Why I Don't Want To Change What We Have Now.

by SSathletics on Jan 7, 2009 9:17 PM PST Comment 54 comments

Buck

Cust (I guess)

Holliday

Giambi

Chavez

Suzuki

Sweeney

Crosby

Ellis

We can leave it how it is now. Maybe mix it up a bit but for the most part I think we would be alright with this right now. And by alright I mean a contender. But what if we decided to go on ahead and pick up a Bobby Abreu or GA or some other solid hitting OF?

Is Buck really this vital to the team that we can't get another bat and put him in the outfield? The answer to that question is yes, he is.

He plays hard, with good defense and speed and a nifty bat at the top of the lineup.

His Rookie season he was surrounded by veteran player's all year and did tremendous when he was healthy. And look what we have all around him this year in the line-up. Giambi, who he apparently was somewhat compared to in the Minor's.

I don't want Cust in that oufield, Period. They were talking about Giambi being the DH and Barton getting the reps at first instead and Buck banished to the bench.

Honestly though, who is going to hit lead-off for this team? Sweeney, Suzuki, Ellis? Maybe Barton but I doubt it.

Let's just drop all this talk of Cust being in the OF or Buck going to the bench. It could hurt more then help if we did that.

Let Barton take another year or two and be ready and then let's get him here so he can contribute immideatly or we can trade him away.

I see the Sox just signed Smoltz though, I don't have any idea why we didn't see what we could do with him. He could have possibly come easier then Sheets since he is older and was hurt last year as well. Don't you think?

I'll stick with that Line-up I have up there (the roster at least).

Anybody think that we need to add or subtract from that? (Outside of Crosby, I hate to say it but we are stuck with him for one more year.)

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Why...

do we always assume free agents consider Oakland?

Why would John Smoltz want to come to Oakland?

Players tend to sign with Oakland when they

a.) Don’t have any other options
b.) The A’s provide them a unique opportunity (no one offers playing time, etc.)
c.) Nostalgia/proximity (they live in Cali, or have Bay Area/A’s roots

Batting 4th for the 2014 San Jose A's: 26-year-old RF Justin Upton, in the 1st season of a nine year, $250M deal.

by notsellingjeans on Jan 7, 2009 9:30 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Because.

I don’t know if you have noticed, but the A’s get quite a few superstar’s that come and go through the years.

They use it to have a big time year on a team where nobody else will compete with there numbers so they will be a standout and make more money the next year when they leave to go to the Yankees or somebody else.

Player’s use Oakland, and then we use those one hit wonder player’s right back.

Like we will do to Holliday.

Steve Sage

by SSathletics on Jan 7, 2009 9:37 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

i dont think players use oakland

players become stars in oakland and leave the minute they can. most of our best players are aquired through trade or are home grown, meaning they don’t have a say in where they go. but when they do have a say…its usually not here

"My group runs some frogloks down the hall to finish them off and POP! RASTER! If there was a way to scream louder than caps in EQ I was doing it. Man I am straight panicking because I know I have NO CHANCE soloing and the party has run off. I'm in my hotel room; it's like 5am, and I am straight hollering, in EQ and in real life. Bottom line is the group comes back, heals me, and kills Raster! WOOT!" -Curt Schilling on his favorite memories in the video game "EverQuest"

by travdog6 on Jan 7, 2009 9:45 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Historically , we were the farm team for the

Yankees. The difference now is that we are the farm team for EVERYBODY.

by IM4Oakgal on Jan 7, 2009 10:10 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

players left oakland to go to the yankees and others

but they certainly didn’t use oakland as a launching point for their career.

by travdog6 on Jan 7, 2009 10:14 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Some players have...

but only because this is where they were. Oakland has launched a few players and when they were in KC they were literally the Yankee farm team.

by IM4Oakgal on Jan 7, 2009 10:20 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

let me clarify my point

players dont sign with the a’s or hope to come here (this is by no means a hot spot for mlb players) just to boost their career. you’re absolutely right, players have left oakland for other places and excelled there.

by travdog6 on Jan 7, 2009 10:29 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

I just wanted to thank you for using the reply button.

au contra ire

by JediLeroy on Jan 7, 2009 10:41 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Which is ironic, since it's hard to tell what this is a reply to.

