I can't help it.

So don't laugh at me if I cry when this happens, okay?

Someone give me something to dull this pain.

Don't think Mr. Beane doesn't have a long, thoughtout plan for Huddy. I'm sure in his secret chambers beneath the house that Al trashed, BB has cultivated several trade possibilities that will have all of us in AN going HOLYS**T!!!! Huddy is one of the top 5 pitchers in MLB right now, so his price will be steep. If no trade is possible, he helps us through July, and BB trades him to the NL for someone having a great year. Remember, the Red Sox traded Garciaparra mid-year and still did pretty well.

I hope he doesn't get traded, but if he does, I hope it's to the Mets or Philadelphia. That way he can come back to Oakland next year, but we wouldn't have to face him all the time.

On a side note, I had a dream a couple of nights ago where BB traded Hudson. I was really mad and I checked the newspaper as soon as I woke up just to make sure. I really hope it doesn't happen.

The reality of this day and age in baseball is that players rarely stick around with their first organization for an extended period.  Because the league is so starkly divided into financial haves and have nots, you basically end up with 4 categories of players:

1. Good young players - most of these are with their first team, but others could have been traded after limited time with their first organization.  It's hard not to like these guys, and the A's lean heavily in this category.
2. Good established players still with first team - this is a small group league wide, and the A's will never have more than 1 or maybe 2.  Even the Yankees only have a few (Jeter/Williams/Rivera), so that tells you something.
3. Mercenaries - good players who needed to leave their first team to make their deserved dollars.  The A's will never have too many of these, because they're drastically overpriced.
4. Has beens, never weres and never will bes - roster filler for the 4/5ths of MLB that's at least in part financially challenged.  The trick is to squeeze anything you can out of this group, catch lightning in a bottle, or otherwise get lucky.

Given this, what kind of team is the most enjoyable to root for?  I'd argue that it's a team like the A's, who have a greater percentage of players in the first category than just about anyone.

I guess what I'm saying is that good young players will keep being fed into the A's major league roster, so long as Billy keeps the machine churning.  Part of keeping that machine churning is to feed the machine with established players who are about to jump into a markedly higher salary class.  So, while it may hurt to lose a guy like Hudson in the near term, another gifted, likable, competitive player is coming down the pike, and the A's need that pipeline to keep pumping indefinitely.  It's their lifeblood, and their reason for being.

Feed the machine.  The machine is good.  The machine is perpetual contention.

You may be right, but I have an issue with one piece of your logic: they are going to trade Hudson because Harden is going to be better? Now, I agree that Harden has a higher ceiling, but why trade Hudson specifically, instead of Mulder or Zito? Don't give me the "left-handed" garbage either. It doesn't matter which hand a guy throws with, if he's better than the guy you are comparing him too. I have often said that if we gave Hudson a four year deal, the end of that would coincide exactly with the point at which Harden requires big money--saying his elbow doesn't explode, or anything (he threw a lot of pitches for a 22 year old last year). And another thing--there are no low-cost options on the FA market; Kris Benson just got $7.5 mil per. If we don't sign Hudson, I see no reason why we are going to be able to sign any of the Big 3.

Still, the fact that BB hasn't even spoken to him is a bad sign. I guess we'll find out this weekend. In the meantime, I'm going to go throw myself under a bus.

Reason:  Billy wants to be sure Blanton and the others are ready.  Now it may be that Mr. Beane sees a very good market this winter. In fact, he's already made reference to there being a lot of "restlessness"(or similiar word) out there.

In that case, you may be right Blez.  One thing for sure is that the A's realized some time ago that Hudson's probably not signable.  I also think that Mulder's always been the one they try and keep.  Look at how Billy stood by him during his September collapse?

As for Barry, he and Alyssa are headed for NY unless our financial situation gets better.  Getting to the World Series could do that.

At least the A's don't have to play in the Holiday Bowl!

And somewhere in the darkness the gambler, he broke even
But in his final words I found an ace that I could keep
You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em
Know when to walk away and know when to run.
You never count your money when you're sitting at the table
There'll be time enough for counting when the dealing's done

I will go on the record with a prediction he is not traded (unless A's are out of it at break).

