I think, for the first time in the blog's history, I had a custom prepared for today, went and looked at his stats since I made it and went '...nah he doesn't deserve that at all'.
This is the problem with keeping tabs on baseball teams all year. I've gotta A.) have things to say about these teams all year, and B.) have enough players worth making customs about. It's not always easy. But covering a team like the A's, having to make a custom a few days ago and going '...shit, NO ONE's doing well'. That's not fun.
And the thing about it being this early in the season is that there are people that at least have enough piled up at that point to make a custom of, but you go to look for photos and there's nothing good. That happened with like 3 or 4 A's. Including Zach Jackson, which...bold of me to assume if the position players had nothing, then the RELIEVER, who photographers aren't exactly racing to document, would surely have something.
And the one I made was one that was borderline, like a backup outfielder that had a good game or two, and then by today he was back underwater. So I went and looked if Esteury Ruiz, who I knew going into the season would be relatively important, had some photos now that he's playing well, and he did, so here we are.
All those words to basically say that the A's are very bad right now, and if THAT was a challenge, the whole rest of the season is gonna be even more challenging.
The big news this week is that, as per usual, no one is going to A's games. And now the A's fans have come out to say that it's not due to lack of Oakland interest. It basically confirms that, if the stadium is gonna continue to be old and crappy, and the good players are gonna keep leaving, then fans won't go to games. It's not because A's fans don't exist, as they do, a lot like the Raider fans that existed despite the Raiders packing up and leaving for Vegas. It's just...the Coliseum sucks. It has for 30 years, since the newfangled stadiums have popped up. Every opportunity to build a new one has failed.
What's happened now is that the A's fans have setup a reverse-boycott night for a game in June, where the goal is to absolutely fill the stands at the Coliseum and show the city that the fans are not the problem. This is relatively attainable, as obviously tickets are affordable, and Oakland fans are just the kind of dedicated [read: deranged] people to do this. I'm not sure if this would immediately solve something in terms of the probable impending move to Las Vegas, but it'd at least prove that there is enough fan support, which...I'm not sure if that was an issue to begin with.
The 2023 A's, as they are, are not great. Ramon Laureano is playing better than he has since before the suspension, but...there's a big problem that that sentence that I'm living with. Ruiz is pretty much as-advertised, speedy as hell and a great contact hitter with a .308 start. Not only is Shea Langeliers hitting but the backup catcher, former Angels backup Carlos Perez, has been hitting up a storm lately, which is rare for him. Lots of middling averages otherwise, Brent Rooker has 4 homers but he's Brent Rooker. Nobody's pitching especially well, though J.P. Sears is doing an adequate job and Zach Jackson is making a great audition for Toronto's bullpen in July.
It's not great. I doubt it'll get much better. Hopefully some better players will blossom, but I reckon it'll be a while until we get something competitive from this team, and I kinda hate that.
Coming Tomorrow- I think with German Marquez falling off a bit, he might be the most consistent Rockies starter left, which is odd, all things considered.
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