Did anyone else enjoy seeing Billy Beane's trade deadline strategy go up in smoke last night, at the hands of the lowly Kansas City Royals? I'm talking about the Jon Lester trade, which Beane must have thought was his ticket to the NLDS should the Angels somehow pass his A's and he be forced into a one-game wild card game to get in!!

 

There he was, Jon Lester, out on the mound in the bottom of the 8th, having outdueled James Shields and the first couple guys out of the vaunted KC bullpen to a seemingly insurmountable lead of 7-3.

 

But Lester couldn't finish the 8th, and Oakland goes on to lose 9-8 in 12, blowing 1 run leads in both the 9th and 12th innings!

 

All while Adam Dunn, in his only postseason game in his career, sits on the bench!

 

With the Sox out of it, we have to take our pleasure somewhere!!!

 

Discuss.

I absolutely loathe the Kansas City Royals so I took no pleasure in seeing the one guy I wanted to find success and have an opportunity to do something get eliminated.

I absolutely loathe the Kansas City Royals so I took no pleasure in seeing the one guy I wanted to find success and have an opportunity to do something get eliminated.

 

This.

Did anyone else enjoy seeing Billy Beane's trade deadline strategy go up in smoke last night, at the hands of the lowly Kansas City Royals? I'm talking about the Jon Lester trade, which Beane must have thought was his ticket to the NLDS should the Angels somehow pass his A's and he be forced into a one-game wild card game to get in!!

 

There he was, Jon Lester, out on the mound in the bottom of the 8th, having outdueled James Shields and the first couple guys out of the vaunted KC bullpen to a seemingly insurmountable lead of 7-3.

 

But Lester couldn't finish the 8th, and Oakland goes on to lose 9-8 in 12, blowing 1 run leads in both the 9th and 12th innings!

 

All while Adam Dunn, in his only postseason game in his career, sits on the bench!

 

With the Sox out of it, we have to take our pleasure somewhere!!!

 

Discuss.

 

No. I like Billy Beane. He's really good at his job. I was hoping Oakland would win it all.

 

Had Billy Beane not traded for Jon Lester, I think it's very possible Oakland doesn't even make the wild-card game.

That was a pretty awesome game. If Beane doesn't make those trades, I wonder if they just don't even make the one game playoff. He still has Jeff S. for another year, and I would guess he will get traded. It was a collapse pretty much of epic proportion for Oakland and last night's game was their season in a nutshell.

 

Sometimes you go for it and get burned. I was reading something several years ago which basically stated deadline time deals usually don't help you much, and in hindsight many are regrettable.

 

It did seem like they were lined up for some pretty good things a couple of months ago. It seemed like a sequel to Money Ball was inevitible.

 

I still don't understand Ventura pitching last night. I think KC is really behind the 8 ball this next series.

 

I am not a Beane fan, but I can't argue with the Lester trade. I always questioned the trade with the Cubs because I am not a Jeff S. fan and he was sure to drop off as well as the other guy. Russell was a high price to pay.

Edited October 1, 201411 yr by Dick Allen

I am not a Beane fan, but I can't argue with the Lester trade. I always questioned the trade with the Cubs because I am not a Jeff S. fan and he was sure to drop off as well as the other guy. Russell was a high price to pay.

The one thing I can say is that I still can't fathom why Adam Dunn was not on the A's 2 days after the Lester trade. Ok it's not a perfect match but by all accounts you're downgrading your lineup by taking Cespedes out of the middle of it, if you're paying the kind of price you paid for Samardzija then why on Earth would you go cheap about adding in a replacement bat?

The one thing I can say is that I still can't fathom why Adam Dunn was not on the A's 2 days after the Lester trade. Ok it's not a perfect match but by all accounts you're downgrading your lineup by taking Cespedes out of the middle of it, if you're paying the kind of price you paid for Samardzija then why on Earth would you go cheap about adding in a replacement bat?

 

 

Do you think the Sox would have taken Sanburn at the actual deadline? I think that is a pretty good prospect in return for Dunn. Beane really gambled and gave up a lot this year. He'll trade-off and recoup some assets this winter for sure.

The one thing I can say is that I still can't fathom why Adam Dunn was not on the A's 2 days after the Lester trade. Ok it's not a perfect match but by all accounts you're downgrading your lineup by taking Cespedes out of the middle of it, if you're paying the kind of price you paid for Samardzija then why on Earth would you go cheap about adding in a replacement bat?

It doesn't seem like it would have made much of a difference, because I don't think getting Dunn an extra month makes up 7 or 8 games, but maybe it does make the WC game a home game, and that could have made a huge difference.

Do you think the Sox would have taken Sanburn at the actual deadline? I think that is a pretty good prospect in return for Dunn. Beane really gambled and gave up a lot this year. He'll trade-off and recoup some assets this winter for sure.

If the A's were taking on more money, I'd say its very likely. The A's held out as long as they could.

It doesn't seem like it would have made much of a difference, because I don't think getting Dunn an extra month makes up 7 or 8 games, but maybe it does make the WC game a home game, and that could have made a huge difference.

