It was nice while it lasted

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July 21, 3:49 PM

by David Bush, S.F. Baseball Examiner

 

 

Ryan Sweeney has been about it for the A's offense

That didn’t take long, did it?

Followers of the A’s and Giants were wondering whether their favorites would be able to stay in their respective division races after the All-Star Break. The answer came quickly. Each team was exposed in the first series following the intermission, being swept by teams that showed what real contenders are made of. The locals now are what we thought they were coming out of spring training. As they occasionally exceeded expectations, both teams team had their fans thinking that this might not be a lost year after all. We all should have known better.

The A’s hung within range of the Angels and the wild card in the AL West by virtue of top-notch pitching. But their offense, never robust, gradually wilted into almost total ineffectuality. Ryan Sweeney, one of the best of the A’s offseason haul of prospects, returned from the D.L. to put a little juice into the offense. But he is not nearly enough to make up for the lack of production virtually everywhere else in the lineup. Jack Cust does hit some home runs, but his season is more defined by his increasing tendency to strike out. The A’s goal now seems to be to more to hold onto second place ahead of the Rangers than worry about playing into October. That status is pretty much as advertised. The team fooled us only in that we never thought the pitching would be this good, nor the hitting this bad. But the result is the same.

The Giants have been a sorry story from the beginning. But even as they floundered, hope was not lost. Everyone paid too much attention to one particular column in the standings – games behind – and did not give enough credence to others.

Their win-loss record, runs scored, runs allowed and streaks all were more telling than the games behind. As the Arizona Diamondbacks wobbled after their fast start the Giants stayed deceptively close, even though all other signs pointed to mediocrity. But the Giants, who were in third place, seven games back going into the break, are fourth, eight games behind after the Brewers swept them over the weekend. The trade of Ray Durham is proof the team has come to terms with its fate. More deals are likely to follow.

This is what we all thought we would have going in. Would the teams have been better off not to flirt with respectability and just take themselves out of consideration early. Goodness knows that if they had been also-rans from the get-go the talk shows would be more restrained by now. Instead the fans, encouraged by the hosts, are letting their clubs have it over the airwaves.

And yet it might have been worth it. To see what might have been meaningful games for half a season is better than no pennant race at all. Just ask the Mariners or the Padres.

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