The 2012 Outfield Problem
by danmerqury on Nov 8, 2011 9:12 AM PST
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PrintIn order of innings played on defense, here's a list of every outfielder the A's used in 2011.
Coco Crisp (1134)
David DeJesus (1055)
Josh Willingham (829)
Ryan Sweeney (618)
Conor Jackson (361)
Hideki Matsui (232)
Michael Taylor (83)
Jai Miller (22)
Adam Rosales (7)
See the problem? Five of the top six are no longer with the team, and the sixth is a backup outfielder with knee problems. Conor Jackson was traded to Boston in August to help them with the playoffs (ha). Crisp, DeJesus, Willingham, and Matsui are free agents, and none of the four are expected to resign with the A's. Of the remaining three outside of the top six, one is a prospect, one is a 26-year-old career minor leaguer, and one is a utility infielder.
So basically, we have to recreate an entire outfield from scratch.
The easiest spot to fill is a September callup from 2011, Michael Taylor. A former top prospect in the Phillies system, Michael Taylor was acquired by Oakland via Toronto in the tail end of the 2009 Roy Halladay/Cliff Lee blockbuster deal. He had a dismal year in Sacramento in 2010 and a mediocre one in 2011, but with his path to Oakland finally open, the A's need to earmark one of the starting corner OF spots for Taylor to see if he can make it in the majors.
But what about the other two spots? Let's get this out of the way first: Jai Miller had a .956 OPS in Sacramento, but the 37.7% K rate gives an extremely strong indicator that he won't make enough contact in Oakland to produce anything meaningful. For reference, in his final full season in AAA (2006), Jack Cust struckout at a 21.0% rate. And while Chris Carter needs playing time as well, it's pretty much a certainty that his glove won't play in the outfield.
Who else? Cot's has a list of current free agents, and there's not a lot of gems. There's a few tepidly intriguing near-retirees (Andruw Jones, Mike Cameron, JD Drew, Vladimir Guerrero), but nothing I'd really be happy with. I see two names that interest me:
Grady Sizemore. He's a 29-year-old three-time All Star who averaged nearly 7 WAR per season from 2005-2008. So why is he on the open market? The next three years weren't exactly good to him. After missing only nine games over those four years, he missed 276 from 2009-2011. Arthroscopic left elbow surgery. Surgery to fix a sports hernia. Microfracture left knee surgery. A second sports hernia surgery. The Indians declined his $8.5MM option for 2012. But what's the risk in taking a flyer on him? If he gets hurt again, the A's are out a few million dollars. If he's healthy and he performs? He has legitimate MVP upside.
Yoenis Cespedes. Okay, so he's not technically a free agent. Yet. But the 26-year-old Cuban defector is preparing to jump to the majors in 2012, and, according to scouts, he's a legitimate five-tool center fielder with tape-measure power. His agent is asking for a similar contract to Aroldis Chapman's 6 yr/$30.25MM deal. To prove his worth, he released a hilariously bizarre 20 minute scouting video on Youtube yesterday, which was sadly removed. It started with a Star Wars-style title crawl ("A NEW HOPE") followed by Sailing by Christopher Cross. Seriously. But I digress. The A's need a cheap source of elite talent, and the way baseball is set up right now, it's gotta come from international signings. Oakland has been a major player at signing international talent in recent years, and Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports reports that the A's are indeed interested in Cespedes. Landing Cespedes would be a major coup, and if Yoenis pans out, he could be a future cornerstone star when the A's open their new ballpark in a few years (right, Selig?). I'd imagine Chapman's contract price would be the starting point in the bidding for Cespedes, but $6-7MM per year is a cheap price to pay for that huge upside.
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The Goldstein article has a new link to the video up
"I'll guarantee this: The A's will have a better season in 2012." - George Zimmer
That video is awesome!!!!!!
My favorite parts are the core power into the poor guys face & the pig at the end.
"Like I said, it’s like me giving you a high-five and chest bump after you hit for the cycle against the kid in the wheelchair." Vacafan on May 14, 2010
I'm only a third of the way through the video
It’s already the best thing I have ever seen on the internet.
The musical arragement is mystifying
As of 9:55AM this link was working – Yoenis Cespedes: The Showcase
"You can attract a hitter but you can't make him hit" -Lou Wolff
by Geronimo Berroa on Nov 8, 2011 9:54 AM PST up reply actions
My favorite bit is the slow-motion shot of him running toward the camera in nothing but spandex shorts
I guess his team thinks that will arouse interest in big league GMs.
by Glorious Mundy on Nov 8, 2011 10:02 AM PST up reply actions 4 recs
Arouse. Nice wording.
"You can attract a hitter but you can't make him hit" -Lou Wolff
by Geronimo Berroa on Nov 8, 2011 10:03 AM PST up reply actions
i think that was to show he wasn't out of shape
cuz in the baseball uni footage he looks heavy
We yet enjoy little to be envied, but endure much to be pitied.-Thomas Dudley
I like that they show him jogging the bases and high-fiving his teammates after hitting a HR.
That’s a valuable skill that you just can’t teach.
"The Lord has blessed us with birthday cake!"
Cedric Hunter
Cedric Hunter played 4 innings in center for SD, so there another maybe, that the A’s can try
I liked the move to pick up Hunter
But at this point he has to be behind Jermaine Mitchell in the pecking order for an outfield job. He’s basically Mitchell without the random breakout year while being older than everyone.
Also, I couldn't agree more on Sizemore, Dan
He’s a prototypical A’s-like risk. Gotta do that if we want to even sniff at being competitive.
If, by some miracle, we got both him and Cespedes… wow. There’d be some serious upside there.
"I'll guarantee this: The A's will have a better season in 2012." - George Zimmer
Cespedes would be an interesting piece to add, but assuming the A's don't win the bidding...
As horrible as it sounds, I want the in house options explored.
LF-Allen
CF- Sweeney/Miller
RF- Taylor
1B- Barton
DH- Carter
Might as well see if these guys have futures with the A’s.
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.
I think I'd rather sign Grady Sizemore just to see what happens since we know Ryan Sweeney won't do much.
"You're all like big, fat failure turtles." - Edge
by Rated-R Superstar on Nov 8, 2011 10:19 AM PST up reply actions
What makes you think the Ryan can't do much?
"Trying not to rec a "F**k the Giants" post is like trying not to look at boobs."
Bad knees and lack of power.
Being wrong about something you’ve worked on is a blessing, not a curse, and people are so invested in being right that that gets lost. —Graham MacAree
So, his bad knees are inexcusable, but Grady(at say $5M), and Mitchell's aren't?