The other thing that happened to that team seemed to be a mental collapse in August, they all stopped hitting at once. Maybe Dunn isn't worth 7 to 8 games on his own, but maybe a big home run or just having a guy on base helps them win a game that otherwise they'd have lost and that helps drop the stress level team-wide.

Honestly looking at how much talent there is on the As roster compared to ours and to see the result it's more depressing to me than anything else on how far we have to go.

Honestly looking at how much talent there is on the As roster compared to ours and to see the result it's more depressing to me than anything else on how far we have to go.

 

Look at the Royals though. They have way less talent than Oakland IMO and look where they are.

Did anyone else enjoy seeing Billy Beane's trade deadline strategy go up in smoke last night, at the hands of the lowly Kansas City Royals? I'm talking about the Jon Lester trade, which Beane must have thought was his ticket to the NLDS should the Angels somehow pass his A's and he be forced into a one-game wild card game to get in!!

 

There he was, Jon Lester, out on the mound in the bottom of the 8th, having outdueled James Shields and the first couple guys out of the vaunted KC bullpen to a seemingly insurmountable lead of 7-3.

 

But Lester couldn't finish the 8th, and Oakland goes on to lose 9-8 in 12, blowing 1 run leads in both the 9th and 12th innings!

 

All while Adam Dunn, in his only postseason game in his career, sits on the bench!

 

With the Sox out of it, we have to take our pleasure somewhere!!!

 

Discuss.

 

I'm sorry, but this is stupid. And I'm no fan of Beane.

 

He put together a solid team on a non-existent budget.

 

His team blew TWO chances to close out the game. That's not on him. That's on the variability of bullpens and bad luck.

What is wrong with the Royals?

Look at the Royals though. They have way less talent than Oakland IMO and look where they are.

 

Do they though?

Do they though?

 

Yup, although I guess maybe I slightly underappreciate defense. It also matters where you rank Hosmer and Moustakas, given that they still haven't reached their "talent" potential.

 

Either way, looking at Kansas City's roster makes me think the Sox are not that far away. It helps when you find a Wade Davis/Cliff Pollitte with an unrepeatable season for the 8th inning.

I'm sorry, but this is stupid. And I'm no fan of Beane.

 

He put together a solid team on a non-existent budget.

His team blew TWO chances to close out the game. That's not on him. That's on the variability of bullpens and bad luck.

 

 

He did do this, but then he mortgaged the future and traded away offense for pitching. After that he watched his team flounder offensively and get into the wildcard instead of win the division and stay out of a one game playoff.

 

 

He did do this, but then he mortgaged the future and traded away offense for pitching. After that he watched his team flounder offensively and get into the wildcard instead of win the division and stay out of a one game playoff.

 

It was the exact opposite of the traditional Billy Beane philosophy.

 

Honestly, I'm not sure what kind of GM Beane is at this point.

It was the exact opposite of the traditional Billy Beane philosophy.

 

Honestly, I'm not sure what kind of GM Beane is at this point.

 

seems like a guy who is trying to save his job and win NOW.

Did anyone else enjoy seeing Billy Beane's trade deadline strategy go up in smoke last night, at the hands of the lowly Kansas City Royals? I'm talking about the Jon Lester trade, which Beane must have thought was his ticket to the NLDS should the Angels somehow pass his A's and he be forced into a one-game wild card game to get in!!

 

There he was, Jon Lester, out on the mound in the bottom of the 8th, having outdueled James Shields and the first couple guys out of the vaunted KC bullpen to a seemingly insurmountable lead of 7-3.

 

But Lester couldn't finish the 8th, and Oakland goes on to lose 9-8 in 12, blowing 1 run leads in both the 9th and 12th innings!

 

All while Adam Dunn, in his only postseason game in his career, sits on the bench!

 

With the Sox out of it, we have to take our pleasure somewhere!!!

 

Discuss.

To be frank, the writing seemed to be on the wall with Lester. He should have been pulled a few batters earlier. By the way, I continue to say I would really like Billy Butler.

Had Billy Beane not traded for Jon Lester, I think it's very possible Oakland doesn't even make the wild-card game.

How can you state that. It clearly appears A's were negatively impacted in clubhouse and Cespedes had more value then Beane believed.

To be frank, the writing seemed to be on the wall with Lester. He should have been pulled a few batters earlier. By the way, I continue to say I would really like Billy Butler.

 

He's a good buy-low candidate. Unfortunately, the guy's a double play machine and he was absolutely horrid for most of the year.

 

If he's a .370 wOBA guy like he was 2 years ago, he's a good DH. If he's a .350 wOBA guy like he was last year, that's acceptable at the DH position. If he hits like he did this year, he's worthless.

Edited October 1, 201411 yr by chw42

He's a good buy-low candidate. Unfortunately, the guy's a double play machine and he was absolutely horrid for most of the year.

Dude still hit for a good average and had a solid OBP. He was not horrid. Worse then previous years, sure, but horrid, absolutely not.

Dude still hit for a good average and had a solid OBP. He was not horrid. Worse then previous years, sure, but horrid, absolutely not.

 

.271/.323/.379 is not horrid out of your DH? If it wasn't for a semi-decent second half, he would have had a sub-.700 OPS.

 

I'd rather have Adam Dunn if that's the Billy Butler of the future.