Sometimes you have to call your own teammate out. It's not always easy, but your job is to try to make him better. You would want the same from him. As iron sharpens iron, so does one man to another.
Ken Rosenthal wrote about the A's acquisition of Adam Dunn. In the piece, he questioned whether losing Cespedes was causing mental strife for the men in the lineup. Remember, Rosenthal is among the best in the reporting and writing business. He didn't paint his picture without cause, but he was likely on the receiving end of an unreasonable vent session.
"Is the loss of Cespedes to blame for all that? Again, it hardly seems logical. But do the Athletics' players believe they miss the threat of Cespedes? Did they look to him to provide an intimidating presence? Are they putting more pressure on themselves without him?"
The answer is no, Kenny. The A's players may miss Cespedes the man, but they don't have the energy in August and September to miss Cespedes in the lineup.
They step into the batter's box every evening and don't, for even one second, ponder the loss of Cespedes. If you're putting more pressure on yourself because a teammate was traded, you're in big trouble. During every season for the rest of your career, you'll see men come and go. Think about it.
You're Stephen Vogt. You're trying to establish yourself as a regular major leaguer. When you get to the yard, your aim is to compete. You're focused with laser-sharp precision on that night's pitcher. If you want to earn at-bats in September, you don't stress about the dude with the B on his hat these days.
You're Brandon Moss and have been grinding since July began. When you faced Matt Shoemaker tonight, were you thinking about your former teammate or squaring up a sinker? Right. You didn't have a choice. Your livelihood is at stake.
Allow me to be the voice of reason. If the current scuffles of the A's lineup are due to the mental implications of a deadline deal, they were never a playoff team to start. The A's are tougher than that.
If you need me, I'll be over here buying low on the A's offense and subsequently watching them bash their way through September. Then we can all have a good laugh about how good the A's team shrink must be -- another Billy Beane gem getting them past the mental trauma of losing Cespedes.
