This team is clearly not ready to play. I’ve played ball, I’ve managed little league, and I’m a life long A’s fan. This team is a train wreck. The manager has the accountability to get the team ready to play, clearly not the case. Billy needs to fire Geren. You cannot blame poor fundamentals on injuries and bad luck. The A’s are not even ready to compete during most games. Geren just needs to go.

M

I’m glad you brought up that 5 innings of relief that Gonzalez had right before he was sent back last time. I can’t help but feel like that was a real turning point in the season. The A’s had just taken an extra-inning 3-run lead, with Gonzalez having battled through 4 tough innings. Of course it’s easy to Monday-morning quarterback, but still — why did Geren leave his most consistent reliever Michael Wuertz in the pen as soon as Gonzalez started to struggle in his fifth inning?! I know Geren was concerned that Wuertz had pitched two days prior — but come on, that game was there for the taking, and Wuertz’s job as the de facto stopper while Ziegler is hurt is to get tough outs with the game on the line.

And then there’s the strategic value of the game — not only does it give you a tough victory over a division rival, it boosts the fragile confidence of your rookie Gonzalez. Instead, Geren left Gonzalez hung out to dry, to face Ichiro, one of the toughest outs on the planet, with the tying run in scoring position. Guess how that turned out?

Including that loss, the team has lost 9 of its last 13.

Remember when this team would let their players produce and gain some success in the minors before rushing them up?

Very frustrating …