What Do the A's Do The Rest of the Way?
by baseballgirl on Aug 13, 2010 8:01 AM PDT
Email
PrintThe current playoff standings from Baseball Prospectus show that if the season was to be played out a million times, the A's have a 5% chance of making the playoffs at their current position. The good news is that they are more likely to make the playoffs than the Angels (2%). Unfortunately, the bad news, is, well, the 5%.
If you're willing to bet that the rest of the season will play out in the 95%, the A's are done with 2010, and should start taking a look at what they can do for next season. Keep in mind that knowing that the season is over and knowing that the season is over are two different things, and it's been hard to accept, even with almost zero expectations on the year. I'm happy to see the changing of the guard in the AL West; admittedly I like Seattle better than I like Ron Washington, but I have always liked Vlad Guerrero, and adore Nelson Cruz, and think the Josh Hamilton story is a good one.
My disappointment is still palpable; however, it's been no secret that I am less-than-impressed with, really, the way the A's are built. We all know the A's pitching has been good, but do you know how good they really are? They go back and forth with the Rays on the ERA leaderboard and Rays and Twins in WHIP, showing that they have one of the best--if not the best--pitching staff in the AL. (And it goes without saying that our $10 million pitching investment contributed a 4.5 ERA and 1.39 WHIP to that statistic.) I've heard over and over how the A's are so lucky to even be at .500, but I want to turn it around. They have the best pitching staff in the whole league and they are only a .500 team?!
The explanation, of course, is that the A's offense is so terrible that even with the very best pitching staff in the league, a .500 record is all the A's can eek out. If the A's had the pitching, of say, the Indians, they'd be easily 30 games under .500. Even pitching like the Angels would have buried them. Part of me wonders if even two or three league average hitters would have made a difference; part of me worries about the toll it takes on the young pitchers, knowing that they will receive little-to-no run support for their efforts; part of me is just disgusted to see the attention paid to sacrifice bunts, and the rest of me is just tired of begging for one run.
So what do the A's do the rest of the way to prepare for 2011? Who should be getting the A's at-bats for the next two months? Who is going to be a part of the A's future and who are we going to lose in the off-season? Is there anything you would have done differently last winter, or this season? Who could we have signed for the price of Sheets? Is there anything that could have been done to compete? And what does the rest of the season look like?
Current Series
3 game series vs Twins @ Target Field
|
Oakland Athletics Friday, Aug 13, 2010, 5:10 PM PDT Mostly cloudy,rain. Winds blowing in from center field at 5-15 m.p.h. Game time temperature around 85. |
||
| Sat 08/14 | 4:10 PM PDT | |
| Sun 08/15 | 11:10 AM PDT | |
366 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
"Who could we have signed for the price of Sheets?"
Nobody.
The A’s signed Sheets after any even sort of viable options were already off the table. If Beltre and/or Scutaro and/or Chapman and/or anybody else had signed, Sheets wouldn’t have been offered $10 million.
www.zekeishungry.com
by thejd44 on Aug 13, 2010 8:05 AM PDT reply actions
Seems that the A's don't mix Major League budgets with Draft/IFA budgets
I included Chapman in the Major League budget because he’s so close. I feel like that would probably be part of the ML budget.
www.zekeishungry.com
by thejd44 on Aug 13, 2010 9:32 AM PDT up reply actions
Why do you say that? It seems stupid not to mix the two at least at a very high level, like that of Beane.
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 11:59 AM PDT up reply actions
Beane said in an interview once that
the two are kept completely separate. I’m still not really clear on how budgeting works in the organization, but he was pretty clear on that specific point.
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
They have to merge at some point -- at least in Total Expenses
The question is at what level they merge.
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 4:43 PM PDT up reply actions
Sure, and they could have offered Beltre, Scutaro and Chapman more as well.
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 12:00 PM PDT up reply actions
Play the twin towers!
Call up Taylor, allowing Brown to be promoted to AAA
Crisp
Barton
Suzuki
Cust
Kouz
Carter
Taylor
Ellis
Penny
It’s very right-handed heavy, but the kids need at-bats going into next season
Mostly agree with you
Except that I’m so sick of Kouz that I’d like to see Larish/McPherson getting AB’s at 3B.
That's the problem
His OBP is in line with what he’s done throughout his career. I’d like to blame his SLG on playing in Oakland, but he’s actually hitting better there than on the road. Either way, he’s not a long term solution. There are other options. It’s time to explore them.
Like what? Rosales can only play 2B or 3B. You need another target.
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 1:08 PM PDT up reply actions
I'm not big on Rosales, either
As I said above, I’d like to see Larish or McPherson get a chance to play every day for 50 games and see what they’ve got.
McPherson's sucked at AAA, so he probably doesn't have much.
Isn’t Larish basically a 1B who can play 3B in the same sense that Rajai Davis can play 3B?
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 2:40 PM PDT up reply actions
Isn't that Jake Foxy?
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 2:43 PM PDT up reply actions
OK, Jake Faux
(using the trailer-park pronunciation of “faux”)
(peeks out of trailer)
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 2:53 PM PDT up reply actions
Really? McPherson has sucked at AAA?
Ok, he K’s a lot, but his OPS at that level has been 1.050, 1.053, .903, .997, and .815.
As for Larish, I don’t really know much about him except he has played some 3B, he has some power, and he can take a BB.
The whole A's team is hitting better at home than on the road
As pitcher-friendly as the Coliseum is, I don’t think it’s so much so that you would actually expect A’s hitters to hit worse at home than on the road. Home-field hitting advantage is pretty significant. I think the Padres are the only team where one would actually predict worse home hitting from an unadjusted-production standpoint.
Home-road splits are a very poor measure of player skill. I agree with CF here. Kouzmanoff is what he is— and he’s actually pretty good, if not great or anything. He’s not really any worse than Suzuki. There are far worse black holes on the roster (hint: corner outfield).
"We don't want our people to be preoccupied with seminude, crazy men jumping up and down who are chasing an inflated object," said Sheik Mohamed Osman Arus, head of operations for the Hizbul Islam insurgent group.
Don't get the Kouz hate
He’s probably the best value at 3B we could have picked up. I’m trying to recall a previous discussion / thread with a thorough listing of the 3B options available. The ones that keep sticking out to me:
Figgins – of course expensive and we see how he’s done this year up in Safeco
Freese – StL 3B of the future with mangled feet. Good hitter, now on the DL with some nasty foot injuries stemming from the car wreck that mangled his feet in he first place.
Alex Gordon – KC moved him to OF… could he really handle 3rd and our awful lineup?
I know I’d rather have Kouz over them. Currently we have a third baseman who is not hurt, not anemic with he bat, and not a black hole. I’ll not complain about Kouz.
Anemic bat, great glove
and there really aren’t any 3B options available either internally or on the market.
He more than makes up for his bat. He’s a league average 3B and he’s relatively cheap.
Needs moar dingerz.
He’s not really any worse than Suzuki.
As a hitter, this is true. But Suzuki plays a premium position. Kouz is a very good glove, but I would think the positional difference for a C compared to a 3B would leave him at a disadvantage.
There are far worse black holes on the roster (hint: corner outfield).
I don’t know about “far worse,” but yes, this team needs help at multiple positions, there’s no doubt about that. But right now, there’s a plan to take care of the COF positions (Taylor and Carter, if he can stick out there). At 3B, Cardenas seems a ways off still, so I say take a stab with some other guys because Kouz is a pretty awful hitter.
I don't know how many times I'm gonna have to say this,
but Taylor is not an option in the Majors right now. His MLE OPS is .623, and if we do get lucky and he turns out to be good one day, he should not be wasting service time right now. There is no reason to call up a prospect who is having serious difficulty hitting AAA.
"Life is a horizontal fall" -Jean Cocteau
by King Richard on Aug 13, 2010 10:40 AM PDT up reply actions
Also agree
I’m long on record as not caring about service time, but you have to both earn your shot and be better than the alternatives. He has not shown he’s either at this point.
"PECOTA can pretty much kiss my ass."-Nico
This seems so obvious, it makes me wonder whether Taylor has like 13 relatives posting here
Why the heck would they even think of bringing up someone who’s having a bad year at AAA? Even Pennington was having a decent year at AAA when they brought him up.
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 12:02 PM PDT up reply actions
Pennington was hitting about 260 when he was called up
about the same as Taylor. Not saying Taylor should be called up right now but wanted to point that about. I wouldn’t call the year Taylor is having as “bad” either.
by sactownbull on Aug 13, 2010 12:52 PM PDT up reply actions
It's pretty bad. A 93 wRC+ for a corner OF is below average. A below average
AAA player is pretty bad for a major league callup
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 1:08 PM PDT up reply actions
His batting average isn't "bad"
but his offfensive production has been bad overall.
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
This might be appropriate
With regard to Taylor.
by Billy Frijoles on Aug 13, 2010 12:16 PM PDT up reply actions
I'd run Buck out there every day
see what he’s got
I’d want to play Powell more too.
If he wants to run across the pitcher's mound, tell him to go do laps in the bullpen - pepe
But we just signed Kurt to a 4 year deal...
What would we get out of playing Powell more? I think Billy has made his decision on this one.
by EastBayMitch on Aug 13, 2010 8:48 AM PDT up reply actions
Well for one it might save some wear and tear on Suzuki
Let him conserve some health for years when the A’s actually have a chance at the post-season.
And who knows, maybe Powell could get on a mini hot streak and actually build up some trade value. This seems kind of unlikely though.
They should definitely play Powell more
I like Suzuki, but there’s not a good reason to not sit him once a week.
www.zekeishungry.com
by thejd44 on Aug 13, 2010 9:33 AM PDT up reply actions
I completely agree with this.
