The post-season is always a mix of exciting and irritating. Exciting to watch games with so much riding all over the pitch, and to see some of the best teams put together with their talent. Frustrated that the A’s aren’t one of those teams and wondering how the best teams play and how the A’s play.
Here’s what the next A GM/PBO should consider when they first set their rosters and pitching staffs:
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Grinding at bats You don’t see players compulsively grabbing the lead voice and trolling for walks or being forced into any precipitous roadblocks. Discretion in plate appearances that instills a mix of aggressiveness with a willingness to wait for a better pitch and draws walks from sufficient patience. This sometimes showed up in the 2026s, but it was a fluke – the organization was a lot about chasing and chasing and precious little training. We need hitters, and hitting coaches, who are committed to using discipline and discretion in their approach.
Instance in the foundations There were certainly moments of destruction even between teams still standing. But one story really stayed with me after this season and it was Cooper Pratt’s bench back on August 25, 2026, partly because he doesn’t run hard into the fly ball that the ball falling for only one wound, partly because he doesn’t work as a decline, partly – at least according to his teammates – to the top of things during the season. The most necessary dedication to the “winning culture” is to drive the majority of players into the sponsorship of their manager’s intolerance or lack of basic commitment. We need a manager who will bring “tough love” and a great foundation of play to the talent/salary based imitations.
Emphasis on development and analytics The competition was only thrown by the once proud Athletico Monetarius. Brewers and Rays, in particular, demonstrate extensive capabilities not in payroll but in development and analytics. Jacob Misiorowski, Drew Rasmussen, and Gavin Williams may be the “true aces,” but they don’t necessarily have better weapons than Luis Morales, Jack Perkins, and Gage Salt, who may be worthy of the “Big 3” if the results are the only thing determined. They need to be strong in the development and analytics class of the LCS teams — the teams that incidentally placed 20th (MIL), 28th (TB), and 29th (CLE) in the Opening Day Campaign.
Can you name some other categories where teams are still playing, or how they are coached/prepared to play on the field or, perhaps more importantly, how they are organized on the field? Soon the A’s will hire a new front office – and then the new front office will begin to reassess how the A’s are run with an eye on the teams still playing when 27 teams are watching from home.