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The Oakland Telegraph
23 April 2029
A's off to flying start as Guzman and Dickson dominate
By Sue Perstart, opening fortnight correspondent
Oakland general manager Paulie Beane has declared himself a new man this season. At yesterday's press conference after his team's 4-1 win against the Houston Astros, he told reporters he felt his destructive behaviour - in the sense of his habit of physically destroying any nearby furniture, windows, foodstuffs or pets whenever Oakland underperform in his eyes - was childish and unnecessary. In particular, he said club accountant Dee Loite has inflated the capital repairs budget, frequently raided to pay for replacement equipment following Beane's rampages, to over $2m per year, which was tangibly eating into his payroll budget for actual baseballers. So, Beane said, that typical violent, negative reaction to any setback has come to an end. This year, he has taken up yoga and started eating salads, in an effort to calm down.
On the basis of today's conversation with the media, that seems to be working. A measured and unflustered Beane said he was delighted with his team's opening fortnight to the season. The A's have started quickly, sweeping the LA Angels in the opening series in week one, and progressing to 9-3 and first place in the American League West division. All aspects of the team appear to be firing. The rotation has been excellent, with Karl Dickson, who is 2-0 with 3 quality starts and 1.11 ERA, the pick of the bunch. The offense has been all about right fielder Luis Guzman, who is sporting a .356 on-base percentage, and already has 6 home runs and 20 RBIs.
There was a slight flicker of rage from Beane when he was asked about the unusual decision by field manager Phil D'Manager in a game against San Diego earlier this week, when, having pinch-hit with third baseman Patrick Snel in place of young catcher Miguel Rojas, he kept Snel behind the plate as catcher rather than inserting usual catcher alternative Pedro Trinidad. "I was not in agreement with that decision, but I respect that it was D'Manager's decision to make. I'm calm about the situation", he said, not entirely convincingly. Rumours of continued tension between Beane and D'Manager may have some credence.
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