Oh, how A’s fans are tossed violently by the storms of life; by stupidity, by cruelty, by the miserable human condition and by the one thing that most people desire over all others….money.
The celestial qualities of Billy Frijoles and his ability to predict the future seemed to show chinks last week as he sent a position player, a starter and a closer to various teams for a menagerie of minor league prospects. The gods have, seemingly, spoken and past mistakes must be rectified. These same gods, as of yet, have not spoken on his allegiance to the people of Oakland. His greed, self-preservation and time will speak of that.
The Zobrist trade was the ultimate insult to injury as he was sent to the Royals, the team that knocked the Athletics out of title contention in the one game Wild Card due to a terrible bullpen and a catcher that couldn’t throw out Ty Cobb’s corpse–all in the same year the team went “all in” and had a chance at a World Series crown.
Someone once defined the meaning of life as “the interruption of peaceful non-existence.” I will have to remember this as I watch the rest of the regular season play out. The Oakland ball-club will be all but non-existent after they are picked clean by teams like vultures devouring a fresh corpse before the trading deadline. A mere ghost whose future will only be acknowledged on the back of bubble gum cards by young boys and in the mind of statisticians.
What are the Royals receiving? Depth, a “name,” and a W.A.R. hero, (quite less admirable than the gentleman who shot Osama Bin Laden) with 2 of the 3 attributes being worthless in the reality of the everyday game. At this stage in his career Zobrist is a 34-year-old, average hitter who can play multiple positions but is also a hinderance at the 7 position. It will be interesting to see how Ned Yost, a manager not known for his intelligence or tactical ability uses a player in his twilight as the Royals try to bully their way through the rest of the regular season and, ultimately, the A.L. playoffs.
Baseball Magazine
