Rounding out the A's

First, we look at my predicted 2010 opening day rotation right now:

SP Ben Sheets

SP Justin Duchscherer

SP Brett Anderson

SP Dallas Braden

SP Gio Gonzalez 

Spot Starter: Brett Tomko

CL Andrew Bailey

ST Brad Ziegler

ST Michael Wuertz

MR Joey Devine

MR Craig Breslow

MR Jerry Blevins

MR Brad Kilby

Come on now. The rotation isn't too bad, and the bullpen has some great arms with Devine back, ROY Bailey closing out games, and Ziegler/Wuertz setting Bailey up. But Oakland has long prided itself on its pitching, and the situation right now on the offense is too weak for the pitching to have this many question marks. I applaud Billy Beane for his efforts to strengthen the team with some veteran splurges (Sheets, Crisp, etc.), but a little more tinkering never hurt anyone. We'll start with the free agents. Joe Beimel, a 32 year old lefty specialist, has a career ERA of 4.23 in 9 seasons, and has generally been the quintessential setup man throughout his career. He is good enough to setup for the A's right now, as I think he still has a lot left in the tank, and his numbers certainly have been excellent, especially in his years with the Dodgers. Beimel has minimal closing experience, with only 4 saves in his career, but that shouldn't be a problem seeing as we already have a de facto closer in Bailey and a closer-in-waiting in Ziegler in case Bailey goes down or needs a rest. His fastball and slider has consistently been a good one-two punch throughout his career, notching him a 2.02 ERA and a 3.30 FIP in 2008. His WHIP has always been high (1.49 career), and he doesn't exactly rack up the K's, with a 5.11 K/9 career mark, but he is a quality pitcher nonetheless. Signing him would give us one of the best bullpens in all of baseball, and would help us keep the score right where it is.

In terms of our starters, I like the first four of Sheets/Duchscherer/Anderson and even Cahill, and I really do believe that our pitching could consistently carry us throughout games even when our offense isn't up to the task. (See 2009 Giants, who went 88-74 despite having a bottom 10 offense in a pitchers park). There is no reason to think that we can't do what the Giants did last summer, who were legit contenders for the wildcard to the very end, since all of their starters were solid and their bullpen was nothing less than stellar. Which is why I'm interested in Pedro Martinez. I  know you might be thinking that, yes, Martinez was once at the top and easily the best pitcher of the early 00's, but is now cooked, but a minor-league deal never hurt anyone. I'd like him to compete for the 5th starter role with Braden, because I'm not sold on Dallas. A spring training battle between Martinez/Braden/Gio Gonzalez would be good for the team, and certainly fun to watch.

But of course I wouldn't just leave the offense as it is for Opening-Day. I have a hard time believing that the A's would capture even the AAA crown with this lineup. Let's take a look at it first.

LF Rajai Davis (speed is there, but can he make enough contact to be a good leadoff man? Otherwise, the Michael Taylor show arrives)

CF Coco Crisp (love the name and the player when healthy, can have top leadoff man production if consistent)

C Kurt Suzuki (second biggest power threat hit 15 homers last year, which is sad. Takes nothing away from Suzuki's talent, though)

DH Jack Cust (power, OBP, low average, and more power should combine for excellence when you factor in the lower-than-career-average BABIP last year)

3B Kevin Kouzmanoff (decent 3B, provides good power and should have better production since he is moving away from Petco)

RF Ryan Sweeney (Gold-Glove caliber fielding, and has the contact skills to eventually become the next Franklin Gutierrez. I recommend the FanGraphs article comparing the two here; scroll down to the bottom)

2B Mark Ellis (if not for the injuries,  would hit 10-15 homers and garner generally decent stats, especially for a 2B)

1B Daric Barton 9 will eventually be good, but should be in AAA for more seasoning)

SS Cliff Pennington (glove is good, but bat definitely needs AAA seasoning)

Bench

SS Eric Chavez (still good, even with his injury history, but not $11 million a year good)

3B Jake Fox (has a great bat, but not solid defensively)

3B Adam Rosales (Crosby twin and lefty masher is a nice backup at this point. Needs to cut down on K's)

OF Gabe Gross (decent starter, great backup/platoon guy has power, but doesn't show enough of it)

