The last blogger out there who's been in the game as long as I have (and he's done it far more consistently than me—not that you, Dear Reader of this frequently dormant blog, need me to tell you that), Nico at Athletics Nation, has a complaint: Why are the A's using Jake Smolinski over Trayce Thompson against right-handed pitching, and why are the A's using Chris Hatcher in high-leverage situations?

I'll admit, when I opened the blog, I did not think I'd end up agreeing at all, largely because of this line: "It’s the manager and front office that has yet to catch up with observant and rational fans that has the A’s struggling to win half their games." I'm, personally, long past any notion that I've got better ideas than the professionals, especially in this era of brutal efficiency in front offices, receptiveness to new and statistically oriented ideas, and so on.

So but fine, let's put aside my quibbles with that sentence and get into the meat: Nico is in my terrifically unhumble opinion (IMTUO) correct that Smolinski should, even in the absence of Boog Powell and in these pre-Dustin Fowler days, remain a platoon player and all-around backup. Thompson isn't going to hit, either, but he's at least likely a better defensive outfielder. Neither is young enough to make "maybe he'll take a step forward!" a good bet, so on a team whose starting rotation isn't going to strike anyone out, between a bad hitter and a really bad hitter (and I honestly don't know which one of those is Smolinski and which is Thompson), I'd take the defensive player as my starter.

That said, given that we're talking about thin margins here, there may be institutional reasons to play Smolinski over Thompson. Specifically, Smolinski has been in the organization since June 2015, including suffering through a miserable 2017 due to his shoulder injury. Thompson is the new guy. These things can count in the baseball clubhouse just like they count in every other workplace, and an organization that already seems to have something of a negative reputation in the player community doesn't necessarily want to cause more upset where it's not necessary and where the on-field gains are (a) speculative (b) minor and (c) meaningless.

That's not to say that this is what's going on, but it's a possible consideration, and one that I don't think, here in 2018, we should pooh pooh.

Hatcher, on the other hand ... I don't know what to say. The last time he was good for a full season was 2015. In 2016 and 2017, he was something like "more or less playable at the back end of the bullpen." He's 33. He is what he is, and what he is is the 23rd guy on the roster. That's cool! Good for him! But why are the A's pretending he's an eighth-inning reliever? The A's believed enough in Yusmeiro Petit's 2017 to offer him a two-year contract. They believed enough in Emilio Pagan's 2017 and minor-league performance to acquire him in a trade. Same for Ryan Buchter's 2016–17 performance. Not one of these guys has any tenure with the A's whatsoever, and Petit is the real veteran presence: He's the same age as Hatcher, but made it to the majors five years earlier. And has a ring! (Giants, 2014.)

So I don't know what to say about Hatcher. All one can do is hope that, given that Blake Treinen is the only reliever on the team with any status-based claim to a particular job, reshuffling of who is pitching in which innings will be easily enough, and soon enough, accomplished.