Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
The A's won on a pair of homers and scored five runs in the twelfth to complete a sweep of the O's that a) put them a full game up in the AL West and b) helped complete the debasement (or to quote Mushmouth, "De biggest bass in de basement") of Rafael Palmeiro from surefire Hall-of-Fame superstar to steroid-abusing, bench-occupying has-been.
And, oh yeah, it had one other consecutive. It forced me to set a precedent and admit I was wrong.
Before the season, I said that the A's would be closer to the Mariners (i.e., last place) this season than to first. I said Billy Beane had jumped the shark when he traded two of "The Big Three" and peopled his starting rotation with Barry Zito and a bunch of youngsters. I said that he got rooked with a few midseason trades.
As my wife would say, mark your calendars—I was wrong. I underestimated Beane's ability to break with tradition, to see more in players, especially young players, than anyone else could, and to add by subtraction like no one else in the business.
The A's have been able to build a division leader based on a bunch of role playing position players and a pitching staff with the fourth-best ERA in the game. Perhaps the biggest surprise is the way that the rotation has been able to rebound with the likes of Kirk Saarloos in the mix.
As a matter of fact the 2004-05 A's project to be one of 33 teams in baseball history to have five starting pitchers with at least ten wins in back-to-back seasons (including the 2004-05 Cards). How's that for a rotation not missing a beat?
Actually, they are one of three teams on the back-to-back list to retain just two pitchers in the process and yet produce five ten-win starters both years. Here's the complete list of those teams:
| Team | Yr | #10W | Yr2 | #10W | #Same |
| Baltimore Orioles | 1959 | 5 | 1960 | 5 | 2 |
| Chicago Cubs | 1934 | 5 | 1935 | 5 | 2 |
| Oakland Athletics | 2004 | 5 | 2005 | 5 (proj) | 2 |
| Chicago Cubs | 1905 | 5 | 1906 | 6 | 3 |
| Chicago Cubs | 1933 | 5 | 1934 | 5 | 3 |
| New York Yankees | 1935 | 5 | 1936 | 5 | 3 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 1895 | 5 | 1896 | 5 | 4 |
| Boston Red Sox | 1915 | 5 | 1916 | 5 | 4 |
| Chicago Cubs | 1904 | 5 | 1905 | 5 | 4 |
| Chicago Cubs | 1907 | 5 | 1908 | 5 | 4 |
| Chicago Cubs | 1910 | 5 | 1911 | 5 | 4 |
| Chicago Cubs | 1935 | 5 | 1936 | 5 | 4 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 1919 | 5 | 1920 | 5 | 4 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 1975 | 6 | 1976 | 6 | 4 |
| Detroit Tigers | 1946 | 5 | 1947 | 5 | 4 |
| Detroit Tigers | 1949 | 5 | 1950 | 5 | 4 |
| Detroit Tigers | 1961 | 5 | 1962 | 5 | 4 |
| New York Yankees | 1922 | 5 | 1923 | 5 | 4 |
| New York Yankees | 1998 | 5 | 1999 | 5 | 4 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 1931 | 5 | 1932 | 5 | 4 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 1907 | 5 | 1908 | 5 | 4 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 1924 | 5 | 1925 | 5 | 4 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 1944 | 5 | 1945 | 5 | 4 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 2004 | 5 | 2005 | 5 | 4 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 1960 | 5 | 1961 | 5 | 5 |
| Chicago Cubs | 1906 | 6 | 1907 | 5 | 5 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 1976 | 5 | 1977 | 5 | 5 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 1977 | 5 | 1978 | 5 | 5 |
| New York Giants | 1905 | 5 | 1906 | 5 | 5 |
| New York Giants | 1906 | 5 | 1907 | 5 | 5 |
| New York Giants | 1939 | 5 | 1940 | 5 | 5 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 1904 | 5 | 1905 | 5 | 5 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 1930 | 5 | 1931 | 6 | 5 |
The one thing that tempers admitting I was wrong is that at least I can enjoy the A's success in the process. And I'll make another daring prediction: if the A's do end up winning the AL West, they'll win it all what with the rampant mediocrity and overachieving frontrunners from the central divisions this year. Given my success rate of late though, Beane may be better off if I stay off the bandwagon.
The Angels have shamefully allowed an eight game lead to disappear. The season isn't over, but the enormous holes and blinkered thinking about free agents and which players to lock up is really hurting the franchise. Cabrera's bat has been hurting this club terribly in the first half, and Stoneman clearly overrates his defense badly. Finley, whose signing I agreed with at the start of the season, has proven a total bust. Esteban Yan for the money has been something of a tempered disappointment, realizing that quality middle relievers are not free.
Anderson should not have been signed to so many years. I can live with Glaus's exit; we'll have to wait until next year to see whether Dallas McPherson is a pumpkin or a player.
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