Being an A’s fan is great fun, but it’s not without its difficulties. Ever since Walter Haas sold the team, we’ve had to suffer through the crying and moaning from two subsequent parsimonious ownership groups. The most direct result from that penny-pinching is the fact that Oakland sees more than its fair share of roster turnover every year. But think about this for a moment: on Opening Night we will most likely have a different player at every single position on the diamond outside of pitcher. Such a monumental overhaul wouldn’t normally be associated with a team on a three-year playoff run, but that’s the A’s for you.
When Sonny Gray takes the mound for the first game of the season, he will see eight new faces surrounding him on the field. Eight! Everybody will be different from Opening Night 2014, or at least at a different position – everybody! I don’t know – maybe that’s a good thing since Oakland has dropped an astounding 10 straight Opening Day games, an ongoing Major League record. But it’s still weird to think that not one solitary player will be manning his position in consecutive years at the Coliseum. So what happened? Here’s last year’s Opening Night line-up and why that player will not be there.
1. Coco Crisp, CF
Now a left fielder.
2. Josh Donaldson, 3B
Traded to Toronto.
3. Jed Lowrie, SS
Signed with Houston.
4. Brandon Moss, DH
Traded to Cleveland.
5. Yoenis Cespedes, LF
Traded to Boston, now with Detroit.
6. John Jaso, C
Traded to Tampa Bay.
7. Josh Reddick, RF
Presently hurt, long-shot to make Opening Day roster.
8. Daric Barton, 1B
Signed with Toronto.
9. Eric Sogard, 2B
No way he beats out Ben Zobrist at this position.
The changes are not necessarily a bad thing. Look at it this way: will anyone miss Jed Lowrie’s poor defense and incessant whining? Do you pine to watch Daric Barton get yet another backwards K? I didn’t think so. Sometimes consistency just for consistency’s sake is a terrible tactic. We all could see after one season that Dennis Allen was a horrendous leader, yet the Raiders stuck with him for “consistency.” They continued to consistently suck because of it.
But then again, if you have great players, consistency can be the winning gambit. We all know who the Giants’ catcher is, who their shortstop is, who their right fielder is, etc. Locking up good, young players and paying real cash for free agents can win you three rings in five years. But that’s not how the A’s work. They start from scratch almost every year from their self-imposed “necessity” to cut corners. The thing is, I like the A’s roster and I believe this season will be an exciting one. Just don’t buy a jersey with a name on the back, because odds are that player won’t be here at this time next year. That’s just how Billy Beane rolls. In fact, the guy who got the loss in last year’s opener didn’t even last the entire season. Did anybody buy a Jim Johnson jersey?
