but he was probably our most consistent hitter behind kotsay last year

But last year? Come on, the dude carried us for a decent portion of the season. Not his fault that Macha put him out there every single day til he was worn out completely at the end of the season.

but collapsed in September.  He stunk in 03 too.

I love Hatteberg's attitude and his leadership, but he got way too many at bats.  he should have been a pinch hitter in the Dave Magadan role.

will always be that hr to win 20 straight games though

I am looking to blame after this Sept collapse again. I just wish the A's didn't stick with him so long.  He was a great A's and should stick with the organization as a coach when he is done playing.  If they kept him as a 25th man or pinch hitter I would be glad to have him back.  The danger with that though is that one injury and a couple of long at bats will find him too much playing time.

for Barton before the KC series.  Francoer actually improved his game upon call up.  My main reason for Barton was that he wouldn't have to do much to outproduce Hatte.  the kid will be with A's at the start of next year(or in June) so a call up would have been a good chance to acclimate him.  The kid is so good he may have raked.  I guess we will never know.

but has been put in a position where he has been misued the past 3 years. He would be a great pinch-hitter, but instead has been a starting 1b/dh. I wish him well next year whereever he is and just hope we can add some pop to the lineup in either the DH or LF spot.

Check this out (from ESPN.com):

At the DH position (traditionally a power postion):

A's: .248 BA/.328 OBP/.357(!) SLG/.685(!!!) OPS

Respectively, that was good for:

AVG: 11th in AL
OBP: 10th in AL
SLG: 13th in AL
OPS: 13th in AL

Interesting note: Hatteberg is supposed to be a OBP-specialist. However, his walk total is 51 in 453 at-bats. For comparison's sake, Dan Johnson has 49 in 353, Marco Scutaro has 35 in 364, Bobby Kielty has 50 in 368, Mark Kotsay has 39 in 564, Eric Chavez has 58 in 605, and the player widely considered to be the freest swinger on the planet, LAAAAAAAAAAAA's own Vladimir Guerrero, has 59 in 511 (though he was helped with 26(!!!) Intentioal Bases on Balls)...

Hatteberg: 51 BB in 453 ABs= 8.88 AB/BB
Johnson: 49 BB in 353 ABs= 7.2 AB/BB
Scutaro: 35 BB in 364 ABs= 10.4 AB/BB
Kotsay: 39 BB in 564 ABs= 14.46 AB/BB
Kielty: 50 BB in 368 ABs= 7.36 AB/BB
Chavez: 58 BB in 605 ABs= 10.43 AB/BB
Guerrero: 59 BB in 511 ABs= 8.66 AB/BB
Hatteberg(2004): 72 BB in 550 ABs= 7.64 AB/BB

And...

Hatteberg: 52 K's to 51 BBs= .98 BB/K ratio
Johnson: 45 K's to 49 BBs= 1.089 BB/K ratio
Scutaro: 45 K's to 35 BBs= .7778 BB/K ratio
Kotsay: 50 K's to 39 BBs= .78 BB/K ratio
Kielty: 65 K's to 50 BBs= .769 BB/K ratio
Chavez: 127(!!!) K's to 58 BB's= .4567 BB/K ratio
Guerrero: 48 K's to 59 BB's= 1.23 BB/K ratio
Hatteberg(2004): 48 K's to 72 BBs= 1.5 BB/K ratio

It is funny how when a player falls off or their age shows or whatnot that some people forget their past. Hey baseball catches up with everyone and eventually everyone falls off...but come on..how do you not appreciate Hatte? Look remember Hatty changed positions, he was a catcher(for 22 years!) and when the Red Sox gave up on him and the A's took the chance with him they surprised him by making him a first baseman(At age 32!). And it was not easy for him. But he did it. He had a couple of good years with the A's, and surprisingly enoug played rather nice D at 1st.He has always been nothing but a positive & upbeat person. Instead of only focusing on the negative aspects of the game, like when a players career starts falling off or they have a bad season or they get hurt or whatnot...also recall what they achieved.