Drinking the Kool Aid

Suzuki an "orange chip"?  Huh?  Let the kid at least get to AA... I mean, really, now, I was just watching him in the College Baseball postseason a few months ago.

...we've all taken potshots at the oakland ownership over the yrs. but the fact is over the last 3-4 yrs. payroll has increased. this trade is another example of a committment to win.

begrudgingly i applaud schott, etc.

NOW JUST SIGN HUDDY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

While I applaud the successful deals he's made for The Big Team, it seems that the real scores have been made lower down on the organization's food chain, where Beane's bets seem to pay off in hundredfold fashion every year. How much would it cost to get, say, Bobby Crosby the way Those East Coast Teams do it (i.e., after he's proven himself in las grandes ligas and jacked his price up)? The A's farm system is bursting at the seams with ungodly valuable prospects, while the Yankees' farm just has a few tumbleweeds blowing past the buzzard-pecked bones of their dead livestock.

 If Swisher is the everyday right fielder in 2005, I think we have to anticipate/accept that he may have (at best, assuming he's the real deal) a "rookie-type" season. Harkening back to Mulder (9-10), Tejada, and Crosby, this means looking good, looking like he "belongs," while still only putting up so-so numbers as a prelude to a breakout season in 2006 or 2007.

 So even if 2005 is a "go-for-it" season for the A's, that doesn't mean you can accelerate a player's progress "just because." I wouldn't count on better than a .240 avg, .320 OBP for a first full season. Anything better = gravy. Of course, you have to take with a grain of salt anyone who mentions gravy just three days after Thanksgiving. Ooh, did somebody mention salt?

  OK, that's it--I clearly have a serious addiction to Thanksgiving leftovers. The only solution is to quit cold turkey.

  Get it?

I haven't noticed that much in articles about him. But if he is then I feel better about him starting every day in the outfield.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/11/28/SPGRNA2RUC1.DTL

A done deal: Kendall to A's
Pirates take Rhodes, Redman; will pay part of catcher's salary

Susan Slusser, Chronicle Staff Writer
Sunday, November 28, 2004

Jason Kendall officially became a member of the A's on Saturday. The addition of the pricey All-Star catcher signals that Oakland plans to contend again in 2005 and is willing to add to the payroll to do so.

"More than anything, to me, the biggest part of this whole trade is that it shows the organization is committed to winning a championship,'' A's outfielder Eric Byrnes said.

Kendall is owed $34 million over the next three years, but in sending pitchers Arthur Rhodes and Mark Redman to the Pirates, the A's are shedding two contracts worth a combined $15 million over the next two seasons. (That was a primary reason the trade was able to be completed, according to GM Billy Beane.) Oakland will send $1 million to Pittsburgh each of the next two years, and will get back $7 million in 2007, when Kendall will be due $13 million. So overall, signing Kendall only adds a total of $14 million to the A's payroll if he remains the full three seasons. Beane stressed that he acquired Kendall to keep him, contrary to some reports.

"Everyone understood the need for us to acquire a catcher,'' said Beane, who described Kendall as a great offensive catcher in the prime of his career. "People can see the market for catching is going quickly. Some big-market teams need catching, so we didn't want to wait.''

And the A's didn't settle for either of their modestly priced free-agent targets, Gregg Zaun and Doug Mirabelli. There had been suggestions in the national media that Oakland would be in a rebuilding mode after failing to make the playoffs for the first time in five years. With that came rampant speculation that Beane would trade one of the Big Three, pitchers Barry Zito, Mark Mulder and Tim Hudson.

Redman was the team's fifth starter, however, which means that the A's don't have starting pitching to deal unless they were to obtain a reliable starter in return.

"It kind of makes sense not to break those guys up at this point, because you've traded a starter away,'' Byrnes said. "I can't see the organization wanting to do that unless they absolutely needed to or unless we get something great in return.''

Kendall, who hit .319 with 51 RBIs last year, is an upgrade offensively at catcher (Damian Miller hit .272 with nine homers and 58 RBIs last year for the A's). Kendall's a lifetime .306 hitter with a career .387 on-base percentage. The one thing he lacks is power (three homers last year, 67 in his nine-year career), but Beane won't necessarily look to add a big bat, not even a relatively cheap option such a free-agent Juan Gonzalez. Beane said in a conference call that he's fine with the outfield as currently projected, with Byrnes, Mark Kotsay and rookie Nick Swisher starting, with Bobby Kielty also available. The A's essentially are done talking to their own free-agent right fielder, Jermaine Dye, whom they'd considered bringing back for one year if he didn't find another spot to his liking.

"It looks like going in, Swisher will probably fill that spot,'' Beane said.

If no slugger is added, the offense may have a different approach, especially with Kendall near the top of the order.

"This guy can put the ball in play, can hit-and-run and he doesn't strike out much,'' A's manager Ken Macha said. "The way he handles the bat, there are a lot of things we can do.''

Kotsay, last year's leadoff batter much of the season, suggested that Kendall might hit leadoff, as he did with Pittsburgh, but with left-handed batting Eric Chavez hitting third, it's more likely that Kendall will hit second, behind Kotsay.

Rookie Joe Blanton is the best bet for the fifth spot in the rotation, and recent addition Seth Etherton also is a possibility. The odd man out may land in the bullpen, and 2004 first-round draft pick Huston Street also is considered an option in relief, according to Beane.

The one spot Beane might look to beef up is second base, because Mark Ellis' status remains uncertain as he attempts to return from a season-ending shoulder injury, leaving Marco Scutaro as Oakland's only sure-fire second baseman. The A's have been in contact with Barry Larkin's agent, and, according to reports, they have inquired about Atlanta All-Star Marcus Giles, although it would take a Big Three member to land that caliber of player.

Beane said that Adam Melhuse will remain the A's backup catcher, as expected. With the addition of Kendall, the team will not have to rush any of its excellent minor-league catching prospects, according to Beane, who isn't worried about having a glut of talent at the position.

Giles would be too one of the big three costly so Larkin would be less cost prohibitive. Maybe he could platoon with Quintanilla or with Ellis? Any thoughts?

then there's no reason to even consider him. the a'sare set at SS and only need a utility infielder -- who can play more than one base -- to occasionally spell Crosby.