Countdown to .500 at 6
by monkeyball on Sep 22, 2007 7:31 PM PDT
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PrintA's 9, Indians 3
Yeah, Beane should definitely trade that bum Mark Ellis.
Ellis continued to demonstrate that he belongs in the top 2/3 of the lineup, cracking a homer and a double, and driving in 3. Ellis, if he were to really catch fire in the last week of the season, could conceivably end up leading the A's in RBIs for the season.
The Two Jacks pitched in with strong contributions at the plate, Hannahan getting things started with a 2-run double, and Cust finishing things off with a 2-run bomb.
In between, there were a whole lot of doubles by the A's, and a whole lot of dealing by Dan Haren, who finally nailed down his 15th win.
So, yes, this is what it's come down to in '07: hanging on meaningless statistics like a .500 winning percentage, individual batter RBI counts, and individual pitcher win counts.
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I'm all for such a meaningless statistic
but now I'm hoping for the A's not having to see any team celebrating their playoff berth. That would mean winning tomorrow, then Boston not clinching anything while the A's are in town, and (ugh) the Angels making it before they come to Oakland next weekend.
Sell High!
Trade Ellis now.!!!!!!
Just playing around, but no.....but seriously!!!
by SwisherSweet on Sep 22, 2007 7:29 PM PDT reply actions
I'd actually like to sign Ellis to an extension
Provided we can get him to sign a DeRosa type deal (3/15 or so) I say re-sign Ellis. He's pretty damn good and 2B isn't a position we really have much prospects at the moment.
by Dusty Baker on Sep 22, 2007 7:38 PM PDT up reply actions
If we are lacking with prospects at 2B than I am
really concerned about this team. IMO that is one of the few positions where we could put either Scutaro, Murphy, Mellilo or a cast of others even though none of them would match Ellis. The organization has zero CF'ers and SS's so I guess 2B seems like we could survive with someone else.
On a side note- I love Ellis and surely don't want to part ways with him but if his 5 million could be turned into 500K with anyone but Scutaro's salary, I would prefer to spend money towards another power-hitter or a decent CF or SS. You normally have to give up something to get something.
by ohtobe21likehuston on Sep 22, 2007 9:53 PM PDT up reply actions
You have to throw the casual fans
a bone once in a while.
Ellis is, by pretty much everyone's estimation, the most respected and well-liked player on the A's. Swisher's seen as kind of a goofball, and Chavez is a little too introverted.
Also, Beane is fond of him. I have a hard time seeing him cutting Ellis loose with the same abandon as your average player.
I definitely think he'll be reupped, probably for something like 3/$20M.
yes on specifics, but not the marketing argument
I'd wager that the "casual fan" cares a heck of a lot more about Swisher -- heck, probably cared a lot more about Kendall -- than about Ellis.
I'm greedy
So, yes, this is what it's come down to in '07: hanging on meaningless statistics like a .500 winning percentage, individual batter RBI counts, and individual pitcher win counts.
I also want a positive run differential for the season (basically a lock if we run the table, but we could still do it and finish under .500).
Um
No. He isn't.
I'm a Hannafan, but he's not Eric Chavez. He's not going to post his current numbers for an entire season, and he's not nearly as good on defense either.
Good game tonight...
Great hitting... good to see Danny get #15 and reach another personal milestone.
As for Ellis, no way do I think you move him. We have the hitting core, the front of the staff SP, and the back of the bullpen to contend next year. Sure, a few things need to be ironed out... but we have way too much already to just throw our hands up and give up. Just a thought, assuming Chavez is back at 3B.. could we move Hannahan to SS? Hence, DH- Cust, 1B- Barton, 2B- Ellis, SS- Hannahan, 3B- Chavez, CF-?? LF- Swisher, RF- Buck, C-Suzuki. That would allow us to move Crosby which would either be salary relief to sign a big bat or could be used as a trading piece to help acquire SP help or that bat.
I'm not too worried about our SP or bullpen. We already have the major pieces signed cheaply. 1-2 SP of Danny and Joe, and 8th/9th combo of Huston and Duke. Sure, a #3 would help as we can't count on Rich.
by AsWin on Sep 22, 2007 7:50 PM PDT reply actions
We can count on Rich--
That's the problem. I don't feel good about our rotation yet; if Gaudin is our #3 that's iffy and if DiNardo is our #4 then it's time to run for the hills.
