I know that I encouraged the A's to continue the wheeling and dealing, but everything I'm hearing in terms of rumors for Blanton aren't enough to deal him, in my opinion. I would actually say that the A's need to stand pat for now unless there is something else out there that hasn't yet been discussed.
The market for starting pitching still hasn't come around completely yet and you kind of need a pitcher like Bedard to be moved in order for the teams that missed out on him to be that much more desperate. Also, there's no question how good Danny Haren is. I think a lot of teams are still unsure what Blanton represents. He's had months where he's been completely dominant and looks like a solid number two (possibly closer to an ace on a National League team). But he's also had months where he's looked a bit too easy to hit and hit hard.
So the smart decision at this point will probably be to wait. Possibly even wait until the trading deadline this year when a contender is dying for an extra starter that they think can put them over the hump and give them a shot at a World Series title.
At the same time, many speculated that the A's were going to have to wait for the Twins to deal Santana in order to get the most value for Haren. But Beane and company bucked that thought process in finding a partner who was aggressive and had the prospects that they wanted. I just wonder with the Dodgers being very deep in pitching, the Diamondbacks now set and much thinner in the minors and the Mets not really having any spectacular prospects, is the pool of potential destinations too thin?
I did mention before that it could be possible that the A's wind up packaging Street and Blanton to get a higher yield in return, but if they're going to do that, they better not only restock the farm, they better ask for the whole damn farm.
All this being said, I'm just not sure that the market for Smokin' Joe is where it needs to be. Maybe it's because of his body type (I believe Nico mentioned that already), but it's more likely because he hasn't been as consistent so his overall numbers aren't nearly as impressive as Haren's. It might just be wise to sit on Joe until he can show the other teams that he can be the fantastic addition to their rotation they are looking for.
