Billy Beane is a genius. There are no qualms about it. The man has mastered the art of “Moneyball”, or Sabermetrics. Mr. Beane has made himself a very valuable executive in the world of Major League Baseball for over 17 years, ever since taking over for Sandy Alderson in October 1997 as the General Manager of the Oakland Athletics. However, as a true fan of everything Billy Beane has done over his long and illustrious executive career in baseball, I can and go make a completely unbiased and fair statement regarding what has transpired with the A’s over the past 6 months:
BILLY BEANE IS BURNED OUT AND NEEDS A BREAK FROM BEING A GENERAL MANAGER.
Now, I totally understand that Mr. Beane has made the playoffs for 3 straight seasons. I understand that Billy has consistently changed up his roster to fit his methods behind the Sabermetrics. Hell, I even understand the A’s have won no less than 74 games under Beane’s regime. But to see some of the maneuvers made over the past 6 months by the Oakland GM, it shows that there’s something going other than the simple yet intricate Sabermetrics strategy.
BILLY BEANE IS BURNED OUT AND NEEDS A BREAK FROM BEING A GENERAL MANAGER.
Now, I totally understand that Mr. Beane has made the playoffs for 3 straight seasons. I understand that Billy has consistently changed up his roster to fit his methods behind the Sabermetrics. Hell, I even understand the A’s have won no less than 74 games under Beane’s regime. But to see some of the maneuvers made over the past 6 months by the Oakland GM, it shows that there’s something going other than the simple yet intricate Sabermetrics strategy.
Credit: BaseballNewsSource.com
In the summer of 2014, in the midst of the A’s incredible first half of baseball, Billy Beane seemingly decided (at least to a die-hard baseball fan like myself) to go ALL IN. He went and picked up BOTH Jason Hammel and Jeff Samardzija on the 4th of July from the Cubs. Not only that, he went out and traded for Jon Lester from the 2013 World Series champion Red Sox, who has been very dominating during his postseason career. It was a major coup, and very out of character, for a man that seemingly never hinged away from his steady Moneyball strategy.
Yet, the deal that was made for Lester sent All-Star outfielder Yoenis Cespedes to the Red Sox. The weird part of this trade, however, was that Cespedes had ONE YEAR LEFT ON HIS 4 YEAR, $36 MILLION CONTRACT AFTER 2014!!! Having 3 months of a postseason clutch pitcher and sending away for a star with 1 and a half years left on his contract makes ZERO sense long term. I understand that you take some money off the books with Boston paying the final terms of the deal, but I truly look it as a rare MISCUE from the Maestro behind Moneyball. Cespedes was a true cog in the Athletics machine as they won the AL West back-to-back in 2012 and 2013 and were well on their way to doing it again.
Once that trade happened, the A’s went 22-33 the rest of the way. You could see through the play of Oakland that without Cespedes, the hitting seemed off and the lineup never recovered once he went 3000 miles away to the struggling crew in Boston. Hell, it took to the last day of the season with an Oakland W to advance to the Wild Card game against the Kansas City Royals. And ultimately, despite Lester’s grit and attempt to get a win through 7.1 innings of tough baseball against a never-say-die Royals team, Oakland found themselves OUT of postseason contention in a 9-8, 12 inning thriller. Beane’s attempt at hotshotting a chance at the 2014 World Series had flopped.
Then, the offseason started to take form once the Winter Meetings started earlier in the month. Jon Lester left, as was expected, and signed a 6 year, $155 million deal with the Cubs. Jason Hammel also took his talents out of Oakland after three months and signed BACK with the Cubs. Beane traded away Samardzija to the Chicago White Sox for four players. Billy Butler, the Royals’ designated hitter coming off one of his most lackluster years ever, was signed to a 3 year, $30 million contract, stunning more than a fare share of fans. 1st baseman Brandon Moss was dealt to the Cleveland Indians on December 8. But in my humble opinion, the weirdest move from Beane was the trading of All-Star 3rd baseman Josh Donaldson to the Toronto Blue Jays for Brett Lawrie and 3 prospects.
According to a column written by John Shea of the SF Gate, and was ultimately expanded upon by Scott Miller of Bleacher Report, there was a bit of dissension with Donaldson and Beane regarding a few days off before the All-Star break. Both men got into a verbal disagreement and Donaldson was quoted as calling Beane “Billy Boy”. On top of it, back in March, Donaldson signed a $500,000 contract in March 2014, which made him eligible for arbitration. These two examples most likely placed Donaldson on the trading block and led him to be dealt as soon as possible.
