The Oakland A's hit more home runs than only three other teams in all of baseball last season. Jack Cust led the team in 2009 -- for the third straight season -- with 25 homers. Thus, it only stands to reason that when Cust was informed he was being released by the A's, he'd be a little peeved. Fortunately, for entertainment purposes, Cust wasn't shy about his feelings.
"I think it's messed up," Cust told Susan Slusser on the phone. "They're going to go on 50 at-bats after three years of what I've done here? It's ridiculous. A lot of other guys have had bad springs. This is a joke."
"The fact is, this team has no power and they've just released a guy who [averaged 28 homers] the last three years," he continued. "That's amazing."
Amazing, indeed.
Reportedly, general manager Billy Beane said the decision was based upon Cust's lackluster spring (.216 average with 20 strikeouts in 51 at-bats). Even more surprising is the lack of power Cust mentions. The A's have very, very little. Kevin Kouzmanoff hit 18 home runs last year while Kurt Suzuki hit 15. Those are the top guys, using last year's stats. It seems the A's are pretty reliant on Eric Chavez's bounce back, in addition to getting some pop from Travis Buck, Jake Fox and Daric Barton.
Speaking of Barton, his strong play this spring seems to have factored in on Cust's release. The A's didn't seem overly fired up about Cust last winter, as they non-tendered him before re-signing him for less money. He's a one-dimensional player who simply doesn't have a ton of value in his one skill.
Still, that doesn't mean his release was expected or even astute. The A's need that one dimension in the middle of their order.
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