Buck and Barton have me excited, though. Because Cust gives us a worthy DH and Suzuki looks like he may be a positive contributor (he's been very consistent since settling in), we are close to having a decent offense (especially if Chavez comes back stronger than he's been the last two years--sorry vacafan, but I still think a reasonably healthy Chavez is a better hitter than Hannahan).
The idea of Hannahan at SS is interesting; I don't know if it's realistic, though. Has he played SS before? If so, how much and how well? Anyone know?
More SS speculation
Scutaro has a weak arm, which is his biggest liability at 3B. He can get by at SS, and he's very good at 2B.
Hannahan has a very good arm, but not great range or hands. That sure doesn't sound like a good SS prospect to me.
And given Detroit's desire to move Guillen to 1B, I'd be astonished if they ended up giving away a SS who hits as well as Hannahan for essentially a bag of balls.
I'm still really confused about
Hannahan's defense. What I've seen is poor range and an ability to make the rest of the plays at a solid level. But what I've heard is that while he wasn't expected to hit with much authority, scouts saw him as a "Rolen-esque" defensive 3Bman. Was it the scouts who had the drinking problem?
I doubt that Hannahan would be much of a SS
I think he played mostly 2nd at Toledo. I certainly agree that he has to stay with the club. If Chavez were healthy and playing like he would be expected to play, i.e. 30 HR's, 100 RBI's and flawless defense then he is a major upgrade over Hannahan, but Hannahan would be a great backup. The major question is can they A's keep both Scutaro and Hannahan. The A's have a serious hole at SS. Crosby is Crosby, and Scutaro is not a big league SS.
by china bob on Sep 22, 2007 8:03 PM PDT reply actions
Agree with all that, china bob
I think Hannahan is a lock to make the team, because even best case scenario has Chavez needing some rest early in the season. But my guess is that Hannahan will be the Opening Day 3Bman; the "word on the street" seems to be that Chavy's back is still not happy.
Oakland A'S brought by the #15
On the mound, Dan Haren (#15) finally won his 15th game while the A'S had 15 hits in the game.
And by the letter "H"
On the mound, Haren excelled and Huston finished up. At the plate, Hannahan had a big hit. And on AN, I have a Huge Hangover, a Hooker, and a Horse.
Sigh
I just spent the last several minutes trying to say "Hannahan had a huge horse hooker hangover" three times really fast.
Which of course crystalized two equally problematic epiphanies: 1) I may have a speech impediment, and 2) I'm almost certainly losing my mind.
Not sure how to account for #1, but I blame #2 entirely on the A's second half.
I think it's crucial to point out
that this all happened around 9:00 on a Saturday night.
Rewind a couple of hours
I think it was the 7th inning or so, as I polished off my second mayo-mustard slathered grilled cheese sandwich, squinted at the apparition known as Jerry Blevins, and contemplated an action-packed evening of combing through box scores, doing laundry, and half-listening to think tank podcasts, that I began to wonder where it all went wrong.
Did you happen to notice
the expiration date on the mayo? 1993 was a long time ago.
I'd be more worried about those podcasts ...
... especially if their exp date was 2003.
And now we learn that Harden will be held out
until Hell freezes over.
I think that the A's should give Chavy 1 chance
to show that he can hit again hopefully this surgery that he is having can make him good again. If he hits like shit again then hopefully the A's can move him or something. I am not sure how many years left he has on his 6 year 66 million dollar contract. And unfortunatly we also know that Crosby will be the SS to start the season off next year.
by 3Chavy3 on Sep 22, 2007 8:22 PM PDT reply actions
I agree that...
at SS will more than likely be Crosby. Simply because I don't see how we are going to acquire a SS and I am not impressed by any of the FA options. It's not like we are going to lure a top level SS with our tradable pieces of DJ, Marco, Meyer, Braden, Lenny, BP surplus.
by AsWin on Sep 22, 2007 8:29 PM PDT up reply actions
If you really wanted a good SS,
you might get one for Street. I think Beane feels he can create a closer. There's Duke. There's Harden. There's a more experienced Andrew Brown. There's usually a Billy Taylor out there you can unearth.