Now, as a fan of Billy Beane, I truly believe that, despite some of the weird transactions he has made over the years, they’ve somehow worked out to their highest potential. However, I truly question the trade of Josh Donaldson. This man, with a strong arm at 3rd and combined with potential at the plate (career in 405 games with Oakland: .268 batting average with 400 hits, 63 homeruns and 228 RBIs), had the ultimate potential of being more of a long term player with Oakland. Instead, Donaldson is a prime example of the frequent roster moves made by Beane. For a team that somehow survived the tremendous slump of August and September, I’m not sure on how trading a star like Donaldson will better the team in 2015 without it seeming as if they are rebuilding.
Yet, the deal that was made for Lester sent All-Star outfielder Yoenis Cespedes to the Red Sox. The weird part of this trade, however, was that Cespedes had ONE YEAR LEFT ON HIS 4 YEAR, $36 MILLION CONTRACT AFTER 2014!!! Having 3 months of a postseason clutch pitcher and sending away for a star with 1 and a half years left on his contract makes ZERO sense long term. I understand that you take some money off the books with Boston paying the final terms of the deal, but I truly look it as a rare MISCUE from the Maestro behind Moneyball. Cespedes was a true cog in the Athletics machine as they won the AL West back-to-back in 2012 and 2013 and were well on their way to doing it again.
Once that trade happened, the A’s went 22-33 the rest of the way. You could see through the play of Oakland that without Cespedes, the hitting seemed off and the lineup never recovered once he went 3000 miles away to the struggling crew in Boston. Hell, it took to the last day of the season with an Oakland W to advance to the Wild Card game against the Kansas City Royals. And ultimately, despite Lester’s grit and attempt to get a win through 7.1 innings of tough baseball against a never-say-die Royals team, Oakland found themselves OUT of postseason contention in a 9-8, 12 inning thriller. Beane’s attempt at hotshotting a chance at the 2014 World Series had flopped.
Then, the offseason started to take form once the Winter Meetings started earlier in the month. Jon Lester left, as was expected, and signed a 6 year, $155 million deal with the Cubs. Jason Hammel also took his talents out of Oakland after three months and signed BACK with the Cubs. Beane traded away Samardzija to the Chicago White Sox for four players. Billy Butler, the Royals’ designated hitter coming off one of his most lackluster years ever, was signed to a 3 year, $30 million contract, stunning more than a fare share of fans. 1st baseman Brandon Moss was dealt to the Cleveland Indians on December 8. But in my humble opinion, the weirdest move from Beane was the trading of All-Star 3rd baseman Josh Donaldson to the Toronto Blue Jays for Brett Lawrie and 3 prospects.
According to a column written by John Shea of the SF Gate, and was ultimately expanded upon by Scott Miller of Bleacher Report, there was a bit of dissension with Donaldson and Beane regarding a few days off before the All-Star break. Both men got into a verbal disagreement and Donaldson was quoted as calling Beane “Billy Boy”. On top of it, back in March, Donaldson signed a $500,000 contract in March 2014, which made him eligible for arbitration. These two examples most likely placed Donaldson on the trading block and led him to be dealt as soon as possible.
Now, as a fan of Billy Beane, I truly believe that, despite some of the weird transactions he has made over the years, they’ve somehow worked out to their highest potential. However, I truly question the trade of Josh Donaldson. This man, with a strong arm at 3rd and combined with potential at the plate (career in 405 games with Oakland: .268 batting average with 400 hits, 63 homeruns and 228 RBIs), had the ultimate potential of being more of a long term player with Oakland. Instead, Donaldson is a prime example of the frequent roster moves made by Beane. For a team that somehow survived the tremendous slump of August and September, I’m not sure on how trading a star like Donaldson will better the team in 2015 without it seeming as if they are rebuilding.
