After an especially tough loss — such as when you are quite literally a strike away from winning and lose — everything feels more bleak. Just as after an exhilarating win the team might feel invincible. As always the truth is somewhere in between.
As I write following a disappointing loss, I see more positives than negatives but that optimism is also measured. This A’s team, as currently constituted, is very talented and very flawed, so it feels about right that the team sits around the .500 mark, now 1 game over at 22-21.
The A’s have come by their record losing some games they should have won and winning some games should have lost. But they have ultimately achieved what had to be the overarching goal for April-May: stay with the Mariners, stay in contact with the .500 mark, hang in there while hopefully the roster gets some key fortification, e.g., perhaps Gage Jump sooner and even Leo De Vries later.
Now the way the A’s have kept pace with and even stayed ahead of, the Mariners has to do largely with Seattle playing surprisingly poorly the first 7 weeks. Projected by analysts to win more like 96 games than 80, nonetheless the Mariners have sputtered out of the gate and that has kept the A’s in good stead.
But here’s the reason for my “leaning towards optimism”. It’s not just that the A’s have gotten where they are with two key pieces, Lawrence Butler and Tyler Soderstrom, greatly underperforming, though this does offer some hope that “the best is yet to come” for this team. That’s not it, because as Butler and Soderstrom progress, surely Shea Langeliers and Carlos Cortes will not continue to masquerade as a batting leader and one who would lead even Langeliers if he had enough PAs to qualify. Though they are welcome to, of course.
The reason even today’s game was not as bad as it feels is that the A’s may have solved 2 positions that were very iffy going into the season.
Zack Gelof’s play at 3B combined with his work at the plate have been true revelations, to where it feels quite reasonably like the A’s may have found their 3Bman for the long haul. In the field, despite the limitations of his arm strength Gelof has looked smooth and effective, using the Mark Ellis great footwork/positioning and quick release, with accurate throws, to offset the weak arm.
At the plate, Gelof is not swinging and missing nearly as much and his contact is back to being more lethal. For the season now Gelof is up to .270/.316/.527, which is noteworthy when you put it next to his 2023 rookie half season that generated so much excitement: .267/.337/.504.
For the A’s to have found, in the most roundabout way, a quality every day 3Bman who contributes on both sides of the ball, is huge for the last 119 games.
Meanwhile, Henry Bolte’s debut was exciting enough but in some ways today’s game was even better. Bolte consistently hit balls hard, even though he wound up with only one single to show for it: EVs of 100, 104.4, 109.4 on the 3 balls he hit. He has also opened his big league career striking out in just 1 of his 8 plate appearances.
There is/was understandable concern around whether Bolte’s tantalizing skills would translate to the big leagues, and even if they did whether they would anytime soon. Just 22, Bolte has elite raw skills — speed, power, bat speed — but has come with some important red flags, e.g., high K rates, high whiff rates.
If Bolte is, in fact, at the level of “a legit starting CFer,” that’s also huge for a team that has crossed its fingers that Denzel Clarke can hit over the Mendoza line and has settled for throwing Butler out in CF even though neither his bat nor his glove have been adequate.
If today moved the needle on anything, it only solidified the notion that the A’s may have found a quality 3Bman and a quality CFer to carry them going forward. That depth also enhances a currently weak bench, allowing for players such as Butler, Cortes, and Max Muncy to potentially offer luxuries as utility players or part-time starters.
None of this analysis has really touched on the pitching, other than a passing mention of Jump. The A’s may go only as far as their rotation can provide some stability and more length than it has offered to date. The bullpen has been volatile and still has few relievers that allow fans to maintain a healthy blood pressure.
But here the A’s are, over .500, ahead of the Mariners in the standings, and having possibly identified quality players at two of their weakest positions going into the season. As Al Pacino would say, “22-21, 1 game up on Seattle……and I’m just getting warmed up!” Hoo-ah.
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