- The A's are rebuilding. Not "re-tooling" or any of the other euphemisms... rebuilding.
- 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.
- 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?
- 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.
- 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.
- It must stink to be Jason Kendall right now.
- 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.
- I guess the Cardinals' young minor league catcher is supposed to be a promising player, but how many catchers do we need?
- 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?
- 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.
- Boy, am I surprised Zito is the last of the Big Three standing...