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OAKLAND, Calif. - Support his big moves or not, Billy Beane made one thing perfectly clear: The Oakland Athletics season probably would have ended sooner without Jon Lester a part of it.Oakland had the man on the mound it traded for to shine in these very moments, and the As summed up their topsy-turvy season in a single game, over a span of innings a€” and extra innings.A roster of tired, banged-up bodies that owned baseballs best record as recently as mid-August and stumbled through September is now headed into the off-season after a 9-8, 12-inning loss to the Kansas City Royals in Tuesdays wild-card game.Beane went all in on July 31, dealing slugging left fielder Yoenis Cespedes to the Boston Red Sox for Lester, the veteran left-hander who seemed poised to pitch his team into the division series before Oakland collapsed once more late this season.Simply put, if we dont have Jon Lester, I dont think we make the playoffs, Beane said Wednesday as players packed up their belongings in a quiet clubhouse.The small-budget As beat out the big spenders in the Lester sweepstakes. Then Wednesday, Beane bid Lester a likely farewell as he heads off for a big-money contract elsewhere.An offence that had been prolific to that point almost immediately went into a long funk, sparking questions and scrutiny about Beanes decision to part ways with someone as dynamic in the middle of the order as Cespedes, the two-time reigning Home Run Derby champ. The Cuban defector signed a $36 million, four-year contract before the 2012 season.Manager Bob Melvin handed the ball to Lester on Tuesday with the season on the line and Oakland built him a nice lead that appeared would be plenty, and the recent struggles might all be forgotten as things started fresh. Yet that 7-3 cushion wouldnt last against a determined Royals team, a starved franchise and fan base celebrating the organizations first playoffs since 1985.The As went 88-74 to get back to the playoffs, failing to stay with the red-hot Angels down the stretch after Oakland won the previous two AL West crowns.A microcosm of that game was a microcosm of our year, theres some truth to that, Melvin said.The September collapse baffled all involved, Melvin and his players alike were regularly at a loss for words in describing the various ways they were failing to come through a€” or, like Tuesday night and some many others recently, to finish off an opponent when the opportunity arose.Im proud of the fact we went to the playoffs for a third time in a row, Beane said.Had the As advanced, neither centre fielder Coco Crisp nor catcher Geovany Soto would have been available because of injuries sustained Tuesday.Beane speaks of small windows of opportunity for this club.He got aggressive this summer to give the As their best shot at a deep October run this time on the heels of consecutive five-game losses in the division series to Justin Verlander and the Detroit Tigers.Lester was the perfect pitcher to take Oakland further at last, just as he did leading the Red Sox to a World Series championship only 12 months ago. He threw a no-hitter against the Royals in 2008 to boot.Beanes other deals included the July 4 acquisition of right-handers Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel from the Chicago Cubs for three top prospects.On Aug. 31, the GM traded away pitching prospect Nolan Sanburn for Adam Dunn, who reached the playoffs for the first time but never saw the field Tuesday and has plans to retire without a single post-season at-bat. He had counted on this being his chance in his 14th major league season.Horrible, its an awful feeling, said Melvin, who fully expected to be in the ALDS and use Dunn. I have so much respect for Adam Dunn that it kills me he didnt get in that game.At the start last spring, the As lost two top starters to season-ending elbow injuries and eventual Tommy John surgeries in Jarrod Parker and A.J. Griffin. Given an organizational focus on building depth from the bottom of the farm system on up, Oakland had the arms to withstand those losses, and, eventually, even the excess with the additions of Hammel and Samardzija that Beane traded left-hander Tommy Milone to the Twins when he became the odd-man out and found himself in the minors despite an impressive winning stretch.Now, Oakland must decide who will play shortstop in 2015 given Jed Lowrie is set to become a free agent at a position that wont have many.Its somewhat cathartic for us to start working on next year, Beane said. Theres still a lot of good pieces here. Were very much a jigsaw puzzle. Ashley Young Jersey . Winners of two straight, the Flames will try to become the first team in 25 years to go three consecutive games without taking a penalty Saturday night in San Jose. Victor Lindelof Jersey . Levante, which had lost five straight including a Copa del Rey game last weekend, fell behind at its Ciutat de Valencia stadium when Ionut Sapanura opened the scoring for Elche in the 26th minute. http://www.jerseymanchesterunitedsoccer....