Before I begin, let me state my appreciation for Mark Ellis.  This man has been the best defensive second baseman in the major leagues for several years running, and disgustingly never won a gold glove.  His Offensive output has been icy or incendiary, depending on the time of year, and he's as professional as any team could want in a long term player.  The decision that looms in wake of the Weeks emergence is really a non-decision. The A's have been reluctant or late to sign Ellis each year because of the imminent ascension of Jemile Weeks, which has come to fruition over the past week+.  Its obvious what must happen, as the dominoes have aligned. 

The Giants are in dire need of a second baseman that can play everyday and contribute to a title defense.  The A's have exactly that guy.  The A's are in need of a stopgap starting pitcher that has a steady history of not visiting the disabled list.  The Giants have exactly that guy.  To boot, the Giants have a roster juggling problem with the emergence of Ryan Vogelsong and a now healthy Barry Zito pitching in AAA ball.

Yes, I said it.  Trade Mark Ellis to the Giants for Barry Zito.  Obviously the Giants eat 65%+ of the behemoth contract, leaving the A's with approximately a $6ish million dollar pitcher that has a career 3.77 ERA at the Coliseum.  Ben Sheets anybody?

Roll out a starting five that looks like it did at the beginning of the year, except plug Zito into Dallas Braden's spot.

Cahill/Gio/Zito is a steady stable of horses that have a very healthy track record.

Drop in a mixture of Ross/McCarthy/Harden/Anderson or basically...whoever doesn't end up hanging with Dr. Andrews all year.  When this last batch of guys get healthy, or even half of them....drop Zito into the 4th or 5th starter role and skip him as necessary...OR abuse the hell out of his durability and give the kids an extra day off here and there to preserve their golden wings for years to come, depending on how the division race is going.  Need a win? Sit Zito.  Want to rest Cahill?  Pitch Zito.

In any case, something needs to be done and this is a very obvious fix.  It's no secret the Giants are sick of Zito and there was talk of just dumping his contract out of spring training.  Not to mention, that man needs a change of scenery like nobody else.  I'd be willing to bet Zito in the gold jersey will pitch better than the Giants version of the same head case.

Anyway, what say you?