Oakland Athletics off to one of the worst starts in franchise history

The Oakland Athletics are now 1-6 to start the year, posting a -29 run differential along the way. The team has committed 13 errors and has been shut out twice in seven games.

During Monday's game against the Red Sox, the team committed 5 errors in the first three innings of play. Their 13 total errors are six more than the next closest team and it's the highest number of errors through 7 games in franchise history.

They likely won't get there but the team is currently on pace for 300 errors this season, which would be the highest figure in nearly 100 years. The last team to post 200 errors in a season was the 1963 Mets, who had 208. Needless to say, the defense has been exceptionally poor through the season's first week.

Unfortunately, neither the offense nor the pitching staff has shown up consistently

Ross Stripling had a solid outing yesterday and Paul Blackburn had a good start on Tuesday, but the team still has a combined 5.12 ERA, good for 23rd in the league.

The one thing the pitching staff has done well is limit hard contact. Through 7 games, they've allowed a league best 2 home runs. That number will certainly regress, as will their high strand rate.

The offense is chugging along, providing 2.14 runs per game, good for 29th in the league. Esteury Ruiz was demoted because he allegedly couldn't get on base enough. Despite that, the team currently has a .273 OBP, good for 27th in the league.

They're tied for 29th in home runs, 28th in RBI, 26th in strikeouts. And it's made worse by the fact that there's little on the way in the minors to make the team better in the immediate future.

Tyler Soderstrom hit so poorly during spring training that he lost his job before the season started. 2023 first round draft pick Jacob Wilson is starting the year at Double-A but has limited professional experience.

FanGraphs has the A's ranked as the 28th best farm system in the league. There are some interesting players coming in Max Schuemann, Denzel Clarke, and Luis Morales but the top-end talent just isn't there.

It's especially disheartening given the fact that the A's sold off their entire major league roster just a few years ago, including very good players in Matt Chapman, Sean Murphy, Chris Bassitt, and Frankie Montas, among others.

The A's are off today, so fans won't have to suffer through another dismal outing. Regardless of how the relocation situation plays out, this is shaping up to be another rough year to be an A's fan.