Per Jon Heyman on WFAN in NYC...Details to come

Per Jon Heyman on WFAN in NYC...Details to come

Per Jon Heyman on WFAN in NYC...Details to come

Per Jon Heyman on WFAN in NYC...Details to come

Per Jon Heyman on WFAN in NYC...Details to come

Per Jon Heyman on WFAN in NYC...Details to come

Per Jon Heyman on WFAN in NYC...Details to come

Per Jon Heyman on WFAN in NYC...Details to come

Per Jon Heyman on WFAN in NYC...Details to come

Per Jon Heyman on WFAN in NYC...Details to come

Per Jon Heyman on WFAN in NYC...Details to come

Per Jon Heyman on WFAN in NYC...Details to come

Per Jon Heyman on WFAN in NYC...Details to come

The A's had a great 2006 season.  They should be very proud of their accomplishments despite a slew of injuries.  This has to be considered incremental progress for the Beane/Macha era as they finally won a playoff series against an excellent Twins team.  The AL will be loaded next year as the big market failures(Red Sox, White Sox & Angels) will be spending like drunken sailors in the offseason.  I think that the following team could compete with a bit luck:

C...kendall, Jeremy Brown
1B...DJ, Craig Wilson....cheap platoon
2B...Ellis, Scutaro
SS..Crosby, Scutaro
3B..Chavez, Bocaccica
DH...Thomas
OF..Bradley
OF..Kotsay
OF..Kielty, Catalanatto...cheap platoon

P..Harden
P..Haren
P..Blanton
P..Loaiza
P..Mulder...given him an incentive laden deal as he tries to salvage his career

RP..Street
RP..Duke
RP..Calero
RP..kennedy
RP..Gaudin
RP..Saarloos
RP..Flores

I think that the roster above will keep the A's on budget and provides the necessary upside to win the AL West again.

The A's will die this year if they roll Kendall out there for another 600 plate appearances.  He has lost all power and is a rapidly deteriorating CA on the backside of his career.  His 50% percentile Pecota projection is a .670 OPS with an alarming 1% breakout rate, 16% improve rate and 43% collapse rate.

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/pecota/kendaja01.php

This is only the start of the bad news.  Kendall can not control the running game and hits into a ton of double plays.  He is also on the books for $11 million this year and I think $7 million next year.  He is the definition of a sunk cost, but one that will be very hard to swallow for low payroll team.  Beane understands the business of baseball better than anyone, but seems to have very few options here.  Jeremy Brown is off to a big start in Triple A and would at least provide the A's a bit of power from the CA spot.  I don't think that Mellhouse is the answer as a full timer(I hate him as a pinch hitter...but that is another story) so my question is what the heck are the A's supposed to do?

Hatteberg flat out killed the A's the last two years.  There are no two ways about it.  The bright side is that the A's will pick up two or three wins next year just by picking a lower third DH.  This is something the Royals would do throwing Denny Hocking and Joe McEwing into the lineup.  I put the blame on Macha and Beane as a guy with diminishing skills was put in a position where he was doomed to fail.  This is the only decision all year which is beyond inexplicable.

The A's bench will also get better by default.  It is amazing that Chuck Thomas, Matt Ginter, Matt Watson & Mellhouse & Bocciccia gave the A's about half  of a season of a regular with a .200 BA.  It would be tough to do this again if they took a random sample of triple a guys.

Brilliant job by Blanton.  I am shocked at how fast this kid came along.  Harden, Blanton, Haren, Zito, Saarloos and Street give the A's a ton to build on.

Beane needs to bring up a bat and hope to catch lightning in a bottle.  Payton really energized the team when he came over and I think that Barton or Ethier would do the same.  Adam Mellhouse is not the answer at DH.  Barton will be starting next year so I don't see the harm in bringing him up(should have been this series) and throwing him into a playoff race.  His numbers are off the charts in Double A and he almost never Ks(which is why he is a better coice then Ethier).  

The good news is that the team is healthy and the pitching looks real strong.  Harden's missed time this year should keep his arm fresh.  

Macha also has to juggle the lineup.  This is pretty apparent.  Prospectus killed Grady Little two years ago because the Sox missed their expected run total by a lot because they had their two worst hitters hitting 1 and 2.  Normally lineup order is immaterial but in a race this close it is foolhardy not to get Swisher and Ellis up at the top of order.  I am very worried that teams have adjusted their D to account for Kendall's power deficiency.  Blez made a great point about the 7 infielders and this bears watching.

I think that Beane should consider a move as drastic as this.  Hatteberg collapsed down the stretch last year and has a .706 OPS at this point.  I love the guy but this is completely unacceptable.  Barton is pounding the ball in Double A to the tune of .322/.418/.524 and would only have to concentrate on hitting as he would be the DH.  He is hitting an amazing .370 in his last 15 games according to Baseball America.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/minors/hotsheet2005.html

Precocious players such as Albert Pujols, Miguel Cabrera, Andruw Jones, Rocco Baldelli, Joe Mauer and Jeff Francoer all were productive upon call up.  Maybe Barton can be the shot in the arm that the A's need.

I realize that the service clock is important, but this is clearly a year to go for it as the Yankees/Red Sox are extremely flawed and Chicago is a paper tiger.  It may be another 10 years before the Yanks & Red Sox march into the postseason without any lockdown starters. Everyone was worried about rushing Street last year, but I would bet that Beane would have brought him up if he had to do it all over again.

The bottom line is that if Barton is reasonable bet to outproduce Hatteberg then he should be starting this weekend. Maybe he pulls a Francoer as his pedigree is even better.