I do understand the lack of power, But we all know he was brought along slowly this season because of the recovery, plus we didn’t need to push him back into the mix, so what makes you think he hasn’t recovered fully? If he is to replace Coco, the power isn’t of prime concern, defense is. His UZR/150 was almost exactly Coco’s. Yes, I want to see us go for Grady, as dan and I have discussed before, but I don’t agree the we should write off Ryan at this point.
"Trying not to rec a "F**k the Giants" post is like trying not to look at boobs."
Well, Sweeney with bad knees slugged .341 and had 1 SB last year.
Mitchell’s line was .332/.430/.530 with 27 SB (18 CS, but at least he can run) across two levels—while playing with a bad knee. Obviously it doesn’t tell the whole story, but that would lead me to believe (at least, initially), that Mitchell’s got much more potential.
Yes, but Ryan put up a 4+WAR in 2009.
He played 2010 injured, and was shutdown early. 2011 was a recovery year. It’s too soon to throw him away, in 2012
"Trying not to rec a "F**k the Giants" post is like trying not to look at boobs."
Sweeney's 4 WAR year came because UZR compares players to other players of the same position.
He was 20 runs better than the average right fielder. If you compare him to CF, rather than RF, he’s not nearly that valuable. Even though he’s had a year to recover, I’d be shocked if his true defensive value was much more than -5 in CF.
You may be shocked, but isn't that just the point of a small team gamble?
We are supposed to buy when everyone else thinks they will fail. If they beat the odds, we have a winner. I have never said he was an All Star, I said it is too soon to give up on him.
"Trying not to rec a "F**k the Giants" post is like trying not to look at boobs."
Wouldn't that work the same with Mitchell or Miller?
I think Sweeney’s got enough of a track record to conclude that the man just doesn’t hit for power. Unless he starts hitting .340 or something (which he also hasn’t shown the ability to do), his upside is severely limited. I don’t think we should get rid of him—he’s still useful but IMO, only as a cheap backup.
How do you figure?
If he got the benefit of UZR numbers for RF, then he also got the worse positional adjustment for RF. That should be a wash against his total WAR. You can’t have it both ways.
Being wrong about something you’ve worked on is a blessing, not a curse, and people are so invested in being right that that gets lost. —Graham MacAree
This is how it was explained to me in the discussion about Gardner
a couple days ago by danmerqury. I suppose RF are typically more talented than LF. I may have effed up, I’m not sure.
The positional adjustment from CF to RF is 10 runs.
So it’s only a wash if Sweeney’s UZR score going from RF —> CF goes down by 10.
All you guys need to take the credit.:)
I’m just trying to learn and apply the knowledge many here are willing to share. Thanks ANers
"Trying not to rec a "F**k the Giants" post is like trying not to look at boobs."
Ryan's UZR/150 is not exactly like Coco's.
You’re confusing Sweeney’s overall OF defensive UZR with his extremely small sample CF numbers. Most of Coco’s overall UZR is compiled in center while Sweeney’s were mostly compiled in right field. It’s not comparable.
"We were shit, pathetic," Guillen growled early in spring training. "We hit too many home runs."
REally? fangraphs has Ryan with 21 plays in LF, 22 in RF, and 59 in CF
If we just look at his CF #s, his -5.9 becomes better than Coco’s -6.5. I see no reason Ryan can’t continue playing CF defense comparably to Coco.
"Trying not to rec a "F**k the Giants" post is like trying not to look at boobs."
Sorry, my #s are Ryan's UZR/150.
"Trying not to rec a "F**k the Giants" post is like trying not to look at boobs."
That's an incredibly small amount of plays.
Which figures because you’re just using one season’s worth of data, and more specifically, the only season of data that proves your point. This is kind of like taking one month of an average hitter hitting very well and comparing it to one month of Pujols hitting very badly. And then concluding that the average hitter hits as well as Pujols overall.
Sweeney doesn’t have a large sample of defensive data overall, and his sample in CF only is even smaller. But from what we have, we see that he’s roughly average to below average in center. Coco’s entire body of work in center, which is also a much larger sample than Sweeney’s, indicates he’s well above average. I’d guess the difference between them is roughly .5 a win to a win. Considering that’s defense only, it’s a pretty big difference.
"We were shit, pathetic," Guillen growled early in spring training. "We hit too many home runs."
Yes, and given the age difference between them, Ryan should not digress as quickly as Coco.
If we include the fact that Sweeney did not get the consistent playing time that Coco did, we should also assume Ryan is better than his 2010 #s.
"Trying not to rec a "F**k the Giants" post is like trying not to look at boobs."
"Digress"?
No, we shouldn’t “assume” any of that. Now you’re basically just stubbornly saying things to say something.
They’re not starting out an equal level. Sweeney is significantly worse than Coco is right now. Even if you assume Coco starts to decline as he ages, you can’t just assume he’ll be at Sweeney’s level any time soon.
Sweeney didn’t get consistent time cause of his own damn knee injuries which have probably hurt his defense overall. So no, we can’t just “assume” he’ll be just as good now or “assume” he just needs consistent playing time to perform better. This isn’t like offense; there is no link between lack of consistent playing time and defensive performance.
"We were shit, pathetic," Guillen growled early in spring training. "We hit too many home runs."
Your are correct.
I can’t say “assume”, but you can say “probably.” How about this, “…Ryan is probably better than his 2011 #s”. This should satisfy.
"Trying not to rec a "F**k the Giants" post is like trying not to look at boobs."
Ryan Sweeney, the new Kouz
I vibrated with joy that join A's. -- Kim Seong-min
by WaddellCanseco on Nov 9, 2011 6:33 AM PST up reply actions
He could be, WC.
Mine only point was that, at about $1.5M, I think he is tuu inexpensive tu give up on. We gambled $10M on Sheets, for crying out loud! That, and he isn’t the only player we are considering in this thread with an injury issue.
"Trying not to rec a "F**k the Giants" post is like trying not to look at boobs."
I'm all in favor of giving him a shot....over Taylor even
He’s done a lot more than Taylor in his career and he’s only 10 months older. He’s also a month younger than Jai Miller. I’d view them all as being basically the same age.
I vibrated with joy that join A's. -- Kim Seong-min
by WaddellCanseco on Nov 9, 2011 11:18 AM PST up reply actions
I wonder where you derived "give up on Sweeney" from "he's not as good as Coco in center".
"We were shit, pathetic," Guillen growled early in spring training. "We hit too many home runs."
by lenscrafters on Nov 9, 2011 12:45 PM PST up reply actions
Because I wasn't responding to your comment.
I was responding to the many comments, lately, that Sweeney can’t do much, can’t be a starter, and that he has no value other than as a backup.
"Trying not to rec a "F**k the Giants" post is like trying not to look at boobs."
I admit I've been somewhat out of the loop for a while,
but last time I checked, there was no link between lack of consistent playing time and offensive performance, either.