This is another question I’d like to see posed to Beane. There has been a long pattern of playing Suzuki more than regularly than typical for a catcher, even when a decent backup is available. I doubt it’s an accident, so I think there must be some logic that we’re not aware of. What is it?
Do the A’s have some institutional belief that catchers should play more often? Does Suzuki insist on it? Does it affect the pitchers somehow?
Unlike many questions that we’d like to ask Beane, this seems like one where he might actually give an informative answer. We may or may not agree with the rationale, but at this point I have no idea what the rationale even is.
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
The dropoff in performance between the backup and starter is generally pretty great
I think Landon is a fine catcher, but he can’t put up nearly the offensive production as Suzuki can. If you arrange it so that the dropoff between your backup and starter is not significantly great offensively, then either a) your backup should be playing more often or b) they both uniformly aren’t great.
"Do I talk to myself? No, I just remind myself of what I'm trying to do. You know, I never answer myself so how can I be talking to myself?" - Rickey
Athletics Nation - WE'RE ALL GONNA MRIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!
by cuppingmaster on Aug 13, 2010 11:01 AM PDT up reply actions
You don't think Powell can put up a .700 OPS?
The Suzuki love is getting out of hand here, unfortunately. I understand he’s a fan favorite and the AN Chicks think he’s pretty and he’s a nice and stuff, but he’s being run into the ground, he’s nothing spectacular at the plate (though most catchers aren’t), and there are IMO very real questions about his defense, specifically blocking the plate.
Powell’s biggest issues are health and the fact that he blew his knees out, but there’s absolutely no reason for him to not be playing a couple games a week.
Pam liked my old sig better.
by mikev on Aug 13, 2010 11:46 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Recommended...
The Suzuki love is out of control. Like you said.. he’s a nice guy… plays hard… etc… but 18 other catchers have a higher WAR than he does this year.
by Brett Narloch on Aug 13, 2010 11:57 AM PDT up reply actions
The argument that 18 other catchers have higher WAR this year
is a bit cheap to use here since Suzuki missed significant time this year to DL and WAR is a counting stat. But yeah, I agree with the overall sentiment that Suzuki has been a bit overrated by fans because of his goodguyishness and the fact that players always get overrated after being underrated (and he was underrated some time ago) because everybody wants to be part of the Zook bandwagon now.
"Rollins helps them with the small ball when he's not in the lineup." - Joe Morgan
I don't want to be part of this bandwagon. It's not filled with the cool kids.
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 12:05 PM PDT up reply actions
I count about 10...
higher than him who haven’t played the whole year because of injuries or being in the minors.
by Brett Narloch on Aug 13, 2010 12:07 PM PDT up reply actions
And at fangraphs... Kurt is actually "qualified" for the position.
Which means that he has played more than many of those ahead of him.
by Brett Narloch on Aug 13, 2010 12:12 PM PDT up reply actions
His throwing has been pretty bad as well
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 12:04 PM PDT up reply actions
This is true and it's gotten worse lately
for whatever reason.
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
for whatever reason...
maybe the reason is he is playing too damn much. probably effecting his defense and offense.
Isn’t that sort of the reason people are saying he should rest?
Difficult situation, tho, because as like it or not, the guy is one of the few true offense players on the entire roster…
It's not so much that Suzuki is awesome
More that Powell is pretty mediocre. Kouz isn’t even OPSing .700 right now. Yeah, Powell was unexpectedly decent for a backup last year by OPS (.725 in 155 PA) , but I think he’d be “exposed” like others think Rosales would be exposed getting regular playing time.
"Do I talk to myself? No, I just remind myself of what I'm trying to do. You know, I never answer myself so how can I be talking to myself?" - Rickey
Athletics Nation - WE'RE ALL GONNA MRIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!
by cuppingmaster on Aug 13, 2010 12:29 PM PDT up reply actions
I disagree with that. I think if he'd have remained healthy in the minors and not blown out his knee every year
Pam liked my old sig better.
It has been my impression,
although I haven’t followed up with any statistical analysis, that Kurt Suzuki plays better when he gets more rest.
If that is correct, then the drop-off is not the difference between Powell and average Suzuki, but rather the difference between Powell and bad-because-he’s-tired Suzuki.
I never meant to join those who say Suzuki is bad and Powell could be better. I think Suzuki is great. I just think it’s generally a good idea to give a catcher a day off once a week or so, even with the drop-off in production.
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
It's a problem that precedes Suzuki.
They did it with Kendall before him, and Miller and Ramon before that. They just don’t like to rest catchers, it seems.
"PECOTA can pretty much kiss my ass."-Nico
Well they had an excuse before that the backups were terrible.
That’s not true now.
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 12:03 PM PDT up reply actions
True
Of course, unless you go back to Ramon, the starters were worse, too.
"PECOTA can pretty much kiss my ass."-Nico
Yes, although Kendall was actually pretty good in 2006.
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 12:29 PM PDT up reply actions
I agree also.
Catchers should be handled more carefully than other position players. Just to keep them as fresh as possible, if nothing else. Sitting once every 7-ish days is reasonable… 10 days at the most.
If Suzuki insists on playing more, then to me it’s the manager’s job to have enough backbone to say ‘no’.
Bob Geren... Jackie Moore without the personality.
I think it is easier to say who should not play
I would not give a bunch of ABs to Gross or Carson. I would have sat Ellis and pushed Rosales into an every day role to see how he could finish, but the ankle gets in the way of that. I am not a fan of the offense when Raj and Crisp are both in the lineup so – sit the one you do not plan to use next year.
The offense is just plain ugly. Only 3 teams (at last look) have scored fewer runs in the AL than us. We cannot go into next season with this. Need a power bat at 1B, need Carter to provide a corner OF power bat.
Baja been here
it's not that the A's have to be better next year
they have to be better than the rangers, and the rangers are looking pretty good next year, their new ownership just signed off on giving Luke Jackson (supplemental 1st round) about 1.5 mill, double what mlb’s slot recommendation was, if this is any indication on how the new ownership will spend, they might have a shot at cliff lee, which of course is no good for the A’s
the front of the rangers rotation looks good (with cliff lee) and the back of their rotation will get a boost when holland comes back
this years A’s kind of reminds me of last years Giants, great pitching, no hitting, the giants have put themselves in the wild card lead with a few bats (burrelll, huff, torres, emergence of posey)
we’re not going to have cost controlled pitching forever so our window of playoff contention is just about four years, i’d be all for packaging taylor for a legit mlb bat
the pitchings there (could use depth), bullpens there, its clear we need bats, and if free agency doesn’t work there are pieces in the minors that could net us some offense
When we played softball, I’d steal second base, feel guilty and go back.
- Woody Allen
by rhymeswithelephant on Aug 13, 2010 9:23 AM PDT reply actions
I don't see Lee re-signing there
There is a reason he has been traded 3 times in a year. He’s going to get his full market value – ie Sabathia money. If Cuban won the auction, or if they didn’t have that terrible Michael Young contract, then maybe. But as things stand now, I don’t see it.
I see it happening
He’s been traded 3 times this year because the Phillies are dumb, and the Mariners fell out of contention pretty quickly.
Remember, Jon Daniels is the guy who gave A-Rod that massive contract (that Texas is still paying off). Texas can do big contracts, and with the pennant race, you bet they target Lee.
Needs moar dingerz.
Lee accepts arbi
end of story, everyone goes, “WHAAAAAAAAT?”
100% Athletics, 100% Baseball. 2009 Athletics, 40% Baseball.
by fruitattack on Aug 13, 2010 10:35 AM PDT up reply actions
Not Daniels
Doug Melvin was the GM who gave Arod that deal, not Daniels.
The Phillies traded Lee because he wanted Sabathia money. Maybe that’s dumb, but the point is he’s going to get an enormous contract. I think I read that they COULD go up to $90 million in payroll. After massive arb raises for Hamilton, Cruz, and Wilson, they should be well over $60 mill. So it is possible, but signing him would allow them to do nothing else, like address 1B.
by drink on Aug 13, 2010 11:00 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Trading him in 2010 for nothing because he wanted Sabathia money in 2011 is certainly dumb
Very dumb. Very very dumb. Might cost them the World Series dumb.
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 12:07 PM PDT up reply actions
Well even if they had gotten back real prospects, like Saunders or someone,
reducing their chances at winning the 2010 World Series was dumb.
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 1:53 PM PDT up reply actions
as for paying off A-rod
don;t those obligations go away with the bankruptcy? He is just a creditor. as for the current contracts they are employees and they can be renogiated but NOT likely by the new owners. thats how BK normally works isn’t it?
by heartstopper on Aug 13, 2010 7:16 PM PDT up reply actions
MLB contracts are guaranteed though
And they are exempt from certain federal laws.
Needs moar dingerz.
Wow.
this years A’s kind of reminds me of last years Giants, great pitching, no hitting, the giants have put themselves in the wild card lead with a few bats (burrelll, huff, torres, emergence of posey)
With the exception of Posey, the Giants have been so goddamn lucky with finding scrap heap bats. Burrell AND Huff were absolutely awful last year, and Torres was somewhat of a non-factor coming into this season.
Sabean’s luck just bought him a few more years in SF.
Needs moar dingerz.
hmmm
torres’s put up a .379 wOBA last year with really good defense, “non-factor” is selling him a bit short
it’s easy to dismiss sabean’s moves because he’s, well, sabean, but he got huff, and burrell because he needed bats and it paid off, there were indicators in both those guys stats/track records/scouting that said they could provide pop, or that they could be on a decline, the giants just so happened to get it right
this is kind of aside the point, the point was that a couple of productive bats will catapult the A’s into contention
When we played softball, I’d steal second base, feel guilty and go back.
