As I lay in bed unable to sleep, I listened to the audio clip of Brandon Moss talking about the recent Josh Donaldson trade. I’m still in shock myself about the trade. The reaction to the news is giving me flashbacks to four months ago, when we traded Yoenis Cespedes to Boston in exchange for Jon Lester and Jonny Gomes.
I’m so glad that they brought up the infamous topic during the interview with Brandon Moss: was Cespedes the reason the A’s struggled. I’ve been saying no for months. The Oakland Athletics were a great team most of the year, but you could tell guys were banged up. More so than the fans knew about. The trade was a great move for the team, and would have worked perfectly had everybody stayed healthy. Unfortunately, that did not happen. You can’t blame Lester or Cespedes for that one. Especially since Cespedes, himself, was one violent swing away from a trip to the DL. I love Cespedes, I was so excited that when I went to Kansas City to see the Royals, I cheered for the Red Sox just because I wanted him to do well.
Let’s go back to the health. It’s hard to win games when the players on the team are functioning at less than 100%. Yes, they are professionals and need to play through it. However, you can only play through the pain so much before it starts to show. Brandon Moss is a prime example. It’s really hard to bat and run when you have a messed up hip. Moss spent his off-season having hip surgery on his right hip, which for a left-handed hitter is the lead leg. Depending on the pain level, that could have a major impact on your batting, and running. You could see it on his face that something was wrong. Craig Gentry seems more injury prone that myself. When Kitten Face is healthy, he’s a forced to be reckoned with. He has the speed in the outfield to get to any and every ball hit out there. That fielding speed is even better on the base paths. He could turn a single into a double, steal bases, and score from second on a single. Sadly, he banged up his knee, hurt his finger bunting, and the final blow was a concussion to end his season. I think if he and Sam Fuld are both healthy, we have a solid outfield and on base threat.
With the Winter Meetings happening in sunny San Diego, it will be interesting to see what moves are made Billy Beane to bolster the A’s. Brandon Moss and Jeff Samardzija have been rumored to be on the trading block, with much chatter about Moss going to the Indians in the past week. I would be sad to see Moss go, but he has been playing far better than most teams would have ever thought he would have just a few years ago, Beane has a chance to pick up several players to provide much-needed depth.
Whatever happens in the next week, and remaining off-season, I can handle. I’m just hoping to play well next season, and for the guys to stay healthy. If they can stay healthy, I think we have a shot at the division.
Out of Left Field 