As you can see, the heart of the order isn't bad at all, but we need to either call up Carter and Taylor or sign/trade for someone to fill in the holes at 1st and especially short. We can't afford to give up this much offense in favor of fielding unless we have multiple offensive threats, of which we are sadly lacking in. First, we look at free agency, which at first glance, has no talent anymore, but there are some good players that for one reason or another still haven't been signed yet. Players like Hank Blalock, 29, formerly of the Rangers and a player that is a power threat when healthy, and is mostly a 1B/DH type. Nagging injuries and below average fielding skills have made him seem older than 29, but I see no reason why he can't, if healthy, produce like a quality player. I have him hitting something like .260/.320/.460, with around 20 homers (he hit 25 last year, 32 in 2004) in 460 plate apperances. A minor-league deal would be in order here.

Another player I think still has something left in the tank is Carlos Delgado. He is 37, and for some that should be reason enough to stay away from him, but he has always demonstrated good power and could surpass 500 homers in his career (he has 473), so that makes him a bit of a fan attraction and veteran clubhouse presence, if nothing else. He hit .271 with 38 homers in 2008, so if he can produce like that at 36, a minor-league deal would be an absolute bargain. He is projected to hit .265/.365/.495 with 25 homers, which would be the steal of the offseason at 400K, and would allow Carter to finalize his minor league seasoning. It would jump-start our offense and give our pitching a little more breathing room. As with the pitching, there is absolutely no risk in signing players to minor league deals, and even if any of these acquisitions get injured, at least Chavvy would have a DL buddy and wouldn't feel so lonely.

Finally, I'd like to quit delving into the FA market for a while and propose a trade: I'd like to offer Cliff Pennington, Daric Barton, and Travis Buck for Jhonny Peralta. My logic? Well, this is a good package, as all three players I'm offering have potential, especially Barton, and the Indians continue to stip their roster of payroll eaters. This move would then seem like a very Cleveland Indian-like thing to do. Peralta is coming off a down year because of a below average BABIP, so his bounceback is imminent. Finalizing this deal would help both teams, but the GM of the Indians is so much less cool than Billy Beane that he would, in fact, accept this trade in my mind. He hit .254 last year, but it is not unreasonable to predict a .270/.335/.430 line with 17 homers and great fielding in 585 PA. Okay, let's finish this Fanpost with my preferred 2010 opening day depth chart, complete with projections for hitters:

Your 2010 Oakland A's! Predicted record: 89-73, 2nd place finish

Pitching: A-

SP Ben Sheets

SP Justin Duchscherer

SP Brett Anderson

SP Trevor Cahill

SP Gio Gonzalez 

Spot Starters: Dallas Braden, Brett Tomko

CL Andrew Bailey

ST Brad Ziegler

ST Michael Wuertz

MR Joey Devine

MR Joe Beimel

MR Craig Breslow

MR Jerry Blevins

MR Brad Kilby

Hitting: B Fielding: A Speed A

LF Rajai Davis (.285/.340/.400 with 6 homers, 50 stolen bases, typical excellent fielding)

CF Coco Crisp (.275/.345/.405 with 8 homers, 25 steals, more excellent fielding)

C Kurt Suzuki (.275/.335/.420 with 15 homers, 5 steals, yet more excellent fielding)

DH Jack Cust (.255/.385/.470 with 35 homers, 100 RBIs, 3 steals)

3B Kevin Kouzmanoff (.275/.330/.465 with 25 homers, 3 steals, good to great defense at 3rd base)

1B Carlos Delgado (.265/.365/.495 with 25 homers, limited range and acceptable glove at 1st)

SS Jhonny Peralta (.270/.335/.430 with 17 homers, 5 steals and great fielding)

RF Ryan Sweeney (.290/.355/.410 with 10 homers, 8 steals, and Gold-Glove caliber fielding)

2B Mark Ellis (.265/.325/.400 with 12 homers, 10 steals, solid fielding)

Bench

1B/DH Hank Blalock (.260/.320/.460 with 10 homers in limited action)

SS Eric Chavez (average hitting, Gold Glove D when he takes the field)

3B Jake Fox (Hitting will be there, not defense)

3B Adam Rosales (will fill in nicely for anyone in the infield minus catcher)

OF Gabe Gross (will do his job well in the outfield)