Sam made the predictions. Now it’s time to open the receipts.

What did he get right about the 2026 A’s — what did he completely whiff on — and what did this season teach us about where this organization is really headed?

This is the SEASON FINALE of WHERE STATS MEET INSTINCT on The House Always Wins Media Network, and this isn’t your typical season recap.

Sam entered 2026 believing the A’s had a path toward roughly .500 baseball if enough things broke their way. Instead, injuries piled up, the pitching staff struggled, the bullpen became the weakness he feared, the defense exposed roster-construction problems, and pitching in Sacramento proved even more punishing than he anticipated.

But Sam also got some things right — and got some things wrong in ways he’s pretty happy about.

We’re revisiting his preseason evaluations of Jacob Lopez, Colby Thomas, Zack Gelof, Henry Bolte, Luis Severino, Nick Kurtz and Jack Perkins, along with the bullpen, outfield defense and the biggest question facing the entire organization:

WHERE IS THE PITCHING COMING FROM?

Because the A’s may have their skill players. They may have young bats worth building around. They may even have a franchise cornerstone in Nick Kurtz.

But Sam compares the pitching staff to the quarterback of a football team: until you solve that position, everything else becomes secondary.

And now comes an offseason filled with uncertainty — a GM search, a potentially changing front-office philosophy, major pitching decisions, roster construction questions, the final Sacramento season and the organization's eventual move toward Las Vegas.

Most importantly, this finale is about accountability.

Anybody can sound like a genius after the season is over. The challenge is putting your analysis on the record beforehand and coming back later willing to say:

I nailed this. I completely missed this. Here’s why. And here’s what I learned.

That’s where statistics actually meet instinct.

👇 YOUR TURN: What did YOU get most wrong about the 2026 A’s?

Drop it in the comments, subscribe to The House Always Wins Media Network, and join us as we head into one of the most unpredictable A’s offseasons in years.

THE SEASON IS OVER. NOW COMES THE VERDICT. The A’s finish the 2026 season 64–98. Tonight at 9:00 PM PT, there’s one Last Call left. Welcome to THE STATE OF THE BOONION — the 2026 Season Finale of LAST CALL: A’S POSTGAME, LIVE on the House Always Wins Media Network. This isn't another postgame show. There is no game tomorrow. No series to preview. No “we’ll get ’em next time.” After 162 games, it’s time to put the entire season under the microscope. We’re handing out the final grade for the 2026 A’s. What went right? What went wrong? Who became part of the future? What has to change? And after a 64–98 finish, what should we realistically expect in 2027? Then we go beyond the roster. What is the state of the A’s fanbase? After everything this fanbase has lived through, where does it stand tonight—and what does being an A’s fan look like going forward? Then we're turning the cameras on ourselves. We'll tell the story of the House Always Wins Media Network—where this thing started, what we built during the 2026 season, what worked, what didn't, where HAW stands today, and where we're taking it next. And we're saving the final chapter for the people without whom none of this exists: YOU. The viewers. The listeners. The commenters. The people who agreed with us. The people who thought we were out of our damn minds. And the A’s fans who kept showing up. 64 wins. 98 losses. 162 games. One final conversation. 🍺 THE STATE OF THE BOONION ⚾ LAST CALL: A’S POSTGAME — SEASON FINALE 📺 LIVE TONIGHT — 9:00 PM PT 🎙️ HOUSE ALWAYS WINS MEDIA NETWORK The lights are going down. The glasses are almost empty. There’s one conversation left.

THE HUNT IS OVER.

162 games. A final record of 64–98. And one last trip into the woods for THE HABIT HUNTER.

In the 2026 SEASON FINALE, Tim “Hobbs” Burns closes the book on a season that gave A’s fans just about everything imaginable—young players worth believing in, maddening situational hitting, a pitching staff that surrendered home runs at an alarming rate, bullpen disasters, questionable managerial decisions, flashes of real promise and plenty of moments that could only happen to the A’s.

But this finale is about much more than Game 162.

Who actually earned a place on the 2027 roster?

Did Lawrence Butler’s monster finish change the conversation? What did Henry Bolte and Zack Gelof show down the stretch? Is Jeff McNeil worth bringing back? Which young players deserve another opportunity—and which pitchers should never make us watch this movie again?

