DLD (7/9/08): The Day After

by athleticsBB4life on Jul 9, 2008 8:24 AM PDT

Scouts were split on Gallagher's potential. One called him a third or fourth starter at best, a wash with Gaudin in every respect except service time. Another said he thinks Gallagher can be a successful big-league starter, and he'd rather have Gallagher than Harden right now because of Harden's injury history. Overall, the feeling among a group of scouts polled Tuesday was that the A's have amassed a great deal of talent when considering the Haren, Nick Swisher and Harden deals.

Ratto Editorial:

On the other hand, Gallagher does look a little bit like a cross between Jason Giambi and Gil Heredia, if drug-tinged nostalgia's your gig. And given the way Beane moves today's names for tomorrow's amorphous hopes, nostalgia is in many ways what you have to learn to accept with this team, Sparky.

Mercury News Editorial:

Harden wasn't going to be part of those long-term plans because of his frequent trips to the disabled list, his impending big-money payday or Beane's insatiable appetite to make trades. Yes, some trades are hard to digest. This one isn't.

Tom Singer Article (mlb.com):

As with all Beane moves, only time will tell. Gallagher, Murton and Patterson have all spent part of this season in Triple-A; Donaldson is spending his first full pro season -- he was the Cubs' second round choice in the 2007 First Year Player Draft -- in Class A. This is Billy Beane, not King Midas. Not all of his moves have been golden -- although his gilded body of work is reflected by the modest-payroll A's having had one losing season in the last 10.

Stark Article (ESPN):

Gallagher might not be a pitcher with Harden's star power. But he's exactly what Billy Beane was looking for, said an official of one team -- "a major-league-ready starter who can go straight into their rotation right now but who they get as a 'zero-plus' player. He can pitch for them for 2 1/2 years before he can even go to arbitration." The rest of the package Oakland got seems devoid of centerpiece players. But it's packed with inventory pieces who should all play in the big leagues.

Lockard Piece:

I think we are waiting for the other shoe to drop on this deal. In any case, I’d be shocked if this was the last move the A’s made this July.

Armbrust Piece:

It’s still early, but this trade could bolster the A’s outfield depth and add a reliable, healthy young pitcher to the back end of the rotation. Losing Harden and Gaudin hurts, but Gallagher is a talented hurler, and should be able to be a solid back-of-the-rotation starter.

OaklandClubhouse.com Analysis:

Part of the reason for Gallagher’s success is simple hard work. From the end of last year until spring training 2008, Gallagher got himself into top-notch physical shape, shedding 35 pounds over the course of the off-season. That has quickened up his delivery to the plate and allowed him to pitch with less exertion, Gallagher said. "I don’t need as much exertion anymore just to try and get over my front half," he said

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Comments

The worst part of this trade, is the right side of, not the infield, AN, there are 10

frickin’ diaries about this damn trade. Glad I stayed away from the site last night.

by theblackpearl on Jul 9, 2008 8:35 AM PDT 0 recs

The game thread was okay last night.

Not too depressing… but I was sniffing glue last night, so no telling how bad it really was.

Mark Ellis: sent down from Heaven to rob Evil of hits and hand out rainbows

by Jennifer on Jul 9, 2008 8:37 AM PDT up 0 recs

Picked a bad week to quit,

didn’t you?

That’s right folks, you could say this meat has been on the disabled list for 21 days.--Marty Lurie

by Leopold Bloom on Jul 9, 2008 8:55 AM PDT up 0 recs

we may be looking at a new repetitive diary record!

"The Athletics at Fremont" is pretty bad

by ArakSOT on Jul 9, 2008 8:48 AM PDT up 0 recs

i'll second that

Beane's World!! Excellent!!! Rock On, Beane! Rock On, Geren!

by Satchmo22 on Jul 9, 2008 10:05 AM PDT up 0 recs

Yeah, I thought this was a DLD.

Being that it says “DLD” in the title.

There's no textbook for how to treat a geriatric tapir.

by Poppy on Jul 9, 2008 10:34 AM PDT up 0 recs

To clarify:

DLD = Good, fun place to be.
Trade (actual or proposed) diary = Isn’t.

There's no textbook for how to treat a geriatric tapir.

by Poppy on Jul 9, 2008 10:35 AM PDT up 0 recs

Alt uni thread?

Mark Ellis: sent down from Heaven to rob Evil of hits and hand out rainbows

by Jennifer on Jul 9, 2008 10:47 AM PDT up 0 recs

alternate uniform thread?

Just make sure it’s not the black ones.

by whiteshoes40 on Jul 9, 2008 10:57 AM PDT up 0 recs

we may be looking at a new repetitive diary record!

oh, you said that

"the A's need more quality preembreetive pitching" ~monkeyball

by OptimistPrime on Jul 9, 2008 12:41 PM PDT up 0 recs

and they keep on coming...

