The Oakland A's have done the easy thing in re-upping their baseball operations people. Now comes the rest of the winter, and the bigger decisions they can, should and will make to overthrow the Boston Red Sox.
Or undercut the Chicago White Sox. With the A’s, progress always is a nerve-wracking thing.
Anyway, here’s the A's offseason agenda, which will be met or there will be hell to pay.
Get all the starting pitchers
The A’s are known for their contrarian notions as regards to zigging and zagging, and with relief pitchers being the market’s new hyper-efficiency, Billy Beane and David Forst can start collecting starters at distressed prices -- and then use them as openers, or second-through-fifth-inning specialists.