I just checked fangraphs and beyondtheboxscore, and found squadoosh.
"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.
It seems like there should be, just for the fact that someone with a "lack of consistent playing time"
is more likely to have a higher percentage of their PAs be pinch-hitting, or perhaps late-game PAs after becoming defensive substitutions, and there is a known disadvantage for PH.
But certainly your larger point is correct, I’ve never heard of any study showing that players who start sporadically perform worse than when they start every day.
The only thing I can think of anecdotally would be that if a player has the propensity to learn and/or to improve, that might be something that has a direct correlation to how many games they’ve played, so it would make sense to play a prospect every day rather than let him sit on the bench, etc.
"I think what baseball projects, and what classical music needs, is the sense that one goes to a live event not to experience greatness, but to experience the possibility of greatness.... Not every game is great but what we go for is the chance that this particular game might be.' —David Lang
by King Richard on Nov 10, 2011 8:13 AM PST up reply actions
The lack of playing time does have a very important effect on this discussion.
It most definitely changes the sample size. Isn’t this why we use UZR/150? So that we can try to compare players with differing sample sizes? If Ryan’s sample size was equal to Coco’s, yet Ryan continued with a UZR/150 of -5.9, to Coco’s -6.7? The numbers don’t change, but the chance of an anomaly affecting the outcome does, correct?
"Trying not to rec a "F**k the Giants" post is like trying not to look at boobs."
I would think it's near impossible to measure because of the
SSS inherent in “lack of consistent playing time.” Unless you can find some sort of sufficient sample size in looking at players who went from “everday” to “on occasion” because the team traded for an improvement; or went from a full-time to a platoon role. Even then, those players likely aren’t all that great to begin with
Also, to extend KR’s point, I would think it’s like any sort of athletic endeavor or endeavor in any profession – if you haven’t done something for a few weeks, there is usually a time to adapt; if I’ve been running a few days a week, then take a week or two off, I always feel a little creakier and run a bit slower the first day back; I don’t see why it would be any different with baseball which requires a more complex set of skills than one foot in front of another.
Don't you realise you'll find next monday or next Tuesday/Your golden shoes day
by PDXAthleticsfan on Nov 10, 2011 9:21 AM PST up reply actions
There have been studies on the loss of performance
while pinch hitting and DHing haven’t there? I thought it was pretty well established that there is performance dropoff with irregular playing time
I vibrated with joy that join A's. -- Kim Seong-min
by WaddellCanseco on Nov 10, 2011 9:48 AM PST up reply actions
It's well established that pinch hitters do not perform as well
as they do when starting. See here for example. That doesn’t answer the question of whether hitters do better getting irregular playing time (for example, platooning, or being an occasional stand in) or full time. And I’m not sure how you could go about designing such a study. First, you’d need a good definition of “irregular playing time.” And some way of controlling for the fact that players getting “irregular playing time” generally have a reason for the irregularity – in other words, they aren’t good enough to have a full-time starting role.
Don't you realise you'll find next monday or next Tuesday/Your golden shoes day
by PDXAthleticsfan on Nov 10, 2011 10:04 AM PST up reply actions
That's not "irregular playing time"
It relates to coming into a game, or to bat, cold. And keep in mind that the DH penalty (though not the PH penalty) varies significantly from person to person— some hitters can DH with basically no dropoff, others see a significant dropoff.
Those studies do not speak at all to the situation of, e.g., a platoon outfielder. When he’s in the game, he’s fully in the game; he’s just not in every day.
"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.
It's not like he's taking days off from baseball activity
He’s still going through batting practice, drills, etc. Just not getting in-game ABs. From a muscle-memory standpoint (and I view hitting as being about 99% muscle-memory), in-game ABs are an incredibly tiny fraction of total “learning time.”
"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.
and a lack of a lot of other things...
Re-sign Josh Willingham now!
by sf drift king on Nov 9, 2011 12:46 AM PST up reply actions
You listed six guys
Five are question marks – but I want to know the answer on those questions. I doubt Miller, but the rest have given the A’s enough reason to see if there’s anything there. I’d love it if we got one of Sizemore/Cespedes and tried out the rest of these guys.
John 3:16
"If they want to pay me like Mike Gallego, I’ll play like Gallego." - Rickey Henderson
why not Miller as a bridge to mitchell?
Its not like the A’s are contenders. Could see something cool
We yet enjoy little to be envied, but endure much to be pitied.-Thomas Dudley
Yeah, I kinda wanna see Jai play.
"We were shit, pathetic," Guillen growled early in spring training. "We hit too many home runs."
Really?
Dude might strike out in 40% of his PAs. I mean, it might be cool to have another Custian figure… but not even Cust struck out that much in the minors.
"I'll guarantee this: The A's will have a better season in 2012." - George Zimmer
by cuppingmaster on Nov 9, 2011 7:45 AM PST up reply actions
Miller strikes out a lot? You don't say!
Yes, it makes no rational sense to think that Miller will ever become something or someone worth giving at bats to. Since next year is going to be a tough year in terms of wins, I’d say it’s up to each of us to derive whatever intrinsic pleasure we can. And since the current CF depth chart is basically just Sweeney and Miller, I personally would derive more morbid pleasure from watching Miller struggle to keep from striking out in half his at bats than watching from Sweeney slap dozens of groundballs at the shortstop. But to each his own.
Or to put it in simpler terms, I find Miller more interesting than Sweeney.
"We were shit, pathetic," Guillen growled early in spring training. "We hit too many home runs."
by lenscrafters on Nov 9, 2011 12:42 PM PST up reply actions
I'd kinda like to see a 30 homer, 250K season.
Official Athletics Nation Rotating Tagline Editor - Pam liked my old sig better.
My thoughtful watermelon is easily mistook for an early American catapult.
DURRRR THEY’RE TOO OLD, BABIP IS TOO HIGH, TOO MANY Ks, DURRRRRR
Mark Reynolds as an average defensive CF is a pretty good player
for the minimum salary:
BRAA: +10 (about his lifetime average)
FRAA: 0
BRRAA: 0
Position: +2.5
Replacement: +20
That’s about a 3 WAR player. An average starter at the minimum salary is a good thing.
I vibrated with joy that join A's. -- Kim Seong-min
by WaddellCanseco on Nov 10, 2011 11:24 AM PST up reply actions
Yes Reynolds is neither a competent defender nor is making the minimum
I vibrated with joy that join A's. -- Kim Seong-min
by WaddellCanseco on Nov 11, 2011 9:03 AM PST up reply actions
Closest he got was 223 :(
But, yes. If you’re going to tell me that Miller is a 116 wRC+ hitter who can play CF competently.
Official Athletics Nation Rotating Tagline Editor - Pam liked my old sig better.
