Erubiel Durazo Released

-Cindi.

does DiNardo make the team? Speculations?

Buck has had an impressive spring, but he still might at least three months away, and it'd be a bad idea to drop Kielty for him, as it leave the team overly left-handed. Buck and Todd Walker are both left-handed hitters, and there should only be room for one. If Buck is carried, he'd be the primary right fielder, pushing Nick Swisher to first base.

Now I know in the past we were left handed heavy, but right now, other than switch hitters, and Kotsay, who is on the DL, what other lefties do we have besides Chavy

And by David Pinto's probalistic model of range, he's atrocious.
And THAT was in left field. I really don't want to see him holding down right.

You don't want Kielty playing every day. He is only worth having on the field on days when his bat is very valuable (.900 ops)- when he's facing lefties.

When Kielty gets starts against righties, he becomes our worst fielder and arguably the worst hitter in the lineup.
That's an unacceptable combo, and the reason that he must be platooned.

a double amputee. I personally believe he shouldn't make the team let alone start for us. This is a F-ing disaster.

He wouldn't have signed with us if he wasn't, and he wouldn't have flown out for one game to play first if he wasn't.
He's getting a crash course at first base because Beane has promised him a spot on the 25-man and promised him at least a part in a platoon at first.

Walker will be fine in a few weeks, tops. The transition from second base to first is not nearly as hard as Hatteberg's transition from CATCHER to first.
He's moving from an incredibly taxing defensive position to arguably the easiest one on the field. I promise you he'll be considered a VERY GOOD defensive first baseman by mid-season. That's a guarantee.

Something encouraging about Walker - we're getting him for pennies, and this guy was due to make 4 million from the Padres.

all along.

They had 39 spots on the 40-man roster - knowing that some ML team would probably release a guy who was good enough to make their team.

When Walker got released, which I'm sure was a possibly the A's had considered at the start of ST, they were ready to pounce.

Walker ended up being the best guy who got released. If the best guy released had been a high-ceiling reliever, or any other spot, they probably would've added that guy.

You'd have to argue this - of every player who was released, across the entire league, none has the track record Walker does.

He's potentially an .800-.825 OPS guy as half of a platoon, and could become a very good defender at his new position. No one else who was released can say that.

The A's manage the 40-man better than anybody.

Tonight I'm gonna research transitions to first base and post a diary on them. That's how good my social life is. Saturday night. 11 p.m. West Coast time. 24 years old. I'm researching late career position changes.

Off the top of my head, though, I'll just say this:

Albert Pujols was not good enough defensively to play third base. He switched to first base, and quickly became one of the best defensive first basemen in baseball - the BEST according to David Pinto's probalistic model of range.

If you take a third baseman, short stop, or second baseman, and you switch him to first - he probably has the potential to be "above-average" defensively, relative to who he's competing against - the lumbering guys that most people put there.

of platoon splits and relative importance of first base defense.  Let me give you a list of teams who sacrifice offense for defense at first:

New York Yankees

Okay, that's it.  A Walker-Swisher platoon will more or less approximate DJ.  The real tragedy will be if Buck makes the team.  He really doesn't seem ready for the big show yet.

The best example of course is Pujols, a converted third baseman who has become, according to David Pinto's PMR, the best defensive first baseman in the game.
Others who have made the switch from middle infield to playing first base at least part-time include:

Rich Aurilia
Nomar Garciaparra
Jeff Kent
Howie Kendrick (at times last year)
Ty Wigginton

That list intentionally doesn't include OFs who convert to first base full or part-time. Those guys often convert for a different reason.

What that list DOES show is that the A's are not being nuts. There is certainly precedent. First base is a logical transition for a guy who no longer has the range for middle infield, and who's team has a need for .800 OPS production at first.

Something I have to dispute that's been written here a few times in the last 24 hours...

Ron Washington is a great guy. He knows a lot about the game. He helped Chavvy take his defense to another level, and they built up a rapport. By all accounts he was pretty fun to hang out with, in addition to being a good coach.

He's also not the only guy who knows how to coach infield defense! Ron Washington didn't have a monopoly on teaching people how to pick grounders at first. Walker will not tragically be unable to make the transition to first because Ron Washington is now giving Hank Blalock pats on the butt rather than Chavvy.

I don't even know who the hell our infield coach is right now, and I follow the A's pretty closely. What I do know is, whoever he is, can teach Todd Walker how to pick grounders just as well as Ron Washington can.

The X factor is how much work Walker puts in, just like it was for Hatteberg. Hatteberg worked hard and became very good at it. Good scouting, above average athleticism, good work ethic. That's why Hatteberg worked. Not fairy dust in Ron Washington's armpit.

Walker is a professional who has pride, and who recognizes this as maybe his last chance to ply his trade as a professional hitter. I'm sure he'll work hard too.

Kendall/Crosby for Johnson Trade!!!! See my diary!!!!

for whoever added the big head and little arms tag.