Oakland has to decide soon whether they want a World Series ring this year or if they want to rebuild for 2019. Khris Davis, Jed Lowrie, and Blake Treinen are big names that would look great on any roster and will certainly be talked about come July 31. The question is this: is Oakland all in, or are they looking more towards the future?
The green and gold showcased two players in DC last week, Lowrie and Treinen, so they’re both on the map for teams definitely in the race for the ultimate trophy in late October. A veteran presence and an allstar middle infielder, such as Lowrie is a good target for better, younger teams. Every playoff team also needs a good closer and Treinen’s stats show that he is one of the best. Treinen has a 1.08 Earned Run Average, a 1.00 average of Walks and Hits per Innings Pitched, and he has 24 saves. He’s fourth in the American League in saves on a team that has only given him 28 save opportunities. The Pittsburgh Pirates, who are on an 11-game win streak could use a complement to seemingly equally fantastic closer Felipe Vazquez to help them come back in the contentious National League Central Division. The Astros, Braves, and Phillies all are in position to make serious postseason runs, but none of them are particularly fortified when it comes to late-game pitching. Boston, New York, Milwaukee, and Philadelphia would be prime locations for Lowrie because they all are rather weak at second base. With Dustin Pedroia hurt, the Red Sox would much rather have their old teammate on their roster to be a constant at second rather than alternating between Brock Holt, Eduardo Nunez, and Tzu Wei Lin. New York’s Gleyber Torres, while currently on the ten-day Disabled List, is the frontrunner for Rookie of the Year, but Didi Gregorius at shortstop is having a down year and hitting considerably worse than Lowrie (Gregorius is batting .265 with 17 home runs and 55 Runs Batted In, but Lowrie is batting .276 with 16 home runs and 62 RBIs). Hernan Perez in Milwaukee is having a terrible year (.245 batting average, six home runs, and 22 RBIs), so the Brew Crew would welcome Lowrie with open arms. Philadelphia has their own dilemma at second with Cesar Hernandez as he’s batting .270 with eight home runs and 33 RBIs. These trades, if made would point to Oakland looking at the future, because all these teams have prospects to give: Boston has Jay Groome and Tanner Houck (I would have included Jalen Beaks, but he was recently traded to Tampa for Nathan Eovaldi), New York has Justus Sheffield, Albert Abreu, and Chance Adams, Houston has Forrest Whitley and J.B. Bukauskas, Pittsburgh has Mitch Keller and Shane Baz, Atlanta has Mike Soroka, Kyle Wright, Luiz Gohara, Ian Anderson, and Kolby Allard, Milwaukee has Corbin Burnes and Luis Ortiz, and Philadelphia has Sixto Sanchez, Adonis Medina, Jojo Romero, and Franklyn Kilome. Of course, these are all top pitching prospects, so who’s to say any team would be willing to give up part of their future for one championship run? The answer is that I AM TO SAY THAT! Boston has a dilemma at second base, New York could use some higher quality talent, Philly, as well. In addition to that, every team wants depth in their bullpen because Houston doesn’t want Justin Verlander throwing nine innings in Game 1 of the ALDS when they might need him to be full speed for Game 3 or 4, Boston has the same situation with Chris Sale, New York with Luis Severino, Pittsburgh with Ivan Nova, and teams without the strongest starting pitching like Milwaukee, Atlanta, or Philadelphia also want a strong reliever to pick up the slack when their starters can’t make it through the sixth. Also, every team looking for a postseason run, namely New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Pittsburgh needs a great hitter. Khris Davis is having a standup year with 25 home runs, 72 RBIs, and an .854 OPS. He is a fine fielder, as well, so any team who acquires him would be more than equipped to face their foes during National League games or in the World Series against the NL pennant winner. With all this in mind, it’s important to return to the theme displayed in the title, “Is Oakland All In?” The Athletics recently acquired Jeurys Familia from the Mets; Familia is 6-4, he has a 2.62 ERA, and he has 17 saves in 44.2 innings over 42 appearances. At 59-43, the A’s are 1.5 games behind the Seattle Mariners and Houston Astros, who are tied for first in the American League West, and they are 1.5 games out of the second Wild Card spot and six games ahead of the Rays, who are the next competitor for a Wild Card spot. These signs, such as recent trades to fuel their bullpen and their competitiveness in the West, point to a postseason run this year. If Oakland falters and falls apart completely by next week, these trades are no-brainers, but if they hold strong, I expect that Oakland will be a serious contender and a serious problem for their AL West rivals. Being 8-2 in their last ten games and having won four straight, it certainly does not look like the Athletics will die off. Jesse A. Cook “Is Oakland All In?” July 24, 2018