My thoughtful watermelon is easily mistook for an early American catapult.
DURRRR THEY’RE TOO OLD, BABIP IS TOO HIGH, TOO MANY Ks, DURRRRRR
I couldn't care less about the K's.
If he can play as you described, I’d be quite satisfied with him, at least in the short term.
"The Lord has blessed us with birthday cake!"
"A lot" doesn't quite capture how much he's likely to K
"I'll guarantee this: The A's will have a better season in 2012." - George Zimmer
by cuppingmaster on Nov 9, 2011 1:53 PM PST up reply actions
So lenscrafters isn't quite capturing how interesting he is!
I vibrated with joy that join A's. -- Kim Seong-min
by WaddellCanseco on Nov 10, 2011 9:02 AM PST up reply actions
I would be amazing if he could put up a Pete Incaviglia-type season.
But that would entail him getting his K rate down to 33%. Could he do this?
Although Incaviglia never played in the minors, straight from college to mlb. Jai, we know his well-traveled minor league history.
by Billy Frijoles on Nov 9, 2011 2:25 PM PST up reply actions
when do team start putting on the reverse shift for sweeney? put the shortstop in short left and the 2B just to the 3B side of second base.
the artist formerly known as inbillywetrust
I'm fine with miller if we are shooting for the 1st pick in the draft
other then that I don’t even want him on the 40
I really liked watching Jai for the brief flashes in his call up
I would like him to be a backup OF next year.
by Billy Frijoles on Nov 8, 2011 2:17 PM PST up reply actions
Unlike his mother, Cespedes has made his mark as a hitter.
word for word caption from the video. Hilarious
by theoriginalrods on Nov 8, 2011 10:17 AM PST reply actions
I think Andruw Jones could be ok...
but only on a league minimum deal to platoon with someone else, maybe DH some to if Chris Carter or veteran(?) doesn’t materialize as an option
"Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down"
-Rick Astley
That's where I'm at
Try to sign Cespedes because we need every bit of high impact talent we can get. Sizemore is a possibility as well, but I doubt we are high on Sizemore’s wish list.
If we can make enough moves to be genuinely competitive, great. If we can’t, I would rather that we give guys like Allen, Carter, Kila Monster, Barton, Miller, and Mitchell chances to sort out their talent.
I want Alex Hassan.
Cespedes would actually be a good investment for Oakland, and I hope they go hard after him. I still imagine the Marlins will win that. Other than that, I think the FA crop is pretty bad—Sizemore included.
I’d much rather see shit this year because they acquired a bunch of talented low minors prospects.
Red Sox will probably add him to the 40 man right? He's Rule 5 eligible.
"We were shit, pathetic," Guillen growled early in spring training. "We hit too many home runs."
Probably, but I still don't see how he fits in their future plans.
Crawford and Ellsbury have two spots locked up. Josh Reddick will replace Drew (apparently they also have interest in Beltran). Kalish is ahead of him on the depth chart if he’s healthy. Brentz and Jacobs are (less advanced but) both superior prospects. And Hassan can’t play CF, so they probably still want to keep Darnell McDonald around.
Sure I'd pick him up if he was available in Rule 5, but I wouldn't give anything of value for him.
"We were shit, pathetic," Guillen growled early in spring training. "We hit too many home runs."
by lenscrafters on Nov 9, 2011 12:47 PM PST up reply actions
Why not?
He’s never posted a wRC+ of less than 140. That’s better than Michael Choice did last season at the same level. They’re only five months apart age-wise. In any case, he doesn’t get much love from prospect evaluators. He probably wouldn’t cost too much in the first place.
"Psssst: Matt Carpenter!"
Check out his minor league career (he’s 25).
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
I'm seeing a guy with a career minors OPS of about .850 in leagues he was old to very old for
Is this the right person?
"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.
Does he usually have a .400+ OBP?
STL 3B prospect.
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
I mean, if he put up those numbers in the majors, he'd be really good
but he’s not.
I mean, I suppose he could be worth trying in a “throw shit at wall, wait” sense, but he looks like an organizational player. Compare his statline to Kila Ka’aihue’s, for instance.
"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.
(Not putting them up in the majors, I mean.)
"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.
And apparently I mean to keep saying I mean as many times as I mean to.
"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.
Insert joke about PT admitting to being mean
Good to see you back around these parts btw.
"Loyal? I'm the most loyal player money can buy." - Don Sutton
The fact that no one thinks he'll amount to much is exactly why we should be wary.
It doesn’t make sense to compare him to Choice without considering scouting report and pedigree. As no one seems to think he’ll be any more than a 4th outfielder, I see him very much similar to an Aaron Cunningham type.
"We were shit, pathetic," Guillen growled early in spring training. "We hit too many home runs."
Do you have the receipt.
We’re very strict about that.
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
Here's what Sickels said about him in September, emphasis added.
Hassan has always been an under-rated player. Even this year with a line of .293/.400/.458, Soxprospects.com ranks him as the 23rd ranked prospect. That speaks more to the Red Sox outfield depth in the minors, but going into next season Hassan will have a chip on his shoulder.
He has above average power potential and very strong contact hitting ability. His stats for Portland were solid: .291/.404/.456, with 76 walks and 79 strikeouts in 454 at-bats. Scouts say he is able to hit the ball to all fields very well. He sits back on the ball and is very handsy in his approach. In the field, Hassan is a bit under average due to range limits, but he has a strong arm and was a pitcher until pro ball. He still has more time to learn the position.
Just because he doesn’t have tools out the wazoo doesn’t mean he’s not an above average player. And when you said, “No one thinks he’ll amount to much,” that’s not exactly true. I actually did make a couple mistakes earlier—Choice is a year and a half younger than Hassan, but Hassan posted better numbers (relative to league) in AA than Choice did in A+. Still, it’s not like he’s somebody who takes three years to master leagues. He’s excelled everywhere he’s been as soon as he’s been there. There is an awful lot to like about the guy.
First off, get your facts straight.
That’s not what Sickels had to say about Hassan. That’s what Marisa Ingemi had to say about Hassan. She’s a 15 year old Red Sox fan who contributes to SoxProspects and Minorleagueball and while she’s extremely well spoken and knowledgeable for her age, I’d hardly consider her opinion to be on par with a professional evaluator or a scout, or unbiased when it comes to Sox prospects. You’d have about just as much credibility if you cited any of the smarter amateur commentators on minorleagueball.
Second, being ranked 23rd in an average system (trades) by a site that actually professes to like him is more damning than anything I could have come up with.
Third, no one said he didn’t do some things well. Obviously he does or we wouldn’t even be talking about him. But you’re jumping the gun if you assume “doing things well” = above average player. Aaron Cunningham “did everything well” remember?
