That was a tepid display by Billy Beane in the wake of the A’s wild-card loss. He earned widespread respect for his nervy gambles before the trade deadline, but the A’s played exactly one postseason game, away from home. The season was an abject failure. Unless Beane cops to the truth, his epilogue can’t be taken seriously.

“What can I say? Our moves backfired.” That’s what Beane needed to say. Instead, he claimed the A’s wouldn’t have made the playoffs without Jon Lester, and you wonder how the players must feel about that. The A’s were 66-41 at the time of the deal. Everyone in baseball was forecasting great things to come. Now Beane says he had no faith in that roster? That without drastic rotation moves, they were about to stage a ghastly collapse? When they were 25 games over .500?

No wonder Jed Lowrie, Josh Reddick and others cast doubts about the A’s revolving-door policy and dismissal of team chemistry after the crushing loss in Kansas City. The A’s get shuffled around like chess pieces, and to hear some insiders tell it, Josh Donaldson and Sean Doolittle could be next, perhaps even Jeff Samardzija. How would any of that play in the clubhouse?

Listen, Beane will recover from this disaster. So will his team. He’ll put together a competitive club, significantly different from the one we just witnessed, and the summer of 2015 should be properly compelling. It’s just that the A’s philosophy is inherently flawed. It can’t reflect some magnificent wizardry if it never gets the club into relevant postseason position. And as we all know, it’s really not Beane’s fault at all.

The A’s are going to be stuck on this treadmill until the team is sold. Co-owner John Fisher has untold riches and the A’s make a mint in baseball’s revenue-sharing, but they act as if they wouldn’t spend more than 5 cents on a car wash. Strapped by small-market reality? Nonsense. They’re just cheapskates, clinging to a San Jose fantasy that won’t ever come true.

I’ve spoken to a lot of devoted A’s fans lately, and although they were heartbroken by Tuesday night’s game, they have faith. They unconditionally love the team, and there’s always next year. But I’ve seen a lot of anger, as well, and not just from the lunatic fringe.

“As an A’s fan since 1970, I am deeply saddened,” wrote Jeff Cleland, a prominent San Carlos executive, via e-mail. “Moneyball is a bad business model and it will never work. Billy Beane is not a genius, as proven by this year’s fiasco. Lew Wolff has the business acumen of a preschooler when it comes to organized sports. The best thing for our team is a fresh start, even if it means leaving Oakland. Let’s hope for a sports team run like a real business in the future.”

In a way, you have to admire Beane for his devotion to the franchise, when he would have so much more impact under high-powered ownership. And when he says “my legacy is my kids,” that’s a man with his priorities straight. But to claim the team wasn’t at all disrupted by this summer’s strategy — that’s just baffling. A very good thing turned to dust, and it was no coincidence.

Céspedes’ future

On a recent road trip to Kansas City, Red Sox beat writers noticed a man at peace in the visitor’s clubhouse. It was Yoenis Céspedes, strumming a 12-string guitar. Céspedes might be the essence of cool, with a big future in A’s nostalgia, but he can’t quite be certain what’s next. The Red Sox are prepared to open talks for a contract extension (what should have happened in Oakland, in your 3-Dot proprietor’s opinion, but we just pour the drinks). Does he see a long-term future in Boston? Will he be comfortable with their vision of him in right field, a position he’s never played or cared for? He could find himself involved in another major trade ... No Céspedes or Lester for the Red Sox next spring? They have reportedly deemed Lester too expensive (an odd stance, in their case), and the Boston Globe reported that he is selling his home in Newton, Mass. ... Astounding but true: Lester didn’t attempt a single pickoff throw all season until Tuesday night, and that was more of a reaction to Billy Butler’s clumsy execution of a double-steal. Scouts say Lester has a mental block about throwing to first, including bunt attempts, although it’s nothing as drastic as the Steve Sax-Mackey Sasser brand of throwing phobia.

Some good news for the A’s: Although he was somewhat overshadowed by dynamic shortstop Daniel Robertson at Class A Stockton, Matt Olson was widely considered the most promising first baseman in the minor leagues after hitting 37 homers with 117 walks ... No college football result this weekend will be more satisfying than Oregon’s loss to Arizona. Forget the implications for Stanford. The Ducks, once again rejecting their green-and-yellow school colors, took the field in garish black and pink. For that alone, the defeat was richly deserved ... Stephen Curry and Steve Kerr engaged in a free-throw contest during a recent Warriors practice. It doesn’t matter who won (it was Curry) because it could go either way — Kerr is that good — and that’s very cool ... Don’t miss Steve Fainaru’s superb ESPN.com piece on Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiper, a friendship that only grows stronger among the best broadcasting tandem in the business ... And as the A’s go their separate ways, some very key players not likely to return, the Giants move on with a cast as familiar as “Modern Family.” In honor of Hunter Pence, enjoy the 3-Dot’s latest special, the kale and tonic.

Bruce Jenkins is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: bjenkins@sfchronicle.com Twitter @Bruce_Jenkins1