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basemonkey
I felt like Cespedes was a huge presence in the As lineup. Even if his numbers weren’t monster stats, his presence affected the way pitchers addressed the quality hitters around him. I don’t think Dunn is quite a replacement. He’s an all-or-nothing power swinger. Cespedes is a singular all-around talent.
Lefty_Orioles_Fan
Yeah, but Cespedes does seem to get hurt a lot.
Not for a long period of time though, but still.
Also, it doesn’t fully explain why the A’s offense has completely disappeared.
Even if it reappears, they are still giving up 8 to 9 runs a game and I think they just got swept by the Angels today. Something is wrong there and it’s kind of surprising because usually Beane outsmarts us all! =P
basemonkey
Maybe we just disagree, which is fine, 😉 but I happen to think a single important presence does explain a lot in a offense.
Our orioles have done well to withstand its share of injuries to star players, but (knock on wood) they haven’t occurred to the heart of our offense. It’s great to have had, say, Davis step forward last year, and Nelson do so today, but I actually value Adam Jones as the heart and soul of our lineup, even if the numbers bear it out, or not. Every team has a single key player, who if you were to take them out of it, it carries such a ripple effect throughout the lineup, that the personality of the offense completely changes. Our swing-first/power mindset comes straight from Adam, I’d say. I was surprised to see Beane deal Cespedes, because I viewed him as their Adam Jones, even though Donaldson was having a superior statistical year.
Dave 32
The big question, does Billy Beane get the axe from Oakland if they miss the playoffs after trading away their best HR guy for a pitcher while having what was one of the best rotations in all of baseball already at the time?
start_wearing_purple
Beane is a minority owner and still considered one of the best GMs in the game, he’d have to vote himself out.
From the A’s perspective, getting Lester for Cespedes was an acknowledgement that a) Cespedes would be traded in the winter anyway, b) Lester is a playoff seasoned ace pitcher, and c) this was the best chance to go all in to win since they were a virtual playoff lock and pitching usually always wins in the playoffs.
Even if the A’s crash and burn and miss the playoffs, my guess is Beane won’t be the scapegoat.
DarthMurph
It’ll look bad, but no.
People are making too big of a deal over Cespedes. He hit home runs, but his OPS was subpar and they got a battle tested ace for him. Their rotation may have been one of the best at the time, but they didn’t have a proven playoff pitcher in their midst besides Kazmir.