You’re making the same mistake most stats oriented posters make when it comes to prospects. It’s so easy to look at a shiny minor league stat line (Hassan’s isn’t even that shiny) and proclaim some guy to be a good prospect. But do you really think you’re the only one to notice that line? Do you really think the Red Sox aren’t aware of what he did? Good evaluation of prospects isn’t like the way it was portrayed in Moneyball; discovering hidden gems isn’t as easy as having any average Joe with computer skills look up the OBP leaders of the Appalachian League on Baseball Reference.
In prospect evaluation, moreso than in any other situation, stats are just a piece of the puzzle. In most cases, it’s probably not even the most important piece.
"We were shit, pathetic," Guillen growled early in spring training. "We hit too many home runs."
Damn it. That's embarrassing.
When you search for things on MinorLeagueBall, you don’t expect one of the front page stories to be written by not John Sickels. That’s my mistake. I still like the fact that he gets on base and has power potential. At this point, the A’s need to put something in the OF, and I think he’d be worth looking at.
Although, I did read the two other results from Sickels’ site. One was from Sickels and one was from some other poster who said something about Hassan’s reputation being crushed by Karen Owen. Then it dawned on me that she was the woman who started a controversy a while back by sleeping with several Duke athletes and then making a PowerPoint presentation about their performance and [ahem] attributes.
Hassan was apparently one of them, and she was not kind to him.
I'll throw you a rope
Sickels considered Hassan a potential sleeper heading into 2011, with the potential to start in an OF corner if his power emerged as some Red Sox observers expected.
My guess is Hassan will (at the least) earn an official Sleeper Alert for 2012. I wouldn’t trade a lot for the guy but he could be a good Mark Ellis type throw in.
The monster at the end of this blog.
considered Hassan a potential sleeper
That might literally be what she said.
"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.
I've always been a fan of Sizemore
Any idea what it might actually take to get him signed? I guess if Cleveland declined an $8.5M option then the price won’t be too steep. But I could see Oakland running into the same problem we had with Beltre before he signed with the Red Sox a couple years ago. If a previously good hitter wants to prove that he’s healthy/still good he would probably prefer to take a one year deal somewhere else where it’s easier to hit.
I'd take Yoenis for that video alone.
I mean…it was great. As for Sizemore if he was cheap enough I’m interested. I’m not convinced he’ll stay healthy for long enough. Kind of like the concerns I had for Coco.
The outfield last year sucked balls, as it has for the past five years or so.
Scraping together another outfield to help us lose 100 games shouldn’t be too tough for Beane. He’s become a master of it after all.
"Nah, you look like Elijah Wood." - danmerqury
hello sunshine
"I'll guarantee this: The A's will have a better season in 2012." - George Zimmer
by cuppingmaster on Nov 8, 2011 11:19 AM PST up reply actions 4 recs
Hyperbole?
When was the last time the A’s lost 100 games with any outfield?
by jeffro on Nov 8, 2011 12:58 PM PST via mobile up reply actions 4 recs
Actually, you know
I’d rather we’d have lost 100 games last year. At least I’d know we were getting the 1st or 2nd pick this year.
"I'll guarantee this: The A's will have a better season in 2012." - George Zimmer
by cuppingmaster on Nov 9, 2011 7:47 AM PST up reply actions
Sure, it's easy to say that now.
I’d rather we lost 100 games every year in the 1990s if it means we get Albert Pujols now. Because, you know, I’m not going to be watching those games again anyway, so who cares.
It’s easy to wish for past losses. But did you want to lose those games when you were actually watching them?
It’s like wishing that I worked 80 hours a week and saved 90% of my earnings all through my 20s so that I could be a millionaire now.
Being wrong about something you’ve worked on is a blessing, not a curse, and people are so invested in being right that that gets lost. —Graham MacAree
Well good thing we wouldn't have needed a 1st or 2nd pick to get Pujols!
We would have only needed to use the 12th round pick!
I never want to lose games when we're watching
Somehow, for me, it’s easy to simultaneously wish for wins, then after the game, pull back and realize that losses really fit our goals better right now. Also, since even the worst teams win ~60 games, it never feels like that long since a win (this year’s losing streak notwithstanding).
"I'll guarantee this: The A's will have a better season in 2012." - George Zimmer
by cuppingmaster on Nov 10, 2011 8:52 AM PST up reply actions
That works for me.
Let’s win every game when it’s played, but then end the season 63-99!
Being wrong about something you’ve worked on is a blessing, not a curse, and people are so invested in being right that that gets lost. —Graham MacAree
Or you could just only watch 1/4 of the games, and root for losses in the other 3/4
"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.
They've gotta sign Cespedes
From everything being written about him right now, the upside is just gigantic. Make the best offer and get the guy.
He's a Cuban defector.
Just the fact that half of all Cubans living in the US reside in or around Miami will probably play a factor. The Marlins have also increased payroll to $85M (they’re opening day payroll last year was less than $60M) so they’re going to have a lot of money to spend. Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s going to be as easy as simply making the best offer.
Are you saying he is defective?
"Trying not to rec a "F**k the Giants" post is like trying not to look at boobs."
How many other Cuban defectors signed with the Marlins again?
by jeffro on Nov 8, 2011 4:05 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
I thought they always went for the money anyway.
"Trying not to rec a "F**k the Giants" post is like trying not to look at boobs."
Well money's something the Marlins have right now.
They also have a much heavier Latin American presence on their roster than Oakland does.
Right
First it is because of Cuban population, now it’s because of money. He may very well end up in Miami, but it will be entirely because of money…
by jeffro on Nov 8, 2011 8:15 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
I wasn't backtracking.
Money isn’t the biggest issue. Ynoa was reportedly offered $5M from Cincinnati and Texas, but chose Oakland because of better relations and pitcher development. Unions want money to be the deciding factor, but that’s not always how it works out.
Just one, I think.
Liván Hernández.
Atlanta seems to get a lot of Cubans, though.
Being wrong about something you’ve worked on is a blessing, not a curse, and people are so invested in being right that that gets lost. —Graham MacAree
Dallas has one. :)
"Trying not to rec a "F**k the Giants" post is like trying not to look at boobs."
a little old, but we can add the texas cubans to this list, which shows some east-coast preference.
by AV on Nov 8, 2011 4:23 PM PST up reply actions
Yes, he is old, but many here would embrace him in this org.
"Trying not to rec a "F**k the Giants" post is like trying not to look at boobs."
ha! i meant the list is a little old.
this list has more than baseball, but it can help too:
by AV on Nov 8, 2011 4:25 PM PST up reply actions
Sorry, I thought you meant my joke was a little old...
"Trying not to rec a "F**k the Giants" post is like trying not to look at boobs."
Speaking of Sizemore...
Right knee surgery in October, expected to be ready for ST.
