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The Oakland Telegraph
13 August 2029
Doubters go quiet as Beane's A's go on the rampage
By Nev Erdoubtedhim, punditry U-turns correspondent
One day, when Oakland GM Paulie Beane makes a surprising trade, fans, journalists, pundits and players alike will learn to give him the benefit of the doubt, and not rush to a snap critical judgements. When he traded away Luis Guzman, Patrick Snel, Pedro Trinidad and Jose Martinez shortly before the deadline las month, they said he was sacrificing glory and success this year at the altar of financial sustainability. Sport is all about glory, they said, even if it means mortgaging your future for just the hint of a glimpse of a shot at the World Series. Keep the winning team together and go for it, they counselled.
But Beane, it seems, knew better. Not only did he slash the wage bill to bring his payroll for the next couple years within budget, but he also seems to have made the team better in the short-term. Last night's 8-3 defeat to the Houston Astros was their first loss this month and brought to an end a superb 12-game winning streak. That burst of form has seen the A's surge to a 77-35 record, giving them a 15.5 game lead over Seattle in the American League West division, and 9 wins more than any other team in the majors. New first baseman Luis Trujillo has smoked pitches to all parts, smashing 7 home runs in just 22 games for the A's. In the rotation, Ramon Mendoza, Lucio Vargas and Brad Dundee have been unplayable. All-star closer Roy Ellis has 33 saves from 36 opportunities. At .433, second baseman Alejandro Gusman has the second best on-base percentage in the entire league. Bookmakers have stopped taking bets on Oakland winning their fifth divisional title in eight years.
Can Beane's troops overcome the inconsistent form of youth and finish the job? No sane person would doubt him in this. So, of course, the journalists on this newspaper say, we're not so sure.
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