Mark Kotsay's Approach to Managing the Struggling A's

Mark Kotsay talked about his approach to managing the A's this season, and how he's able to stay even keeled

The Oakland A's are 5-22 with two games left to play in April. With a potential relocation looming over the franchise, the situation in Oakland is not great.

A's manager Mark Kotsay was asked how he stays so even keeled ahead of Saturday's game against the Cincinnati Reds. "I know how hard it is to play a game. I've experienced the failures of the game as a young player, as a veteran player, and as a coach, really. I always talk about find the solution, don't find the reaction to things" 

In observing how Kotsay goes about his business, you can see that he wants to win, but he's also keeping the bigger picture in mind. With such an inexperienced team, the wins may not be there right away, but it's about developing his roster for next week, next month, next year. Before Drew Rucinski was activated from the IL on Friday, JP Sears led the current rotation in service time with 81 days in the big leagues. 

The A's manager is happy with the effort he's seeing, even if the results are a little underwhelming. "If it was a lack of effort, if it was a lack of preparation, I think that's when I'd lose my mind a little bit."

The A's have some bright spots on their roster, like Esteury Ruiz, who was acquired as a big piece of the Sean Murphy trade this past off-season. The 24-year-old centerfielder is hitting .255 with a .330 on-base, and his 11 steals are tied for second in all of baseball behind only Ronald Acuña Jr.'s 13. 

Another bright spot has been Brent Rooker, who, after a 1-for-9 start to the season is batting .339 with a .455 OBP. His 8 homers rank fifth in baseball, and his 232 wRC+ is the best in baseball among players with at least 70 plate appearances. He's still a few games away from being qualified for the league leaderboards. He has also walked (13) as many times as he's struck out. 

Ryan Noda, a Rule 5 pick during the off-season, is batting .262 in his first month in the big leagues with a .423 OBP, which will be a top-10 figure in baseball once he racks up a few more plate appearances. Noda has a 164 wRC+, which is third among rookies, just behind Dodgers outfielder Josh Outman, and just ahead of baseball's top prospect Corbin Carroll of the Arizona Diamondbacks. He has walked in 21.8% of his plate appearances this season. 

There are reasons to think brighter days could be ahead on this roster.

"The reality is, the only way we can get out of this is through the continued work that we're putting in, the preparation that we're putting in, and really just building a level of confidence in these guys through those small victories to me is the right approach."

Notes: Ramón Laureano was activated ahead of Saturday's game and is batting sixth and playing right field. To make room for him, the club designated Tyler Wade for assignment. 

Carlos Pérez is in the lineup as the cleanup hitter and will be catching Kyle Muller for the first time this season.