Here's why. For all he talks about A's fans being blind followers of Beane's plan, Cohn shows no understanding of the plan himself.

He doesn't appear to grasp the fact that while the A's were in the playoffs - which Beane built them into, something Nolan has never done and Mullin has only done one year - they traded almost all of their minor league talent for rent-a-players. They depleted their farm system, gutting it in their attempts to win the World Series. It didn't work. That's just the way it goes. When's the last time the Yankees won the World Series? How much money do they spend, again?

Now in less than one full calendar year, he's entirely rebuilt it as one of the top in the league again. It has come at the cost of winning in the Majors right now, but at the same time he still has a decent set of pitchers at the Major League level.

In a place like the Coliseum, that is what he has to do for now. He has to count on his pitchers keeping them in games and hope the offense is able to pull a few of those close, low-scoring games out. The offense is terrible, yes, but it's not like going out and getting a bat or two at the trade deadline would've made them a real contender. They got by on smoke and mirrors the first half of the season and it wasn't going to last.

Now, with this plan Beane has, we're looking at the team being better hopefully by 2010. How can they do this? By using more of that pitching talent in particular they now have in the minors. They have a lot of it - Cahill, Anderson, Simmons, Mazzarro, Rodriguez and so on, and some of those pitchers will contribute to the A's while others should be able to bring in bats they need via trade. It'll be back to what it was earlier this decade when they were able to deal from a position of strength. Plus, they have other good positional talent they've drafted and acquired in the Haren/Swisher trades first (remind me how they got Carlos Gonzalez in the first place), and Cardenas (Blanton trade) looks like he's pretty solid as well.

So, you and your father can complain all you want about Beane's plan or the A's being a second-rate franchise or whatever you want to say, but the difference here is Beane has a clue. This isn't something where the A's will fall into years of mediocrity like the Pirates or Royals. Without Beane, they WOULD have been there already. Instead, with him they've been one of the best teams in the league this decade.

For all the criticism Beane gets from some, he has done more with less than almost anyone else out there. Only the Twins really compare when it comes to franchises that have done well with less to work with than others. Sorry if you and your father can't accept that.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Won/Lost Records since coming to the Bay Area

(current as of the end of the 2008-09 season)

Overall:    1709-2104    .448

Mieuli:      933-1026    .476

Fitzgerald:  325-331     .495

Cohan:       451-747     .376

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