Ka'aihue Deserved Better from Beane

When Billy Beane DFA'd Kila Ka'aihue last week as his wife is days away from giving birth to twins, it sent a clear message from the A's organization that was heard all throughout baseball:

"A's front office officials are heartless, gutless jerks."

At least that's what a number of A's players, speaking anonymously, and national sportswriters were saying. Check out this report from the S.F. Chronicle:

His wife, Blair, is due to deliver twins any day, and that, combined with the brief window Ka'aihue had the everyday job, left some of the Oakland players shaking their heads.
"Everyone is in shock," one player said.
"Total horse" manure, said another.

Wow, those are harsh quotes from A's players who are ripping Billy Beane's decision. The national sportswriters were equally brutal. Here's a critical take from baseball reporter David Brown with Yahoo! Sports:

With Ka'aihue's wife on the verge of giving birth, and with Moss' bring-me-up-or-else deadline more than a week away, they could have waited. They should have waited. These aren't merely pieces on a chess board. They are people. And there's very flimsy evidence to support having to make a move right now. The A's are treating their roster like a fantasy baseball player might, and they are short-sighted to do so. It's horse manure, as the one player said.

Deadspin.com went even further, calling Beane's and Wolff's franchise "hopeless and heartless." They added this about the A's clubhouse:

This should be a safe space for young men to learn, and grow as humans, and form a band of brothers. Instead, the clubhouse is righteously pissed because Kila Ka'aihue was designated for assignment.

For years, Beane and Wolff have blamed their home city and stadium for chasing away free agents. The colder reality is that Beane's heartless un-player-friendly style is as much to blame for that than anything.