SB Nation's Baseball Nation put up a trade analysis, as well as a comparison from last year to this year's off-seasons. The piece, aptly titled: Gio Gonzalez Trade: Digging Out From Under 50 Feet Of Crap, reminds us that last year at this time, the A's traded for Josh Willingham and David DeJesus, and bought Hideki Matsui. The A's were attempting to contend when it just all fell apart; they lost games early last year they had no business losing. Their defense was abysmal; players they counted on to have at least an average season were subpar, and the offense took three months to even show a flicker of life. But we had young, stud pitchers in our starting rotation; it would all be okay, right?
From the article:
And less than a year later, the A's are looking to forge a brand new pitching staff. Brett Anderson went from a pitcher with a sub-3.00 ERA and preternatural walk rate to a Dr. James Andrews patient. Trevor Cahill went from a first-half sensation to a second-half collapse that made the A's think those two birds in the bush might be better after all. And once Cahill went, there wasn't much sense in keeping Gio Gonzalez around, especially when his trade value had a lot to do with the remaining years on his contract.
This article lays it out in the most direct (albeit, painful) of ways, just in case you have ever wondered what the hell did happen to last season. Worth a read, as we continue to discuss the Gio Gonzalez trade.
As for Gio himself; we will miss you! Thank you for all you have done for the Oakland A's, and thank you for your appreciation of the Oakland fans.