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There have been rumors of bringing back the Expos to Montréal, Québec. How will this happen? Well, before I answer that, we must take a look at why they left:
Owner Frank Loria faced a financial problem with the Expos. Most of the people funding the team had left them, causing Loria to increase his shares up to 92%. At this point, he realized that the main issue was the annual revenue that fans brought in. Why were ticket sales so terrible? That, you can blame on their ballpark, Olympic Stadium. It’s a pretty ugly place and it sort of resembles Tropicana Park in Tampa Bay, Florida where the Rays reside. Loria then searched for a new area for the park, but he had no use for the area as neither did the MLB, the province of Québec, nor an architecture firm that would’ve aided in the building of a second Expos field. This lack of a stadium would force fans to fear getting to April and having no team in their city. Just 72 hours before spring training in 2002, Loria left for the Florida Marlins and Omar Minaya was left in charge. The franchise was saved by a new bargaining agreement that guaranteed the existence of the team until 2006, however, it looked to be as if the best option for maintaining the baseball program would be relocation. After the 2004 season, baseball left Montréal and returned to Washington D.C. as the Washington Nationals in 2005. The Nationals have not honored the Expos with retiring their numbers of Gary Carter’s #8, Andre Dawson’s #10, Rusty Staub’s #10, and Tim Raines’ #30, yet they do have the universally retired Jackie Robinson’s #42. These numbers do, however, hang up in the rafters of the Centre Bell, the home arena of Montréal’s NHL team, the Montréal Canadians. So, getting back to the main idea, how will the Expos make a comeback to Québec? The Montréal Baseball Project (MBP) was founded by former player and star of the Yomiuri Giants in Japan, Warren Cromartie. Currently, Montréal is home to the Canadians, the Impact of the MLS, the Alouettes of the Canadian Football League, and the Jazz of the National Basketball League of Canada; how and where does baseball fit into this mix? The MBP is looking into 5 main locations: Bonaventure Expressway, Wellington Basin, the Montréal Children’s Hospital, the Montréal Hippodrome, and Olympic Stadium. Wellington Basin looks to be the best and most feasible option for a new ballpark. Though there is a likelihood of land contamination, it wouldn’t require demolition, public transit is available, there’s good parking available, it’s within walking distance of downtown Montréal, there’s a great deal of space ready, and there’s a great deal of renewal potential. The MLB doesn’t want to add a team, like the soon-to-be 31 team NHL with the addition of the Las Vegas Golden Knights, so the only option for a second Canadian baseball team (in addition to the Toronto Blue Jays) would be the relocation of another team. The Tampa Bay Rays are a prime candidate for relocation: their stadium is falling apart, they’re dead last in yearly revenue, and frankly, they have no potential. Even the Reds and Phillies have their farm systems in the works. Sure, they have Evan Longoria, but ever since Ben Zobrist, James Shields, and David Price left, there hasn’t been much keeping them there. One might argue that the Reds or Phillies should move, but they have wonderful ballparks, they still bring in a good amount of revenue, they’ve got great potential, they’ve got the history, and they have something else that the Rays don’t: a large fanbase. Have you ever tuned into a Rays home game? The crowd is essentially empty! The Expos would surely sell out. There is a thirst for baseball in southern Québec that must be quenched. Whether it’s by importing some fishes from Florida or expanding the MLB, it’s got to happen, and they have the means, the might, and the manner of doing so. Let’s bring back the Montréal Expos, we need le retour de Nos Amours. Jesse A. Cook “Le Retour De Nos Amours: Bringing The Expos Back To Montréal” January 6, 2017 |
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