screw the A's

[feminazi]

i just heard they traded mulder tonight to the cards for 3 people i never heard of.

i feel sorry for jason kendall. he accepts a trade to the a's and now they gut the pitching staff.

i may not watch baseball this season.

:mad:

[autorank]

1. back the the Charles Finley trasition

<== try watching these guys for some comic relief

[indigobusiness]

2. They have great young talent.

Mulder, Hudson and Zito are washed up.

The A's will rise again.

[pa28]

3. They'll be OK

The A's have shown an amazing ability to build contenders on a shoestring budget. They also make productive trades.

Chin up.

[Mojambo]

4. I think Mulder's damaged goods

The Kendall trade seems so odd now. Why trade for a veteran catcher with a BIG deal when you're just going into rebuild mode?

By the time the A's are set to compete again, Kendall is going to be nearing the must-use date for catchers.

[indigobusiness]

7. Kendall is a perfect choice

to groom the young studs the A's have in their stable.

[hijinx87]

5. A's fans should be used to this by now . . .

it happens every 3 or 4 years. and oakland got two of StL
tops three prospects in the deal - a blurb from any story
that you would see from a google search:

{
The price was steep for Mulder, a 17-game winner
last year. The Athletics got right-hander Dan Haren,
who had been projected as part of the St. Louis rotation
next year, right-handed reliever Kiko Calero and top
catching prospect Daric Barton.
}

Mulser was widely whispered to have arm problems last
season when his velocity dropped significantly.

[Redneck Socialist]

6. I wouldn't get too down on them yet.

It sounds like some of the moves they've made have been pretty good. I don't follow the A's very closely but here is what Peter Gammons had to say about their trades:

<snip>

"He acquired Danny Haren, whose 20-inning, 17-4 strikeout-walk ratio, 1.77 September ERA echoes his minor-league track record. He also got reliever Kiko Calero, who in two seasons has thrown 83 2/3 innings with just 56 hits allowed, striking out 98, while allowing just 30 walks. Calero has a 2.80 ERA, while allowing just a .193 opponents' average and a .615 opponents' OPS.

So, in three days, Beane has acquired two starters in Haren and Dan Meyer who slip right into the rotation behind Rich Harden, Cy Young Future, and Barry Zito, 26, Cy Young Past, with rookie Joe Blanton behind them. He has acquired two power relievers in Juan Cruz and Calero, a starting left fielder in Charlie Thomas and a potential hitting star in left-handed hitting catcher Daric Barton, just 19, whose A ball stats --.313, 36 extra base hits, 44 strikeouts, 69 walks -- are Pujols-esque.

Now he has depth and power in the pen after Octavio Dotel with Huston Street, Gairo Garcia, Cruz, Calero, Ricardo Rincon and Chad Bradford; he already has a pretty good trade offer for Cruz. Oh yes. The five players other than Bradford he acquired will cost less than $2 million in 2005."

<snip>

More at: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/gammons/story?id=1949178

[HuckleB]

8. The A's will be fighting for top billing in the West.

This isn't a rebuild. It's another readjust. They do it every year, and every year they battle for the top spot.

[GOPisEvil]

9. Actually, Haren and Calero are pretty good pitchers.

Haren can start or long relieve, and Calero is a power arm out in the bullpen.

I'm still waiting for the Cardinals to replace Renteria and Womack. Try not having a 2nd baseman or shortstop...

[nickgutierrez]

10. Womack isn't that hard to replace.

What they got out of him might be, but expecting Tony Womack to hit .300 again is like waiting for lightning to strike twice. It could happen, but it's not something you should expect.

[GOPisEvil]

11. Yeah, but he's better than the nobody we have now.

I guess the Cards are going after Eckstein or Julio Lugo (wife beater) to play SS. I'd rather have Eckstein. I forget what scrub they are looking at to play 2nd. But maybe they'll get lucky with someone off the scrap heap again.

[nickgutierrez]

12. Personal issues aside, Lugo could end up being as good as Renteria

Renteria needs to hit .300 to be a really good hitter, as evidenced by his .327 OBP last year, and as he progresses on with his career on the wrong side of his 27th birthday (the 'peak' for most players), it'll become harder and harder to do that. Lugo, on the other hand, had a .338 OBP with almost as much power, playing for the stinking Devil Rays, and is the same age. He's pretty good defensively, too. I think he'll be fine.

[GOPisEvil]

13. Well, I hope he's gotten his personal life together.

I prefer to have guys on my team I can actually cheer for.