Last calls ...
OAKLAND, Oct. 3, 2009 -- Tomorrow's going to be a busy day, so this will be my final blog of the regular season. Nothing but wind sprints around The Coli ...
... Kurt Suzuki is the team's MVP, and nobody is a close second -- no matter what Bob "Waffle House" Geren says.
... Geren's next definitive statement that doesn't involve Andrew Bailey's Rookie of the Year candidacy will be his first. That has to change. It's OK to say a guy stunk after he gives up five runs in 4 1/3 innings, Bob. If you don't, you lose credibility left and right.
... Let's practice, Bob. Say it with me: Rajai Davis will start in center field and lead off next year.
... Wouldn't it be cool to see Nomar Garciaparra play shortstop one last time Sunday? He's going to start, but Geren won't say where. Nomar takes grounders at shortstop every day. He's probably going to retire. His last appearance in a big league uniform should be at the position he manned as one of the best raw hitters of his generation.
... A's general manager Billy Beane never came right out and said it, but while talking with him for my end-of-the-year package, I got the impression that he's leaning toward bringing back Jack Cust. That wouldn't jibe with his assertion that the team needs to "fully commit" to their younger players, but is there anyone within the organization that you can be virtually certain will give you 25 bombs at DH?
... One final shout-out to my girls in the left-field bleachers, one of whom had a spirited conversation with Gio Gonzalez from behind the A's dugout during batting practice today. That's the essence of fandom; establishing a relationship with your team's players and sticking with them to the bitter end.
... Forgot to mention Jeff Niemann of the Rays in the AL Rookie of the Year breakdown yesterday. Dude's had a great season and deserves serious consideration.
... Quick: Who has more upside? Gio or Vin Mazzaro? Slowly but surely, that tide shifted toward the former as the season wore on.
... If the A's trade Michael Wuertz this offseason, as one of my colleagues recently suggested was a possibility, they'd better get a serious stud in return. I'd probably make Wuertz my runner-up to Suzuki as the team MVP.
... A few other team awards, Big Urb style: Rajai Davis, most exciting player; Ryan Sweeney, defensive player of the year; Bailey, ROY; Adam Kennedy, best in-season addition; Davis, most inspirational; Mark Ellis, best all-around dude; Bobby Crosby, best stalker (she sits right under the press box and never stops screaming, "Bobby! You're hot!!); Dallas Braden, best quote (by a mile); Brett Tomko, biggest surprise; Matt Holliday, biggest disappointment; Jason Giambi, least memorable homecoming in the history of the universe.
That's all for now, folks. Peace, a prosperous offseason, and your family's health to all ...
--Mychael Urban
What do you know! You finally stopped beating around the bush and described Geren as well as good be. Business or baseball, a weak leader is a danger. If I was a manger of the A's I would not insult the player or players, but I would say " You know I am really dissapointed in Jack Cust. half is at bats are walks and strikeouts. I would like to see more production from a cleanup hitter" Is that comment going to make Cust strikout less, probably not. But it is a true feeling! And I would say this to the press! Geren's problem: He has got a job as long Billy Boy is there. So he keeps his mouth shut, because no one else would hire me as manager, and maybe I could keep my job as long as my good friend(I was his best man at the wedding! stays on.
Please continue your seige on the entire leadership of the A's as long as there is substance to your comments.
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If my DH is batting .235 with only 25 taters out of the cleanup spot, I've got a bad DH, a weakness in the middle of the lineup, and no reliable power. I'd rather have a kid with potential in that spot. If I'm batting him eighth, so be it. But jacK cust does nothing so consistently as waste a roster spot. He's a bum. Move him out. Let's see more of Mount Everidge. Let's see if Brett Wallace can handle the bat at the big league level while he's still learning how to play third base. Let's see Landon Powell hit everyday. Let's get Travis Buck in the lineup and get him some regular at-bats, so that he doesn't cost us when (not if, when) he has to take some starts in the outfield. The definition of insanity is to do the same thing twice and expect a different result. Bringing back jacK cust and expecting him to somehow turn into the kind of hitter that he's not, the kind of hitter the A's need? Of course, we've seen Bobo the Clown come back and hoped he'd turn into the kind of manager the A's need, and that hasn't happened, either. So we know King Beane's style.
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