- Woody Allen
by rhymeswithelephant on Aug 13, 2010 10:25 AM PDT up reply actions
Yep.
Bottom line, what he did worked, and what Beane did didn’t.
"PECOTA can pretty much kiss my ass."-Nico
Its called being in the NL
Target a mediocre AL player and take him to the NL… bingo you got a bargain.
Doesn’t work the other way…
absolutely
The A's are a fairly quiet team, and then there's Ben Sheets. Sheets, as a kid, must have been thrown out of every library in Baton Rouge. ~ Scott Ostler
torres is legitimately good
and has been for a few years now.
id really like to see beane do a better job identifying and obtaining this type of player, i.e. late bloomers and or former hot prospects who were rushed or took a while to figure it out – marlon byrd, nelson cruz, ryan ludwick, torres, jose bautista are a few that come to mind in recent years.
That's easier to identify.
Is he on smack, or is he not on smack? Riskier too, though.
"PECOTA can pretty much kiss my ass."-Nico
Everyone knew he was really talented and good
and Edinson Volquez isn’t really a cheap price to pay for a guy who had both injuries and drug issues.
Needs moar dingerz.
No, but Ryan Goleski is
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 12:08 PM PDT up reply actions
Larish
The A's are a fairly quiet team, and then there's Ben Sheets. Sheets, as a kid, must have been thrown out of every library in Baton Rouge. ~ Scott Ostler
Rhymes with garish
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 2:37 PM PDT up reply actions
Parrish or is it pearish?
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 4:44 PM PDT up reply actions
Burrell was awful this year in the AL.
Like, Crosby bad.
Keep in mind, of course, that "the best defense of Derek Jeter's life" ranks somewhere in between "the best fiscal responsibility of Mike Tyson's life" and "the best not-getting-assassinated-ness of James Garfield's life." -FJM
If he reads this, you could be challenged to a duel
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 12:47 PM PDT up reply actions
Correct, and it made sense to roll the dice with him
and it made sense not to roll the dice with him. However, it’s the A’s who made the wrong choice and the Giants who made the right one.
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
If the A's signed Burrell and/or Huff
They would not be good. Much easier for players to perform in the NL. Watch, Guillen will start raking over there now…
Sorry, don't agree.
There were reasons not to sign them, but they might have raked just fine in the AL.
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
Um, it was 29 other teams who made the "wrong" choice, and the Giants who got lucky
Pam liked my old sig better.
most teams do not need average OFs as bad as we do. It’s unfair to say a team like the Rays made the wrong choice…
by Billy Frijoles on Aug 13, 2010 3:04 PM PDT up reply actions
Although Aubrey is a "True Ray"
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 3:06 PM PDT up reply actions
I really don't see him hitting anywhere near how well he has with the A's. Probably worse than Cust, with similar defense. So I'm glad the A's didn't make a run at him.
Huff I’ll give them credit for. Although I’d liken Huff to Frank Thomas, but also Piazza, Giambi, and the 8000 other vets that were once good, and now cheap because they suck. They got somewhat lucky with Huff.
Keep in mind, of course, that "the best defense of Derek Jeter's life" ranks somewhere in between "the best fiscal responsibility of Mike Tyson's life" and "the best not-getting-assassinated-ness of James Garfield's life." -FJM
Thomas didn't really suck before 2006, he was just injured, not that it takes away from your overall point
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 4:45 PM PDT up reply actions
Ya, what I was getting at was the buy low kinda deal.
Every now and then it’ll work out for ya, but as we as A’s fans know, it sometimes doesn’t.
Keep in mind, of course, that "the best defense of Derek Jeter's life" ranks somewhere in between "the best fiscal responsibility of Mike Tyson's life" and "the best not-getting-assassinated-ness of James Garfield's life." -FJM
Seems like it works about once every five years.
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 4:54 PM PDT up reply actions
We're due!!!1!
"We don't want our people to be preoccupied with seminude, crazy men jumping up and down who are chasing an inflated object," said Sheik Mohamed Osman Arus, head of operations for the Hizbul Islam insurgent group.
He's acting almost like Beane did earlier this decade.
Bob Geren... Jackie Moore without the personality.
So he's going to take up soccer next?
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 4:55 PM PDT up reply actions
I don't know
if our pitching is as great or our hitters are as bad as people say it is. Our pitchers’ ERAs are somewhat masked by our good defense and cavernous park. Other than his HR rate, which has never been low before, Gio Gonzalez’s peripheral stats are pretty bad, and Cahill’s are just above average. I guess you could argue that Cahill’s sinker might allow him to sustain a below average BABIP, but that might just be wishful thinking. Mazzaro’s improved, but he’s also giving up a lot of walks and HRs. Anderson’s an ace, and Braden’s been great when healthy, but I wouldn’t say our rotation’s stellar going forward.
going forward we're going to continue to play half our games in that cavernous park
and we’ll still have good defense
so even if their era’s are “masked” they’ll still have the same benefits of pitching in a pitchers park next year
my A’s bias wants me to believe that cahill is the FIP buster, but if it was anyone else that had his same components that pitched for a different team, everyone would agree that he’d be due for a lot of regression
When we played softball, I’d steal second base, feel guilty and go back.
- Woody Allen
by rhymeswithelephant on Aug 13, 2010 9:55 AM PDT up reply actions
Maybe he'll regress to his peripherals, but he's only 22. He can still improve his peripherals.
Given that he’s improved them a lot since he was 21, he could improve them quite a bit going forward.
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 12:11 PM PDT up reply actions
I don't see Gio's peripherals as "pretty bad". They're no worse than Cahill's.
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 12:10 PM PDT up reply actions
No, in fact, I'd say they're "pretty good."
"Life is a horizontal fall" -Jean Cocteau
by King Richard on Aug 13, 2010 1:00 PM PDT up reply actions
Agreed.
What you fail to understand in your joyless myopia is that baseball is the key to life-- the Rosetta Stone, if you will. If you just understood baseball better all your other questions your, your... the, uh... the aliens, the conspiracies they would all, in their way be answered by the baseball gods.
Well, sure
If you think he can sustain his HR rate, Gio’s peripherals aren’t bad. He gets more GB than you might expect, but I don’t think a guy who has shaky command and relies on FB/curve can be so stingy with the longball, even in the Coliseum. And someone who leads the league in walks is usually not gonna have a very good K/BB rate.
I’m pretty optimistic about Cahill continuing to improve because the stuff’s obviously there….but that’s what every Tigers fan was saying about Rick Porcello last year.
Obviously, our pitchers will still benefit from our park next year, but when discussing their value, it would be silly not to discuss their park/defense/offense being down this year.
To be clear, I don’t think our pitching is bad or anything, but I don’t think it’s top-of-the-line either.
tERA doesn't care about HR rate.
Gio – 3.68
Trevor – 3.79.
K/BB is not a good indicator of future success in that it makes K’s and BB’s equally important. K’s are about 1.5 times as important as BB. So your point on Gio’s command, while it might be somewhat accurate, is not as important as the fact that he gets K’s and GB.
Gio 2010 is a lot better than Porcello 2009. Rick’s tERA was 4.95. He does have the talent but he’s never pitched as well as Gio has in 2010.
Agreed that the A’s pitching is overrated because of their defense and park though.
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 1:51 PM PDT up reply actions
I thought it took OF FB% into account, and regressed the OF FB to to HR rate to mean.
Does it not?
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 1:54 PM PDT up reply actions
Well that's news to me. I now think less of it.
At least they park-adjust the HR rate.
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 2:01 PM PDT up reply actions
I assume they do that because it leads to a higher year-to-year
correlation that way, but I don’t know. Do you?
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 2:02 PM PDT up reply actions
xFIP and tRA correlate to next-year's runs allowed at almost identical levels
Both are significantly better than plain FIP.
I think tRA is intended to have utility as a retrospective stat (measuring how well someone pitched) as well as a purely prospective one. xFIP is obviously almost solely intended for projection.
"We don't want our people to be preoccupied with seminude, crazy men jumping up and down who are chasing an inflated object," said Sheik Mohamed Osman Arus, head of operations for the Hizbul Islam insurgent group.
So by xFIP, Gio 4.23 and Trevor 4.19
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 2:03 PM PDT up reply actions
By tRAr, Trevor 5.03, Gio 4.87
I think that regresses the components to the mean, but it does all of them in some order, not just HR/OF FB
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 2:10 PM PDT up reply actions
Fair enough
K/BB is flawed but usually a decent proxy. When I go to Fangraphs, their rest-of-season projection is not too rosy for Gio: 1.0 HR/9 and 4.80 ERA. I don’t know why the ERA projection is quite that high (maybe because of his innings jump this year?), but clearly some advanced metrics are down on him. I think Gio can be solid, but I don’t think he’s a #3 starter for a legit top-of-the-line rotation. There are three things a pitcher can do to keep runs from scoring: strike guys out, prevent walks, and get ground balls, and they say you need to do two well to be a good starter. So far, Gio’s only demonstrated the ability to do one. When you throw in the makeup concerns that have plagued him since high school, it’s tough for me to be too high on him.
Wrong way round
BBs are about 1.5 times as bad as Ks are good. I.e. a 0-walk, 0-strikeout pitcher would be about as good as a 3-walk, 4.5-strikeout pitcher (i.e. pretty terrible unless he was a heavy groundballer).
"We don't want our people to be preoccupied with seminude, crazy men jumping up and down who are chasing an inflated object," said Sheik Mohamed Osman Arus, head of operations for the Hizbul Islam insurgent group.
Evidently you are watching a different rotation
I’m watching the (or close to the) youngest rotation in the majors dealing on a nightly basis. I’m hearing hitters and opposing managers talk about our young pitching with envy and reverence.
by Billy Frijoles on Aug 13, 2010 12:21 PM PDT up reply actions
Yup
I don’t think analyzing the platitudes opposing players offer up in post-game interviews is the best way to project players.
