Well, probably not. But those of us who have followed the Continuing Adventures of Jack Cust with alert interest now have another guy to pull for.

The A's have apparently acquired Jack Hannahan from Detroit's AAA club.

I thought I'd give him a little introduction and look ahead to see what his role with the A's might be. His trade counterpart is Jason Perry, a slugging outfielder for AAA-Sacramento. This is a trade that makes sense for the A's, as their profiles are fairly similar (older guys who've finally put it together in the minors this season) but Hannahan plays a position of greater need (3B, rather than corner outfield) although Perry's stats are a hair better this year.

Who is this guy?

Jack Hannahan was a 20-year old star at third base when he passed out on a stranger's lawn. A talented player for the Minnesota Golden Gophers, Hannahan's baseball career was nearly over before it started. In the course of his high school years and the first two years of his college career, he had developed a serious case of alcoholism. He somehow managed to put up respectable numbers nonetheless-- Dan Johnson would be proud of the .327 batting average he put up in his sophomore year while sometimes seeing two or three balls at once-- but he came within an ace of being kicked off the Minnesota team.

After a stint in rehab (of the mental, not the physical, kind), he emerged as a standout player in his junior year, leading the Big Ten in most statistical categories and winning the conference Player of the Year award. Taken in the third round of the draft that year, Hannahan headed to the minor leagues seemingly destined for a quick rise.

It was not to be. AA proved to be Hannahan's bugbear, as he posted a line-- over parts of 4 seasons-- of approximately .250/.335/.370. He failed to develop power-- just 9 HR in 135 games in 2003-- and he had a truly wretched year in the field, committing 34 errors. By 2005, the Tigers were ready to advance him to AAA, but his progress was further delayed by injuries (he played a mere 75 games that season). He showed signs of progress in 2006, upping his OPS to a respectable .791 and earning him a cup of coffee with the big-league club, in which he went 0-for-9 with a strikeout and a walk. 2007, however, saw him back in AAA.

So why did the A's trade for him?

Glad you asked. Basically, it's a combination of three factors-- Hannahan's improved performance this year, Eric Chavez's injury, and Marco Scutaro's platoon split.

This season, Hannahan has greatly improved his offensive numbers (and if Baseball Prospectus is to be believed, his defense as well). Like Eric Chavez, he is a left-handed hitter at third base, and as a consequence he has been particularly tough on righties, pounding out 16 doubles, 9 HR, and a total line of .307/.443/.486/.929. He has been respectable against lefties as well, but his primary offensive value is against RHP.

As any good A's fan knows, the same is true for Eric Chavez, whose struggles against lefties seem to stem partly from the forearm tendinitis he's been battling for a few years. (Lefties can work him inside because the pain makes it hard for him to turn on pitches quickly.) Now battling a plethora of other conditions, Chavez has no known return date and may not return this season. Until now, the A's have had virtually no depth at third base. Marco Scutaro-- not really a third baseman-- has had to fill in for Chavez, while the AAA team has been a tryouts funhouse lately, with Jeremy Brown, Lou Merloni, JJ Furmaniak and Daric Barton all trying to figure out the position. Gregorio Petit-- whose value ultimately lies at shortstop-- has done time at the hot corner as well. Hannahan, as a major-league ready backup, provides desperately needed depth.

The A's now have the makings of a solid platoon at third base. Marco Scutaro, as a righty, has posted pretty respectable major league numbers against left-handed pitching. (His line: .298/.403/.491/.894) His numbers against righties are far worse (.227/.290/.331/.621), so there is little doubt that Hannahan can provide better offense than Marco against right-handed pitching. This also has the ulterior benefit of freeing up Marco, on some days when righties are hurling, to relieve Donnie Murphy or Mark Ellis, both right-handed hitters, and give them a day off.

How does he fit into the long-term plans of the A's?

He's going to have to play his way into a permanent job with Chavez out. He does have options remaining, so he may end up back at Sacramento when Chavez returns. Another possibility is that he's ticketed to replace Dan Johnson as the "third corner infielder" (assuming Chavez and Daric Barton are the primary two). Yet another possibility that occurs to me would be to have Hannahan, once Chavez returns, take over 1B against righties while Swisher plays the outfield, and have Swisher man it against lefties (thus, in effect, platooning Hannahan with a right-handed outfielder). Of course, he will have to hit righties well to hold one of these positions. I think he'll do fairly well, but you never really know.

And of course, he could hit 6 home runs in his first week and become the new DH for 2008. After all, the A's track record with oldish AAA players named Jack is impeccable!