While the Giants are definitely my team in baseball, I've always liked the A's, especially the last 3 years. Back in May, I discovered there was a weekend September series where the A's were playing the Astros. I was excited about going to the game, mostly because I always wanted to see Jose Altuve in person, but also because I wanted to see Yoenis Cespedes in person. He was one of the main reasons I'd enjoyed the A's so much during the last two years. Despite his short service time, he quickly became "The Face of the Franchise" and probably the only player most baseball fans could name on the A's, or at least those fans who didn't follow the team.
Fast forward to now, September 2014, and the A's are a team down their only Cuban. Giants fans know better than most that pitching wins World Series titles, but it's safe to say that everyone in the baseball world was surprised when Billy Beane traded Cespedes to the Red Sox for postseason pitching king Jon Lester. Even without Lester, the A's pitching staff looked pretty solid, what with the acquisition of Cubs ace Jeff Samardzija before the July 31st deadline. And yes, the A's pitching staff looked far better with Lester on it. That is obvious.
Here is the problem with all of this: at its core, baseball is a business. That fact cannot be denied. It simply is. Billy Beane made a business decision in trading Cespedes and from that standpoint, it was brilliant. Cespedes had one year left on his contract before free agency and Beane traded him when his value was at its highest, in order to gain the highest value back, which he did (despite Lester being a two month rental). The A's would not have been able to keep Cespedes once his contract was done and everyone knew that, so Cespedes departing the A's at some point was inevitable. However, from a morale standpoint, there was nothing good about this trade. Part of the reason the A's had done so well in the last few years, much like the Giants at their peak, was team chemistry. They had the same group of players, no superstars, no divas. Were it not for Justin Verlander, the A's certainly would have gone to the World Series at least twice in the last three years.
So, a month removed from the Cespedes/Lester trade, where are the A's now? Oh, just five games back in the AL West, when prior to the trade they were either first or tied for first. After a short adjustment period, Cespedes seems to be settling in well in Boston, with 24 RBIs in his first 30 games with his new team. If the Red Sox can rebuild next season, he will be a big reason for their likely future success. Of course, timing is everything; Cespedes was traded at a time when many A's players were "coming back down to earth", as many position players do this time of the season. Were the A's struggling before the trade? At times they were, but not to this extent and not at such a crucial time.
Can the A's recover from this mammoth transaction? They seem to think that acquiring Adam Dunn as an end-of-the-season push was an answer to that question, but I'm not so sure. With the pitching that Dunn is likely to see in the postseason, he might not be. But then again, this is the A's, who are experts at turning around seemingly average players into heroes. Who knows.
All of that said, I still don't like the trade. Not one bit.
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