The All-Time Oakland A's "Oh, **** Why Are They in the Lineup?" Team

About three months ago I wrote a slideshow that was titled "The Oakland A's All-Time Team." There was a comment that made a suggestion to make the worst everyday starters and pitchers.

Well it's time to take a look at the worst starters the A's have brought out on the field.

Just to note, it's only players who have been a member of the Oakland A's, not at the previous stops before Oakland.

First Base: Bruce Bochte (Three Years)

How can you not think nerd when you see this card of Bruce Bochte?

Now he wasn't a horrible player, and in fact would have probably not been mentioned except for the fact that the A's usually have had first basemen who could produce.

So, Bochte is on the list by default.
In his three-year career with the A's Bochte hit .272, with 25 homers, 155 RBI, 53 doubles, and one triple, with an on-base percentage of .352, slugging percentage of .373, and an ops of .725.

Yet, the funny thing is the player who replaced him at first base nearly doubled him in home runs and nearly caught up to him in RBI as well—in one season.

His name? Mark McGwire!

Catcher: Larry Haney (Seven Years)

Larry Haney spent seven seasons with the Oakland A's. His first season he barely saw action and actually played second base. He moved to catcher and was the starter for a couple of seasons.

The problem for the A's with Haney in the lineup was that he didn't produce.

In 1976 he appeared in 88 games and batted .226 with no home runs, and 10 RBI. He finished with a .280 on base percentage, .237 slugging percentage, and a .517 OPS.

In his seven years with the A's Haney hit .189 with five homers, 27 RBI, 79 hits, 10 doubles, 26 walks, and 69 strikeouts. He had an on-base percentage of .238, a slugging percentage of .249, and a OPS of .487.

When he was announced in the lineup I'm sure a lot of A's fans shuddered just thinking he was behind the plate.

Second Base: Tony Phillips (Nine Years)

Tony Phillips was a solid Major League player for the Detroit Tigers, but as an Athletic he had a less than stellar career in his two stints with the club.

His best season came in 1986 where he hit .256 with five homers and 52 RBI and stole 10 bases.

In the nine years he spent with the club he hit .250 with 48 homers, 308 RBI, 131 doubles, 29 triples, 67 stolen bases (but was caught 45 times), and posted a .341 on-base percentage, .361 slugging percentage, and an OPS of .702.

The memory I have of Phillips was in his second stint with the A's when he took out a young Seattle Mariners short stop Carlos Guillen and ended Guillen's season.

Short Stop: Fred Stanley (Two Seasons)

I was trying to avoid players who played two years or less, but Stanley just had to make the list. He played in enough games so it wasn't like he was a utility player. He was out there nearly every day manning the short stop position and could not hit for the life of him.

In those two seasons Stanley hit for an average of .193, with two homers, 24 RBI, 72 hits, and 11 doubles, with a .280 on-base percentage, .239 slugging percentage, and an OPS of .519.

Third Base: Jack Hannahan (Three Seasons)

Every time Jack Hannahan was in the lineup I just had to scratch my head and wonder why. Is it a wonder he got traded in the middle of the 2009 season and was replaced by Adam Kennedy, who barely played third in the Major League career?

Hannahan I admit was a tremendous defensive third baseman, but unfortunately he played a position that requires you to also be able to hit and drive in runs—neither things that Hannahan could do very well.

On most days Hannahan was over matched by good fastballs. He had a big swing and when he did make contact, which was rare, he could hit a ball out or into the gap.

As an Athletic he batted .226 with 13 homers, 79 RBI, 30 doubles, and a triple with an on-base percentage of .314, a slugging percentage of .352, and an OPS of .666

Do you think that OPS was a bad sign?

Left Field: Phil Plantier (One Season)

I broke my rule again, but this one had to be on there.

Plantier was added to the Oakland A's based on his big year with the San Diego Padres when he hit 34 homers and drove in 100 runs.

He wasn't expected to hit for a high average, but he was supposed to add power to the A's lineup. He didn't do that.

In his only season with the A's Plantier hit .212 with seven homers, and 31 RBI, with a .304 on-base percentage, .346 slugging percentage, and a .651 OPS.

Center Field: Ryan Christenson (Four Seasons)

I remember Ryan Christenson coming up with the Oakland A's. He was supposed to be the center fielder of the future for the A's, but he never panned out as a solid all-around player.

He played in four seasons with the A's, but was eventually traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks for a minor leaguer.

Christenson hit for a .237 average, hit 13 homers, drove in 82 runs, had 36 doubles, and five triples, with an on-base percentage of .319, slugging percentage of .348, and an OPS of .632

Right Field: Ruben Sierra (Four Seasons)

Maybe the best hitter among the bunch if you look at his career with other teams, but when he was traded to the A's his production went down, and so did his batting average.

He was traded to the A's for Jose Canseco and a few other players were also involved.

The problem is that he never once produced like Canseco did for the A's. So, he was a big disappointment for A's fans.

His number in his four seasons: a .253 average, 60 homers, 252 RBI, and 65 doubles, with a .303 on-base percentage, .435 slugging percentage, and an ops of .737.

Designated Hitter: A.J. Hinch (Three Seasons)

A.J. Hinch was supposed to be the man who replaced Terry Steinbach behind the plate when he left for Minnesota. Yet, Hinch could never live up to the billing.

He played just two seasons with the A's before he was traded to the Kansas City Royals in a three team trade.

With the A's Hinch hit .225 with 16 homers, 59 RBI, 14 doubles, and one triple, with an on base percentage of .280, slugging percentage of .342, and a .636 OPS.

Starting Pitcher: Rick Langford (10 seasons)

Why would Rick Langford start a game for the A's, especially for 10 years? I'm not saying he was horrible but his record of 73-105 tells a different story. He's among the A's franchise leaders in losses.

He did have one solid season where he won 19 games, but to back that up he did lead the league in losses in another season with 19 of them.

With the record of 73-105 he had a respectable ERA of 3.97, and he struck out 658 so obviously he was more of a pitcher who had batters hit for contact.

He walked 402 for a whip of 1.325, and threw 1,468 innings for the A's, which meant he averaged 146.8 innings per year, so he didn't go very long either.

He started 195 games for the A's and also made 53 appearances out of the bullpen.

Closer: Arthur Rhodes

Arthur Rhodes has always been a solid reliever especially with his nasty slider, but when the A's tried putting him in as closer it failed miserably! He just couldn't close out games.

Rhodes only lasted one year with the A's. In those 37 games he appeared in he had a 5.12 ERA and nine saves. He did finish with a 3-3 record and struck out 34 while walking 21.

Manager: Bob Geren

There's been bad years for the A's where they've replaced managers in season, but there's nothing more wrong than the manager the A's have now.

He's a manager who has no business being in the Major Leagues and a manager who is clueless. It's really self explanatory why Geren is the worst manager the A's have had!