Athletics postseason struggles are a culture problem

The Oakland Athletics started the postseason off poorly once again.

The Oakland Athletics ended up with the No. 2 seed in the American League playoffs. While they are filling out the roster with journeymen like Jake Lamb in place of Matt Chapman, the likes of Marcus Semien and Matt Olson give the A’s one of the AL’s most powerful lineups from top to bottom. Unfortunately, the A’s history of wilting in the postseason is coming back to haunt them, as the Chicago White Sox and their own deep lineup managed to carve them up.

The Athletics picked up right where they left off against Lucas Giolito and the White Sox, falling in Game 1 of a three-game series that is starting to look a lot like the same postseason failures Oakland fans have been subject to over the last 20 years.

https://twitter.com/whitesox/status/1311052235376414720

The Oakland Athletics haven’t won much since the beginning of the “Moneyball” era

While Billy Beane, who ran that franchise from 1998 to 2016, is no longer the GM, his fingerprints are still all over that organization’s DNA. While his “Moneyball” methodology helped make winners out of a struggling franchise that often lacked in financial resources, they haven’t done much in October. The A’s have made the playoffs 10 times since 1998, but they have won just one playoff series. After winning their ALDS matchup against the Minnesota Twins in 2006, they were promptly swept by the Detroit Tigers.

“Moneyball” is, at the end of the day, a process with which to build a team. At some point, however, the process has to give you results and/or improvement. Otherwise, the insane A’s are doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results.

There is still time to salvage this series, but losing to the White Sox would simply serve as more evidence that some major structural changes within the Oakland organization and front office need to take place.