It’s hard to write about the Oakland Athletics after a weekend like this. Hot on the heels of an encouraging two game sweep of the Kansas City Royals, the A’s were outscored 34-9 over the course of three games by the Detroit Tigers. The only game that they came close to being in was the last when, when they leapt out to a six run lead after two innings, before being hauled in again to go down 7-11.

This, understandably, has raised the ire of A’s fans, and questions are being asked about the team’s direction, their leadership, and the overall future of the franchise. What is sure is that putting such a poorly performing team out doesn’t please anyone, and for a club that’s not really been filling their stadium for a number of years, it’s particularly troubling. Whilst there are obviously a number of factors involved, one thing is for certain; the best marketing strategy is a winning side. And that’s something that Oakland hasn’t been doing with any sort of consistency for the last few years.

There have definitely been mistakes made in the construction of this team. The primary backup for Eric Chavez, the oft injured third baseman, is Nomar Garciaparra, another oft injured third baseman. The team this year was predicated on a young, but improving starting rotation, a beefed up lineup, a strong bullpen and strong defense. For the most part, the pitchers, both in the starting rotation and in relief have kept their end of the deal. However, Kurt Suzuki and Jack Cust aside, the offence has been conspicuous by its absence, and in the field it has, of late, been a circus. Every single member of the infield made an error on Friday; how’s that meant to help a young pitcher like Brett Anderson?

All this being the case, I can’t help but think that there are unreasonably expectations being heaped on Billy Beane. He’s a young, articulate general manager with some smart ideas that, for a while, put him ahead of the curve. Coupled with a few bits of luck necessary for any winning team, fans started to regard him as nearly infallible. The fact remains, of course, that the A’s are a small market team with a low payroll. Whereas a team like the Yankees might need only half of their gambles to work in order to put a winning product out onto the field, a club like Oakland needs nearly everything to come together. I totally understand the frustration; this year’s offering is very hard to watch.

However, to me, sports is not about winning. Anyone can enjoy victory; it’s how you cope with defeat that counts. Do you still try to find positives in the team, or some sort of enjoyment from the game itself, or do you start accusing the general manager of lacking focus, or the players of lacking focus? It seems incredible to suggest that someone who has put so much of himself into the team really just isn’t that into it any more, or that a group of players, who by their very nature as professional athletes are a group of hard working, overachieving individuals. Not only that, but it seems to run the risk of ignoring real failings in the way that the club is wrong.

What I’d say is this. The rest of this year will probably be ugly. The moves the front office made, the risks they took don't look as if they're going to come off. I’m going to try to enjoy the development of the young starters, the seemingly inevitable trade of Matt Holliday, and the simple pleasure of going to a ball game, drinking beer in the sun, and cheering on my side. Won’t you join me?