The Big Split

The fallout from the Gio Gonzalez trade has made us witnesses to two separate factions of A's fans that have formed, the "now" fans and the "future" fans. The "now" fans are aware of the fact that we won't be a playoff team in 2012 and have essentially given up on the franchise. They want to win at this very moment due to the fact that Oakland has underperformed in the past few seasons and with the trading of fan favorites Cahill and now Gio, they have adopted a "doom and gloom" outlook on 2012.
The "future" fan, which I chose to be, accepts the fact that Gio and Cahill were traded and looks toward sucsess in the future. Cole, Parker, Peacock, Milone, and Gray can progress and develop into MLB stars in a few years. Not to mention that the A's will not dissolve into the laughing stock of the league at the loss of two starting pitchers. Jemile and Sizemore get a full season to evolve, Barton and Kurt have chances to greatly improve, and Carter, Allen, Miller, and Taylor get a starting chance in the majors. Plus, our pitching will not be terrible. We get a host of fantastic pitching to add to a deep staff. The expectations will be far lower than the previous season, however, we have a chance to surprise. Are we a WS team in 2012? No. Are we a playoff team in 2012. Probably not. Are we even above .500? Most likely no. But regardless, there is still a full baseball season ahead for the green and gold. They could be projected to win 105 games or 55 games, but as a fan, you still watch and enjoy viewing your team.
The comments on twitter from disgruntled A's fans are disturbing. Saying they'll "burn their jerseys" and "boycott games". The team didn't send Gio away, Beane did. Why punish them? And we won this Gio deal hands down, stealing 4 of the top prospects from DC. And at the end of the day, I still will love this team no matter what. It's sort of like a dysfunctional family. Beane could be the distant step dad and Wolff is the crazy grandpa suffering from Alzheimer's. This team is mine because of it's idiosyncrasies. Through good and sometimes bad. Gio is a fantastic person and wonderful player, but no one player could shake my love for Oakland.