A group weblog for Oakland A's fans
Friday, October 14, 2005
Macha is Gone, Long Live Kenny Macha!
I was getting ready to start the post Macha era, when I found out that Kenny is coming back! It has sort of a Steinbrenner/Martin feel to it. And that is kinda cool. Now we just gotta quit holding runners at 3b on singles with 2 outs. And get us one big fat bat and we'll be set for '06.
I was in Tainan, Taiwan for the last 10 days for work. I went to see the Tainan Lions play the China Trust Whales. Of course wore an A's jersey. The usher saw it and said, "Athletics! Numba 55 Barry Zheedo!" And I said, "Number 75!" Even in Tainan, Barry Zheedo Forever.
I was getting ready to start the post Macha era, when I found out that Kenny is coming back! It has sort of a Steinbrenner/Martin feel to it. And that is kinda cool. Now we just gotta quit holding runners at 3b on singles with 2 outs. And get us one big fat bat and we'll be set for '06.
I was in Tainan, Taiwan for the last 10 days for work. I went to see the Tainan Lions play the China Trust Whales. Of course wore an A's jersey. The usher saw it and said, "Athletics! Numba 55 Barry Zheedo!" And I said, "Number 75!" Even in Tainan, Barry Zheedo Forever.
Thursday, October 13, 2005
Orel Hershiser? But I hardly even...
Rangers pitching coach Orel Hershiser will meet with Billy Beane in a couple of days to discuss the A's managerial opening. This represents the first non-obvious candidate who has been interviewed, which shows some active interest rather than simply doing the easy thing. I think it's safe to conclude that Billy actually wants Hershiser and not merely a placeholder, which is interesting. Hershiser has done a very capable job as the Rangers' pitching coach (seriously), and by all accounts is an intelligent guy, and I would have no problem with him as the A's manager (though one wonders if his overt Christianity would not mesh well with the frat-boy atmosphere of the A's clubhouse.)
Here's my current favorite plan for the offseason: trade Barry Zito and Keith Ginter to Arizona for Carlos Quentin and Chad Tracy. Sign Matthew LeCroy. Your 2006 Oakland A's (with my non-preferred lineup -- let's face it, Kendall is not going to hit 9th, nor will Chavez hit 7th against lefties):
vs RHP:
C Jason Kendall
CF Mark Kotsay
SS Bobby Crosby
3B Eric Chavez
DH Chad Tracy
1B Dan Johnson
LF Carlos Quentin
RF Nick Swisher
2B Mark Ellis
vs LHP:
C Jason Kendall
CF Mark Kotsay
SS Bobby Crosby
3B Eric Chavez
DH Matthew LeCroy
RF Bobby Kielty
LF Carlos Quentin
1B Nick Swisher
2B Mark Ellis
Bench: C Adam Melhuse, IF Marco Scutaro, Tracy/LeCroy, Kielty/Johnson, OF Charles Thomas
Starting rotation:
RHP Rich Harden
RHP Danny Haren
RHP Joe Blanton
RHP Kirk Saarloos
LHP Joe Kennedy / RHP Juan Cruz (mix and match based on opponents)
Bullpen:
RHP Huston Street
RHP Justin Duchscherer
RHP Kiko Calero
LHP Ron Flores
RHP Jairo Garcia
Cruz/Kennedy
This 25-man roster could win a bunch of games. The lineup is very, very good, the starting rotation should be above average, and the front of the bullpen projects to be excellent. Trading Zito may be heresy given the title of this blog, but if we can get a top-notch prospect like Quentin (and a useful throw-in like Tracy), I think Beane should pull the trigger. It's all about maximizing value, and Zito is excellent, but $8M for 1 year of Zito plus two draft picks is not as good a deal as a cheap Quentin for 6 years and Tracy (I don't know what his contract status is, but he's certainly not making too much money.) The best part about this team is that unless I am mistaken, every single player would be under the club's control in 2007 as well.
Rangers pitching coach Orel Hershiser will meet with Billy Beane in a couple of days to discuss the A's managerial opening. This represents the first non-obvious candidate who has been interviewed, which shows some active interest rather than simply doing the easy thing. I think it's safe to conclude that Billy actually wants Hershiser and not merely a placeholder, which is interesting. Hershiser has done a very capable job as the Rangers' pitching coach (seriously), and by all accounts is an intelligent guy, and I would have no problem with him as the A's manager (though one wonders if his overt Christianity would not mesh well with the frat-boy atmosphere of the A's clubhouse.)
Here's my current favorite plan for the offseason: trade Barry Zito and Keith Ginter to Arizona for Carlos Quentin and Chad Tracy. Sign Matthew LeCroy. Your 2006 Oakland A's (with my non-preferred lineup -- let's face it, Kendall is not going to hit 9th, nor will Chavez hit 7th against lefties):
vs RHP:
C Jason Kendall
CF Mark Kotsay
SS Bobby Crosby
3B Eric Chavez
DH Chad Tracy
1B Dan Johnson
LF Carlos Quentin
RF Nick Swisher
2B Mark Ellis
vs LHP:
C Jason Kendall
CF Mark Kotsay
SS Bobby Crosby
3B Eric Chavez
DH Matthew LeCroy
RF Bobby Kielty
LF Carlos Quentin
1B Nick Swisher
2B Mark Ellis
Bench: C Adam Melhuse, IF Marco Scutaro, Tracy/LeCroy, Kielty/Johnson, OF Charles Thomas
Starting rotation:
RHP Rich Harden
RHP Danny Haren
RHP Joe Blanton
RHP Kirk Saarloos
LHP Joe Kennedy / RHP Juan Cruz (mix and match based on opponents)
Bullpen:
RHP Huston Street
RHP Justin Duchscherer
RHP Kiko Calero
LHP Ron Flores
RHP Jairo Garcia
Cruz/Kennedy
This 25-man roster could win a bunch of games. The lineup is very, very good, the starting rotation should be above average, and the front of the bullpen projects to be excellent. Trading Zito may be heresy given the title of this blog, but if we can get a top-notch prospect like Quentin (and a useful throw-in like Tracy), I think Beane should pull the trigger. It's all about maximizing value, and Zito is excellent, but $8M for 1 year of Zito plus two draft picks is not as good a deal as a cheap Quentin for 6 years and Tracy (I don't know what his contract status is, but he's certainly not making too much money.) The best part about this team is that unless I am mistaken, every single player would be under the club's control in 2007 as well.
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Another target
Twins DH Matthew LeCroy was nontendered today by Minnesota. LeCroy is a, uh, portly slugger who can only hit lefties, but he's very, very good at that. If, say, Chad Tracy were acquired, LeCroy would be a perfect complement. One of the benefits of having a good pitching staff is that carrying fewer pitchers leads to more space for platoons. Make it happen, Billy.
Twins DH Matthew LeCroy was nontendered today by Minnesota. LeCroy is a, uh, portly slugger who can only hit lefties, but he's very, very good at that. If, say, Chad Tracy were acquired, LeCroy would be a perfect complement. One of the benefits of having a good pitching staff is that carrying fewer pitchers leads to more space for platoons. Make it happen, Billy.
