Oakland A's Manager Bob Geren Is Having A Rough Week

Oakland A’s manager Bob Geren is having a week I am sure he would rather soon forget.

Not only has his team lost seven out of nine, but now his managing skills are coming into question. First he got a jab from closer Brian Fuentes and then got a right hook from former closer Huston Street.

Earlier in the week, Fuentes said through the San Francisco Chronicle that Geren had “unorthodox managing” and said he was handled “pretty poorly” thanks to “zero” communication.

Ouch.

Not to be outdone, Huston Street shared his thoughts on Geren in a text sent to Chronicle reporter Susan Slusser:

"

“Bob was never good at communication, and I don’t want to speak for anybody else, but it was a sentiment reflected in many conversations during the two years I spent in Oakland, and even recently when talking to guys after I left. For me personally, he was my least favorite person I have ever encountered in sports from age 6 to 27. I am very thankful to be in a place where I can trust my manager.”

"

Double ouch.

Obviously, I have never played under Geren, so I can’t speak for his communication skills. But here is what I can speak for: If your communication skills are less than what's to be desired as a manager, then you are toast.

Communication is the lifeblood of any successful manager, or team, for that matter. Being able to talk about anything in an open forum makes everything else that much easier.

Geren’s managerial status was already under a microscope in Oakland. These comments and the A’s losing ways of late will only turn up the heat on Geren.