Nobody is arguing that, but look at what has transpired since new ownership took over in Nov 2005. The forward thinking exhibited over the past few seasons is the reason people are so high on the franchise and why people are exclaiming it as a “model” franchise. Consider there’s not one core player who will be a free agent within three years and yet payroll is sitting around 50 million with a potential huge revenue stream opening by the time guys like Kazmir and Upton get bigger contracts.

The only thing they’ve proven thus far is they know how to be patient and see a plan out, and really the results are speaking for themselves.

As far as attendance last time I checked the Trop is being filled annually to about 56% capacity (20k of 36k), which is a little more than nobody.

When I see a question like that, I think “if I could replace the M’s front office with that of another team, which one would it be?” As I said, my first choice would be the Indians, but the Rays would be right behind them. All of the points you bring up regarding their years of sub-mediocrity and low payroll don’t make me think less of the people running the team; they make me think MORE of the people running the team. They came in with a plan, put a much better product on the field right away, began to ramp up the push for a new stadium at pretty much exactly the right time, and are set up to be an elite level team for several years to come.

A perfect example of why I think the Rays are awesome: right around the same time most serious, sabermetrically-inclined analysts were beginning to realize that they had been drastically underestimating the performance of defense for years, the Rays made a huge push to improve the team’s defense. Last year, the Rays were one of (if not the, I can’t find last year’s numbers) worst defensive teams in baseball. This year, they’ve been one of the best. That shows a front office that actively seeks new information and acts upon it quickly in the interest of putting the best possible team on the field. You can talk about how bad they were for how long, but the people in charge are different, and I don’t need results based analysis to tell me that they’re doing a great job.

we are talking about a guy in his early/mid 20s, how can you be so certain about his regression? is his batted ball data way out of whack? is he getting overly lucky?

same thing with hinske. the guy has suffered through injuries, sporadic playing time, and being overweight. today he is back to the size and strength he was that won him ROY.

please do not use ‘regression’ unless it is suitable. in a case where a player is not doing anything particularly well, but is exceeding their career averages, they are not due for ‘regression’.

I know there is a level of homerism on this thread and in my own posts when picking the Oakland Athletics, but I feel in my heart that the A’s are the definition of how efficient an MLB team could be run.

If the gauge of this thread is talent, then I know that based on raw numbers, Oakland would be short against the Boston, New York and Chicago clubs, but Oakland is one of the league leaders in finding the rawest talent, turning young prospects into future stars. This is particularly true with the awesome pitching that comes out of the A’s camp.

If the measuring stick is integrity, then I am not entirely sure any one of the MLB teams would stand out. All I can tell you about the Oakland A’s when it comes to integrity is that the people who come out to see the team know exactly what they get when they watch the team. When the A’s team management says the team is in rebuilding mode, you better believe they aren’t just saying it. A’s fans aren’t really stuffed with false promises. When you watch the A’s, the thrill comes from being surprised about what they young guys can do as opposed to hedging bets on one veteran or another, ad the A’s have made no excuses for this.

The third point at the top of the post is fan treatment. This part of the question is loaded with more leans toward homerism than any other beforehand. Every team is a part of their community and unless we live in the midst of the fanbase, it would be unfair to understand the relationship certain teams have with their fans.

What I can tell you about the A’s is that they are starving for fans. I try my hardest to get to as many games as I can, but it hasn’t been a great turnout for the last few seasons. Because of this, the A’s put on many promotions to get you in the park. Being the second team in a two-team region, the A’s have attempted so many things to get people to the park. In a few years, the A’s will have a park in Fremont to rival the Giants field. Till, then the A’s have made huge pushes to reach into the Silicon Valley community while keeping connected to the Oakland community.

Also, I don’t know if this has happened for many other fanbases, but Billy Beane and a couple of other Oakland bigwigs have met with the fans—particularly with the members of the SB Nation flagship Web site, Athletics Nation. There is a large separation between the fans in the stands and the team on the field, but I feel like this barrier is thinner at Oakland where there is more raw talent than star power in play.

The last reason the A’s should be proclaimed as the model for the MLB is to piss off Bud Selid, because he would hate that.