Bob Geren has had a tough week, as demoted closer Brian Fuentes ripped the A’s manager for a lack of communication and then former Oakland closer Huston Street chimed in all the way from Colorado to basically agree with everything Fuentes said.
Geren’s job is probably pretty safe considering he’s best buddies with general manager Billy Beane, but just in case A’s owner Lew Wolff made it clear that he’s happy with the manager, telling John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle:
I personally love the way he deals with everybody. It’s a long season. He’s had some long seasons. I love the guy. He’s a good teacher. I love everything about him. He’s a very solid person, and I like the way he deals with everything all year long. This is a hard job. I have a rule in my own office that I never use the word “communication” as an excuse. The good thing about baseball is you could look at a piece of paper and see how a guy’s doing. Great athletes get frustrated. That’s all there is to it.
Asked specificially about Street calling Geren his “least favorite person I have ever encountered in sports,” Wolff replied: “He’s wrong.”
