A roster of tired, banged-up bodies that owned baseball's best record as recently as mid-August and stumbled through September is now headed into the offseason after a 9-8, 12-inning loss to the Kansas City Royals in Tuesday's 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. An offense that had been prolific to that point almost immediately went into a long funk, sparking questions and scrutiny about Beane's decision to part ways with someone as dynamic in the middle of the order as Cespedes, the two-time reigning Home Run Derby champ. Yet that 7-3 cushion wouldn't last against a determined Royals team, a starved franchise and fan base celebrating the organization's first playoffs since 1985. On Aug.