Billy Burns doesn’t fit the classic A’s profile.
He swings at almost everything he sees. In Saturday’s game, he saw five pitches in four at-bats. That’s not the A’s way.
Generally one of the roles assigned to a leadoff hitter is to see lots of pitches, particularly in the first at-bat, so that his teammates can get an idea of what to expect from that day’s starting pitcher.
Given that Burns’ results Saturday were a single, a double and both of the runs the A’s would get against Felix Hernandez, manager Bob Melvin can live with that.