-united-jersey/. Already owning gold from competition in Vancouver in 2010, Loch posted a combined four-run time of 3:27.526. That included a track-record third run of 51. Romelu Lukaku Jersey . -- Ricky Romeros comeback bid hit another road bump Tuesday in an ugly 18-4 Jays loss to a Detroit Tigers split squad. David de Gea Jersey . - Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr has nothing but good problems right now.ENGLEWOOD, Colo. - Just 300 days after putting his name in the record books with the longest field goal ever, Matt Prater is history.At least in Denver.The Broncos cut ties Friday with the eighth-year kicker whos about to come off his four-game suspension.That means first-year kicker Brandon McManus has turned his temp job with the AFC champs into a full-time one.From the moment the Giants traded him to the Broncos in late August, McManus looked at Denver not as a stopover but as a destination. He said last month that his aim was to convince the Broncos he, and not Prater, was their man.Still, he was surprised hed done just that.I mean, Matt had a great year last year and hes done very well for himself. I still consider him in the top three kickers in the NFL, McManus said. Just the chance the Broncos are giving me (shows) the confidence they have in me and Im excited with that opportunity.GM John Elway said releasing Prater, the longest-tenured member of the team, was a very difficult football decision.But perhaps an easy financial choice: Prater was due $2.294 million in base salary this season and $3.25 million next year. McManus is making $420,000 this season and $510,000 next year.Thats a difference of more than $4.6 million, money that could come in handy as the Broncos turn their attention to long-term deals with Demaryius Thomas, Julius Thomas and Chris Harris Jr.McManus, Elway said, has earned the opportunity to continue kicking for our team with how well hes played to start the season. He has a very strong leg and we have confidence in him on both field goals and kickoffs.This summer, McManus pushed Giants incumbent Josh Brown just as he had Adam Vinatieri in Indy a year earlier. By sticking with McManus, the Broncos owe New York a seventh-round draft choice in 2015.Prater had given the Broncos reason to fret not only with his continued slip-ups but also with a poor performance in the preseason, something he blamed on his pending punishment weighing on him.Prater has been in the NFLs substance-abuse program, which includes alcohol,, since a DUI arrest on Aug.dddddddddddd 12, 2011. He was originally facing a ban for a full season but his lawyer negotiated a four-game ban instead.Prater said he realized one more strike meant hed face sitting out an entire calendar year when he had some beers not long after the Super Bowl.Why did I risk it? Prater said back on Aug. 25. I made a mistake. I dont have an excuse for it. I screwed up and now Im paying the price for it.That price got heavier Friday.Prater led the league last year by making 25 of 26 field goals, including a record-setting 64-yarder against Tennessee. He also led the NFL with 81 kickoff touchbacks.Prater missed two of four field goal attempts in the preseason, including a 49-yarder in an 18-17 loss to Houston after learning before kickoff that hed be suspended.McManus didnt face a clutch kick in Denvers first three games, but he did everything he was asked, making a trio of short field goals and all eight of his extra points. He also allowed just two returns on 16 kickoffs.Ive been very impressed with him, coach John Fox said. Hes got great potential. Hes a great young kicker.Broncos holder Britton Colquitt said Prater wont be out of a job for long.I think there will be at least 20 teams trying to put offers in, Colquitt said. And hell be able to have his choice, because hes that good. No one can argue with that. Hes probably just in the middle of his career. He could be at Kansas City or Oakland or San Diego.Some fans took to Twitter to criticize the Broncos for jettisoning Prater when they stuck by two front office executives who were arrested on drunken driving charges in 2013, one of whom is serving a work-release jail sentence.Anytime you make football decisions in an organization, especially with somebody thats been with you for a period of time like Matt, its always difficult, Fox said. But its always a football decision, whats going to give us the best chance in our opinion. 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