"The Athletics at Fremont" is pretty bad

by ArakSOT on Jul 10, 2008 7:29 AM PDT up 0 recs

Mark Ellis: sent down from Heaven to rob Evil of hits and hand out rainbows

by Jennifer on Jul 10, 2008 7:49 AM PDT up 0 recs

Meh. I'm not going to make ANOTHER trade diary, so I'll just weigh in here

I don’t like the return on dealing Harden and Gaudin together.

If the best that was going to be had was a 22 year old starter who projects to be not very good and a couple spare parts, I’d rather see Harden kept and pitch the rest of the season. Deal him in the offseason when he’s got a solid year of great pitching behind him, and a cheap 1 year contract.

Really, though, what bothers me the most is that no organizational needs were filled by trading (arguably) the best trading chip on the team. No 3B prospect? No SS prospect? No righty with crazy power potential?

Honestly, I really hope that another deal is in the works.

by mikev on Jul 9, 2008 8:39 AM PDT 0 recs

Maybe

Beane was worried because of the last 2 starts and thought he might not get the “solid year of great pitching behind him”.

by totoum on Jul 9, 2008 9:26 AM PDT up 0 recs

See, that's the problem

I know it seems stupid to make another trade diary, but the fact that you don’t know where to post other than here proves that one is needed.

"Dispatch knuckleheadedness with Bond-like aplomb." –74mk

by iglew on Jul 9, 2008 11:47 AM PDT up 0 recs

Awesome performance by Duke last night.

"God doesn't pay attention to your cute little hypotheticals." -- Jeff from LL

by oblique on Jul 9, 2008 8:44 AM PDT 0 recs

agreed

There's no crying in baseball!

by gigglingone on Jul 9, 2008 8:47 AM PDT up 0 recs

Yeah. Whee.

There's no textbook for how to treat a geriatric tapir.

by Poppy on Jul 9, 2008 10:35 AM PDT up 0 recs

Your excitement

is tangible. I feel as if I could wrap a bow around it, slap a price tag on the front and sell it at the newstand.

I mean, if they read newspapers in Florida. I think it’s illegal.

That’s right folks, you could say this meat has been on the disabled list for 21 days.--Marty Lurie

by Leopold Bloom on Jul 9, 2008 11:11 AM PDT up 0 recs

Observation:

Lots of thoughtful, incisive fanposts in the sidebar today, brimming with all manner of hardball acumen, authored by long-standing, respected members of the AN community, definitely not people who signed up yesterday or a week ago in order to post bizarrely punctuated grade school tirades about Rich Harden and secret commissioner’s office conspiracies.

And you know what? I’m just proud to participate. When I’m 85 and in the proverbial rocking chair on the proverbial porch sipping the proverbial glass of lemonade, I’ll describe this as the moment the blogosphere came of age, burst through the barriers of mainstream media condescension by sheer force of wit, intelligence, and expertise. We did it, I’ll say (to my proverbial great-grandchildren, sitting cross-legged in a circle at my feet). We mattered. It took 20 duplicative fanposts, 4300 exclamation points, several pornographic asides, and a keen appreciation for illogic, but gosh darn it we made history.

by 74mk on Jul 9, 2008 8:46 AM PDT 2 recs

QOTM

You know what? You should make this a diary.

Children, until we have taught them better, will be perfectly happy with a seasonal round of games in which conkers succeeds hopscotch.

by salb918 on Jul 9, 2008 8:53 AM PDT up 0 recs

what sal said

... arousing men to burst the chains under which monkeyish ignorance and superstition had persuaded them to bind themselves ... @('.')@

by monkeyball on Jul 9, 2008 9:38 AM PDT up 0 recs

but we did get those too

by A'sfaninNC on Jul 9, 2008 2:01 PM PDT up 0 recs

bravo

Green Hulk Fists

by oaklandSMASH on Jul 9, 2008 2:23 PM PDT up 0 recs

I'm glad there's a DLD

Good first day for Weeks

Schweet

by nevermoor on Jul 9, 2008 8:48 AM PDT 0 recs

He looked nice in the booth last night.

Mark Ellis: sent down from Heaven to rob Evil of hits and hand out rainbows

by Jennifer on Jul 9, 2008 8:49 AM PDT up 0 recs

is it just me, or did he look tiny as well as nice?

I liked his orange shirt, nicely bookended by Glen and Ray actually wearing matching blue shirts for a change instead of the two different shades of tan ones they usually wear.

"Don't be an ass!" --Bill King

by batgirl on Jul 9, 2008 12:26 PM PDT up 0 recs

holy toledo!

