After reading Mychael Urban's piece giving the A's a 9 out of 10 for their offseason manuevering, I wanted to know what everyone thinks they deserve on a scale of 1-10 with 1 representing a complete failure to accomplish their goals and a 10 meaning that Billy Beane has accomplished perfection this offseason.
To me, I agree with Mychael Urban in the fact that several areas of the team have been improved. But I think someplace that's underrated and not mentioned enough is the defense of this team. The A's have three center fielders patrolling the outfield in 2006. A gold glover at third base. An outstanding and improving shortstop. Mark Ellis at second and now, Nick Swisher at first.
You combine that defense with the improved starting pitching and this team should be significantly improved in terms of runs allowed. Especially if Harden can stay healthy all season.
The offense should also get a boost from a healthy (and hopefully non-confrontational) Bradley.
I still think Beane has a move or two up his sleeve, but to me, this offseason has been a nine so far. It misses a 10 in my opinion because I do think the team overpaid for Loaiza.
I will give the caveat that if this team can still land Frank Thomas, I would up that to a 10 simply due to the depth of the team without subtracting anything of significance. This team is deeper than it has been in years. And that's even without counting Dan Meyer, Daric Barton and John Rheinecker who could possibly make an impact this season.