I'm just saying
That they are pitching well. People want to create this “illusion” that people are “overperforming” or “underperforming”.
Tops in the AL is great, any way you slice it.
And what is up with this endless obsession with “projecting” players? They are already playing!!! They are playing well!!! Their salaries are extremely low! What more do you want from these guys
by Billy Frijoles on Aug 13, 2010 3:06 PM PDT up reply actions
To win the World Series. They're playing "well" but not well enough.
Therefore we want to know what would need to happen to be a World Series contender in a future year. That means projecting.
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 4:47 PM PDT up reply actions
The A's need some big time luck
There’s not a lot to choose from in the FA market for next year beyond a few heavy hitters that everyone else wants as much as the A’s. To go from 80 to 90 wins is going to take 2 to 3 quality offensive players. The A’s can, if they spend some serious money on someone like Crawford, greatly improve the team. But they’ll have to get lucky to land him.
Crawford’s acquisition would still leave the A’s one or two bats short (they need a real 3-4-5, not the impostors they have now.). So they need even more luck. One of their prospects is going to – like Posey did this year for the Giants – play way above expectations right out of the gate. And then they’ll have to throw some money at a veteran cast off who, by luck, manages to play like he did when he was young.
I think some of this will happen. But certainly not all of it. I’m guessing that the A’s will have 85 wins next year. There are simply too many holes to fill.
I'm hoping for 85 wins THIS year.
I think that’s an achievable goal.
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
Yes it is. Unfortunately, that may be the projection next year too....and then regression.
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 12:12 PM PDT up reply actions
It's easy!
All we have to do is teach every position player on the roster not named Cust or Barton how to hit (and to teach those two how to hit like star players). We should be able to bang that out by the last week of August, right?
"PECOTA can pretty much kiss my ass."-Nico
Here are my thoughts:
1) Sit Zooks more often and play Powell more
2) Play Rosales everyday… somewhere and sit Ellis more
3) Play Carter in LF almost every game… DH him once in awhile
4) Bring up Taylor and play him almost everyday
5) Play Kouz everyday. He sucks but BB needs to make a decision about him being back next year… I favor bringing him back unless we could actually sign Beltre but bat him 6th or lower.
That’s a good start.
I wonder if Ellis made it through waivers
I’m guessing he did.
"PECOTA can pretty much kiss my ass."-Nico
I thought Rosales is having his ankle looked at
100% Athletics, 100% Baseball. 2009 Athletics, 40% Baseball.
by fruitattack on Aug 13, 2010 10:34 AM PDT up reply actions
He is hurt right now...
But when he gets back he should play everyday.
by Brett Narloch on Aug 13, 2010 10:40 AM PDT up reply actions
Yep, Rosales is done.
Stress fracture. Wouldn’t mind seeing Ellis traded and giving Tolleson the job for the next six weeks, either. Sogard can be the backup.
"PECOTA can pretty much kiss my ass."-Nico
I doubt Ellis would fetch much in trade. Tolleson also has a pretty bad defensive reputation.
I’m not sure he’s a real option other than as a rarely used backup who can pinch hit.
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 12:14 PM PDT up reply actions
insurance.
with a low coverage limit.
by Billy Frijoles on Aug 13, 2010 12:23 PM PDT up reply actions
You mean the minimum mandated by the state?
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 12:29 PM PDT up reply actions
It would certainly involve some risk
But so does keeping Ellis. He’s not going to be worth his option. Maybe you can still keep him if it’s not exercised, but if not, then you going into next season with even less of an idea of what you have.
"PECOTA can pretty much kiss my ass."-Nico
Now that Tolleson's up, they could play him. The pitchers might not like it though.
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 1:06 PM PDT up reply actions
"Rarely used backup"?
Bob Geren doesn’t even realize that technology exists yet.
by StJosephBurningTheOakTreesToTheGround on Aug 13, 2010 2:56 PM PDT up reply actions
We're still at 5%??
I would have thought it had dropped down to about 3% by now. 5% is good.
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
Yeah I was thinking the same thing
Frank Cohen
TeamTICKERmlb.com
Your Effortless Baseball Connection
I agree.
I’m the sort of person that hears 5% and gets excited.
"Life is a horizontal fall" -Jean Cocteau
by King Richard on Aug 13, 2010 10:44 AM PDT up reply actions
get out the lucky d20
Pappa needs a critical hit.
by MobiusKlein on Aug 13, 2010 10:49 AM PDT up reply actions
Yeah
I’m with you King Richard. This nicely sums up how I feel.
by Billy Frijoles on Aug 13, 2010 12:26 PM PDT up reply actions
A different point
if the A’s do get lucky, make the playoffs, I would expect us to play NY or Rays in the first round, with the winner of the AL C to play against the AL East wildcard winner.
So we lose in 3 or 4 games. Well, according to tradition, we should lose in 5, but still. It’s not THE year.
by MobiusKlein on Aug 13, 2010 10:57 AM PDT up reply actions
Slow down, shooter.
Anything can happen in the postseason. I think A’s fans who were around in the late 80s and early 90s should know that better than almost anyone. One team gets hot, another team gets cold…you don’t have to win 85 games in the postseason. You have to 11. At your very worst, you can win the entire postseason with a record of 11-8. You don’t think we can pull off an 11-8 record against the Yankees, Red Sox, Rays, White Sox, Twins, Rangers, Cardinals, Reds, Giants, Padres, Braves, and Phillies?
…well, you might be right. We’re 20-30 against those teams on the season. But we all know that more than a few of those games almost went the other way. We could just as easily be 30-20 against those teams on the season.
The postseason isn’t out of reach. The World Series isn’t even out of reach. Never never never give up hope.
by StJosephBurningTheOakTreesToTheGround on Aug 13, 2010 11:31 AM PDT up reply actions
Here's the key
how many of the post season games will be day games?
Maybe some in the first round, but after that we’re doomed.
Our best chance is to play against the AL Central winner for that to happen – not likely.
by MobiusKlein on Aug 13, 2010 12:12 PM PDT up reply actions
We could shoot the lights out in both stadia
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 2:42 PM PDT up reply actions
We're at 5% based on the teams playing as they have this year.
If you take into account the PECOTA projections for the actual rosters — i.e. Lee being on the Rangers, our odds go down to 0.4%. We’re even behind the Angels, who are at 0.5% since they picked up Haren.
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 12:16 PM PDT up reply actions
I would...
Attempt to trade both Ellis and Kouzmanoff. I think Kouzmanoff is a non-tender candidate in the off-season, and believe that Ellis shouldn’t be in the teams long-term plans given his declining bat in an already weak lineup. I would also look to trade Cust, because although he is one of our better hitters, there are clear upgrades over him at the DH position on the free agent (or even trade) market. If Cardenas keeps hitting in AAA, and Taylor starts heating up, I would bring up both of these guys and plug them in the everyday lineup (if Kouz is traded and Ellis is not, play him at 3rd, if Ellis is traded and Kouz is not, play him at 2nd, if both are traded, try him out at 3rd, and if he doesn’t impress, just put him at 2nd; if he ends up at 3rd, bring up Sogard to try him out at 2nd). Also, call up Fautino De Los Santos and Michael Benacka. Get Corey Brown and Jemile Weeks (if he starts hitting in AA) some AB’s in AAA, and get Grant Green some AA AB’s. I wouldn’t mind a lineup of this to end the year, as it would give us a nice gauge of our future and provide some important pieces with MLB experience:
1. Crisp CF
2. Pennington SS
3. Barton 1B
4. Cust DH
5. Suzuki C
6. Carter LF
7. Taylor RF
8. Cardenas 3B
9. Sogard 2B
It would be pretty inconsistent, but it would at least be fun to watch.
Frank Cohen
TeamTICKERmlb.com
Your Effortless Baseball Connection
I don't like rushing prospects
Why waste one of their 6 years under club control on a year when they will struggle? Keep them down until they force their way up and we get 6 years of higher production.
I want to see them as much as the next guy but its a short-sighted decision to just bring them up now and see what happens. I am even against Carter being up, but I have a feeling that won’t be for long.
A September call-up won't affect his service time very much
Only a 30 day trial…
Frank Cohen
TeamTICKERmlb.com
Your Effortless Baseball Connection
I can live with that for Carter
But its August…
No one else is pushing hard enough yet, with the possible exception of Tolleson. And he is old enough that I don’t care.
And he's up!
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 1:44 PM PDT up reply actions
I don't see Cardenas being ready this time next year,
and I don’t see Sogard slugging anywhere near enough to be a major league player.
Keep in mind, of course, that "the best defense of Derek Jeter's life" ranks somewhere in between "the best fiscal responsibility of Mike Tyson's life" and "the best not-getting-assassinated-ness of James Garfield's life." -FJM
Re: Cardenas
Really? He hit .345/.436/.469 in AA this year. He’s got six hits since being recalled to Sacramento three games ago. If he spends the rest of this year in AAA, and starts off next year in AAA, it seems like he should definitely be ready for Oakland.
He might be sort of OK offensively, but he still needs to learn 3B
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 2:27 PM PDT up reply actions
He's played 44 Games at 3B and 30 at 2B at Midland and Sacramento.
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 3:03 PM PDT up reply actions
Ya, the defense is the problem. Although I dunno how much harder it is to learn in the MLB as opposed to AAA.
If we’re in contention though, I don’t see him (with bad defense) being much help. Plus when he first comes up his offense probably won’t help us that much.
Keep in mind, of course, that "the best defense of Derek Jeter's life" ranks somewhere in between "the best fiscal responsibility of Mike Tyson's life" and "the best not-getting-assassinated-ness of James Garfield's life." -FJM
Who better to be around to learn 2B than Mark Ellis?