The monster at the end of this blog.
Oh good.
It seems he’s gunning for the limb joint surgery cycle.
Get out the time-fracture wickets, Hobbes! We're gonna play Calvinball!
Is replacing that outfield really a blessing in disguise?
I liked watching Willingham hit and Coco catch the ball as much as the next guy, but come on. I am intrigued by that Cuban fellow, otherwise let the Rivercats take over for this upcoming down season…
by jeffro on Nov 8, 2011 12:56 PM PST via mobile reply actions
Well aren't you just a ray of fucking sunshine?
8] Glad to see you back, grover.
Only orchestra nerds will get this:
Being wrong about something you’ve worked on is a blessing, not a curse, and people are so invested in being right that that gets lost. —Graham MacAree
Poor Jeff.
He has to face the reality that for two years in a row now the Mariners have been outhit by Willie Bloomquist.
OPS
2010 Mariners 0.637
2010 Bloomquist 0.679
2011 Mariners 0.640
2011 Bloomquist 0.657
Ouch.
Being wrong about something you’ve worked on is a blessing, not a curse, and people are so invested in being right that that gets lost. —Graham MacAree
No, it's on the main SB Nation page.
Follow the link in the original comment.
Being wrong about something you’ve worked on is a blessing, not a curse, and people are so invested in being right that that gets lost. —Graham MacAree
It's a shame...
…that we’re discussing garbage and trash. But it’s what we’ve been reduced to with the lack of ambition from ownership. We’re like pigeons fighting for the biggest breadcrumb.
My therapist is Milton Bradley.
by Ricky T. on Nov 8, 2011 3:14 PM PST via mobile reply actions
Distraction, uglification, and derision.
Being wrong about something you’ve worked on is a blessing, not a curse, and people are so invested in being right that that gets lost. —Graham MacAree
The Mock Turtle's candidates:
Being wrong about something you’ve worked on is a blessing, not a curse, and people are so invested in being right that that gets lost. —Graham MacAree
by iglew on Nov 8, 2011 3:44 PM PST up reply actions 3 recs
Lack of ambition?
What are you expecting? Prince Fielder for $120M?
by jeffro on Nov 8, 2011 3:42 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
Hey, the Rays did it by opening the checkbook!
Oh, wait….
by jeffro on Nov 8, 2011 4:03 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
Ah yes,
The Oakland Athletics: Squabbling for the discarded crusts of the sandwich that is Albert Pujols
Get out the time-fracture wickets, Hobbes! We're gonna play Calvinball!
Discarded crusts of the poo holes?
That’s Gross. Gabe Gross.
wouldn't it be funny if both Gross and Conor Jackson came back?
(cries)
"I'll guarantee this: The A's will have a better season in 2012." - George Zimmer
by cuppingmaster on Nov 9, 2011 7:49 AM PST up reply actions
Lumberjackson!
Being wrong about something you’ve worked on is a blessing, not a curse, and people are so invested in being right that that gets lost. —Graham MacAree
The one bright spot
Sure the A’s have the choice of playing mediocre minor leaguers in the OF at the major league level, or horrible major leaguers who they have to overplay to play in Oakland. But look at the bright side… the infield is gonna suck worse!
What? The infield situation isn't nearly as bad as the outfield.
Weeks and Sizemore were both on pace for about 3 WAR seasons. The A’s should be able to get something out of the Carter/Barton/Ka’aihue/Allen situation at 1B. Pennington is formidable. Suzuki’s average. The infield will probably end up close to neutral.
Yeah, there's basically no way, short of catastrophic team-wide injuries,
that the infield sucks more than the outfield.
{looks sheepishly at last year}
"We were shit, pathetic," Guillen growled early in spring training. "We hit too many home runs."
You tempt the wrath of [deity] just by being an A's fan.
"We were shit, pathetic," Guillen growled early in spring training. "We hit too many home runs."
I'd feel a whole lot better about the infield if they'd go get Jake Fox.
"The Lord has blessed us with birthday cake!"
Cespedes is a nice looking talent, but he's not a solution for 2012
Or at least the beginning of 2012. I have to imagine that he’s a little on the raw side and from the video, will probably need to learn MLB etiquette. He’s going to spend some time in the minors, just like Chapman did.
I'm thinking he'll learn the etiquette part pretty quickly
If he stands and admires a home run like that in Spring Training his ribs will be sore until May.
by Glorious Mundy on Nov 8, 2011 6:48 PM PST up reply actions
Simply by being a hitter, I think he's more likely to be MLB-ready off the bat (pun intended).
Plus, he doesn’t have a crazy raw skill that needs to be honed and is already playing against the equivalent of AA/AAA players.
"I'll guarantee this: The A's will have a better season in 2012." - George Zimmer
by cuppingmaster on Nov 9, 2011 7:55 AM PST up reply actions
Carter's 'glove won't play the in the outfield"
Well, if he loaned it to say (fill in ideal player), it would.
ack-A
Häägëñ Dääs
"Dude, why is this thing full of marbles?"
by danmerqury on Nov 8, 2011 7:32 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
I thought they were goldfish?
"Like I said, it’s like me giving you a high-five and chest bump after you hit for the cycle against the kid in the wheelchair." Vacafan on May 14, 2010
que james bond old theme music....
“Yellow Fingahhrrrr, he’s the man, the man with yellow fumbling-drop-miss-the-ball-entirely touch.”
ack-A
Häägëñ Dääs
I'm down with both suggestions
Just fear that if 6-8 teams are bidding on Cespedes, the A’s don’t have a great shot. I’m surprised, DM, that you don’t include Allen in the OF as with Barton due back Allen seems like one of the more likely candidates to actually open in LF or RF. Haven’t we had something like 11 different Opening Day LFers the past 11 years?
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
To be honest, Allen entirely slipped my mind.
Starting Allen in a COF spot wouldn’t be the worst idea, but I’d definitely give the spot to Taylor if there’s only one come April.
Also:
2011 Willingham
2010 Buck (no, seriously)
2009 Holliday
2008 Brown
2007 Stewart
2006 Payton
2005 Byrnes
2004 Kielty
2003 Long
2002 Giambi
2001 Damon
2000 Grieve
1999 Grieve
Phew.
The RBI Machine!
"You're all like big, fat failure turtles." - Edge
by Rated-R Superstar on Nov 8, 2011 7:46 PM PST up reply actions
Willingham and Kielty were the only ones out of those who I liked.
Byrnes had his moments too I guess.
by BWH on Nov 8, 2011 7:46 PM PST up reply actions
I was thinking Allen and Taylor might not be mutually exclusive
Taylor: LF
Real CFer: CF
Allen: RF
Barton: 1B
Carter: DH
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
Flip Taylor and Allen
And I think that is pretty much what we will see.
by jeffro on Nov 8, 2011 8:20 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
From what I saw last year,
Taylor’s not all that good and his arm looked “ok” while Allen tracked balls pretty easily and seemed to have a pretty good arm. So I was presuming that maybe Allen’s the RFer of the two, Taylor the LFer. (On a 100-loss team)
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 is what I would want to see.
