oakland athletics-tampa bay rays-pittsburgh pirates-miami marlins Feb 23, 2018; Mesa, AZ, USA; A general view of a logo on the field prior to the game between the Los Angeles Angels and the Oakland Athletics at Hohokam Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
FeaturedMLBBy Arthur Weinstein on

The Oakland Athletics are, to put it politely, not good right now.

Truthfully, they’ve been terrible. Their 2-9 record is the worst mark in MLB. They’re 28th out of 30 teams in runs scored, batting average, and OPS. That’s the good news. The bad news? The A’s are dead last in baseball with a staff ERA of 7.88 (so unbelievable it should be spelled out: seven-point-eight-eight).

Add it all up and the Athletics are on a dreadful, historic pace that has not been seen since the 1800s. As the AP’s Josh Dubow pointed out Tuesday after the A’s lost 12-8 to the Baltimore Orioles, they have now been outscored by 53 runs through 11 games.

Orioles slugger Ryan Mountcastle had nine RBIs, including a grand slam, to power the O’s.

Oakland’s 53-run deficit through 11 games is the worst for any team wince 1899, when the old Washington Nationals and Cleveland Spiders had deficits of -57 and -53 respectively.

Both the Nationals and Spiders folded after that horrendous 1899 season. That’s not an option for the Athletics, although judging by the reaction of many of their fans on Twitter after the team’s latest loss, they wouldn’t care.

While some pointed out manager Mark Kotsay has made some miscues, most pointed out he has a bare cupboard. This is a team that has been trying for years to get a new stadium, and routinely ranks near the bottom in MLB payrolls. As one Twitter user noted, “Mark Kotsay deserves better. He’s a pros pro. I feel so bad he has to fill up a lineup card filled with the dudes he does. No offense to those guys but I think even they know. It’s a joke what the A’s have become.”

https://twitter.com/Ovenroasted30/status/1645996116843036672

Some fans saw this coming. Here’s one prediction from January that comes off looking like MLB Nostradamus-level stuff.

[Josh Dubow, AP]

About Arthur Weinstein

Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.

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