MidValleySports.Com

By Tim Byrnes

I started sports writing by covering the NFL and I have never considered the medium to be work. While I recognize I am but a visitor in the realm of written text, and it is in fact quite a test to put thought to paper, writing is something I enjoy so it could never be a job to me.

I have enjoyed covering football, and am currently in the second season covering the Athletics exclusively. The Seattle Series was so difficult to watch that it gave me flashbacks of the 20-game losing streak of last season, and given the fact that the season is around 1/3 completed, I thought I would come at this column from a different angle.

The Athletics were just swept by the Mariners, have lost 4-of the last-5 series, and are looking at the New York Yankees on Friday Night. The team is in trouble!!! So what is going wrong? 

While the team sits eighth in baseball in batting average, the next clutch at-bat this season will be among the first. Pitching is as bad as pundits thought it might be, and Manager Mark Kotsay hasn’t altered his managerial-style that garnered him a 255-393 record coming into this season.

The Franchise spent serious money on the bats, securing OF Lawrence Butler, LF Tyler Soderstrom, DH Brent Rooker, and SS Jacob Wilson with long-term contracts over the last two seasons.

How well have the Athletics payroll decisions panned out so far this year? The return isn’t what they had hoped for, with all of them having problems at the plate. 

Butler is the contract with the most current regret, and it is clear why. After securing a 7yr-$67m contract, Butler is hitting a meager (.163) and Soderstrom isn’t faring much better. 

After a huge 7yr-$86m contract, Sodie is batting an anemic (.209), and Rooker’s (.189) isn’t justifying his $60m through 2030.

Jacob Wilson started slow but was back up to (.292) when he was injured and isn’t even playing at this point.

The team grabbed RHP Luis Severino to be the ace of the squad two seasons ago, and added Aaron Civale to the rotation this off-season. Severino is averaging over $22m per season and currently sports a (2-5, 4.23 ERA), to far under-perform the ace-role given to him, and it brings us to Civale.

Civale opened this series with a fine (5-1, 2.70) record, but was shelled for nine hits, including three first-pitch home runs, gave up seven earned runs, and lost 9-2. While Civale may have good starts here and there, he was an overachiever to begin the year, and he is likely to struggle more than not moving forward.

The A’s promoted top-pitching prospect Gage Jump from AAA Las Vegas and his initiation to MLB was rough. Gage lasted 5.0 innings but was shelled for nine hits, and four earned runs, and lost his first game in the big leagues.

This brings me to Kotsay and some of the decisions he makes. He continues to ignore struggling pitchers, choosing to let them “work it out”, and both Civale and Gage suffered for it early in their starts.

Civale had a walk and six hits in the 3rd-inning of the opener, before anyone decided to go talk to him, and even had a stretch of (double-home run-double-home run) on just 5-pitches but Kotsay just watched.

Jump learned quickly that nobody is coming with “words of wisdom”, a pep-talk, breather, or reset to help him settle down. He began the 2nd-inning of his pro career (single, single, RBI-double, RBI-sac fly, single, walk, RBI-sac fly) while Kotsay sat unenthused.

Kotsay’s lack of intensity or sense of urgency permeates this team and it shows in its lack of energy at every level. Changes must happen because the vibe of the team begins with leadership and the Athletics are just going through the motions right now.

The team faces the Yankees, the Cubbies, and the Astros over the next ten days, and all three facets of A’s baseball better adjust or it’s going to be a long June.

NYY @ Athletics: Friday 5/29 Sutter Health Park, West Sacramento