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
Frank Menechino?
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 4:48 PM PDT up reply actions
Eh.
Ellis is hitting .264/.336/.337. I think Cardenas could probably match that if he were healthy. Isn’t he supposed to be an average defensive 2B? If the plan really is to keep moving him to 3B, I just don’t understand. Ellis is older, worse with the bat and in the field, and more expensive than Kouzmanoff.
That's a good point.
From what I’ve read, Cardenas is pretty below average defensively at the moment. Sad as it may sound, I think he’d be similar in value to Ellis (although obviously cheaper).
Maybe Orlando Hudson to a one year deal next year? The Twins aren’t going to offer arbitration if he’s type A
according to Cots. It really would be nice if the A’s had promoted Cardenas for good a few months ago, but whatever.
Keep in mind, of course, that "the best defense of Derek Jeter's life" ranks somewhere in between "the best fiscal responsibility of Mike Tyson's life" and "the best not-getting-assassinated-ness of James Garfield's life." -FJM
Juan Uribe is a viable option, IMO.
He’s always been well above average defensively at second, and is average to slightly above with the bat. He shouldn’t be very expensive.
I don't think that team would be very much fun to watch. They'd be horrible. Cardenas and
Sogard would be overmatched at the plate, and their defense would be a massive dropoff from Ellis and Kouzmanoff. Cahill’s ERA would jump through the roof.
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 12:18 PM PDT up reply actions
I really don't think Sogard would be overmatched
His approach at the plate reminds me a lot of Pennington. Cardenas might be, but only because he initially struggles once he’s promoted to a new level.
Frank Cohen
TeamTICKERmlb.com
Your Effortless Baseball Connection
I guess...although Pennington was pretty bad when he first came up.
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 12:31 PM PDT up reply actions
Penny's a good comp actually.
The difference I see is that Penny was always capable of holding a decent slugging%, but didn’t due to injury. Sogard just really lacks the ability to slug.
Keep in mind, of course, that "the best defense of Derek Jeter's life" ranks somewhere in between "the best fiscal responsibility of Mike Tyson's life" and "the best not-getting-assassinated-ness of James Garfield's life." -FJM
More like David Eckstein than Pennington, methinks
especially since he also lacks Pennington’s footspeed (13/19 stealing in AAA, versus 17/20 in the majors).
"We don't want our people to be preoccupied with seminude, crazy men jumping up and down who are chasing an inflated object," said Sheik Mohamed Osman Arus, head of operations for the Hizbul Islam insurgent group.
That is a better comp.
Keep in mind, of course, that "the best defense of Derek Jeter's life" ranks somewhere in between "the best fiscal responsibility of Mike Tyson's life" and "the best not-getting-assassinated-ness of James Garfield's life." -FJM
The point on defensive drop-off is true though
Frank Cohen
TeamTICKERmlb.com
Your Effortless Baseball Connection
isn't the range of both sogard and cardenas
better than ellis and kous??? if they get to more balls who cares we can give up a little on other areas of fielding. i think the W/L may be effected (more erros) but not the ERA. in fact if they can get to a ball and NOT handle it (for an error) when it simply would have gone for a hit past ellis and kouz then maybe the ERA would go down
by heartstopper on Aug 13, 2010 7:42 PM PDT up reply actions
Top 10 things I want to see the rest of the season
oops wrong part of AN…..My only hope for the rest of the season is a winning record.
But seriously, folks....
Jesus Montero
I would like to get his bat to the A’s this offseason. Trade away Andrew Bailey+Josh Donaldson for Jesus Montero. Montero can be Suzuki’s Backup C & DH full-time (Mix in a little 1B)…
Hopefully Joey Devine and Josh Outman will be bullpen ready next year. Devine can close.
With all the health problems Devine has had can you really go into a season with him as the closer?
that would make me nervous.
But seriously, folks....
I'd rather pencil in FDLS as our closer
Than Andrew Bailey (as long as he impresses in ST and what not)
Frank Cohen
TeamTICKERmlb.com
Your Effortless Baseball Connection
I'd love to see FDLS soon.
Seriously electric stuff.
Keep in mind, of course, that "the best defense of Derek Jeter's life" ranks somewhere in between "the best fiscal responsibility of Mike Tyson's life" and "the best not-getting-assassinated-ness of James Garfield's life." -FJM
Then cheaply sign someone as pen insurance
My picks are one of JJ Putz or Jon Rauch.
If Bailey is traded for a bat, it makes perfect sense to bring someone in to act as insurance if FDLS/Devine struggle.
And good relievers can be acquired cheaply.
Needs moar dingerz.
Anyone can be a closer.
Get a good reliever, work on him a little in the offseason, and voila, you have a closer. His fate is 30% skill, 30% skill of the rest of his team, and 40% luck. Jonathan Papelbon’s 40% is running out. This time next year he’ll be a has-been.
by StJosephBurningTheOakTreesToTheGround on Aug 13, 2010 11:34 AM PDT up reply actions
TARE* says hi.
*The Arthur Rhodes Experiment.
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
(covers eyes)
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 4:49 PM PDT up reply actions
I would do that in a heartbeat
Donaldson is definitely in the next big trade. I don’t see us trading Suzuki, and Donaldson is blocked at 1B. I don’t think he’s good enough to play 3B.
"Do I talk to myself? No, I just remind myself of what I'm trying to do. You know, I never answer myself so how can I be talking to myself?" - Rickey
Athletics Nation - WE'RE ALL GONNA MRIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!
by cuppingmaster on Aug 13, 2010 11:05 AM PDT up reply actions
I'm most curious to see what the outfield will look like next year
Carter/Crisp/Jackson….is my guess
C- Suzuki
1B- Barton
2B – ?
SS – Pennington
3B – Kouzmanoff…..(can we do better?)
LF – Carter
CF -Crisp
RF – Jackson….(if he can stay healthy)
DH – ?
But seriously, folks....
Cust pretty much has to be the DH.
I doubt Jackson is tendered, since he’s already making over $3M. I wouldn’t tender Sweeney either unless I had extra money lying around, but they probably will.
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 12:41 PM PDT up reply actions
He doesn't quite fit the body type for third
I mean hey, bigger guys have played 3rd. He just doesn’t look incredibly mobile behind the plate.
"Do I talk to myself? No, I just remind myself of what I'm trying to do. You know, I never answer myself so how can I be talking to myself?" - Rickey
Athletics Nation - WE'RE ALL GONNA MRIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!
by cuppingmaster on Aug 13, 2010 12:38 PM PDT up reply actions
What's the body type for third?
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 12:42 PM PDT up reply actions
More mobile than his 6' 210+ appears to be
"Do I talk to myself? No, I just remind myself of what I'm trying to do. You know, I never answer myself so how can I be talking to myself?" - Rickey
Athletics Nation - WE'RE ALL GONNA MRIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!
by cuppingmaster on Aug 13, 2010 12:46 PM PDT up reply actions
So Barton at 6' 215 lb wouldn't work either?
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 12:48 PM PDT up reply actions
I don't really think so
I’d love for him to prove me wrong, though. That would solve a lot of problems.
"Do I talk to myself? No, I just remind myself of what I'm trying to do. You know, I never answer myself so how can I be talking to myself?" - Rickey
Athletics Nation - WE'RE ALL GONNA MRIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!
by cuppingmaster on Aug 13, 2010 1:00 PM PDT up reply actions
Agreed. My hope is that Brian Cashman is replaced by an 9 year old contest winner for a day
and he makes that trade.
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 12:19 PM PDT up reply actions
bailey has been the closer for almost two years now
holding true for the A’s it just may be time to trade him as much as it would hurt….
by heartstopper on Aug 13, 2010 7:46 PM PDT up reply actions
Ow
#Athletics place Adam Rosales on the disabled list (stress fracture, right ankle) and recall Steve Tolleson from Sacramento.
http://twitter.com/OaklandAs/status/21085095473
Last of the Ninth - Photography
Quick Diagnosis
As usual. Well done. Only took the Medical Team 1 month to figure it out. Gold Star Fail, A’s Medical Team.
by Colorado Fan on Aug 13, 2010 11:26 AM PDT up reply actions
A's medical staff: We try harder.
AN: We is all growed up now.
by OptimistPrime on Aug 13, 2010 12:10 PM PDT up reply actions
To do what?
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 12:21 PM PDT up reply actions
yeah an X-Ray takes like a minute
way to go A’s.
by Billy Frijoles on Aug 13, 2010 12:28 PM PDT up reply actions
They did a Polaroid but it didn't show any damage
AN: We is all growed up now.
by OptimistPrime on Aug 13, 2010 12:42 PM PDT up reply actions
Then they let him play in a game with a fracture
and responded to how loud he screamed “OWWWWW!!!!!”
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
Stress fractures are harder to diagnose.
At least that’s my understanding.
Paying the Price
We are now paying the price for Beane’s sudden affection for older, damaged players that might be able to miraculously overcome their injuries and become some semblance of their former selves—-Thomas, Giambi, Piazza, Sheets. I never thought that was part of his strategy when we were winning—-but, all of a sudden, after Thomas, he fell in love with that paradigm. Not a good idea. So—-I think the younger the better. Not in terms of age necessarily, but in terms of major league time—-that’s why I can see taking a look at Carson and Taylor. Carter will be a hitter eventually. I want to see Cardenas and Sogard. If they turn out to be Linden (where did that guy end up?), so be it. And one more thing (here comes that dead horse again)—-we need a new, cool stadium in a city that wants us. Read Slusser on Edifice Envy and your blood will boil. I have to go take my meds. Go A’s.
