I’ve seen a lot of people noting that the Athletics getting Jon Lester is specifically designed to -- or definitely will -- help the A’s win the World Series. To overcome the shortfalls they’ve had in the past couple of postseasons when the Tigers’ rotation outclassed the A’s. To give the A’s the kind of ace that wins tight playoff games.
This is true. Lester will definitely help in this regard. But as we all know -- and as Billy Beane himself once famously said -- the playoffs can be a crapshoot. The Phillies didn’t win a World Series with Roy Halladay, the Braves only won one with two Hall of Fame pitchers and one who will likely make it. Stuff happens and even if Lester goes all Doyle Alexander in 1987, it doesn’t guarantee the A’s anything. If you doubt that, just go as Doyle Alexander and the 1987 Tigers to show you the World Series trophy they won. I’ll wait.
But even if the A’s fall short of the champagne, this deal can still be a success for them. Because, looking at the standings today, I see a Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim team a mere 2.5 games behind Oakland with a lot of baseball yet to be played. The World Series is no guarantee. Heck, the division isn’t either.
The A’s clearly don’t want to be a wild card team. No one does, given that it puts you in a one-game playoff. That’s especially important given that the one-game playoff could be against Felix Hernandez and the Mariners. Or a team that, somehow, picks up a David Price. The playoffs as a whole may be a crapshoot, but the wild card game itself is even a crappier shoot.
So Lester is not just for October. He’s for August and September too. And the trade can be considered a success for them, even if crap happens in the playoffs.