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.
Is Sweeney Invisable?
……“and the sixth is a backup OF with knee problems”. That’s it? Isn’t Sweeney the guy that has played great defense for the A’s and hasn’t made an error is a gazillion innings? The guy that has a sniper rifle for an arm? The guy that can play any of the OF positions? Yes, he doesn’t have a lot of power, he’s and singles and doubles guy that delivers a lot of them. Yeah, he had surgery in the middle of 2010 season….and then came back this year and was healthy the entire season.
So why is Sweeney completely off your radar screen?
He's always hurt. I think that's been covered extensively in the comments here.
I really have a bad feeling that none of the options mentioned here will be given any consideration by the front office and that we could possibly be looking at Grant Green misjudging fly balls in center by June.
MexicAN AmericAN VegAN
Sweeney was pretty healthy last year
And I thought his CF play looked better than it had before. He’s just such a singles hitter that he’d have a walk, and/or double, more than he does in order to be really useful as an every day player. As is he’s an excellent 4th OFer but that’s about it.
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
No one's mentioned pursuing Angel Pagan of the Mets
Not even after tempting various deities. His track record suggests he might be average in CF. (Or not.)
I also have a slight fixation on Cincy OF Dave Sappelt. He’s probably no more than a RH platoon CF… but he might end up being more than that.
Former Toronto farm hand (and pitcher) Adam Loewen will be 28 and is 3 years into his conversion into the line-up. Cheap pick-up as a minor league FA, might be worth a flyer.
The monster at the end of this blog.
Sappelt really mashed lefties last year.
He’d be an interesting platoon partner with Mitchell. You’d think Miller would make him redundant, but he has contact issues against all pitchers.
Likewise, I’m not sure if Peter Bourjos is available, but he’s be perfect. Because of Trout, there’s been some talk that he’s available. There’s also been some talk that he shouldn’t be because LAA’s other outfielders are old and bad. If he is, I’d jump on that in a heartbeat. I’m not sure what Oakland has that they’d want…maybe a catcher. They have Conger, but Scoiscia is insane anyway.
Scociopath might like Suzuki
I’m speculating, of course.
But the reality is LAA shouldn’t trade Bourjous! Sure, if he’s available make inquiries.
The monster at the end of this blog.
Loewen won't be a minor league FA
He’s after a MLB spot and has already agreed a AAA spot with the Jays if he can’t find that spot.
by TtD on Nov 9, 2011 8:31 AM PST up reply actions
Sizemore
Seems like a low-risk flyer. But is it just me who feels that all of the similar type veterans we’ve signed over the years have actually been for one reason or another bigger albatrosses that we had anticipated? Ben Sheets, Giambi redux, Piazza, etc. It seems like sitting these guys when they fail to perform is easier said than done. And in the meantime, they’re blocking the younger guys who could contribute/develop in those spots.
Also, how many of these guys have panned out for the A’s besides Frank Thomas? Pretty much no one (maybe we could count Coco). It also concerns me that Sizemore’s injuries have been in multiple parts and also in parts that directly affect the tools that used to make him great. With Thomas, his injury was more to his auxiliary tool, not his main tool, which was power. So when his auxiilary tool held up, his main tool, which had been unaffected by his injuries, was able to produce like the old days. I’m afraid Sizemore’s injuries have deteriorated the tools that used to make him great, so even if he generally holds up for one year, he likely won’t produce the way he used to b/c his main tools are simply not the same any more.
I'm with you on Grady and Yoenis but what's Taylor done to earn a shot?
I vibrated with joy that join A's. -- Kim Seong-min
Been pretty good in the minors?
Official Athletics Nation Rotating Tagline Editor - Pam liked my old sig better.
My thoughtful watermelon is easily mistook for an early American catapult.
DURRRR THEY’RE TOO OLD, BABIP IS TOO HIGH, TOO MANY Ks, DURRRRRR
Competent sure, but good enough to earn a promotion over Sweeney?
I don’t think he’s even been better in the minors than Jai Miller, if you consider the latter’s ability to play CF.
I vibrated with joy that join A's. -- Kim Seong-min
by WaddellCanseco on Nov 9, 2011 11:20 AM PST up reply actions
Really?
Taylor’s wRC+’s in Philadelphia:
2008 (A): 180
2008 (A+): 157
2009 (AA): 173
2009 (AAA): 134
The best wRC+ Miller has ever was 134 this year in Sacramento. Even when you consider the fact that Miller can apparently play a competent CF, Taylor was way better those two years. (Disclaimer: But it is true that he’s sucked since coming to Oakland.)
Age, league, wRC+ and wOBA RH park factor at each level
Miller:
Year Age Level Park Effect wRC+
2011 26 AAA 92 134
2010 25 AAA 94 103
2009 24 AAA 95 124
2008 23 AAA 121 107
Taylor:
Year Age Level Park Effect wRC+
2011 25 AAA 92 103
2010 24 AAA 92 94
2009 23 AA,AAA 104,98 173, 134
2008 22 A, A+ 93,99 180,157
If you look at their performance by age, it looks like they were about the same at Age 25, Miller was significantly better at Age 24 and Taylor was significantly better at Age 23.
I don’t see how you can say that you’re 100% sure that Taylor has the clearly better performance record if you consider that if he’s an average RF and Miller’s an average CF, he’s about 10 runs worse on defense.
Note: wRC+ from Fangraphs, and Park Effect is the RH wOBA Park Factor from statcorner
I vibrated with joy that join A's. -- Kim Seong-min
by WaddellCanseco on Nov 10, 2011 8:52 AM PST up reply actions
hate to be negative, but
Does A’s management even want to win now? Putting a bad team on the field and having really poor attendance seems to help them build their case to leave Oakland.
So, I’m expecting Taylor LF, Carter DH, Allen 1B all forced into the starting line-up. Beane will find some guy who he wanted to draft 5 years ago and has failed impress and stick him in the line-up in hope of looking brilliant.
It’s going to be ugly, but A’s ownership make their point.
Was that not the plot to a bad baseball movie?
I remember some thing about “Willy Mays Hayes”
"Like I said, it’s like me giving you a high-five and chest bump after you hit for the cycle against the kid in the wheelchair." Vacafan on May 14, 2010
I Personally think A's Management
could care less about winning.
They do care about collecting $$$$
We will see what they do this next season to make us happy or piss us off more.
I doubt that.
Official Athletics Nation Rotating Tagline Editor - Pam liked my old sig better.
