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The Oakland Telegraph
14 July 2031
A's establish clear lead in AL West, receive five all-star call-ups
By B. Neerbefore, deja vu correspondent
At yesterday's post-game press conference, Oakland GM Paulie Beane reflected on what he described as a "highly satisfying" and "to be honest highly surprising" first half of the season. Despite last night's narrow 3-2 defeat to Texas, the A's had won their previous 7 games and 10 of the last 12, and now stand at 56-33. With division challengers Houston losing their last 5, it means Oakland have suddenly jumped out to a commanding 8 game lead over the Astros in the American League West division. Defying the doom-laden pre-season predictions of informed and ill-informed pundits alike, and a stuttering start to the season, Beane's boys look well placed to win a fourth straight division title, which would make it ten consecutive years of featuring in the playoffs. Not bad. The days of Beane seemingly having to endure the annual torture of trying to squeak into the postseason via the wildcard game seem a distant memory at this point.
Reflecting on the season so far, Beane told reporters he thought there had been some terrific performances from his players, but joked (I think) that he still had some players' pictures pinned to his office dartboard. The trio of starting pitchers called up to the all-star game, Carl Bates, Antonio Perez, and Nathan Hamilton, drew particular praise. Hamilton is 13-1 with a 0.96 WHIP. Bates at 4-6 has had less run support but has a 2.69 ERA. Perez (9-6, 3.01) has just been fantastic in his first full major league season.
One of the faces suspected to be on Beane's dartboard is reliever Gonzalo Avila. Avila has 21 saves but has blown 5 opportunities and has a disappointing 4.27 FIP. He's simply not pitched very well, and that he has just received his second all-star selection shows the stupid amount of value all-star voters place on the largely meaningless save statistic. The day before the all-star rosters were announced, Beane demoted him from the closer role to setup, replacing him with fellow lefty Jose Duran.
Karl Dickson is definitely someone on Beane's dartboard, and his picture must be littered with tiny holes by now. Only halfway through the first twelve months of his mammoth 5-year, $100m contract, the four-time all-star and former Cy Young winner is having a year to forget. Career, he's 114-69 with a 3.01 ERA, but this year he's 7-7 and 4.47. Most worryingly, pitching coach Ace Onballs has downgraded his assessments of Dickson's abilities, something Beane certainly wasn't expecting from a guy with an iron man injury reputation. Club accountant Dee Loite is reportedly barely able to sleep with the worry of such a large contract looking like it might go bad. If Dickson doesn't return to his old self early next season, could Beane try and trade him?
Oakland's final all-star pick was first baseman Luis Trujillo. He's in sensational form right now, and with 28 home runs and 72 RBIs already, could rip up the A's batting record books at this rate. Not chosen for the annual pointless schedule-filler, but nonetheless very firmly in Beane's good books, are right fielder Dennis Hawkins (.403 OBP, .910 OPS) and recent promotee Pepe Rios (.366 OBP, .866 OPS).
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