Oakland Athletics’ Forgettable 2015 Season Comes to an End
The Oakland Athletics’ long season finally came to an end on Sunday afternoon, when the Mariners defeated the A’s in a quiet 3-2 game in Seattle.
It was a far cry from the way the season began. In the first game of the year, Sonny Gray recorded a one-hit victory over the Rangers, as Ben Zobrist and Stephen Vogt helped out with home runs on the way to an 8-0 win. After a stellar Spring Training, it seemed like the A’s were headed towards another postseason run, while Texas could look forward to a disappointing year.
And yet, on October 4th, the A’s stumbled their way to the finish line as the Rangers celebrated clinching the AL West Division Title. The Rangers are without ace Yu Darvish, and they’ve had plenty of other injury issues along the way. So what happened to Oakland?
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The easiest explanation is that the team suffered too many hits in the off-season to maintain their status as one of the top teams in the league. The departure of Jon Lester and Jed Lowrie, as well as the trades of Josh Donaldson, Jeff Samardzija, Brandon Moss and Derek Norris, left the roster short on veterans.
Add to that the midseason trades of Scott Kazmir and Zobrist after a terrible first half, and the A’s stood no chance. They finished with the worst record in baseball – an embarrassing follow-up to the way last year ended, when Oakland was eliminated by Kansas City’s comeback, extra-innings win in the Wild Card Game.
Now that the books are closed on 2015, it’s time to look towards next season. With so many players scheduled to come back from injuries next season, and so many prospects on the verge of having an impact in the near future, there’s only one thing left to say:
“Wait ’til Next Year.”
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Over the next few months, we’ll take a look the future of the team and the outlook for 2016, as well as analyze what worked and what didn’t in 2015. The off-season may be just beginning, but we here at Swingin’ A’s will be around all winter long to provide not just breaking news, but in-depth discussion of the Oakland Athletics. Be sure to check back often for your daily baseball fix!