An A’s Fan Giving Thanks

With Thanksgiving just past, I felt it was appropriate instead of bemoaning all of the things that could be better or different as an A’s fan that instead I would give some thanks for things I am grateful for. Here they are in no particular order:

Our Young Slingers: As Giants fans know, it is critical to have young arms stepping onto the mound each day. And the A’s definitely have that. With Outman, Braden, Mazarro, Anderson, Cahill, Gonzales, and more, our young pitching is by far the brightest spot on this young team.

Rajai Davis: Probably the most underrated member of last year’s squad, I believe that Davis was the most prominent reason why the A’s changed their style of offense to “small ball”. Davis was the catalyst for a resurgent offense and plays excellent defense to boot.

The Prospect of Moving to San Jose: Whether baseball removes the territorial rights or not, the mere prospect of the A’s moving to San Jose is really exciting. The idea of having the team in Silicon Valley’s only true “Urban Core”, makes the prospect of driving 10 minutes to watch the Sharks and A’s play tantalizing.

The Farm System: With a series of trades (painful at the time), the A’s have completely re-made their farm system. This enables them to trade away guys like Huston Street when you’ve got an Andrew Bailey waiting to step up. And I know there are guys like Chris Carter, Jamelle Weeks, etc who will someday make a big impact on this team.

And finally…Billy Beane: Despite a losing record the last few seasons, Beane has not slowed in his efforts to bring the A’s back to excellence and take real chances and stick with the system that works. I would much rather have Bean on my side behind the scenes than almost anyone else in MLB.

Now I know he’s going to make some moves, focus on our youth and continue to make a drive towards supremacy in the AL West.