Cleaning house....http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/1...-brandon-moss-oakland-athletics-minor-leaguer.
House cleaning or just looking at the stats for folks recovering from microsurgery on the hip labrum?
Moss is a low average hitter in his 30's. No loss. Samardzija said he was going FA. They got a guy that can play SS for them for 2-3 years. They had an incredibly dominant advanced A ball team with 3-4 outstanding prospects. Their top prospect Robertson a SS. Nunez a 3B. Olson a 1B. Pinder a 2B. All had tremendous years but are 2 years away. What Beane is doing is playing to his strength. He knows that pitchers who go there tend to pitch 2-3 times better. Pomeranz is on the verge of being one of the dominant lefty pitchers in the A.L. Parker is a legit number 2 if he can finally stay healthy. Gray is a legit number 1. He got back 3 major league ready, young pitchers to fill out the rotation. A SS for the next few years. Lawrie was supposed to be a much better hitting prospect than Donaldson. He's just had some back luck with injuries. Jaso is the next guy he will trade as he acquired a power hitting catcher in the Samardzija deal to backup Norris. The kid they got Ravelo in the Smardzija deal is the hitter of the future in this league. The power hitter who hits .230 to .270 is dead. The pitching staffs are too good and too deep. Those hitters are dinosaurs and don't hit in the playoffs. The contact hitter who hits 10 to 15 homeruns with a .285+ avg and 80 RBI's is the present. Ravelo is that kind of hitter and should be the first baseman in Oakland by next season.
Bottom line Beane knows what the hell he is doing, best GM in baseball as far as I'm concerned. Heard Harold Reynolds state on "Hot Stove yesterday AM that the '15 A's were going to stink. I think Harold is wrong.
Yeah he does always seem to be one step ahead of everyone else. Hell the Yankees should have such a rummage sale.
I agree that the A's could struggle this year. However, they will still pitch. Parker and Griffin are coming off TJ surgery. That's a big piece to the rotation. The only way the A's will be good this year is if the following happens. Butler hits like the guy who was a .290-15-90 player over his career and not like last year. Honestly, he was fat and out of shape. Reddick gives them .260-25-85 which he is capable off. Lawrie plays 140 games and gives them .280-18-85 If that happens they have a chance to compete. Those three guys have to stay healthy and hit like they are capable off. The biggest problem right now is they don't have a left fielder. I suspect he will try to move Jaso with a prospect to acquire a guy that can play LF. Personally, I think Melky is a perfect fit for them in LF if he doesn't ask for too much.
Oakland's rummage sale continues, http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/1...s-trade-catcher-derek-norris-san-diego-padres
Would have loved to have seen Beane's prelim meeting with his boss...."this is gonna look nuts, but at the end of the day you'll make more money and we can still win.". "Angels? Mariners?, look we beat the Rangers and Astros, all we need is a WC."
I don't think many if any will ever figure out "the method to His madness", which always seems to work. A Master Plan, I bet even his boss doesn't comprehend. Hell lets give A-Roid to the A's, CC and Tex too, and pay their wages in full for 2 years, and sign Beane to a Lifetime contract....I know ridiculous to think of paying Mega-Millions to off the slugs, but then how much would Beane be worth. He's always putting Post Season teams up, with the damndest of tricks, flops and trades. I doubt the past Steve Jobs, could of figured out how Beane was wired. Unlike no other GM in baseball, at least that much is for sure...