Rickey Henderson threw out the ceremonial first pitch – and the scoreboard had his name spelled “Ricky.”

"The Athletics at Fremont" is pretty bad

by ArakSOT on Jul 9, 2008 8:55 AM PDT up 0 recs

No!

Bad stadium people! No!

(smacks “stadium people” with rolled up newspaper across snout)

That’s right folks, you could say this meat has been on the disabled list for 21 days.--Marty Lurie

by Leopold Bloom on Jul 9, 2008 8:59 AM PDT up 0 recs

Maybe we can have his HOF Plaque correct the typo

They’ll be drawing that bad boy up in about a year

by nevermoor on Jul 9, 2008 9:00 AM PDT up 0 recs

Hiss

That’s right folks, you could say this meat has been on the disabled list for 21 days.--Marty Lurie

by Leopold Bloom on Jul 9, 2008 9:19 AM PDT up 0 recs

Incorrect

Everyone knows he’ll go in wearing a Padres hat.

by TempletonPeck on Jul 9, 2008 10:50 AM PDT up 0 recs

wrong SD team

would the Hall let him in with a Surf Dawgs cap?

(yeah, I know it’s the Major League Baseball HOF)

by colin on Jul 9, 2008 12:44 PM PDT up 0 recs

Wow

How on earth did someone screw that up??

There's no crying in baseball!

by gigglingone on Jul 9, 2008 9:10 AM PDT up 0 recs

It was his/her first day?

In search of a new signature. Say something funny and you may see your comment here!

by DMOAS on Jul 9, 2008 11:39 AM PDT up 0 recs

You mean last day don't you?

by nevermoor on Jul 9, 2008 11:45 AM PDT up 0 recs

Well, clearly that too.

In search of a new signature. Say something funny and you may see your comment here!

by DMOAS on Jul 9, 2008 2:27 PM PDT up 0 recs

Rickey was wearing an amazingly awesome outfit

The A's colors are green and gold.

by mikeA on Jul 9, 2008 12:48 PM PDT up 0 recs

Crust what an asshole!

by methodrampage on Jul 10, 2008 10:56 AM PDT up 0 recs

This DLD would have been the perfect vehicle for some pretty blockquotes.

pam5981: Patience is a virtue that I do not possess.
ohtobe21likehuston: But you're good at drinking and cussing. Two out of three ain't bad.

by pam5981 on Jul 9, 2008 9:02 AM PDT 0 recs

agreed

There's no crying in baseball!

by gigglingone on Jul 9, 2008 9:09 AM PDT up 0 recs

That's making me dizzy.

I kinda like it.

pam5981: Patience is a virtue that I do not possess.
ohtobe21likehuston: But you're good at drinking and cussing. Two out of three ain't bad.

by pam5981 on Jul 9, 2008 10:35 AM PDT up 0 recs

I was trying to center the "agreed"

but apparently html coding is limited in AN3…..and then someone came in my door to ask a question and I couldn’t keep trying….

There's no crying in baseball!

by gigglingone on Jul 9, 2008 11:43 AM PDT up 0 recs

If you made enough of them it would be centered.

Depending on how wide your screen is.

"Dispatch knuckleheadedness with Bond-like aplomb." –74mk

by iglew on Jul 9, 2008 11:49 AM PDT up 0 recs

yup

There's no crying in baseball!

by gigglingone on Jul 9, 2008 11:50 AM PDT up 0 recs

perfect!

"Dispatch knuckleheadedness with Bond-like aplomb." –74mk

by iglew on Jul 9, 2008 11:57 AM PDT up 0 recs

Stop it -- you're upsetting my avatar

Also, I now have the strange urge to play Tempest.

"And Julio Franco is batting right-handed!" -- Wayne Hagin, A's radio play-by-play, mid-80s

by Nick on Jul 9, 2008 12:00 PM PDT up 0 recs

Looks left justified to me

In search of a new signature. Say something funny and you may see your comment here!

by DMOAS on Jul 9, 2008 2:27 PM PDT up 0 recs

Obviously you have text size set too small.

"Dispatch knuckleheadedness with Bond-like aplomb." –74mk

by iglew on Jul 9, 2008 3:48 PM PDT up 0 recs

just set to default

In search of a new signature. Say something funny and you may see your comment here!

by DMOAS on Jul 9, 2008 4:13 PM PDT up 0 recs

Two more analyses

However, neither author appears to realize that Chad Gaudin was part of the trade.

