There Is An “A” In “GrAvediggers”

0-4 and continuing what is now a disturbing trend of digging an early grave and then spending precious time trying to dig out. The last winning season the A’s had was 2021 and that season they opened 0-6. In 2018 their return to the post-season came with 97 wins but only 5 of those occurred in their first 15 games.

Then there’s 2023, admittedly with a team short on talent, that began 2-9 and 3-16, “playing out the string” for the season’s last 90%. So here the A’s are, only 4 games into a season they have entered with higher hopes than any year since 2021, already 4 games under . 500, 2.

5 games out of 1st place, and looking like a team whose alarm clock surprised everyone when it went off on March 27th. The question is why. Why do the A’s so routinely open the season looking either unprepared, overmatched, or like a deer in the headlights staring at a car that announced its impending arrival 5 months ago?

Some possible explanations, none suggested to be accurate just available: Youth The A’s generally field a team whose average age is on the much younger side and one can expect more jitters, more “try to do too much” from a younger group. That doesn’t really explain the contributions guys like Brent Rooker or Michael Kelly have made to this team’s 0-4 start but certainly this A’s roster features a glut of young talent, some of it very much unproven (Denzel Clarke, Max Muncy, Luis Morales). Flawed Roster Construction Limited payroll contributes to a fair amount of “wishcasting” for parts of the 26 man roster and nowhere is it more evident than in the A’s Opening Day bullpen that looked shaky on paper and lived up to its billing by game 2.