Oakland Athletics Will Finish Last In the AL West

Billy Beane will trade core players right before the Oakland Athletics start winning again

What is the definition of insanity? It means, “To keep doing the same thing and expect different results”. Billy Beane has had the same philosophy for years, which always leads to failure. In Billy’s eyes, once the team starts winning, it is a perfect time to tinker with the roster. When players reach their top value, Beane will send them packing for no-name players. Sometimes these no-name players will pan out, but that is not always the case. This has been happening for years and was even more evident this past offseason after trading Josh Donaldson.

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Billy Beane doesn’t want to win. Explain how you trade a franchise guy like Donaldson and expect to win. He calls it “retooling” but all it does is put the A’s back. His ego is so big that he loves to get all the praise when things go well but will put blame on others or blame certain situations when it all fall apart. Billy will probably fire Bob Melvin at the end of the year, placing all the blame on Bob, but it is obvious who’s fault this really is. He will never admit his mistakes. This is how Billy Beane operates since he believe this how the A’s will stay in contention every year. Beane has stated that, “I’m not trading Vogt”, but no one can really take his word anymore. Honestly, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he traded half the team this upcoming trade deadline including Stephen Vogt. Players will always be looking over their shoulder wondering if they are going to be traded, which doesn’t help the psyche of a team. Let’s go Billy Boy, stop the insanity!

The A’s cannot win at home

From past seasons, the Oakland Athletics have always been one of the most dominating teams when playing at home. This year the A’s have been one of the worst home teams in the league with an 18-26 record through 44 home games. They have faired much better away and currently hover around the .500 mark on the road. It is a real head scratcher as to why they keep losing at home when the O.co Coliseum offers a lot of advantages to the A’s.

The win-lose at home is a surprising stat, but Oakland just can not get any momentum or feed off the home crowd energy this season. A lot of it has to do with not getting the big hits at home especially when trailing in the bottom of the 9th. Most of the time this season, the A’s have gone quietly in the 9th when in past years the A’s seemed to always get walk off hits, ending with a pie to the face. The A’s have only one walk off hit this year and do not have that clutch player in the bottom of the 9th like in previous seasons.

Oakland’s inability to win back-to-back consecutive games

Countless times this season, we have seen the A’s win a big game thinking that this one win will build some momentum that will lead to them getting back on track. But, the A’s end up losing the next game in disappointing fashion, putting them right back where they started. The A’s won their first back-to-back games early in the season against Houston on April 13th-14th. After these consecutive wins, the A’s did not win back-to-back games until May 23rd-25th, which was a season high at the time with 3 wins in a row. It took the A’s over a month to win just two consecutive games in a row! Let that settle in for a moment.

For a team whose own players state “We are better than our record indicates”, it seems as though this frustration is getting the better of them. But, in reality, the A’s are not a very good team. The A’s have been playing a lot better lately, but any time they win, they have been unable to sustain a hot streak, which will keep them at the bottom of the AL West.

Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics celebrate throw-back days with the return of Charlie O the mule during opening ceremonies before their MLB baseball game with the Kansas City Royals at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Lance Iversen-USA TODAY Sports

Unable to win 0ne-run games

A lot of the one-run loses are a combination of many factors. Many will say it’s a case of bad luck. Others will say its the spotty play and the inconsistency. The truth is the A’s are just not a very good baseball team this year. Most of the time this season, the bullpen has let the team down and has been unable to hold a lead. When the A’s do get good pitching from the starters and the bullpen, the A’s batters go cold and quiet with no clutch hits to bring runners in. The Athletics have been baseballs’ worst team in this situation. Look for the loses to continue during one-run games since they have no answer to this problem.

Houston Astros will stay atop the AL West

The Astros will win the AL West this year. The A’s still have to play the Astros ten more times before this season is over. The Astros are the surprise team in baseball this season and are playing like the 2012 Oakland Athletics when they snuck up on everyone and had that underdog mentality. The Astros are a good baseball team now but will only get better at the trade deadline. Look for them to make trades to bolster their starting rotation and become a more complete team. This is bad news for the A’s who are just looking to get their record back to .500. The Astros are the real deal and will take care of business against the A’s.

Next: Jesse Chavez Is Not Cut Out To Be A Starter For Oakland Athletics