Billy Beane came through today. He admitted he was partly at fault for what happened last year -- 86 losses. "I thought we could compete last year," he said. "I have a responsibility to win every year."
Good for Billy. His team could not hit and now he has Matt Holliday and Jason Giambi and those are legitimate 3 and 4 hitters, and the A's are desperate for hitting.
Beane said the core of the team is young pitching -- much of it still in the minors. He has an obligation to back up the pitching with hitting so the pitchers don't get discouraged. "We're not doing them any favors if we score 1 1/2 runs a game."
If the A's get any kind of pitching they could compete for the division -- the Angels have slid and Seattle and Texas are no big deal. But Beane still can build for the future while he competes, so his plan, in theory is good.
Beane said he wanted Giambi as early as the end of last season. "I was glad when Teixeira signed with the Yankees. It's not like Jason was coming off a bad year."
Well, he hit 32 homers but batted only .247. He says he distorted his swing to hit homers in Yankee Stadium. He says he'll be a more balanced hitter in 2009. Hopefully.
Interesting to see Beane take responsibility for the team to win every year, and take blame for the 86 losses last year. He is grabbing the bull by the horns by signing Holliday and Giambi, and addressing his #1 concern with urgency. Wish he was the Giants GM, as it looks like Sabean is the opposite, as he takes no responsibility (he blames the media), he does not act urgently to fix his #1 problem (he waits for someone to fall in his lap), and I have not once heard him take any hit for the past 4 seasons of losing baseball.