In Billy We Trust. Maybe.

            The 2006 Season made Billy Beane look like a genius once again. Milton Bradley and Frank Thomas were key pieces to an offense-desperate team that made the postseason and exorcised their playoffs demons by ousting the Twins in the division series and advancing to the ALCS. Yep. Critics were mute and A’s fans were singing the praises of Saint Billy.

            There isn’t much singing right now, just reserved humming from the book of Moneyball. A’s fans have endured three successive losing seasons since their last playoff appearance and the diminishing attendance at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum is a sure sign that the fans are restless, annoyed, and damning the former Saint Billy. Beane has stockpiled a smorgasbord of promising talent. Pitchers Brett Anderson, Trevor Cahill and Andrew Bailey, among others, had promising rookie seasons. Outstanding prospects like Chris Carter, Adrian Cardenas, and Michael Taylor are knocking on the door, and other prospects like Anthony Capra, Josh Donaldson, Jemile Weeks and Grant Desme are progressing swiftly through the A’s farm system. It’s a great time to be an A’s fan, right?

Ask John Q. Fan at the Coliseum and he’ll likely just yawn at you. It’s hard for the average fan to get excited about a Major League Baseball team continuing to struggle offensively and losing their big name players before a fan can break in a jersey with his favorite player’s name on the back. “What’s Billy done for me lately?” could be a familiar question amongst my fellow A’s fans.

If you haven’t noticed, Billy Beane has been quite busy this off-season: Infielders Jake Fox and Aaron Miles have been acquired via trade; Outfielder/Designated Hitter Jack Cust was non-tendered and released; Outfielder Michael Taylor was acquired in the middle of the Blockbuster Roy Halladay trade in exchange for Brett Wallace; Outfielder Coco Crisp has been plucked from the Free Agent henhouse, and all-star pitcher Justin Duchscherer is on the verge of re-signing a one year contract. Billy Beane’s fingers must be sticky with honey because he’s been a busy little bee.

At the moment, Beane’s off-season is puzzling even his most devout supporters. While it was nice to receive Fox from the Cubs at the cost of only a few prospects, other deals made are inducing head scratching reminiscent of having head lice. Many fans are wondering why Beane felt it was ok to get rid of Cust, the A’s biggest offensive threat of the past three years. Fans may be pondering why they traded away their supposed third baseman of the future in Wallace. The 5,000 piece jigsaw puzzle of clear blue sky amongst most fans is the question “Why oh why did we just pay $5MM for Crisp when we already have a surplus of outfielders in a heated competition to win a Major league job in Spring Training?” The best answers to these questions are most likely: Cust is getting expensive and replaceable. Wallace’s ability to play third base long-term is very much in doubt. The acquisition of Crisp most likely indicates an upcoming trade to sell high on some of their valuable outfielders. The Beane move to date that seems to make the most sense is the resigning of Duchscherer. Our young pitching staff needs the veteran presence, not to mention the all-star arm.

What does this mean for John Q. Fan? The A’s are still in rebuilding mode and still trying to find the winning combination for a winning season. Last season the hopeful combination was give the spring-chicken pitchers some offensive support. Since Holliday, Giambi, Cabrera and Garciaparra were a collective bust in 2009, the A’s must have a new tactic up their sleeves, a tactic that is still revealing itself but appears to be centered on defense and letting the promising prospects emerge amongst the chaos. The A’s have also expressed an interest in free agent third baseman Adrian Beltre, a player who could aid the already stellar defense and add much needed offensive pop. There’s a long way yet til Opening Day. There’s plenty of time to clear up any confusion. Until April 5^th my friends, In Billy We Trust.