I just want to throw these things in your discussion, which was going fine without me, I know:

The Big Donkey sure strikes out a lot -- like one chance in three.

Pitching is over-priced these days. Giving up a good pitching prospect like Brandon McCarthy for an under-performing young phenom is a bad idea, especially when he could be traded for more reliable guys.

Call the Rockies and see if they want to start their rebuild by swapping Helton and Barmes for Pauly, Crede and McCarthy.

Who here wouldn't like that?

steve wrote:I just want to throw these things in your discussion, which was going fine without me, I know:

The Big Donkey sure strikes out a lot -- like one chance in three.

Pitching is over-priced these days. Giving up a good pitching prospect like Brandon McCarthy for an under-performing young phenom is a bad idea, especially when he could be traded for more reliable guys.

Call the Rockies and see if they want to start their rebuild by swapping Helton and Barmes for Pauly, Crede and McCarthy.

Who here wouldn't like that?

i like adam dunn a lot. i think he's going to be a monster baseball player.

i'd take the strikeouts with 40HR and an OBP in the upper .300s. i get the sense that he's still learning his strike zone, which seems crazy but shit, he's got a lot of it to learn. and he's still real young.

helton is a really good player, though he pigs out at coors and just eats well on the road. i don't know how those salaries line up--i assume it's a big dump for the rockies, who do in fact suck. i'd love to see him at sox park.

Angus Jung wrote:
Billy Beane has personal attachments to players.

He hurt his team significantly by signing Scott Hatteberg to a contract extension...

No shit? I had no idea.

Seems contrary to the concept, but what the fuck do I know.

Angus Jung wrote:He hurt his team significantly by signing Scott Hatteberg to a contract extension...

vockins wrote:No shit? I had no idea.

Don't be surprised if Scott Hatteberg is sitting on the Yankee bench, performing the John Olerud role from last year, before the season is over.

Whoops! I still hate the Athletics.

Bye!

Angus Jung wrote:

Angus Jung wrote:He hurt his team significantly by signing Scott Hatteberg to a contract extension...

vockins wrote:No shit? I had no idea.

Don't be surprised if Scott Hatteberg is sitting on the Yankee bench, performing the John Olerud role from last year, before the season is over.

Whoops! I still hate the Athletics.

Bye!

There was no sarcasm intended there. I was under the impression that Beane was a robot. Seriously.

What do I know about Moneyball? I'm a Yankees fan (a Yankees fan that's going to see Wakefield get pounded into a fine powder tonight, btw).

And, with no trace of sarcasm, I would not be surprised if Hatteberg will doing an Olerud after the all-star break.

From today's SF Chronicle:

Chavez amused: Chavez got a kick out of a column in a Chicago-area newspaper, the Daily Herald, suggesting the A's might trade the third baseman because, "(Chavez) wants out of Oakland so bad that he's the one who apparently is fueling the trade rumor to the Sox.''

Chavez laughed and said, "Yeah, that's why I just signed a $66 million contract to stay here last year, so I can leave. Where does this stuff come from? I don't want to go anywhere near the East Coast, and to me Chicago is the East Coast, anything past Texas.''

A's general manager Billy Beane was outraged by the story, saying, "It's total (garbage.)''

Asked if he had plans to deal Chavez, he said, "Zero. Zero.''

Angus Jung wrote:Eric Chavez's performance this year so far has been thoroughly disgusting. Far more than any other individual player on the Athletics, he is the reason why the team is circling the drain this year.

Eric Chavez is batting .429 in June with three HRs, eight RBI and a 1.472 OPS. Eric Chavez is a special baseball player.

steve wrote:Call the Rockies and see if they want to start their rebuild by swapping Helton and Barmes for Pauly, Crede and McCarthy.

Who here wouldn't like that?

Me.

Apropos of nothing in this thread, but...
Ortiz just hit possibly the longest home run I have seen.
It landed in a front yard across Sheffield.
Cliff Bartosh was the scrub who dealt the non-breaking ball.
I like to watch Ortiz hit. I don't think his power comes from a syringe.

Bradley R. Weissenberger wrote:Eric Chavez is batting .429 in June with three HRs, eight RBI and a 1.472 OPS. Eric Chavez is a special baseball player.

Chavez's performance in the Washington Nationals' just-completed sweep of the Athletics was indeed special.

Angus Jung wrote:Chavez's performance in the Washington Nationals' just-completed sweep of the Athletics was indeed special.

The White Sox would be happy to take Chavez off the Athletics' hands. I recall that he has an alleged Mike Schmidt-like career arc, so I'm sure that they'd look past the retardation.

So go ahead and make your call to Billy Beane, Angus Jung, and get back to me. Again, Crede and McCarthy for Chavez. Future Mr. Chicago Brian Anderson is off the table (so tell Billy not to bother asking for him again), but I guarantee that I can find a way to throw Ken Harrelson and Darrin Jackson into the deal.

You really cannot beat that deal, Angus Jung, Hater Of The Oakland Athletics.