Hudson has got to be concerned about Zito and Mulders less than stellar 04's and as such no trade.

remember when kendall joined the a's, billy talked about having kendall and hudson together, giving the a's two super tough guys (i think he called them mongooses?). now why would he say something like that if he was already planning on trading huddy? just wondering...

Don't take this the wrong way. I know Huddy is better than zito and mulder. Consistency is part of being a great pitcher. But look at it. Zito has had the best 1 season of any of them in his Cy Young year. We know what he can do, and last year towards the end he showed signs of coming back to that. You criticize his 03' season, but cmon. The only reason to criticize is because he wasn't AS GOOD as 02'. But a 14-12 record with a 3.30 is a really good year. He had 13 un-earned runs, and he had his fair share of blown oppurtunities (not by foulke, by bullpen). He could have had 17 wins. Plus, run support clearly was not at any sort of high. If you don't look at the ERA for a minute from last year, you find a pretty good pitcher.  His walks were down, K's were up by a lot from 03'. His major problem last year was Home runs. Normally, with his decreased walks and increased strikeouts, it wouldnt have been as big a deal. But he gave up 216 hits, 30 more than his previous career high. He was giving up more 2 and 3 run home runs, and was not locating his fastball. I fully expect him to bounce back and do what we know he can do. NO INJURIES!!! Say it aloud, record it, and play it again. Injury free.

Mulder. Take away last year, and you have Mulder, when healthy one of the best pitchers in the game. he goes into stretches of total domination. Aside from last year he had never had any of these breakdowns, and understandably. I mean when one of your Partners is pitching bad, trying to find himself, and the other is injured, its all on you. Never had that before. Expect him to fully bounce back too. He has had injuries, but a good sign was that he did not have anything last year, a full year. He is a special pitcher, and definitley a "gamble" worth keeping when you have him for 2 more years under his true value.

Than Hudson. One year left, give the impression he doesn't want to say. Is gonna make much more than we can provide, has more value. Most logical choice to trade. Plus he has a special case of Obliquenitis.

H

A guy signed for less than his market value for two years is worth more to the A's than a guy signed for less than his market value for one year.

But the guy signed for two years is also worth more to a potential trading partner. In other words, he will bring a lot more in return. The only question is will some other GM offer a deal which Beane thinks is a net improvement for the team. That could happen with any player.

So there is no way you can just say it's better to trade one or the other. Except in one case: if you know you're only going to be competitive in one of the two upcoming years and don't care about the other year. If the A's decided to compete in 2004 and rebuild in 2005, they'd trade Mulder or Zito to get some superstars for one year. If they decided to rebuild in 2004 and compete in 2005, they'd trade Hudson for young prospects.

But that's not the A's style. Their stated goal is to be competitive every season. That means players with short or long term contracts are equally tradeable.

Hasn't the strike taught us anything? These guys are business men and when the seasons over we don't take them home with us. Billy will figure out what is the best deal and make it and until then let's look forward to spring training and the 2005 season when we finally win it all. It will all be fine! And I am a therapist. Seriously. Mitch who bleeds green and gold, not the players who wear it.

Tim has been an A long enough to know how they work, far better than we know. He saw the Giambi thing up close, the losing of Tejada, Chavy's resigning. these guys played together and are on good terms - so where does Hudson get off with this crap? He knows exactly how deals go down in Oakland, why would he be suprised if they didn't treat him any different? Either his comments in the chron are strictly how agents/players do business or he hasn't been paying attention to the players around him. The cost of being an A's fan is watching the revolving door regarding the talent. I hope Hudson stays, but won't be at all suprised to see him go.

and, if you get it, take it.  Otherwise, start the beginning of the year with him and evaluate at the trading deadline.  To me, Austin Kearns is not close to what BB would be asking in return.  Marcus Giles, maybe, but I doubt it.  How about Miguel Cabrera, though?  If you can pry someone like that away, it's see you later, Huddy.  Hudson's a stud, a great guy, all that, but the picture is the same from his side of the fence as it is from BB's.  It's business, and we're looking for a buyer in the NL (or an AL cellar-dweller).  I'm guessing the only way the A's offer anything to Hudson is if someone desperately wants Zito or Mulder instead.  Unlikely, but possible.  I would think BB would be shopping them all right now and dealing from a position of big-time strength.