Reason for optimism: Fans might not have noticed, but Oakland arguably performed better than the team that won the American League West last year.
Reason for pessimism: Fans did notice that the Athletics had the worst record in the AL and the players the team traded won awards, pennants and World Series rings.
The A's had the worst record in the AL last year, as they were six games clear of the Detroit Tigers. Yet I can make the case, based on the actual output of players, that Oakland not only wasn't the worst team in the AL but also was seventh. The Athletics were a hair above average and even better than the Texas Rangers, who finished 20 games ahead of them in winning the division.