"It's a cookbook!"---The Twilight Zone
Beane's plan seems to be:
1) Find cheap and mid-priced players at all positions and get great run-prevention. This gets you a .510 club if most people stay healthy.
2) Try to get lucky with with some reclamation projects. If you do, you get the 2006 overachieving playoff team. If you don’t you get the 2007-2010 mediocrities. In all cases you get a team that fans don’t care about and don’t support. So your budget has to shrink the next year.
Silly Billy.
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 12:25 PM PDT up reply actions
Ellis and his option
Two months ago I was certain they will exercise his option as long as he doesn’t suffer a major injury or completely falls off the cliff. Well, he’s healthy now but also has been remarkably bad at the plate lately (and his defense is pretty ordinary now), and I really don’t think he’s worth $6M next year. How much better can he really be than Cardenas or Sogard next year? And they can play for $400k.
This would also mean we would keep Kouzmanoff since it’s unlikely the team would go with unknowns both at second and third. Unless of course there are improvements available at FA or trade market. I don’t think they will go after Beltre again, guy has pretty much made it clear he has no intention to play in Oakland, and the competition for him will be much stiffer this year. Since this is dreams-and-fantasies thread maybe we can trade for Mark Reynolds? I used to be low on this guy, thinking he’s a product of friendly enviroment but recently I figured out that he is hitting more no-doubt bombs than anyone in baseball not named Adam Dunn. Maybe he wouldn’t be a bad fit in a pitchers park after all, and Arizona seems to be giving away players left and right…
To stay in dreams-and-fantasies land for awhile, I love the proposed Bailey for Montero trade, even if we have to add something of value there to make it work. Personally I think Montero is the next big thing in baseball and I’m more and more inclined towards trading Bailey this offseason anyway. His value has reachead a peak, he has a reputation and name recognition and four years of team control left. He also has some injury worries (but nothing to scare suitors away in dramatic fashion) and his strikeout rate has declined. Lot of people would hate it, though.
"Rollins helps them with the small ball when he's not in the lineup." - Joe Morgan
Trade Bailey
I am fully in favor of this. Closers seem to be a dime a dozen for the A’s.
Good hitters? Not so much…
But when was the last time a team traded a good hitter for a closer?
The market for closer’s has been really slow the last few years. Unless you can find a contender desperate at the trade deadline it’s almost impossible to get much value for a closer. Almost all the teams have realized that it’s not wise to trade valuable assets for a reliever.
It seems everyone is recommending ripping off another team in a trade, which I'm certainly in favor of.
In fact we should do it every day.
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 12:40 PM PDT up reply actions
Twice on Sundays too!
AN: We is all growed up now.
by OptimistPrime on Aug 13, 2010 12:51 PM PDT up reply actions
Well that may be pushing it!
Don’t want teams to catch on!
What you fail to understand in your joyless myopia is that baseball is the key to life-- the Rosetta Stone, if you will. If you just understood baseball better all your other questions your, your... the, uh... the aliens, the conspiracies they would all, in their way be answered by the baseball gods.
Not very often
I have been confused why many here think we can get Montero for Bailey straight up. However, I am all in favor of including Bailey in any deal that will help us get a power hitter. Not sure what it would take to get Montero, but heck, I’d be in favor of trading Bailey and Taylor for Montero at this point. (Though it may not be wise to sell low on Taylor right now…)
Plain and simple: the A’s have proved that pitching and defense alone does not win championships…or even division titles. You simply MUST have two or three power bats to win. In the Big Three years, we had Giambi, Tejada, and Chavez. In 2006, we had Thomas and the timely power of Bradley. These days…we have Cust. And even then, he is inexplicably not allowed to play every day.
In the future, I think we will have Carter. And that’s it right now. (Though even he is not guaranteed to pan out.) I’m not sold on Taylor’s power, and prospects like Choice and Thompson are far away from the big leagues.
We simply must find another power bat or two in order to be competitive from 2011 to 2014. Frankly, I’m quite depressed these days about the A’s. A lot has to change in order for us to contend in the next few years. I hope Billy can get it done…
Not that the Yankees would accept, but would you trade Anderson and Fautino for Montero?
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 1:10 PM PDT up reply actions
Whoa, there.
Anderson, at this point, is untouchable, save for the most insane of offers. Montero is not that. Not even close.
If the Yankees wouldn't trade him for Haren, I don't think he's obtainable for less.
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 1:15 PM PDT up reply actions
Anderson is worth more than Haren.
A hell of a lot more.
Haren has three seasons left, for an average total of $13.6MM each year. Anderson has five seasons left, for an average total of $5.9MM per year. Haren would have to be twice as good as Brett, and that’s not including the two extra years Anderson has on his contract.
I don't think the Yankees care about this WAR per dollar thing.
I believe they just want the best and healthiest players.
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 1:21 PM PDT up reply actions
Even then, three years of Haren isn't as good as five years of Anderson.
Hell, forget about the contract years. I’d say Anderson has a very good shot of being better than Haren over the next few years.
What's this "years" thing? They can get anyone they want for
as many years as they want. Is Anderson going to refuse to sign there on principle?
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 1:23 PM PDT up reply actions
Sorry I meant Haren
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 1:24 PM PDT up reply actions
My hunch is that Haren is the better straight-up bet
but that’s not based on pitching skill (which I truly think Anderson has as much of as any young MLB pitcher), it’s based on the fact that Haren literally has to be hit by a batted baseball to go out with an injury, whereas Anderson has a fairly extensive health-problem track record including the dread “forearm strain”.
"We don't want our people to be preoccupied with seminude, crazy men jumping up and down who are chasing an inflated object," said Sheik Mohamed Osman Arus, head of operations for the Hizbul Islam insurgent group.
Just guessing, but I'd say Anderson has WAAAY more surplus value than Haren at this point.
Even so, I’m shocked that Haren went so cheaply.
Just guessing, but I don't think the Yankees care about that.
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 1:21 PM PDT up reply actions
Sure they do
They have a lot of money, but it’s not unlimited. Plus their marquee players are getting old, but they’re still going to have to pay them big bucks. That means they need to get more value out of their other players.
Notice they didn’t ship out Hughes when he was struggling. 5 years ago they would have traded him for a “proven veteran”.
It's not unlimited but it's a lot higher than their actual budget.
I’m betting that a $400 million payroll would be feasible for them. It’s all about giving themselves the best chance to win the World Series every year. I wish we were like that.
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 1:32 PM PDT up reply actions
Uh, this is really an exaggeration
They weren’t willing to spend more than they did this offseason, and IIRC they said so publicly. I think Cashman basically maxed out what he was given by his ownership.
I mean, if all they cared about was talent, why would they accept giving away (relatively— not saying the packages were great or anything) more talent to get discounts on Berkman and Wood’s salaries?
"We don't want our people to be preoccupied with seminude, crazy men jumping up and down who are chasing an inflated object," said Sheik Mohamed Osman Arus, head of operations for the Hizbul Islam insurgent group.
Regarding Hughes, I doubt they'd hesitate to trade him for a better
player, even if the better player were more expensive.
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 1:34 PM PDT up reply actions
Nope
Can’t trade Anderson for Montero. Definitely not worth that.
But…sigh…you’re probably right. The Yankees won’t trade Montero for Bailey & a B-B+ level prospect.
I guess Billy is just going to have to get really creative this off season. But, my faith in his creativity/genius is fading fast…
I don't see the Yankees trading for anyone who isn't a possible All-Star
They might bring someone up from the minors, like Melky or sign a cheap FA like Gaudin, but they’re not going ever trade for one. True, Bailey is a 2 time All Star, but still.
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 1:22 PM PDT up reply actions
Bailey and Suzuki for Montero?
Would that get it done? Posada’s gotta be replaced at some point right?
I think we have the replacements in the pipeline for Suzuki. And while we would miss him dearly right now…Montero has the potential to be a superstar. Suzuki, as solid as he is, does not. And we absolutely need superstars to win.
It might, but it doesn't seem to fit the Cashman MO of trading for 4+ WAR
players. You’d have to believe Suzuki was capable of that for him to be interested
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 1:31 PM PDT up reply actions
True.
I wonder if Beane could sell him on that though. What are they going to do when Posada inevitably declines in the coming years or retires? What other catchers are there out there who could provide 4+ WAR? Suzuki may not be capable of that every year, but he may be one of the best young catchers in the MLB right now…who is available.
The problem for Oakland is that it would probably make them
worse in 2011. If we’re rebuilding, we’d probably trade Anderson and Cahill as well.
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 1:38 PM PDT up reply actions
But then who plays C for the A's?
Everything I’ve heard about Montero is that he’s not fit for the position. You really want to go with Powell/Donaldson until Stassi is ready?
You’re robbing Peter to pay Paul here.
Right. It only makes sense if you're doing a full rebuild
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 1:40 PM PDT up reply actions
I'd be ok with Powell/Donaldson
for now. I have confidence that Beane could find a serviceable replacement for Suzuki until Stassi is ready…that would not force us out of contention for 2011 or into another full rebuild.
I mean we had Jason Kendall and Ramon Hernandez in our playoff days. Surely, Beane could find someone who could provide that same combination of leadership & average-below average offensive production at the catcher position.
I don’t have the same confidence that he can find a power bat as easily.
You'd have to trade Barton as well, and Montero might
not be better than him in 2011. It’s a full rebuild.
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 1:56 PM PDT up reply actions
Sure but what if they got confused and both ran on the field on the same day?
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 2:04 PM PDT up reply actions
Hmm good point. Scratch that idea.
Can’t have our players just as confused about the game of baseball as our manager.
Yep
Put more succinctly, the Yankees trade for how good a player is right now, not how good a player is going to be in the future. They can buy another future next year.
"PECOTA can pretty much kiss my ass."-Nico
I think they care how good the player will be in the future.
