http://www.athleticsnation.com/comments/2005/9/30/145013/612/132#132

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/scouting?statsId=6642

Wilson has major power and can hit the ball out to all fields, though the majority of his home runs go to left. His swing tends to get long, causing him to strike out frequently. Though Wilson had more consistent at-bats with regular plate appearances, he can still be made to chase pitches, particularly breaking balls down and away. He will crush fastballs left over the plate and also has learned to stay back on changeups and hit them hard. Wilson crowds the plate and isn't scared to get hit by a pitch. He led the major leagues in that category in 2004 with 30 last year.

This doesn't look good for a league change, though he'd be worth a flier. If the A's got him and he sucked, we are never trading for hitters from the Pirates again.

Wilson is a real power hitter, Byrnes is a guy for whom much of his power is against LHP.  Wilson's ISO against RHP in 2002-04 was .202, Byrnes was .152.

I think Wilson would be a great target for a Beane pickup this offseason. It is evident no Konerko signing is in the future so we must make do with flawed players. Previously I was advocating going after Hee-Seop Choi but Wilson seems to be a better fit (Milton Bradley, though, would be a nice pickup). We have to realize that this team doesn't need much to push it over the top when you consider that all the players are so young. I think if we get Wilson and some bench players who are better than pathetic then we'll have a good shot.

Oh yeah, bat Kendall 9th too. ;P

First, Wilson's cheap -- a bonus for the Pirates because it means they can keep the payroll low.  Sure they might lose him at the end of the year, but they'd get a draft pick or two, which would be a hell of a lot better than getting Ginter.  

Second, Wilson produces when he's healthy.  Ginter, on the other hand, killed any notion that he's anything more than a utility sub with his shitball play this year.  Maybe a trip back to the NL would revive his career, but I doubt even Beane could sell the Pirates on that idea (and get Wilson out of it).  

The talk that Wilson is a Byrnes-type player is just foolish.  Compare the two players' 162-game averages, and you'll see how ridiculous that comparison is...  

Wilson: 72 R, 126 H, 24 2B, 24 HR, 71 RBI, .268/.363/.488
Byrnes: 77 R, 127 H, 30 2B, 15 HR, 57 RBI, .259/.325/.437

Sure, Byrnes and Wilson put up similar numbers in terms of runs, hits and doubles, but beyond that it becomes clear that Wilson hits way more bombs, drives in more runs (with a shittier supporting cast), gets on base more (by about 40 OBP points) and hits for more power (by about 50 SLG points).  In other words, Wilson can actually hit, while Byrnes is basically Ricky Ledee with blond hair.  

So, we're not going to get him for Ginter, but he's probably worth having when healthy.  I think Wilson would certainly help our lineup... the only question is whether we'd have to give too much to get him.  

Lineup with Wilson

2B Ellis
CF Kotsay
DH Wilson
3B Chavez
SS Crosby
1B Johnson
LF Payton
RF Swisher
C  Kendall

However, I highly doubt Ginter will get us Craig Wilson. Yeah, I know you knew we were going to say that, but still. Maybe if we bundled him up with Jairo Garcia or Kirk Saaloos they'd bite. But that's still a maybe.

Ginter is a no-no.

Jairo and Brian StaviskY?

How bout this proposal
A's get:
Jonny Gomes

Devil Rays:
Kirk Saarloos
Keith Ginter
Kurt Suzuki

A's get a power right handed stick,whos young and affordable. The Rays get a quality starter a back-up middle infielder and a catching prospect that could be ready by midseason 06'.

If hitters just went up to the plate hacking with no concern for where they hit the ball, then I might agree that there's very little difference between a K and any other out, but my point was that big strikeout guys tend not to make productive outs.  Take the example of Adam Dunn: He didn't hit a sac fly during the entire 2004 season.  The guy hits bombs like nobody's business, but he's not a controlled hitter.  He swings from his heels.  

For a guy who hits as many HRs as he does, wouldn't you expect him to have hit at least one sac fly if everything were just left to chance once the ball left the bat?  I would.  But some hitters are better at placing the ball (i.e., Wade Boggs using the Green Monster to spray doubles, Derek Jeter hitting the ball the other way to advance runners), whereas some hitters swing for the fences and don't help their team with productive outs (i.e., Adam Dunn, Wily Mo Pena).  

I don't remember ever saying anything about filling my lineup with slap hitters, or finding a DH who would hit grounders up the middle.  All I was saying is that, a strikeout generally hurts a team more than, or least as much as, another type of out (unless it's a double-play).  

Even the best HR hitters of all time only hit HR in one of 15-20 plate appearences.  No matter how hard they might try, they can't make it happen every time.  In other words, there might be times when it would be better for a guy like Dunn to give himself up for the good of the team.  

In my mind, the idea that a HR-hitter should swing for the fences every time indicates a failure to think of baseball as a team game.  There are other ways to score runs other than hitting HRs, despite what Billy Beane or Earl Weaber might tell you.  

We can agree to disagree.  

But he doesn't.  He's got nine or ten other guys out there with him who all think of themselves as decent soccer players, and who can probably score too.  

Same thing applies to baseball.  Every single player in a starting lineup is capable of hitting a single up the middle and scoring a guy from second base.  So why not occasionally make the likelihood of scoring a run a little higher rather than thinking you have to get it done yourself?  That's why there are eight other guys in a lineup...