It's not the results, it's how you look going about those results -- Tim McCarver

by WaddellCanseco on Jan 7, 2009 11:04 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

That's what the 'up' link is for.

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

by iglew on Jan 8, 2009 2:39 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Smoltz looks like a Red Sox.

It's not the results, it's how you look going about those results -- Tim McCarver

by WaddellCanseco on Jan 7, 2009 9:43 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

is it sox or socks?

i would think sox is plural. but i completely agree with you, he has that gritty boston vibe in him

"I think people in this state like BOTH teams," proclaims Nick Aliotti, the Ducks' defensive coordinator. "Except for our hard-core fans, I don't think most Duck fans would have been terribly upset to see Oregon State going to the Rose Bowl."

Another reason he needs to go.

by diehardoaklandfan22 on Jan 8, 2009 6:52 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

That should be obvious.

We have a WINNING tradition here. It goes back a long, long way.
We have a “laid back” “pressure free” environment, unlike the Boston, NY, Phili markets.
NO, we do not have the bank account that the Yankees do.
But, players want to COMPETE for championships. The A’s have a pretty sweet post-season track record.
THIS IS ALL STUFF YOU ALREADY KNOW.

We are not a “LAST RESORT”

Christ

"RIP: UserID: 553"

by Masaryk on Jan 7, 2009 11:41 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Do you really want players who avoid pressure?

It's not the results, it's how you look going about those results -- Tim McCarver

by WaddellCanseco on Jan 8, 2009 12:07 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Game pressure versus media pressure

Yes, if it is because they are bad-asses.

www.punditpolitics.com - Political IQ Tests, Pundit Blog, News and Opinion.

by ChadGod on Jan 8, 2009 12:19 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Who would you want that couldn't hack it in NY/Bos/Phil?

Kenny Rogers?

It's not the results, it's how you look going about those results -- Tim McCarver

by WaddellCanseco on Jan 8, 2009 2:13 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Randy Johnson?

by mikev on Jan 8, 2009 7:45 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

you say "couldn't hack" I say "don't prefer"

Not that this is a good example of a player, but Barry Bonds hated the media violating his life. He still probably wouldve enjoyed NY, but that is just an example of someone that prefers less attention.

www.punditpolitics.com - Political IQ Tests, Pundit Blog, News and Opinion.

by ChadGod on Jan 8, 2009 10:44 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Why the heck do you want to leave Crosby where he is?

It's not the results, it's how you look going about those results -- Tim McCarver

by WaddellCanseco on Jan 7, 2009 9:44 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Could always put Crosby in RF and Cust at SS

"Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, either way, YOU'RE RIGHT !"

by Eastbayjim on Jan 7, 2009 10:10 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Or Cust at 3B, Hannahan at SS and Crosby in RF

by EddieVegas_NRAF on Jan 9, 2009 10:55 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

What!

A huge amount of player’s have used the A’s to launch their career.

Thats why we have so many one hit wonders in Oakland.

Steve Sage

by SSathletics on Jan 7, 2009 10:37 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Looks like maybe I spoke too soon

au contra ire

by JediLeroy on Jan 7, 2009 10:41 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

haha jedi

good stuff.

SSathletics: we have one hit wonders because we don’t have the budget to have a superstar or even star stick around. players being one hit wonders has much more to do with the a’s financial ability than the players’ desire to “launch their career”

by travdog6 on Jan 7, 2009 10:47 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Launching their Career.

We can make a list if you want travdog6.

We can start with Giambi and Tejada, who were great in Oakland and then left to amount to less of a player then they should have been.

We can even go back more to Canseco and Mcgwire.

