Idiots Write About Sports

I still don’t know what to make of Jay Payton. I’m not sure he’s that great a pickup except in the context of who he replaces. I don’t agree with the notion that Billy Beane was had, but I certainly have my doubts about a guy who was so obsessed with playing time that he forced his way off the defending World Champs.
I do know this however: since he arrived in Oakland, the dude’s been hitting — 9-for-23 with two homers and five RBIs in the five games he’s appeared in. In Thursday’s game, he had the go-ahead RBI and made a clutch catch to keep the A’s within shouting distance when it looked like it may not be Oakland’s night. In fact, in John Shea’s write-up of said game, Ken Macha was moved to say this:

The guy wants to go out and play and be competitive, and he didn’t get that opportunity in Boston. We’re an equal opportunity employer here. You get hits, you’ll play.

Which is why, when Friday night’s game rolls around, Jay Payton is nowhere to be found in the starting lineup.
I’m not saying Payton needs to be starting from now until our inevitable World Series parade. I’m certainly not of the belief that five games provides any sort of meaningful sample size. But when a guy is hitting well, maybe you keep him in the lineup until he proves otherwise. Even Art Howe grasped this not-at-all complex concept (See Mabry, John — otherworldly perfomance of, immediately following Giambi trade).
Elsewhere in Friday’s Chronicle:
Marco Scutaro, who hasn’t had a hit since the All-Star break (eight at-bats), is overanxious at the plate, according to manager Ken Macha, who plans to put the second baseman back in the lineup today.
It’s not at all surprising that Scutaro isn’t starting tonight, is it? And it’s certainly not maddeningly that the guy who is playing second, Mark Ellis, made an error in the first that led to a three-run Texas outburst. Not the least bit maddening. Who would be irritated by that?
Ken Macha, I do not get you at all. And frankly, it would frighten me if I ever started to.