99 to Beat

 

Here's where we're at with the A's, which I wasn't thinking would be a factor this year. There's 9 games left. The A's have 92 losses. If they go 2-7, which is honestly a doable enough venture for this team, they can avoid finishing this season as a 100-loss team [in a season where the closest thing to a 100-win team we have now needs to go 5-4 to get to that mark]. The A's lost 100 games in 2022 and 2023, including that pathetic 2023 season where they only won 50 games. This season, they were without their biggest stars for the majority of the year, and as such they're in danger of being a 100-loss team. I think they have what it takes to avoid that, but...these being the 2026 A's, you can't be sure.

Earlier today, the A's got completely annihilated by the Rays in Tampa. You'd think this would be a decent homecoming for Jeffrey Springs, but the former Ray was completely beaten down, giving up 6 runs in 3.1 innings. Springs very clearly has never recovered from the injury wear and tear he's gained since his breakout run in Tampa, and, along with Luis Severino, continues to be a concerning free agency decision from this administration. The only run the A's could muster was a solo shot from Lawrence Butler, who again has caught steam late but not nearly as crucially as usual. Everything else was a ton of Rays runs that could not be contained.

Aside from Springs, the A's rotation right now is an array of 'I guess he'll do'. Jacob Lopez is the last actual competent starter standing, and even he's got a 5 ERA, despite 6 wins and 107 Ks. In the absence of J.T. Ginn, Gage Jump and Luis Severino, guys like Jack Perkins and Brady Basso are getting thrown out there to essentially do long relief to start games, and it isn't really working. The season's already a wash, so I get the reluctance to actually make a commanding decision, but even a couple years ago the A's had Joe Boyle and Joey Estes to try in September. Now, neither of them were long standing options, but they worked then. What the hell do the A's have now? Basically nothing. 

I guess the lineup is trying its best. It's down to bench guys like Donovan Walton and Alika Williams to do the hard work since Kurtz, Wilson, Soderstrom and Rooker are all hurt. Langeliers is back but his production pace has gone way down. Same with Gelof's, though at least this is a fuller, more confident season from the guy whose job was in jeopardy going into the season. Butler's last two months have at least given his stats a bit more mustard, he now has 17 homers and 59 RBIs, that's not bad. The general direction of this team as it stands might be best described as 'limp', but they keep trying.

To start next week, the Angels will be in town, so that'll be fun. Two teams trying to avoid losing 100 games squaring off in a minor league stadium. That should get a full house. It deserves one.

Coming Tomorrow- In a similarly vacant lineup, a rookie favorite tries to make the most of his extended playing time. 

Who Needs Chaperones Anyway?

 

The current status of the A's is that they're down to only five people on the active roster who are over 30. One of them, Brent Rooker, is 30 exactly. The others include 3 relievers and Jeffrey Springs. It's just them, plus Severino and a couple other spare parts on the IL. Everyone else is under 30, young and thriving. Is it a coincidence that the A's have lapped the Angels right as the last major thirtysomething in the lineup got DFA'd?

Here are the latest batch of young people who have been aiding the Athletics: Luis Morales, a 22-year-old starter who's 2-0 with a 1.19 ERA in 5 games this year; Colby Thomas, another young outfielder who already has 4 homers and 13 RBIs in 29 games; Max Muncy, who finally seems to be getting the hang of this whole MLB thing and has 9 homers; Darell Hernaiz, who's backing up Jacob Wilson at short and is a .250 hitter himself; and Jack Perkins, who, before he got injured, was becoming a solid enough fixture in the ninth. We can also lump in Jacob Lopez, who was having a nice season in the rotation before his injury, with a 4.08 ERA and 113 Ks. And now we even have the rookie Mason Barnett, a former Royals prospect who faced the Rangers for his debut last night.

That is a lot of youth, and a lot of rookies in big positions. You'd expect a few of them to not work, and Muncy, Hernaiz and Lopez all struggled for a bit before locking into gear. Pretty much every major piece of this team can remember those moments of struggling, like Lawrence Butler in 2023, or Rooker before he got to the A's, or Shea Langeliers before...like, June. A lot of them have clicked, which helps tremendously. Nick Kurtz, Tyler Soderstrom, Brent Rooker and Shea Langeliers are the heart of this team, and they're all surging. Kurtz is headed for the Rookie of the Year, and not even Jacob Wilson can be too mad about that. Langeliers is looking at 30 homers, and it's not too far out of the realm of possibility for Rooker either. 

There's enough power on this team that it distracts from the fact that there's still some room for growth, like a few more solid rotation options or a better bullpen or slightly better defense. The important thing is that this is a team that can be an offensive match, even now, for competitors. Your worst A's team could be a slam dunk win for a competitor two years ago, and now with Kurtz, Rooker and Butler you can't quite be certain. Remember, the 4-homer Kurtz game happened in Houston. The Astros are clinging to a small lead in this division because of losses like that making them human. That couldn't have happened in 2023.

The A's, while still a bad team, are embracing their youth and getting way stronger. Next season will have a lot of questions answered, and I reckon they'll step even closer to a competitive idea. 

Coming Tonight: A Rockies infielder who was way better before he had to play for this specific version of the team.