Outside of Hudson, what happened to Zito and Mulder, wern’t they great before?

That’s what I mean by one-hit-wonder.

Steve Sage

by SSathletics on Jan 8, 2009 12:23 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

I'm a little confused about your position.

None of those players (except maybe Tejada) really had a choice about where they started their careers, so the argument that they “used” Oakland doesn’t really hold water. They merely came, did their job, and were rewarded with fat contracts or traded when retaining them became unwise due to price or projected performance.

Zito wasn’t great towards the end of his Oakland years. The writing was on the wall. Tejada was actually older than everybody though, so his sharp decline can be explained by his age. McGwire had his most historic years away from Oakland. Canseco couldn’t stay healthy. Giambi stopped ’roiding and lost a lot of power.

In other words, what exactly are you trying to say?

au contra ire

by JediLeroy on Jan 8, 2009 12:37 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

My only quibble

McGwire had a few historic years away from the Oakdome… but he put up the majority of his career numbers in green and gold. I miss him. I wish he and Rickey and Stew were treated as the icons they are.

by jeffro on Jan 8, 2009 7:40 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Giambi didn't lose power

He hit 41 HRs in each of his first two seasons with the Yankees. He lost quickness though, which could actually be a result of taking more steroids for all we know.

www.punditpolitics.com - Political IQ Tests, Pundit Blog, News and Opinion.

by ChadGod on Jan 8, 2009 10:45 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

But he was still 'roiding then, right? He has come down from those numbers, but that's mostly age

But wasn’t there a big deal in the media about his lack of production right after kicking the drugs?

au contra ire

by JediLeroy on Jan 8, 2009 3:39 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

{cough}Buds Bunny's Wabbit Ball{cough}

a man has to have something to help the petite vanilla bean scones go down @('.')@

by monkeyball on Jan 8, 2009 3:40 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

that's not where im disagreeing with you

the a’s have had stars. however, you make it seem as though these stars chose to come to oakland. all (except tejada) of the people you mentioned were drafted by oakland. so they did indeed launch their career here. but they dont really have a choice aganst it

by travdog6 on Jan 8, 2009 12:41 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

I Rest My Case.

Though they didn’t have a choice, they still launched their career’s with Oakland.

And Giambi has not lost any power at all. He had one year in NY where we thought he lost it and then he decided to pull everything and was hitting 30+ homers again.

Steve Sage

by SSathletics on Jan 8, 2009 7:52 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

then what is your point?

lots of people have launched their careers in lots of places. so what?

by travdog6 on Jan 8, 2009 8:17 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Tejada's best years were with the Orioles.

ZIPS: Milledge: 466 HR, 485 2B, 2282 hits, 278-379-524

by rfloh on Jan 8, 2009 8:24 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah.

But how many have done it in Oakland? More then any other team I bet you can think of.

Tejada declined while he was with the Orioles. So I’m going to assume that was a joke on your part.

He won the MVP in Oakland, hit 30+ bombs and 100+RBI’s every single year, not to mention all those game winning hits. And his batting average was always above that .280 mark until his latest years in Oakland when he was hitting .330 or so.

His best years were in Oakland.

Steve Sage

by SSathletics on Jan 8, 2009 8:36 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

ok

but even if more do it here i dont get what your point is. are you trying to say oakland doesn’t retain its stars? because if you are, it’s for financial reasons mostly.

by travdog6 on Jan 8, 2009 8:49 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

My Point

Was that they build stars, such as the ones we listed above, and then they get away from us.

I think we have been arguing over the same thing. I just didn’t understand you and you didn’t understand me.

The A’s bring guys up in the Minor’s, they become great, we can’t keep them.

That was my solid conclusion on the matter.

Steve Sage

by SSathletics on Jan 8, 2009 9:19 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

alright then

thats settled

by travdog6 on Jan 8, 2009 9:24 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Tejada's OPS+ with the Orioles

131, 128, 126, 109

With the As, from his first full season in 1999: 95, 111, 109, 128, 111.