Just saying it's out there as a way to get a quality SS if you're ready to give up on Crosby (as I am).
Yeah I was just thinking...
about trading a closer and a 1B to get a SS. For example SF needs a closer and a 1B and, if I remember correctly, is going to re up Omar. Could we get Frandsen?? (I'm thinking out loud of course). Personally, I'd attempt to trade Embree before Street. Though I do agree that we have a bunch of possible closers.
by AsWin on Sep 22, 2007 8:42 PM PDT up reply actions
I don't think Embree has value
He's getting near 40 and anyone who wanted him had a shot at him. Street is younger, cheaper, and better--teams would want him and might give up something of value to get him.
Oh, as for Frandsen,
I don't think he's special enough (especially defensively at SS) to trade someone like Street to get. Plus he doesn't walk much, an A's no-no. And the Giants have a good closer, let me tell you: Brian Wilson = studmuffin.
I agree
I would rather Beane try and get a solid defensive SS that can make consistent throws that Crosby sometimes misses. I would rather have my offensive weapons at the classical offensive postitions such as 1b 3b and the corner outfield positions. I think that having great offensive production from the other positions might be a luxury that the A's cannot afford and I don't think that they can afford to not get production from the classic power production positions like the A's did this season and suffered all year long.
by 3Chavy3 on Sep 22, 2007 9:04 PM PDT up reply actions
I agree about Wilson
The question is whether Sabean does. After they got rid of Bonds, according to Mccovey Chronicles, Sabean made a statement along the lines of "holding leads at the ends of games,..."
Embree has value but it's more of the mid-season
kind than the off-season variety we desperately need.
by ohtobe21likehuston on Sep 22, 2007 9:55 PM PDT up reply actions
Frandsen is dreck
The fact that the Giants are running him out there regularly is a sign of how bad the Giants are, not how good he is. I'd rather have Jason Bartlett starting for me, and that's saying a lot, because I think Jason Bartlett is abysmal.
The only thing SF is going to get out of him is, possibly, a few years of the team not being completely embarrassing on defense while the offense gets a ground-up rebuild.
The only legit position player prospects the Giants have are Nate Schierholtz and Fred Lewis, and Lewis doesn't look like more than a 4th outfielder in the long haul. Schierholtz is a different story, but I figure he's essentially untouchable at this point.
You know, I think MikeA is on to something
No, I didn't say "on something". Kenny Lofton might be a great pickup for the A's for 2008.
vs RHP this season, Lofton is: .316/.391/.447 for an .838 OPS. He still has speed (23 SB this year) and would give us--gasp--an actual leadoff hitter, and true CFer. His stats against RHP in 2006 are almost identical to his stats this year. Denorfia could ease in by platooning against LHP but not being the every day guy (I'm not sold yet that he's a 130-150 game/year caliber player).
Buck and Swisher can then play where they belong, in the corner OF spots, and can forget about CF. They can also bat where they belong, behind Lofton and Barton as your solid 1-2 punch at the top, a la:
Lofton
Barton
Swisher
Cust
Buck
Ellis
Hannavez
Suzuki
Shortstop
Drool.
P.S. In the process of making this all happen, Kotsay is found at the bottom of the ocean in a gunny sack with rope around it.
Isn't it a guaranteed playoff appearance if you
pick up Lofton during the season rather than at the beginning of the season? It seems like he always gets traded to a contender.
by ohtobe21likehuston on Sep 22, 2007 9:57 PM PDT up reply actions
Yeah, the Royals and Pirates
never seem much interested at the trading deadline, dunno why.
I agree about Lofton
but will he be too pricey?
by A'sfansince1970 on Sep 22, 2007 11:54 PM PDT up reply actions
His contract this year
was $6M 1. It was $3.8M 1 in 2006, $6.2M/2 in 04-05.
Depends on what you think is too pricey.
To solve our CF and leadoff issue
for a year and solidify our overall lineup/OF? I'd pay 4-6 mil.
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