Worst sports trade of the year.

This trade was made a couple months ago by the baseball wiz Billy Beane whom Brad Pitt played in the movie Moneyball. At the time the A's were riding high with the best record in baseball. They had just made another trade to acquire two more starting pitchers to add to their already very good pitching crew.

So, they traded one of their best hitters, Yoenis Cespedes, for one of the all time best clutch playoff pitchers Jon Lester. There was other reasons for the trade but the main reason most agreed was that Lester would make them a true contender for a Championship. People were saying Beane was going "all in" on winning a Championship because Lester is so dominant in the post season, including the World Series.

Well, it hasn't worked out that way. The A's started skidding almost immediately. At the end of July the A's had a record of 66-41, 25 games over 500%. They then went 12-17 in August and then 10-16 in Sept. They had injuries for sure, but mostly they just went into a huge slump and just barely squeaked into a do or die wildcard playoff game last night. Jon Lester, a great pitcher, had a 2-0 lead and then a 7-3 lead, but couldn't hold it. The A's lost in extra innings.

I understand the logic and numbers behind the trade, but sometimes it's more simple than all that. The old saying in this case is true: Don't mess with success. I think Billy Beane outsmarted himself and messed with the A's winning chemistry. Chemistry is hard to measure and put a value on in sports, but one way to do so is by winning. The A's were winning and Cespedes was one of the reasons why. Plus, he was very popular among his team mates. I could not believe they traded him but thought, well Beane must know what he is doing. He didn't. Very bad trade.