And then there is Mark Kotsay.

After a 64–98 finish, Tim unloads on the decisions that frustrated him throughout the season and asks the question hanging over the organization as the offseason begins: should Kotsay remain the manager?

But late in the finale, THE HABIT HUNTER becomes something completely different.

Tim reveals something he has secretly been doing in every episode throughout the entire season.

Hidden inside Habit Hunter have been Easter eggs—quotes from people who inspired him, philosophers and teachers, favorite movies, legendary sports moments and pieces of his own life.

There was a reason for all of them.

And that reason is bigger than baseball.

This is the final Habit Hunter of the 2026 season.

One last hunt.

One hell of a ride.

And maybe, after hearing Tim's revelation, you'll want to go back to Episode 1 and start hunting for what he left behind.

THE HABIT HUNTER Part of the HOUSE ALWAYS WINS MEDIA NETWORK

Like the episode, subscribe to the network, and tell us in the comments:

Who stays for 2027?

Who goes?

And how many Habit Hunter Easter eggs can YOU find?

They overlooked him. They underestimated him. And now Cole Conn is making people pay attention.

A 12th-round draft pick out of the University of Illinois Chicago, Cole Conn didn't enter professional baseball with the hype, headlines, or expectations reserved for baseball's elite prospects.

He had to earn everything.

And in 2026, he's making his case.

⚾ **TONIGHT ON SOLAR SOX SPOTLIGHT**

Booney tells the underdog story of Cole Conn, the switch-hitting A's catching prospect whose journey has taken him from an overlooked draft pick to Triple-A Las Vegas and the Arizona Fall League.

**THE NUMBERS BEHIND THE STORY**

2026 Minor League Season: - .286 batting average

- 13 home runs

- 60 RBIs

- 28 stolen bases

- .852 OPS

Early Arizona Fall League:

- .308 batting average

- .907 OPS

- 2 doubles and 1 triple

- 5 runs scored

- 2 stolen bases

But this story is bigger than a stat sheet.

How does an overlooked prospect fight his way up the organizational ladder? What makes Conn different from other catching prospects? And could he eventually force the A's into some difficult roster decisions?

We'll also check in on the other A's prospects competing for the Mesa Solar Sox, including Davis Diaz, Breyson Guedez, Tucker Novotny, Grant Richardson, Kenya Huggins, Jared Johnson and Jay Dill.

**THEY OVERLOOKED HIM. NOW LOOK.

** Welcome to Solar Sox Spotlight: The A's Fall League Report.

Hosted by Booney.

A House Always Wins Media Network original.

Subscribe for independent A's coverage, minor league analysis, prospect development, and the stories behind the numbers.

#ColeConn #Athletics #ArizonaFallLeague #MesaSolarSox #AsProspects

The first offseason edition of WHERE STATS MEET INSTINCT is here — and we're performing the autopsy on a 64–98 A's season that fell nowhere close to expectations.

Sam is joined by Aidan from THE LAB to answer the questions that matter now:

How much of 2026 was destroyed by injuries — and how much was simply bad roster construction?

What happened to the A's pitching staff?

How much did playing in Sacramento affect the pitchers?

What happened to Luis Morales and Jacob Lopez?

Has Zack Gelof completely rebuilt his future with the organization?

How high is Henry Bolte's ceiling?

What should A's fans realistically expect from Leo De Vries?

And most importantly: What does the next A's GM have to change to make sure this doesn't happen again?

The guys dig into pitching development, defense, roster construction, potential offseason additions, Sacramento's unusual environment, and the young players who could become major pieces of the 2027 club.

There IS talent here.

The question isn't whether the A's have interesting players.

The question is whether the next front office can finally build a roster where all those pieces actually fit.

PLUS: Sam and Aiden finish the show by making their bold predictions for 2027.

Welcome to the offseason.

WHERE STATS MEET INSTINCT — where the numbers tell part of the story, and baseball instincts tell the rest.

Subscribe to the House Always Wins Media Network for year-round A's coverage, prospects, analytics, offseason news, and the road to Las Vegas.

#Athletics #AsBaseball #MLB #WhereStatsMeetInstinct #HouseAlwaysWins

THE FAITHFUL TWO just became THE FAITHFUL FEW.

