Billy Beane needs to take a play out of the Colorado Rockies playbook. The Rockies were playing uninspired and painfully poor baseball under manager Clint Hurdle. So, what did the Rockies management do?
The Rockies did not subscribe to Beane's theory that firing a manager during the season is a sign of weakness for a team. Instead the Rockies fired Hurdle and offered him a job in the organization, which he turned down and is now an announcer for MLB TV.
As for the firing it jump started the Rockies. At one point the Rockies won 17 out of 18 games and are now six games over .500 with a record of 46-40. Yet, under Hurdle the Rockies went 18-28. They were ten games below .500 under Hurdle.
Since, Jim Tracy has taken over for the Rockies he has a record of 28-12. Meaning 16 games over .500 under the direction of Tracy.
The A's on the other hand keep floundering. Even after there's glimpses of hope. As mentioned in a previous article the A's had shutout the Boston Red Sox on a gem thrown by Brett Anders. That was a time for the A's to build momentum and at least make it so they were at least closer to .500, something that can be considered positive for such a young team.
Instead the A's have gone backwards. They've lost three straight games. It is obvious that Beane is not paying attention to the A's otherwise he would have fired his longtime friend awhile ago. For a young team the way the A's play is absolutely embarrassing to watch.
There's absolutely no effort from the veterans. I'm tired of watching Matt Holliday job after balls hit into the corner when if he actually ran he would be able to hold most of those hits to singles instead of allowing a hitter to easily get in to second.
Even worse though is the play of Jason Giambi. He should be released by the all-star break he's not even batting .200 and furthermore there's really no place for him in the lineup with the acquisition of Scott Hairston.
Giambi isn't good enough defensively to play first and Cust is the designated hitter and at least is hitting over .200 and has provided power to the A's lineup again and leading the team in homeruns with 14 and tied for rbis with 43.
A's fans deserve a lot better effort from this team. Like the Rockies thinking that a change of management wold do wonder for the ballclub the same can be said for the A's.
Geren hasn't shown that he has the abilities to be a manager and it is proven almost every night, the lack of enthusiasm of the team, the lack of heart the team shows, tThe unbeliveably bad defense and offense.
The only A's coach that even remotely deserves to stay is Curt Young who has done an excellent job with the young rotation. Unfortunately Geren has done absolutely nothing for the A's and it's time for him to go bye bye.
Beane needs to realize that it is not a sign of weakness to fire Geren, it is simply a sign that he understands that Geren has failed as manager and it is time for a change in Oakland.
Here's what I hope happens for the A's during the all-star break. A's owner Lew Wolff calls Beane to his office and tells him to fire Geren because from an article I read earlier in the season Wolff wanted the young A's to show signs that they can win.
So far this season the A's pitchers have proven they can pitch, but other then that there hasn't been any kind of improvement of this A's team even though they added on some veteran hitters.
It is time for a change. Yes, the A's have no chance of winning the division, but their ultimate goal should be to have a winning record in the second half and that starts with first firing Geren and bringing in a manager who isn't as easy going as he is.
The A's need a manager who will call a player out if they are not performing well, they need a manager who will go with the players who are hot, they need a manager who realizes the matchups ahead of time, and they need a manager who has a personality as well.
Geren offers none of those traits and it shows each game you watch of the A's. It is not a sign of weakness to get rid of the weakest link and Geren is the weakest link for the A's. He has proven this point time and time again: He has no idea what he's doing as manager.
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