Tonight it's a blast
Tomorrow you're homeless

I don't know if "panic" is the right word. Bracing for imminent winterlong despair, certainly, but I feel no actual panic. The Rangers went to Oakland needing to win one of their last four games to make the "round of eight." They've lost the first two; there are two to play. I'll save the panic for the last few innings of the play-in game :)

It's not like Beane did anything special with these A's. After all, he had Hudson, Mulder, and Zito to work with.

It's not like Beane did anything special with these A's. After all, he had Hudson, Mulder, and Zito to work with.

As someone who always thought Beane was overrated since he inherited Hudson, Tejada, Giambi and Chavez, and then stumbled when he had to build his own team, I'm not sure what to make of his work with the present team. On the one hand, all his moves seem to have worked out this year -- Ryan Cook, Tom Milone, Derek Norris, Yoenis Cespedes, Josh Reddick, Jonny Gomes, Seth Smith, Coco Crisp, Brandon Moss. On the other hand the only one of those players who looks like he might amount to something special is Cespedes. The team could be a one-year wonder, but so what? It's been a great year.

I think it's interesting that (aside from Carter), all of the A's surprisingly good hitters came from outsider the organization. Gomes, Reddick, Cespedes and Moss all developed elsewhere. Beane's never really had a problem with talent acquisition, it was more that all of the young hitters kept crashing. They're still doing that (Barton and Weeks had awful years), but now he's added hitters around them.

I think it's interesting that (aside from Carter), all of the A's surprisingly good hitters came from outsider the organization.

Since Suzuki was dispatched and Weeks lost his starting job, the only player in the A's regular lineup who was drafted by them is Cliff Pennington. The reserves except for Weeks were also acquired from other teams. Carter was originally drafted by the White Sox, traded to the Diamondbacks for Carlos Quinton, then traded to the A's in the Danny Haren deal.