Let Rickey Be Rickey ... Again

Over in the Comments vault at Athletics Nation, the sage and voluble Jeff Beresford-Howe notes once again the A's craptastic tendencies whilst motoring about the basepaths.

(As an aside, The Confidence Man feels that Mr. Beresford-Howe is on the verge of Blogdom: his comments at AN are becoming longer and longer and more and more incisive. Plus, if "Beresford-Howe" isn't a pseudonym, The Confidence Man will eat his hat. Well, ok, on second thought, if it was a nom de champ, the first name would be "Geoffrey," wouldn't it?)

Jeff quixotically lays a significant portion of the blame for the A's poor baserunning at the feet of 3B/infield/running coach Ron "The Human Windmill" Washington. (Get it? "Quixotically" ... "windmill" ... oh, never mind ...) "Wash" is wildly popular with his charges (note Chavez' gifting of his third Gold Glove trophy to the coach this spring) and generally regarded by the A's beat media and the fans as something of a miracle worker when it comes to coaching fundamentals.

However, as Jeff notes, part of Wash's responsibility is baserunning fundamentals, at which the A's ... well ... suck.

The postseason gaffes, from "Slide, Jeremy, Slide!" to Tejada and Byrnes' Mosaic trek against the Bosox last year, have been only the most spectacular of the A's random rambles, reflecting a confused and undisciplined approach by most of the team year in and year out. To call Wash "The Unluckiest Coach in Baseball" is one thing; to allow the A's stumblebum baserunning to continue unimpeded (to use an inapt term) is unacceptable.

The Confidence Man has a modest proposal. (Yes, now we're veering toward the Cliffs of Pretension: Cervantes, the Old Testament, and now Swift in our quiver of allusions ...)

Bring back Rickey Henderson.

The Rickey is currently toiling in the Independent League, and is eager for a chance to notch his 300th HR. And to burnish the legend of The Rickey, of course. He'd work cheap, and apparently all indications from San Diego in his last go-round were that The Rickey was comfortable with his role as a pinch-hitter/pinch-runner/ad-hoc-baserunning-sage/OBP-guru/consigliere, and he did in fact "play well with others."

Yes, The Rickey's bat speed has evaporated, and he has virtually no power. However, we're currently wasting a roster spot on Karros (plus, McMillon has not gotten much playing time and hasn't hit especially well, either). And Rickey can still draw a walk, slap the ball the other way, move runners over, etc.

If Beane could establish a rapport with The Rickey (emphasize The Rickey's "value to the franchise," the opportunity to "cement his legacy," perhaps offer a coaching/PR/front office sinecure after this year), Henderson could provide a great source for baserunning tutelage, an object lesson in the value of OBP and pitch selectivity (i.e., Frankie Menechino with foot speed), a non-Byrnes pinch-runner option, and an occasional late-inning walk/single/non-GIDP off the bench in a tight spot.

No, this wouldn't solve our most immediate and pressing problems (a power-hitting, non-Mr. Glass infielder and a power arm in the 'pen). But it would be a cheap and cost-effective way to address a medium- to long-term challenge: namely, how to minimize risk and maximize scoring opportunities in high-pressure small-samle-size contests. You know, Billy, those times when "[your] shit doesn't work"?