1
2

by 74mk on Jul 9, 2008 9:11 AM PDT 0 recs

From 1

For giving up those two to three wins in the next year and a half [Harden+Replacement vs. Gallagher], the A’s receive club control over Gallagher from 2010 to 2013 (his ‘08-’09 years are already counted above), control over Murton from 2008 to 2011, control over Patterson from 2008 to 2014, a potentially useful prospect in Josh Donaldson, and they save approximately $8 million in salary.

If Murton can hit here, I think it’s a good trade. If we can’t keep Ellis (which would be sad), and Patterson works out, it’s a very good trade.

by nevermoor on Jul 9, 2008 9:22 AM PDT up 0 recs

The A's CAN keep Ellis

It would require them to, you know, actually pay some money to a player, however.

If they let him walk so they can play frigging Eric Patterson and be average (at best) at yet another position, I’m going to frigging hurl.

Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.

by PaulThomas on Jul 9, 2008 9:47 AM PDT up 0 recs

I wouldn't like it either (and I think we'll sign Ellis)

But I imagine the risk that he walks is the reason Patterson’s in the deal.

by nevermoor on Jul 9, 2008 9:49 AM PDT up 0 recs

I sadly think we will be sharing the same barf bag.

The first rule of Oakland is - you do not talk about injuries. The second rule of Oakland is - you DO NOT talk about trainers." - Larry Davis

by norcalfan on Jul 9, 2008 11:16 AM PDT up 0 recs

I'll be bring my own barf bag

In search of a new signature. Say something funny and you may see your comment here!

by DMOAS on Jul 9, 2008 11:41 AM PDT up 0 recs

Ooooh

maybe I’ll stand on the BART bridge selling $5 Barf Bags.

There's no crying in baseball!

by gigglingone on Jul 9, 2008 11:44 AM PDT up 0 recs

I'll buy one

I, for one, refuse to spend the $69.95 for the officially licensed, hologram-certified, Bud Selig signature, game-used MLB barf bags.

... arousing men to burst the chains under which monkeyish ignorance and superstition had persuaded them to bind themselves ... @('.')@

by monkeyball on Jul 9, 2008 11:50 AM PDT up 0 recs

I'm just going to use my cheap, home-made one

In search of a new signature. Say something funny and you may see your comment here!

by DMOAS on Jul 9, 2008 2:28 PM PDT up 0 recs

I can sell you an even cheaper barf bag that's been used and only slightly damaged

Procrastinators unite....tomorrow

by muffinpryde on Jul 9, 2008 6:42 PM PDT up 0 recs

A free barf bag upgrade?

Those were the best until Lew stopped selling the $2 bags.

(i know it’s a week late, but I’ve been on vacation….)

"Camelot sure fell apart, didn't it?"-Steve McCatty

by 5Aces on Jul 13, 2008 9:36 PM PDT up 0 recs

I'd like them to keep Ellis

and put him at shortstop, although I know the front office will never get over its irrational conviction that he simply can’t throw hard enough to do it. I’d much rather have an Ellis/Patterson middle infield than an Ellis/Crosby one. That way, one of our middle infielders would actually be an above-average hitter for their position.

"PECOTA can pretty much kiss my ass."-Nico

by jeepers on Jul 9, 2008 12:17 PM PDT up 0 recs

"irrational"?

How do you figure that?

... arousing men to burst the chains under which monkeyish ignorance and superstition had persuaded them to bind themselves ... @('.')@

by monkeyball on Jul 9, 2008 12:18 PM PDT up 0 recs

...Do you remember that he basically is lacking a shoulder?

"This must be heaven," he says.
"No. It's Oakland."

by Kyli on Jul 9, 2008 6:53 PM PDT up 0 recs

From 2

I had exactly the same three step reaction to the trade.

by nevermoor on Jul 9, 2008 9:49 AM PDT up 0 recs

Finally, some good news!

(from the sidebar)

Frank Thomas – OAK
Frank Thomas (quadriceps) has been cleared to begin hitting and said Tuesday that he hopes to return by the end of the month.
Thomas is coming back from a partially torn quadriceps, so he may be limited once he does return. With Eric Chavez also on the disabled list, Jack Cust and Wes Bankston have been splitting designated hitter duties of late.
Source: San Francisco Chronicle

There's no crying in baseball!

by gigglingone on Jul 9, 2008 9:11 AM PDT 0 recs

Here in the UK, the reaction was...

confused.

The crawler on the bottom of the SkySports channel said the Cubs signed Harden and Gaudin. SkySports seems to have a random verb generator when it comes to American sports. Team signs recruits[promotes] player. When some of the first round NBA players have signed, it’s been reported that they were recruited. It always takes a minute to figure out what happened.

Oh, and IT’S THE END OF THE WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Signatures? We don't need no stinking signatures.

by jubjub on Jul 9, 2008 9:17 AM PDT 0 recs