A's Haunted by Ghosts Of Oakland Past

(Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)

There is a bright spot in all of this for Oakland, as the team’s rookie rotation of Trevor Cahill, Brett Anderson, and Vin Mazzaro should be good enough to make a run at the AL West next year. The “New Big Three” gives the A’s something new to promote instead of Chavez (owner of six consecutive Gold Gloves and twelve consecutive surgeries), and they also provide a convenient distraction from Oakland’s biggest weakness: their distressing inability to produce major league hitters.

The team that made “Moneyball” and the Bash Brothers famous now owns the worst on-base percentage in baseball, and right now the most logical substitute for one of the endless Rickey Henderson promotions would be a "Watch Dallas Braden Get No Run Support Night”.

Giambi was supposed to help change that, the hope being that there was enough left in his bat to rekindle some positive Oakland memories. In his time away, Giambi became definitively associated with both the Yankees and steroids, and A’s fans couldn’t decide which was worse. He was a pariah in Oakland, but as soon as he returned, the A’s immediately began digging up highlights of his old glory days, selling him to the fans like a used car.

Giambi once represented the type of player who spoiled A’s fans in previous rebuilding efforts, someone who kept the fans entertained even in lean years. He felt like family in Oakland, as did Marco Scutaro, Nick Swisher, and Matt Stairs, each of whom made their name here during non-playoff seasons.

There aren’t many human fast-forward buttons on this team right now, players who make rough seasons go by a bit faster. So the team is instead forced to press rewind, bringing back big names and old stars until a new wave of talent washes over Oakland’s shores.

That new wave needs to arrive quickly, because the only alternative left in Oakland is to grant Rickey his wish and let him suit up again.

The Oakland Sports Examiner, new columns every Tuesday and Thursday: http://www.examiner.com/x-12984-Oakland-Sports-Examiner

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