CREDIT: CBSSports.com
For a fan base, it has to be utterly frustrating for the endless cycle of players coming in-and-out with rapid succession. Sometimes, it causes fans to not get emotionally invested in the A’s players for the long term. Although the team has been successful under Beane’s Sabermetrics regime, 2014 was the first season that drew over 2 million fans (2,003,628 to be exact) to the Oakland Coliseum since 2005. They still were 10th out of 15th regarding attendance in the American League. It’s very tough knowing that once the young, promising talent hit or come close to 30 years old, they will be off the team and sent elsewhere; which is the main concept of Beane’s Sabermetrics, combined with the statistical algorithms. Honestly, how could you build box office and true fandom if you are consistently shipping ballplayers on and off the roster and never keeping star quality talent on the ballclub for an extended time period, so fans of the team could solidly believe in the players on the team and ultimately drive fans to the ballpark?
Lastly, shipping quality talent out, especially players that helped you make the playoffs for 3 straight years with two division championships and a wildcard berth, forces people to think. There are times in life, no matter how successful you become in a particular role, where burn out transpires. Billy Beane, for 17 years, has proven that he has an extremely successful track record as an executive. He might have never led Oakland to the World Series during his run as GM, but he has created clubs that have consistently made the playoffs. Yet, it seems that over the past 6 months, Beane has made rapid changes at will and revamped the entire Oakland roster without spending much money (save the surprising Billy Butler signing). This tweet by wrestling promoter and huge baseball fan Gabe Sapolsky says it best:
Lastly, shipping quality talent out, especially players that helped you make the playoffs for 3 straight years with two division championships and a wildcard berth, forces people to think. There are times in life, no matter how successful you become in a particular role, where burn out transpires. Billy Beane, for 17 years, has proven that he has an extremely successful track record as an executive. He might have never led Oakland to the World Series during his run as GM, but he has created clubs that have consistently made the playoffs. Yet, it seems that over the past 6 months, Beane has made rapid changes at will and revamped the entire Oakland roster without spending much money (save the surprising Billy Butler signing). This tweet by wrestling promoter and huge baseball fan Gabe Sapolsky says it best:
I believe Billy Beane has to mentally be in the same state I was in booking ROH in 2008. Someone intervene and give him a sabbatical
— Gabe Sapolsky (@BookItGabe) November 29, 2014 I obviously know baseball and pro wrestling go together like peanut butter and coffee grounds (save random Pete Rose appearances, Shane McMahon wrestling in baseball jerseys, and Dasher Hatfield from Chikara), but this point rings 100% true. Even the most creative and talented minds in their fields need a break for a time. Billy Beane personifies the true epitome of “burn out” when it comes to his current and extremely recent time with the A’s. Just by the simple responses made by the mainstream baseball audience show they are mind-boggling and too over-the-top, even by Beane’s standards.
Even though Joel Sherman from the New York Post does not want us to doubt what Beane is doing, I sadly have some legitimate doubt creeping into the inner sanctum of my mind. I can say through looking at the transactions made, the ballpark attendance over the years, and the constant reshuffling of the roster almost yearly due to the Sabermetrics method, Billy Beane needs a break. He needs to rejuvenate his spirit. 17 years is an extremely long time in one position, despite his success. Burn out might just be a major understatement.
I truly hope that Billy Beane doesn’t fall on his face with these moves. I hope his legacy doesn’t take a major hit, because if Oakland doesn’t succeed in 2015, Mr. Beane might have to take a long look in the mirror and realize a break might be possible. In fact, it might be a permanent one from the Oakland front office. But, if anyone can prove people wrong with his decisions, it might just be Billy Beane. 2015 will be an interesting year for the Oakland Athletics.
Jon Harder
jon@thejonharder.com
Even though Joel Sherman from the New York Post does not want us to doubt what Beane is doing, I sadly have some legitimate doubt creeping into the inner sanctum of my mind. I can say through looking at the transactions made, the ballpark attendance over the years, and the constant reshuffling of the roster almost yearly due to the Sabermetrics method, Billy Beane needs a break. He needs to rejuvenate his spirit. 17 years is an extremely long time in one position, despite his success. Burn out might just be a major understatement.
I truly hope that Billy Beane doesn’t fall on his face with these moves. I hope his legacy doesn’t take a major hit, because if Oakland doesn’t succeed in 2015, Mr. Beane might have to take a long look in the mirror and realize a break might be possible. In fact, it might be a permanent one from the Oakland front office. But, if anyone can prove people wrong with his decisions, it might just be Billy Beane. 2015 will be an interesting year for the Oakland Athletics.
Jon Harder
jon@thejonharder.com
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