FanPost

Mulder trade ramifications (off the top of my head)

  1. The A's are rebuilding.  Not "re-tooling" or any of the other euphemisms... rebuilding.  
  2. Attendance is going to fall through the floor.  Bay Area baseball fans don't show up when the team isn't a contender and management throws in the towel.  There will be plenty of good seats available.
  3. I'll find out more about the players involved later, but this trade makes sense now that Beane has dealt Hudson.  If you can't win in 2005, why bother hanging onto Mulder - who you're probably going to have to trade after the upcoming season?
  4. This changes everything.  Byrnes?  Gone.  Hatteberg?  No reason to keep him around as anything but a backup in case Dan Johnson doesn't pan out.  Dotel?  There's no reason to pay good money for a shaky closer when we're not trying to win this year.  Zito?  His fate is uncertain.  As we all assumed he would be gone after 2006 anyway, there's a good argument for dealing him too.  I think Beane would like to sign Durazo to a long-term deal, and now he's got the money to do so.
  5. If nothing else, you've got to give Billy Beane credit for guts.  His reputation is on the line here.  If can keep the team competitive and make it into a serious contender by 2007, all of his critics who credited the Big Three for his success will have to shut up.  If not, the critics were right.
  6. It must stink to be Jason Kendall right now.
  7. I think you've got to be awfully optimistic to envision the A's as legitimate contenders in 2006.  The guys we got in the Huddy/Mulder trades are going to have to pan out quick.
  8. I guess the Cardinals' young minor league catcher is supposed to be a promising player, but how many catchers do we need?
  9. I am curious what Beane really thinks of Mulder.  Was this another salary dump/rebuilding move, or does he have serious doubts about Mulder based on his injury history and 2004 meltdown?
  10. Barton may the best long-term player of the bunch, but Haren needs to be successful for this trade to work.  The A's had a dearth of minor-league pitching prospects.  The trades for Meyer and Haren are designed to rectify that situation.  I hope Beane has made accurate assessments of those pitchers.
  11. Boy, am I surprised Zito is the last of the Big Three standing...