to date, Daric Barton, though I suspect he's eventually going to have his Carlos Pena breakout). Because, in your entire tenure, you've won a single playoff series, and haven't had an offense that can cover for anyone's mistakes since the early 2000 Roid Crew of Giambi and Tejada.

Because "Moneyball" was a long time ago, and teams that teach their fans to spot market inefficiencies... should probably go root for teams that don't have them.