“defense counts in this game”…so that defensive lineup invariably sucks more than one with barton.

5 million at the most. You can’t beat it for the production Giambi’s gonna give ya. I think it’s a splendid move.

I see a first baseman who is so awful on defense that even though he’s still a pretty good hitter, he’s such a liability that playing the field makes him an average player overall.

I see a 22 year old first baseman who was the #1 prospect in the organization 2 years ago blocked by a 38 year old on the downside of his career, and either being forced to not play full time or go back to the minors after playing in MLB all last year.

I see a 25 year old right fielder who had a spectacular rookie season before getting hurt, and now will get blocked if Cust has to play the field.

I said he wasn’t much of an upgrade, and if you believe that Giambi is better defensively than -10 runs/150 games, then the gap widens. Still, there’s no way that replacing Barton with Giambi projects the A’s to more than one additional win next year.

as salb mentions, for one he provides the depth we need, which despite losing a roster spot is probably worth at least half a win over the course of the season on average. Secondly, I disagree that Giambi inhibits Barton’s development. After all, it will be Barton that gets bumped unless Buck/Cunningham tank or get injured. Barton is DAMN young, more AAA will help him won’t it, and allow us to get more out of him? Its not like he tore up AAA when he was there. They should try to either a) convert him into a 3B or allow him to develop his hitting/power to play 1B.

Thirdly, even salb projects Giambi to be slightly better than Barton. ~1/8 of a win or so, and lets keep in mind these projections assume that a) giambi gets worse and b) Barton gets better.

Will Giambi get worse? I don’t really think so. I don’t claim to be a pro scout, but I did watch a shitload of giambi at bats (~80-100) last season for fantasy purposes and he looked the best I had seen in quite some time. And I can definitely tell the difference between luck outcomes and earned outcomes.

Will Barton get better? Well for one, offense aside, I’m not sold on his defense. Yes, he is at least average, but its not like he is the second coming. He could regress there. His offense could definitely come around, but even if he is better he would still have been maturing with the big-league club. Why waste our cheap control on him to watch him develop?

Giambi is a short-term improvement, a long-term improvement, and an insurance policy for now and 2010. I like it, but I still think we need a good pitcher or SS to contend.

Damn, we’d be looking good with Furcal right now…sigh

Well, maybe management doesn’t want to give up that draft pick. I’m just speculating here, though.

He’s projected around .730, so I’d consider him a lock for at least .710ish.

But how many 38 (going on 39) year old guys are still playing, let alone shifting to a more difficult defensive position?

The offense is a CHONE, and the projected OPS is .750.

only this is more concise and coming from a credible source.

A rotation of Cahill, Anderson, Gio Gonzalez, Mazzaro, Simmons, with the lineup led by Cunningham in the OF and Barton at 1B. Yow!

It should certainly NEVER be second in a sentence.

and either Outman or Sheets/Mulder/Wolf/Looper…

After Justin Duchscherer and Dana Eveland, it’s anybody’s guess. There are still multiple options if Gio Gonzalez isn’t included.

It’s just that Giambi’s is so bad now that Barton doesn’t have to do a lot with the bat to be as good as Giambi overall next year.

As has been noted, we have a hard time agreeing on how good or bad a player’s defense is, and if you don’t think he’s +5 with the glove (above average), that’s reasonable. If Barton is more like a +0 and Giambi a -5, then Giambi becomes a clear upgrade.

Yes…….

If Beane does go after one of the better SPs (as opposed to one of the cheap but questionable veterans, which I think more likely), I could see him picking Wolf as his target.

And a lot better than he was at the beginning of 2007.

is impossible to under- or overstate. 10 runs = 1 win, approximately, whether it’s a run saved or a run scored. No offense, but it doesn’t matter what you “think” is more valuable. The mathematics is well-understood, has been worked out from scratch, and has been an excellent match to empirical data.

As for your second point, I agree to some extent. Backing up even further, there’s a good argument to be made that the A’s need to be going for it this year, even if they can’t construct a team that, on paper, will compete with the Angels. Why? Because the owner is trying get a stadium built and will probably ask the public to chip in. That’s easier to do when you’re building a team rather than tearing it apart.

Than a really fun loser.

— that it’s hard to argue the merits of D when your team is almost dead last in offense- in both leagues.

on excel sheets!

Throwing out cliches doesn’t make it so! The entire point of salb’s post, which you clearly did not read, is that Giambi’s offense does not make up for his defense (with respect to the other players who will lose playing time).

And the only reason people have complained about the offense is because the team has been losing games.

And Giambi had 32 homers last year. Cust had 33. So there’s another place where you’re factually wrong. RBIs are lineup dependent and irrelevant.

I never burn bridges… with ex-girlfriends or ex-A’s players. They’re both welcomed back with open arms. (Most never come back, but the ones that do, are usually worth it.)

He’s cheap, and he’s a good hitter. Thats something we haven’t had much of the past few years.