Rob officially joins Kobi and Nick as a permanent member of the show — and unfortunately for him, his first assignment is helping dissect a 64-98 A’s season.

The 2026 season is finally over. The A’s avoided 100 losses, but that doesn’t erase what went wrong.

So where does this organization go from here?

On this episode of THE FAITHFUL FEW, the guys break down the 2026 season, hand out their final grades and turn their attention toward what could be a massive offseason.

⚾ Was 2026 simply a bad season — or an organizational failure?

⚾ How much can injuries really excuse?

⚾ How do the A’s finally fix the starting rotation?

⚾ Can Luis Medina become a legitimate late-inning bullpen weapon?

⚾ Should the A’s trade Zack Gelof for pitching?

⚾ What about Lawrence Butler?

⚾ Has Henry Bolte earned the chance to be the everyday center fielder?

⚾ Which young players actually belong on the 2027 roster?

⚾ Why do defined bullpen and lineup roles need to become a priority?

And perhaps most importantly…

Did THE FAITHFUL FEW accidentally destroy the A’s season?

When the show got started, the A’s were sitting at .500.

What happened afterward?

Let's just say the numbers aren't exactly helping the defense.

The offseason is here. The roster decisions are coming. A new front office will have plenty of work to do.

And THE FAITHFUL FEW isn't going anywhere.

Subscribe to the HOUSE ALWAYS WINS MEDIA NETWORK for year-round A’s coverage, analysis, opinions, offseason news, and plenty of arguments along the way.

THE FAITHFUL FEW Kobi. Nick. Rob.

Three fans. One baseball team. Absolutely no guarantee of sanity.

Welcome to the PREMIERE of The Sixth Inning: A’s Business at Six with Booney, a new Monday–Friday show from the House Always Wins Media Network examining the money, power, and decisions shaping the A’s—past, present, and future.

Follow the money. Understand the game.

And we're starting with a big one.

The A’s lost 98 games in 2026. Their bullpen blew 28 saves. Mason Miller became one of the most dominant closers in baseball.

So knowing everything we know now, would I go back and undo the trade that sent Mason Miller and J.P. Sears to San Diego for Leo DeVries, Braden Nett, Henry Baez and Eduardo Nunez?

Not a chance.

I'd make it 100 times out of 100.

In this episode, we examine how much better the 2026 A’s realistically could have been with Miller still closing games, why our game-by-game analysis projects approximately nine additional victories, what 73–89 would actually have accomplished, and why the answer requires looking beyond blown saves.

Then we get to the other side of the trade: Leo De Vries.

We break down his prospect value, his development, the risk created by his shoulder surgery, the additional players acquired in the deal, and why the timing of an elite closer's value matters just as much as the talent of the closer himself.

Mason Miller is a Ferrari.

But a Ferrari only changes your life when you've got somewhere to drive it.

THE SIXTH INNING: A’S BUSINESS AT SIX WITH BOONEY

Monday–Friday • 6:00 PM Pacific

The House Always Wins Media Network

Follow the money. Understand the game.

Subscribe and join us as we cover A’s ownership, payroll, contracts, trades, prospects, stadium financing, revenue, attendance, media rights, Las Vegas and the decisions behind the decisions.

NEXT EPISODE: The Zack Gelof lawsuits.

Welcome to the very first episode of Solar Sox Spotlight: The A’s Fall League Report, where for the next several weeks, we’re heading to the desert to find out which A’s prospects might be part of tomorrow’s team. So, what exactly is the Arizona Fall League?

Think of it as Major League Baseball’s finishing school for prospects. Every fall, MLB organizations send selected young players to Arizona, where they’re combined into six teams and compete against some of the best prospects in baseball. It’s not really about wins and losses; it’s about development, evaluation, and opportunity.

Organizations get another look at players against high-level competition. In contrast, prospects get a chance to work on their game and make an impression before everyone heads home for the winter.

The A’s have eight players with the Mesa Solar Sox this year, and that’s what this show is all about. We’re going to follow them, break down what they’re doing, tell you who’s making noise—and maybe introduce you to a future A’s player before the rest of baseball knows his name.

Welcome to Solar Sox Spotlight.