They’d better be good now too, but they’d prefer someone who’ll also be good later.
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 1:42 PM PDT up reply actions
Atlanta is now the Yankees' farm affiliate?
"We don't want our people to be preoccupied with seminude, crazy men jumping up and down who are chasing an inflated object," said Sheik Mohamed Osman Arus, head of operations for the Hizbul Islam insurgent group.
A guy with no position...
Isn’t worth as much. The Mariners liked Smoak more.
Doesn’t seem like a good fit for the A’s either.
It's surprising to me that no one's at least tried him at 3B or LF
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 1:25 PM PDT up reply actions
you are forgetting swisher in 2006
he jacked 35 of them that year
by heartstopper on Aug 13, 2010 7:51 PM PDT up reply actions
How many DHs does a NL team need?
"Rollins helps them with the small ball when he's not in the lineup." - Joe Morgan
The Giants are running our "rent a vet" program and it is working for them.
Lucky bastards
AN: We is all growed up now.
by OptimistPrime on Aug 13, 2010 12:10 PM PDT up reply actions
They could win the World Series.
It’s not likely, but still…..
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 12:31 PM PDT up reply actions
I went to the game yesterday
I watched the dugout intently. They were laughing together, joking around, rooting for each other. They are playing loose and as a team. Getting Posey was the best thing for them, with Lincecum struggling. I think they have a shot. Curses!
AN: We is all growed up now.
by OptimistPrime on Aug 13, 2010 12:42 PM PDT up reply actions
They'd be pretty tough in a short series with Lincecum, Cain, Sanchez, Zito and Wilson
They’d be an underdog to the Cardinals or a healthy Phillies but a dangerous one.
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 12:45 PM PDT up reply actions
I sure as well wouldn't want to face them in the playoffs.
"PECOTA can pretty much kiss my ass."-Nico
The reason I even bring up the Guillen trade the Giants just made
is because they got him for some cash and a PTBL. WTF!!!? We have the pieces to make that happen, and putting Guillen into our lineup gives us an upgrade at DH, with all due respect to Jack Cust. There have been several moves made this season that the A’s could have upgraded for a small price and we were not even in the conversation. Instead we go out and trade a Major League ready arm for Conor Jackson. Conor Jackson?! Really??? Welcome to the A’s, here is your spot on the DL!
It’s just fer-rus-strating as hell and I agree BBG.
AN: We is all growed up now.
I don't think Guillen is really an upgrade on Cust, but Ryan Ludwick was traded for Corey
Klueber and Nick Greenwood. Also Edmonds was traded for Chris Dickerson, but I’m not sure we could even topped that. Other than that there was Fred Lewis and Scott Podsednik, whom I don’t really care about.
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 12:57 PM PDT up reply actions
Jose Guillen is definitely not an upgrade at DH.
This year, over a full season, they’d be some 25-30 runs apart.
But as far as Conor Jackson, I really do think he’ll turn out to be a very useful player. Certainly more useful than Sam Demel.
Even if Jackson never plays again, he was worth the gamble. Demel is not a high price.
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 1:04 PM PDT up reply actions
I agree with you on Guillen
and the below post on Jackson.
"PECOTA can pretty much kiss my ass."-Nico
Ok, so it was a stupid idea
like that time I stuck my tongue on my car battery to see if it had juice.
I just want us to do SOMETHING!!!!!
AN: We is all growed up now.
by OptimistPrime on Aug 13, 2010 2:15 PM PDT up reply actions
This is where I say we should either sign Carl Crawford, try and get lucky with next
year’s Aubrey Huff or rebuild.
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 2:28 PM PDT up reply actions
Priorities for the rest of the year:
1) Win as many games as possible.
2) See which members of the 40-man roster have future with this team.
3) Determine if Bob Geren will stay on as the manager beyond this season.
1 – This team has got to finish at .500 or better this year…it would be pathetic and demoralizing if they don’t and I’m not going to spend a second debating the whole, “well, if we only lose one more game this year, we’ll pick 12 instead of 13 in next season’s draft and there’s this 17-year old that will save the franchise available at that position and we HAVE to get him” type of crap. At some point, this franchise needs to show the fans and itself that it can win with what they’ve got…so in a general sense, I just want to see the best players out there most every day.
Contributing to this for me, is the fact that our minor league system has had a very down year and there isn’t anybody (including Carter, IMO) on the farm I think should be brought up now. So, let’s just roll with what we’ve got.
2) Buck and Cojax should be up with big league team soon. They are the best immediate corner options in my opinion, and with both getting older and eligible for arbitration next season, we need to find out if they have a future with this team with several million dollar contracts. Ditto Cust at DH and Ellis and Kouz at 2B and 3B, respectively. I’d run this lineup out there everyday:
CF – Crisp
1B – Barton
LF – CoJax
C – Suzuki
DH – Cust
3B – Kouz
RF – Buck
2B – Ellis
SS – Pennington
Send Carter back down and DFA Gross. Don’t bother with Carson or Watson. Leave Taylor alone and bring up Corey Brown to AAA.
3) I think we’re all sick of Bob Geren. If the guy can’t finish this year above-.500, I think the players will be sick of him too. I hope that Beane has already let it be known to Geren that he should be winning the winnable games this season and a sub-.500 year will not be tolerated. I also hope that Beane has already contacted Wakamatsu to let him know that the A’s might have a managerial opening next season, just to get the ball rolling.
I'm never gonna do it without the fez on!
by Taj Adib on Aug 13, 2010 12:51 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
Taj, do you really, seriously, believe Bob's job is under scrutiny?
I honestly do not see Billy firing Bob anytime ever in the future. Ever.
AN: We is all growed up now.
by OptimistPrime on Aug 13, 2010 12:53 PM PDT up reply actions
Geren is not the problem
No matter how bad you might think Geren is, he is nowhere near the biggest issue this team has. We need offense. That’s what’s holding us back.
I'm telling you
if there was a way to calculate the negative impact a manager’s decisions have on a team’s performance, just in terms of probabilities, it would show that Geren has probably cost this team between five and fifteen wins.
by StJosephBurningTheOakTreesToTheGround on Aug 13, 2010 3:45 PM PDT up reply actions
That's ridiculous.
You know how many players in 2009 had even a five win effect on their team? 24. Ten win effect? None. Barry Bonds, at his height with SF, hit 13 wins twice. That’s it. You’re saying Bob Geren could possibly have the same effect on the team as 2001 Barry Bonds?
Well he did bring the infield in that one time.
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
Why would an entire infield listen to Bonds? Especially Kent.
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 4:50 PM PDT up reply actions
I agree on Jackson playing as soon as he's healthy enough to, but Carter seems a better
option than Buck at this point. I don’t have a problem with bringing up Buck and preserving his option and making him a backup, but getting Carter adjusted to MLB and evaluating him would be more important to me than anything to do with Buck.
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 1:01 PM PDT up reply actions
Platoon Buck & CoJack in RF
Too bad CoJack has never played RF. Oh no.
by Colorado Fan on Aug 13, 2010 2:26 PM PDT up reply actions
Can someone send Geren a hooker?
Or bait him into a fight? Or something? I think it’s going to take a Geren implosion of some kind for him to go.
"PECOTA can pretty much kiss my ass."-Nico
I don't think a hooker would be enough, unless it were an underage boy goat
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 1:11 PM PDT up reply actions
You're probably right.
Beane: Well, to be fair to Bob, I didn’t give him a large enough clubhouse harem to resist the temptation.
"PECOTA can pretty much kiss my ass."-Nico
I knew I should have agreed to be his best man when he asked. Crap
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 1:18 PM PDT up reply actions
Or K-Rod
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
Both
And then hope for a triple murder suicide
Are you available for parties?
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
2011 is the year
2011 is the year Billy will make his move. I would expect him to pick up a arb eligible player that a rebuilding/cheapo team doesn’t want to pay – Uggla, Reynolds, who else? Competing on the open market for FA’s doesn’t make much sense. The pickings are slim and you’re not going to get good value. The A’s can trade from a position of depth in their farm system which not a lot of other teams can do.
I have this dream that Billy could pry away Gordon from the Royals and put him back at 3B. Probably won’t happen.
A lot depends on Carter and his ability to play LF. An OF of Carter, Crisp, Jackson could be brutal defensively. Even though he hasn’t done anything yet, just watching Carter swing gets me excited. HUGE POWER. Just hope he can translate than into his hitting game.
I don't see why Uggla, Reynolds or Gordon would be available. I'd take Uggla and/or Gordon,
but Reynolds is just the kind of hitter the Coliseum hates. He’s like Kouzmanoff with more power and much worse defense.
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 1:02 PM PDT up reply actions
Reynolds hits the ball harder than anyone in baseball right now
No stadium can contain him. I agree with your point that he may not be all that big of an upgrade over Kouz once you take into account the D and NL to AL move.
The most logical place for improvement is 2B in my opinion. Ellis is getting long in the tooth.
Hittracker does think every one of his 26 HR would have been over 350' in a neutral park
He might not have lost any to the Coliseum.
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 1:14 PM PDT up reply actions
In fact, isn't he one of the best comps for Chris Carter?
Might we not already have Reynolds, with all his pluses and minuses, starting his LF career now?
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
Yes, although it would be nice if Vernon could play 3B
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 1:28 PM PDT up reply actions
Fo' shizzle.
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
He's played 1 game at SS. I wish I had seen it.
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 1:36 PM PDT up reply actions
It says he made a putout.
I wonder if he tried to turn a DP
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 2:30 PM PDT up reply actions
If not his whole head
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 2:33 PM PDT up reply actions
Uggla could be available
His agent and the Marlins are far apart on a contract extension. The Marlins could move Coghlan to 2B.