And if you want to talk about batting average, I suggest you compare his batting average with the Orioles vs with the As. In fact, here it is:

with the Orioles: 311, 304, 330, 296
with the As: 251, 275, 267, 308, 278.

He had 3 season in Baltimore that were as good or better than his best season in Oakland.

His best years were with the Orioles

ZIPS: Milledge: 466 HR, 485 2B, 2282 hits, 278-379-524

by rfloh on Jan 9, 2009 9:40 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Why?

Are you making an issue over the reply button?

We have bigger things to worry about. Like Giambi at 1B and Bobby Crosby just on our roster in general.

Steve Sage

by SSathletics on Jan 7, 2009 10:45 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Because the whole rest of the community had to learn to use it properly, as it facilitates understanding

..since we’d have some semblance of a clue as to who you’re replying to.

au contra ire

by JediLeroy on Jan 7, 2009 10:46 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

As for your second question, yes. Yes, I am.

au contra ire

by JediLeroy on Jan 7, 2009 10:48 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Better?

I hope this stops the crying. No offense. I cry too, like when Cust strikes out with the bases loaded.

Steve Sage

by SSathletics on Jan 7, 2009 11:00 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

you realize

that he also has the highest obp on the team. so while he strikes out, he is still very very very valuable

by travdog6 on Jan 7, 2009 11:07 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Well it is a threaded blog

and not a myspace

by rightbackin on Jan 7, 2009 11:08 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Thanks :)

Such timely, responsive action is WOW!-ing me in 11 ways.

au contra ire

by JediLeroy on Jan 7, 2009 11:18 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

solution to crosby

Just pretend you’re in the NL and Crosby is your pitcher. pinch hit for him when it’s his turn to bat. Whoever is squeezed out of the OF/1B/DH that particular day, or anyone who can hit better than crosby will pinch hit for him, then you put petit in for defense, when it’s petit’s turn, pinch hit again, put pennington on defense. You take away 2 of the SS at bats for OF at bats every game!

"It's like déjà vu all over again." -yogi berra

by Cheezombie on Jan 7, 2009 11:06 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

I Like It

You should be the manager.

As I ignore that creepy guy who is obsessed with the reply button, I agree with the Cust OBP. I was just giving him grief for striking out a lot.

Steve Sage

by SSathletics on Jan 7, 2009 11:24 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Creepy?

Just figured a Wells Fargo joke could lighten the mood.

au contra ire

by JediLeroy on Jan 7, 2009 11:34 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

That's Funny

I used to work at Wells Fargo.

I Do Border Patrol now, going for their Swat Team.

That was pretty funny though.

Anyway’s, Lets get back on subject.

Who want’s Orlando Cabrera this year?

Steve Sage

by SSathletics on Jan 7, 2009 11:46 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

F NO

When he is grounding out on the first pitch every other AB and hitting 270/310/380, not to mention being a jackass, the whole time I will be forced to think vile thoughts like

“Crosby was a much better defender”
“We should have spent this F***n money on Sheets”
“Maybe this would have been Crosby’s breakout season”

…I cant accept that. Cabrera has no upside and is not fun to watch in his current state. He’s got to be one of my least favorite players….right behind GA

www.punditpolitics.com - Political IQ Tests, Pundit Blog, News and Opinion.

by ChadGod on Jan 8, 2009 12:23 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

I cant be aloud to delude myself into thinking there was ANY chance that Crosby made more sense

With Pennington or Petit id be fine because they cost nothing.

www.punditpolitics.com - Political IQ Tests, Pundit Blog, News and Opinion.

by ChadGod on Jan 8, 2009 12:31 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

You do realize that EVERYONE wants people to use the reply button because otherwise nobody has any idea what's going on, right?

by thejd44 on Jan 8, 2009 12:00 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Probably ham on rye

I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal

by Nico on Jan 9, 2009 7:13 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs