Well, that's what they tell the guys like Craig Brazell, anyway. Remember it, 'cause you're not coming back anytime soon...

The rosters expand after today's game, so I thought I'd take a gander at the situation. The A's are in a bit of a bind right now, with a ton of players who need to be protected from the Rule 5 draft if the team wants to make sure of keeping them until next year. They actually got a head start on things today, calling up Aaron Cunningham while putting Andrew Brown on the 60-day DL.

I figure I'll take a glance at the team's minor league affiliates to figure out who should get a September cup of joe, how many of them are not on the 40-man roster, and who should get the proverbial axe to make room. Obviously, I won't be wasting anyone's time with guys who clearly aren't good enough for the big leagues, so the list of guys who are Rule 5 eligible isn't going to be an exhaustive one. I've bolded the guys I think will be added to the 40-man roster. Of the group that's already on it, I've bolded the ones I think will put in an appearance this September.

The Low Minors (Stockton and downward)

Rule 5 eligible: Jose Garcia, Jamie Richmond

Richmond, the lesser half of the Mark Kotsay package, has had a really mediocre season. I thought he had some potential as a back-of-the-rotation type, but he looks very unlikely to make the majors now. He's not a factor. Garcia is interesting, as he's talented but also extremely injury prone. Now that I've confirmed that Fautino De Los Santos doesn't need to be added to the 40-man roster yet, I think he squeaks onto the roster.

These guys aren't big-league callup material right now, so any moves involving them can wait until November.

Midland

Rule 5 eligible: Jason Windsor, Ryan Webb, Anthony Recker, Jesus Guzman, Justin Sellers

On the 40-man: Dan Meyer, Henry Rodriguez, Javier Herrera, Richie Robnett

Windsor's shoulder appears to be completely shot at this point.

Ryan Webb has solid stuff. His numbers don't really paint an optimistic picture of his future, but there's enough filler on the pitching staff right now that I think he'll get protected. Don't think he'll be called up, though.

Recker offers the potential of a catcher with the power to slug double-digit home runs from the backup spot. The A's 40-man is a little light on catchers right now and their upper-level org chart is REALLY light on them, so I think they'll put him on the 40-man. The question is, will he get a big-league callup?

Jesus Guzman has hit the bejeezus out of AA, but his stint in AAA this year was short and injury-riddled. He's not a "classic A's player"-- his plate discipline is fringe-average and he's not a great defender-- but I think he's done enough to earn a roster spot. He would actually be a free agent, not merely Rule 5 eligible, if he was not placed on the 40-man roster, so the odds of him returning would be very low if the A's do not add him.

Justin Sellers is a tough call. The A's love his game, but he just doesn't appear to have the bat to warrant expending a roster spot on him. He might stick as a utility guy, but the A's have a bunch of guys in that range of player anyway.

Of the guys on the 40-man, we all know about Dan Meyer. He'll probably come back to Oakland once the minor league playoffs are over, but the game is about up for him. His exile to Texas may not literally be a geographic comment by the team on his future chances, but it might as well be.

Henry Rodriguez is too raw to justify a big-league stint. It's not clear he's even capable of handling AA at this point, so the majors is out of the question.

Javier Herrera hasn't done much the past few years, but the team just might give him a shot to show something in the majors. His option clock is ticking loudly at this point, so it may be a situation where he gets cut if he doesn't show well in MLB.

Richie Robnett has to be considered a bust at this point. He moved backward this season. I think he will be designated for assignment this September.

Sacramento

Rule 5 eligible: Chris Gissell, Brad Kilby, Shane Komine, Jay Marshall, Josh Outman, Ryan Wing, Jeff Baisley, Wes Bankston, Brooks Conrad, Donnie Murphy, Danny Putnam

On the 40-man: Lenny DiNardo, Jeff Gray, Landon Powell, Gregorio Petit, Travis Buck, Chris Denorfia, Carlos Gonzalez, Matt Murton

It might be easier to list the players on Sacto's roster who AREN'T Rule 5 eligible (basically, Vince Mazzaro). Lightning-round style for the also-rans: Chris Gissell has had a nice season, but looks like a 7th starter. Brad Kilby is the 5th best lefty reliever in an organization that can probably keep 4. Shane Komine, like Jason Windsor, was fringy before getting hurt and is sadly a nonfactor now. Jay Marshall rocked AA but has been awful in AAA, and his American Taliban-esque facial hair probably isn't doing him any favors with head office. Brooks Conrad somehow got big-league time, but he's not even AAAA material.

Josh Outman recently received praise from the A's brass, who called him "everything they had expected," or something to that effect. He'll probably come up to work out of the bullpen in September, but he might get some starts if the A's decide to go cautious with their current rotation. He's a lock for the 40-man.

Ryan Wing is an interesting case. He's a lefty reliever who has a history of injury problems. He missed all of 2004, then pitched for about half of 2005, very ineffectively, and missed most of 2006. Over his minor league career, he was quite effective at shutting down the opposition's batters, but he's had control issues (possibly related to the injuries) and hasn't racked up huge numbers of strikeouts. Is he better than Dan Meyer? Hard to say. The key may be whether Wing has options remaining-- if he does, he might be a better choice than Meyer going forward.

Jeff Baisley has been hurt for a lot of this season, which is too bad because he looks like a pretty solid third baseman and the A's could really have used that this year. He has actual power, unlike the other stopgap non-Chavezes the A's have been running out there of late. If he's healthy, he should definitely get a callup.

Wes Bankston simply doesn't look like an answer at the positions he can actually play. If he played an acceptable third he might be comparable to Baisley, but he doesn't.

Donnie Murphy's bizarre vacillation between being a low-OBP slugger and a slappy average guy continues, as he hit 11 homers in AAA this year after posting just 3 last season in more at-bats. Facts is facts, though-- a .318 AAA OBP isn't impressing anyone. Making matters worse, he isn't showing well against lefties this year. Entering the year he looked like a solid platoon caddy in the infield. Now he just looks like army surplus.

Danny Putnam has quietly posted a solid season (.276/.385/.497, 15 HR) in AAA. I just don't see the room for him. He's badly overstretched in center field, and the A's appear to have a lot of better options at the corners. I don't think he'll make the roster. I DO think he'll get drafted by another organization-- plenty of teams could use a solid backup corner outfielder. If I had to pick one player as most likely to actually get taken in Rule 5, I'd go with Putnam.

Landon Powell is hurt, so he can't get called up. Him excepted, it's fish or cut bait time for the guys on the 40-man roster. Lenny D has been hammered pretty consistently this year and it seems like the team can find better swingmen pretty easily. Jeff Gray still hasn't explained what he's doing on the 40-man, and at this point I can't see how he survives the next round of layoffs. He keeps the ball on the ground but does nothing else well enough to look like even a middle relief option.

You know the rest of the names on this list; all of them have been involved extensively this year, one way or another. I have no idea how they'll find playing time for this many outfielders. All the more reason why I think Putnam's chance will have to come outside of the A's organization.

Conclusion: The A's need to find somewhere between 6 and 8 spaces on their 40-man roster. I'll call it 7. However, they don't need all of those spots immediately. Garcia, if they protect him, is not going to be a callup, and Webb and Recker probably won't be either. So over the next few weeks, the A's need to cut about four players. One of those "cuts" could be Frank Thomas-- depending on whether his quad keeps acting up or not, he might be placed on the 60-day DL and thus shelved for the year. Here's a list of the plausible options for roster cuts:

Lenny DiNardo

Keith Foulke

Dan Meyer

Jeff Gray

Kirk Saarloos

Jack Hannahan

Emil Brown

Chris Denorfia

Javier Herrera

Richie Robnett

(Frank Thomas)

Assuming Thomas is able to come back, I would cut Robnett, DiNardo, Foulke and Brown. After the season ends, the A's will have exactly 40 players on their 40-man roster, so three more players will have to go to make room for Rule 5 protection purposes-- probably Herrera, Gray and Saarloos. Further cuts will be needed if the A's sign any free agents or take a Rule 5 player... but let's not get ahead of ourselves here.

Any thoughts or comments on what the A's might do over the last month are, of course, much encouraged.