Reynolds is like Kouzmanoff except he isn't
He will probably walk 80-90 times this year and hit about 35 no-doubters, I don’t see how is that anything like Kouzmanoff.
"Rollins helps them with the small ball when he's not in the lineup." - Joe Morgan
I meant he's like Kouzmanoff in that the Coliseum would hurt him a lot, but as you say
his HR are so long and majestic, that it might not.
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 2:31 PM PDT up reply actions
Reynolds should be available, but
someone’s going to look at his HR/RBI totals and overpay and throw the DBacks some nice pitching.
It’s like they struck out and sold low on the expensive guys (Haren and Snyder) but hit a homerun in trading the cheaper guys, both Jacksons.
He’s a good HR hitter, but he’s not an elite overall hitter, and his defense is pretty damn bad at 3B.
Needs moar dingerz.
He's a lot like Dunn
And I think Dunn has been underappreciated his whole career. People look at the K’s and think he’s not a good hitter.
He’s a much more attractive pickup as well. Sucking at 3B is a lot better than what Dunn offers (sucking at easier positions). He’s younger, and he’s still in arb. And from what I’ve heard his defense on the corner is “better” – below average as opposed to horrific.
Besides, maybe he could move the OF? Carter in left and Reynolds in right would be the TTO goodness we’ve all been longing for. :)
Adam Dunn's one of my favorite players in the game
and yes, he’s underappreciated (playing on a team that mainstream media only knows one person on may help). For some reason, Dunn gets a lot of crap while an inferior player in Reynolds gets praised. I don’t think Dunn fits well on the A’s, because of Jack Cust and that he won’t sign a contract to DH and wants to play in the field.
Sucking at 3B is better than sucking at LF true true., Yes, Reynolds gives you slightly more defensive value, even though they’re both negatives on defense. Dunn’s also a MUCH better hitter, by a lot.
And, Reynolds will cost prospects. Dunn costs only money. And Reynolds has the stats that arbitrators value most: hitting homeruns and RBIs.
Needs moar dingerz.
Reynolds is more valuable for a few reasons
I’ll grant you that Dunn is the better hitter, but he is an absolute butcher in the field. He’s given almost all his value back with the glove over the past few years. Although so far this year at 1B he seems to be doing okay. Reynolds has never been as bad at 3B as Dunn has been in the OF. According to the Fielding Bible Dunn is worse than Cust – just to put that into perspective. It would surprise me if he could play passable D at 1B. I’ve seen him in the outfield but not at first so maybe he can – but it would surprise me.
He’s almost four years older than Reynolds, who just turned 27. Reynold’s prime years are coming up. Dunn is on the wrong side of 30 and guys like him tend not to age well. Reynolds could still get better, but Dunn will likely get worse. Prospects is something that the A’s have and the Dbacks want. They should trade from that position of strength. Tying up money (which is very limited) in a multi-year deal to an aging slugger is unwise.
Over the last couple years they have been about equally valuable. Going forward Reynolds wins by a lot.
Green, Weeks and Brown for Reynolds?
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 4:52 PM PDT up reply actions
I bet they could pay less
Arizona seems desperate and ripe for plunder. They’re probably sweating out the arb award that Reynolds could get, and he’s not going to be part of a rebuilt team. A decent prospect like Stassi and some throw-ins might do it.
Or course some other team could bid it up at which point you look elsewhere.
I would rather give Dunn a 3 year deal
than give up all 3 of those guys for Reynolds.
Needs moar dingerz.
Oh well
SuSlu reports Ynoa to have UCL reconstruction: http://twitter.com/susanslusser
Last of the Ninth - Photography
well, the A's are just full of good news today
"Do I talk to myself? No, I just remind myself of what I'm trying to do. You know, I never answer myself so how can I be talking to myself?" - Rickey
Athletics Nation - WE'RE ALL GONNA MRIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!
by cuppingmaster on Aug 13, 2010 1:02 PM PDT up reply actions
(I think Ross is next for surgery)
"Do I talk to myself? No, I just remind myself of what I'm trying to do. You know, I never answer myself so how can I be talking to myself?" - Rickey
Athletics Nation - WE'RE ALL GONNA MRIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!
by cuppingmaster on Aug 13, 2010 1:02 PM PDT up reply actions
Can't we walk him intentionally and operate on Middleton?
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 1:19 PM PDT up reply actions
Ooh, strategy!!!
Wait, no — you’re just increasing the odds of a two-surgery double!!!!
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
Stragedy!
AN: We is all growed up now.
by OptimistPrime on Aug 13, 2010 2:20 PM PDT up reply actions
That was true the moment he signed a contract with "Oakland" on it.
"PECOTA can pretty much kiss my ass."-Nico
Well we can only hope it goes well. He seemed like a great talent.
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 1:03 PM PDT up reply actions
But not a big surprise
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 1:03 PM PDT up reply actions
TJS is like a rite of passage these days
I wouldn’t get all that down about it. He’ll lose a year, but he’s so young it won’t matter.
A lot of guys don't come back from it though.
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 1:14 PM PDT up reply actions
But also, See:
Johnson, Josh
(drool)
What you fail to understand in your joyless myopia is that baseball is the key to life-- the Rosetta Stone, if you will. If you just understood baseball better all your other questions your, your... the, uh... the aliens, the conspiracies they would all, in their way be answered by the baseball gods.
Both are still in the usual 12-18 month recovery span
"Rollins helps them with the small ball when he's not in the lineup." - Joe Morgan
I knew it
#Athletics won’t know the full extent of Ynoa’s elbow surgery until Dr. Yocum goes in but asst GM David Forst says TJ surgery anticipated.
the fact that it's the middle of August and the A's are above .500 and even in the conversation
is a welcome improvement from the past few years.
At the beginning of the seaon I gave my bust guess as to the outcome of the AL West as the A’s in third place but nobody really running away with the division. (I did think the Angels would most likelly win, but happily that doesn’t look to be the case as of today.)
In my pre-season guess I also said I thought that a better case schenario would be that the A’s would have a sort of 1999-ish season, in that they would surprisingly finish in second place and position themselves well for the following season. (And the worst case would be finishing last, which it seems that Seattle will take care of.)
Of course I understand that the chances of the A’s winning the division are slim to none. But that doesn’t mean I won’t be rooting for them to do so. And if they remain competitive for the rest of the season I will be happy!
Yes, I want them to go 49-0
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 1:29 PM PDT up reply actions
Yes, but I'll be able to accept it with serenity.
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 1:39 PM PDT up reply actions
I didn't say I wouldn't drink if they lost.
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 1:43 PM PDT up reply actions
Yay Carter is starting
Crisp cf, Barton 1b, Suzuki c, Cust dh, Kouzmanoff 3b, Ellis 2b, Davis rf, Carter lf, Pennington ss
GOG 39
is up!
"Do I talk to myself? No, I just remind myself of what I'm trying to do. You know, I never answer myself so how can I be talking to myself?" - Rickey
Athletics Nation - WE'RE ALL GONNA MRIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!
hopefully the A's will get Victor Martinez and Adam Dunn
put Dunn at 1B and Martinez at DH/C.
The A's are a fairly quiet team, and then there's Ben Sheets. Sheets, as a kid, must have been thrown out of every library in Baton Rouge. ~ Scott Ostler
Shouldn't we solve the giant sinkhole that passes for an OF first?
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 2:32 PM PDT up reply actions
too many prospects to look at in the OF
The A's are a fairly quiet team, and then there's Ben Sheets. Sheets, as a kid, must have been thrown out of every library in Baton Rouge. ~ Scott Ostler
Carter and ?
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 2:34 PM PDT up reply actions
theres a lot more than just Carter coming up over the next couple of years
and were not going to sign an impact bat for 1 year
The A's are a fairly quiet team, and then there's Ben Sheets. Sheets, as a kid, must have been thrown out of every library in Baton Rouge. ~ Scott Ostler
Really? Who?
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 4:52 PM PDT up reply actions
[Insert repetitive "please stop mentioning Dunn, he makes no sense" post here]
"There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want" -Bill Watterson
Can we mention Moneyball, market inefficiency, small market and East Coast Bias?
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 2:36 PM PDT up reply actions
Don't screw with my movie
AN: We is all growed up now.
by OptimistPrime on Aug 13, 2010 3:46 PM PDT up reply actions
I assume you are shipping Barton off to some remote island in this scenario?
by Steven Chuob on Aug 13, 2010 3:17 PM PDT up reply actions
SS?
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 13, 2010 4:53 PM PDT up reply actions
too many prospects to look at
The A's are a fairly quiet team, and then there's Ben Sheets. Sheets, as a kid, must have been thrown out of every library in Baton Rouge. ~ Scott Ostler
the future...
id like to se the A’s get adam dunn or carl crawford, 23 million off the books from chaves n sheets, i say we cut ellis add another 5 million.. we have outman and devine coming back makes are bullpen really monster.
1.crisp-cf
2.tolleson for the first month or two if he cant produce bring up weeks
3.barton-1b
4.Dunn-dh
5.Taylor-lf rf
6. sweeney rf/carter lf platoon
7.kouz 3b
8.suzuki c
9.pennington ss
by firebillyhireme on Aug 13, 2010 7:19 PM PDT reply actions
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
Baseball Nation Recent Stories
In Association With
Big League Stew - MLB - Yahoo! Sports
- Get a grip: Reds’ Todd Frazier loses bat, still connects for home run (Video)
- Eric Hosmer redefines the Baltimore chop with infield double (Video)
- College player makes impossible over the fence catch to save tournament game (Video)
- Security!: Camden Yards guard collides with Royals’ Mike Moustakas
- The Juice: Nelson Cruz matches career high eight RBIs, Pujols stays hot in Seattle