My thoughtful watermelon is easily mistook for an early American catapult.
DURRRR THEY’RE TOO OLD, BABIP IS TOO HIGH, TOO MANY Ks, DURRRRRR
I'm pretty sure Beane said publicly that
if the A’s were given a green light on San Jose, they were basically going to blow the team up and acquire as much minor league talent as possible to put a competitive team on the field cheaply for the first few years after the move. If they find out they’re not getting San Jose, they would increase payroll and try to put a competitive team on the field in Oakland (not sure how) to try to increase attendance.
At least, that’s what I remember reading.
So in other words, that's the opposite of what you said.
But I guess all that depends on an actual yes or no from MLB regarding San Jose.
Beane never said publicly that he's going to "blow up the team"
Plenty of baseball writers have inferred that, and have all inferred it slightly differently. I think it’s more likely that he meant they aren’t going to waste money on free agents and instead spend on the draft, international signings, etc. They want to focus on developing players, i.e. actually letting prospects play. Of course there will be some players traded, especially if there is a good offer, but it’s hardly “blowing up the team”, “all-out rebuilding mode”, etc. All-out rebuilding would they would trade everyone of value (Suzuki, Cahill, Gio, McCarthy, Bailey, Balfour, Breslow, Pennington, etc.) and move the entire AAA team to Oakland. Beane isn’t stupid or desperate. He’ll only trade someone if he gets enough value in return. That’s why he only made one trade (Ziegler) at the ASB.
I think they've already built their case, simply by trashing Oakland and begging to move ever since they took over
The case has been made.
And frankly, there’s no other ballpark plan in the picture, anywhere.
Jean Quan is too busy screwing up horribly and looking like an idiot on national news to bother about this issue.
by Billy Frijoles on Nov 9, 2011 10:40 AM PST up reply actions
what about Matt Murton
I heard he’s coming back to the states after two monster years in Japan
It's lonely being the only Warriors fan at UMass :(
Yes!
I vibrated with joy that join A's. -- Kim Seong-min
by WaddellCanseco on Nov 9, 2011 1:13 PM PST up reply actions
I like this idea.
Has anyone seen any story with realinformation about Murton’s intentions? I see a whole lot of commentators saying that “it is assumed” Murton will want to try an MLB comeback, but as far as I can tell no one has any actual evidence of that.
Being wrong about something you’ve worked on is a blessing, not a curse, and people are so invested in being right that that gets lost. —Graham MacAree
Our very own Colby Lewis!
(Suck for us, go to Japan, get good, come back…)
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
Technically, Colby Lewis sucked for the A's before going to Japan and getting good, too
"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 was the reference: Suck with us, then go to Japan, figure it out...
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
Ryan Sweeney has been the most consistent hitter the A's have had
2008 ba 286
2009 ba 293
2010 ba 294
With one of the worst offenses in the AL year after year this guy should be an everyday player. What other A’s position player have come close to this guys numbers. Power is over rated especially when you look at the rate of strike out ratios to hrs
Okay, I'll take a stab at it.
Batting average? It’s a pretty terrible stat for assessing batting value. Try this.
http://www.athleticsnation.com/2011/10/25/2511073/how-bad-is-the-tv-standard-of-avg-hr-rbi
Long story short, Ryan Sweeney always has a high batting average, but absolutely no power. All summed up, he’s a below average to average hitter.
I was confused. I though PA and couldn't figure out how he got the same amount of plate appearances every year
We yet enjoy little to be envied, but endure much to be pitied.-Thomas Dudley
In fact, Sweeney may be the best example the A's have had in years of a player with an empty batting average.
That and his knees are shot. Do. Not. Want.
I can't see, now I have to pee, and I can't count to three, but I can count to JAEGERMEISTER!
thank you
I guess we are the only two people who understand Sweeney’s value.
power good
Willingham helped A’s win a lot of games last year. Just the threat of someone knocking one out of the park made the game more exciting. He also seemed to make some clutch hits that stayed in the park. So, power is valuable and clutch hitting is even better. Note: Eric Chavez hit more unimportant homeruns than any A’s player I’ve seen in 40 years — and very few clutch hits.
Gaaaaaaaaaaaah.
I hate that stupid “Chavez wasn’t clutch/hit garbage HRs” thing more than possibly anything else. He was +1.05 wins with the A’s.
by danmerqury on Nov 10, 2011 8:52 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs
But alas not gritty wins
I vibrated with joy that join A's. -- Kim Seong-min
by WaddellCanseco on Nov 10, 2011 9:00 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs
So, you are saying a pitcher winning a game 10-0, is just a valuable as winning 5-4? :)?
But, he was gritty in the 5-4 win!
"Trying not to rec a "F**k the Giants" post is like trying not to look at boobs."
Don't the count the same in the standings?
I vibrated with joy that join A's. -- Kim Seong-min
by WaddellCanseco on Nov 10, 2011 9:03 AM PST up reply actions
Bu-butttt, he FOUGHT to win 5-4!
"Trying not to rec a "F**k the Giants" post is like trying not to look at boobs."
So he's an injury risk?
I vibrated with joy that join A's. -- Kim Seong-min
by WaddellCanseco on Nov 10, 2011 9:06 AM PST up reply actions
hehehe. Good point.
Sounds like someone to send to the 60-day, awaiting TS surgery.
"Trying not to rec a "F**k the Giants" post is like trying not to look at boobs."
Yes, he'll fit right in
I vibrated with joy that join A's. -- Kim Seong-min
by WaddellCanseco on Nov 10, 2011 9:16 AM PST up reply actions
Willingham helped the A's win 2 more games last year than Jai Miller would have.
I guess you could call that valuable, but it doesn’t excite me all that muc
I vibrated with joy that join A's. -- Kim Seong-min
by WaddellCanseco on Nov 10, 2011 8:53 AM PST up reply actions
Basically I'm thinking Miller is a replacement level OF and Willingham is a 2 WAR LF
I vibrated with joy that join A's. -- Kim Seong-min
by WaddellCanseco on Nov 11, 2011 9:00 AM PST up reply actions
Ugh... maybe I won't get MLB TV in 2012.
This isn’t an MLB team anymore. It’s a place for the union to stash players who aren’t fit for the bigs.
Well I can still use MLB TV to watch real MLB teams, no?
I vibrated with joy that join A's. -- Kim Seong-min
by WaddellCanseco on Nov 10, 2011 10:45 AM PST up reply actions
You'll give in
Once you MLB.tv, there’s no going back
"I'll guarantee this: The A's will have a better season in 2012." - George Zimmer
by cuppingmaster on Nov 10, 2011 12:21 PM PST up reply actions
Your 2012 Oakland Athletics: Putting the "A" in "Featherbedding"
"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.
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