Will The Hostility End In The Dugout?

Apparently, the A’s are making big news, but not for the reasons that a fan would expect.  It is no secret that tensions are riding high in the dugout and on the mound between manager Bob Geren and relief pitcher Brian Fuentes. Players were taken aback when Fuentes decided to sound off on Geren that his management style was less to be desired.  These comments had sports talk radio and news outlets buzzing and sticking their two sense in on the matter.

It definitely got the attention of catcher Kurt Suzuki he commented that. “New York and Boston, they get it every day.  Little stuff for them is big stuff for us.”  Meaning, this is not the kind of drama that occurs in Oakland.

In fact, this was high drama for the A’s when Fuentes complained how Geren was taking advantage of him, not communicating with him and did not understand in Fuentes”s words, “why Geren continued to summon him in late innings with the score tied.”

These comments by Fuentes apparently opened a 4 year can of worms about Geren’s managerial style.  However, on the flip side of this story, there were those who supported Geren and had no problem putting Fuentes in his place.  Former A’s Dennis Eckersley practically ripped Fuentes apart when he went to the airwaves and told Bay Area Sports Radio 95.7 the following;

“Weak. If you fail, you fail. You don’t throw the manager under the bus. ”You can’t say  what he said. Period … He’s been around the big leagues too long to act like that … He makes a ton of money, and he’s not the greatest closer in the universe. So zip it … It makes him look bad. It just does. At the same time, it doesn’t show a lot of respect for the manager … If I’m the manager, he’s in my office. If that was La Russa, are you kidding me? He’d chop my head off. I would make a formal apology … Geren’s got to do something.”

Then there are those who back Fuentes up like Colorado Rockies Relief Pitcher Huston Street. Street agrees with Fuentes.  He sent a text to the San Francisco Chronicle‘s A’s beat reporter saying, “Bob was never good at communication, and I don’t want to speak for anybody else, but it was a sentiment reflected in many conversations during the two years I spent in Oakland, and even recently when talking to guys after I left.”

Whatever,  happens or has happened since this incident, one thing is for certain the A’s organization has no intentions of getting rid of Bob Geren.  His relationship with Billy Beane is rock solid.  While Fuentes future will remain uncertain because he is a player and players get traded and sent to other team or back to the minors.  Do I think Fuentes is in jeopardy of being booted off the team?  No, it is not likely.  It is possible though that this drama may continue, or perhaps this will make the team stronger.

After this debacle, the A’s were able to play good baseball against the Angels and then went on to sweep the Orioles in Oakland, which puts them within a game of first place.

Well, it put them within a game of first place.  The Yankees are giving them a run for their money by beating the A’s in both Monday’s game and today’s game 10-3.  No drama here!