Ask Kendry. Or Kendrys.

Cespedes is the one thing that has A’s fans talking, as we secretly gather in our hovels, being careful to douse the lights at the sound of approaching footsteps.

The other thing is that two ownership groups that were formed to pursue the Dodgers are now looking at the A’s and keeping them in Oakland, which coincides with the current Oakland city council saying they’d approve redevelopment of the Mausoleum on the current site, either like Kansas City or maybe a new stadium in an unused portion of the parking lot, of which there is much during the Summer. That’s potentially a much more positive development long term.

But short term Cespedes is the talking point. He could go down to the minors initially if it looks like he’s too raw and won’t profit from seeing one MLB breaking pitch after another. As Craig said, hitting an 85 mph mushball is no great feat for guys at the top level. I saw Barry Bonds , pre-steroids, put a Mark Leiter 85′er into the right-field stands into the teeth of a howling 30 mph wind at the Stick one time. So far the comparison between the two ends right there. Melvin was careful in his choice of words in the MLB interview I saw this morning. But whether Cespedes goes down for a bit or stays with the big team and plays right or center (CoCo’s defensive numbers weren’t demi-god like last year, but he still looks like he can go get it out there) Cespedes is the only thing at this point that’s positive and real for the A’s fans.