That's my Boy

Got this from the Oakland a's website, going to go back in time a bit, as when I was very young Walt Weiss was one of my favorite players, and now it seems he's getting a taste of hall of fame. Good for him, he always was a solid player, who worked hard and didn't have the baggage with him so commonly associated with big shot players (the word Bonds, Barry Bonds comes to mind...). Congrats Walt

hmmm.... i miss him already.. what was his name?

fresh off the press at the A's official website, Seems as if the A's will not be keeping Bocachica, who played a very small amount with dismal results. While he may have improved with time or not, we don't know, but looks like the poor lad won't get his chance, plus, there's tons more value in the players they will be keeping around, this one's a no brainer.

A's agree to 1 year deal with Joe Kennedy - unofficial 2006 roster updated.

Official story can be found here.

Kennedy was acquired by the A's from Colorado at the All-Star Break last
year and was 4-5 with a 4.45 ERA in 19 games, eight starts, with Oakland. He
also went 4-8 with a 7.04 ERA in 16 starts with the Rockies. The 26-year old
Kennedy posted a 3.00 ERA in 11 relief appearances with the A's before replacing
the injured Rich Harden in the starting rotation. He was 2-5 with a 5.06 ERA in
his eight starting assignments with Oakland.

Kennedy was somewhat above average as a left handed reliever coming out of the bullpen, but sucked as a starter. I don't know how much money we are talking about - I heard it is somewhere in the $2 million+ range - but figure this is probably a good deal for the A's. Between Kennedy and Flores, we now have 2 possible LOOGYs. Kennedy, along with Saarloos, can also pitch a lot of innings if any of our starters get in trouble and can move comfortably into a starter's role should any member of our rotation go down because of injury.

However, that is the one role I hope we don't have to see Kennedy in : a starter. Let's take a look at his numbers as a SP vs RP :

2005 with Oakland:
As a Starter - 5.06 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 2.90 K/BB ratio, 6.75 K/9, 0.279 BAA
As a Reliever - 3.00 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 1.20 K/BB ratio, 6.50 K/9, 0.235 BAA

As you can see, his ERA was way down as reliever. (In fact, his ERA over the 3 year period from 2002-2004 as a reliever was 2.73 versus 5.39 as a starter.) His WHIP and K/9 are almost identical, but notice the BAA is a full 44 points lower as a reliever than as a starter.

Newbie

Well, I have been requested by the moderator of this blog, who has no bias towards nepotism whatsoever, I'm told, to begin posting on here, so I think I will.

For those who ask, I am Swizstick's long lost estranged brother, who he hasn't spoken to in a long time, and who whips my tail at most online games (just wait till Christmas pal). Anyways, was cruising the sites and saw this, a slightly over the top view of bradley's procurement, titled "My nightmare scenario". (scroll down if need be).

While Bradley may be famous for his on and off field antics, maybe playing in Oakland will tame him down, I'm sure if it was the Raiders the fans would do it for him. Having briefly read Bradley's life story, it seems we have some things to iron out with him, but he is talented, and really a good catch with the other trade. The A's roster is strong, and we haven't had a good soap opera style player saga since Canseco. Who knows, maybe it will bring the A's a little extra press. heh.

Unofficial 2006 Roster Updated

Click here.

Billy Beane made the unusual move of signing free agent Esteban Loaiza to a 3 year contract worth about $21 million with an option for 2009. This one has me scratching my head, why pay roughly $7 million per year for a starting pitcher with a career WHIP of 1.41 and career BAA of 0.285? Yes, I like the K/BB ratio of 2.33 and the fact that he has been a reliable starter averaging more than 180 IP for the last 3 seasons. Then there is always the argument of "quality starts". Ok, ok, I get it. I have nothing against the guy, and I think he is a solid starter. I just don't think he is worth $21 million + over 3 years, especially with that ERA of 4.71 and WHIP of 1.52 away from home during 2005. Regardless, this move strengthens the A's starting staff, adding depth to an already solid rotation.

In what could possibly be the steal of the century - possibly, mind you, only time will tell - the A's traded hot minor league prospect Andre Ethier to the Dodgers for talented but flawed OF Milton Bradley and utility infielder Antonio Perez. That's right, 2 major league players for 1 minor league prospect who's stock - after a smoking Arizona Fall League stint - will never be higher. I liked Andre Ethier a lot and felt he had a good future with the A's at some point, but have no ill feelings for trading him for 2 solid major leaguers. For excellent analysis on this deal, Scout.com has the 411.

I am not going to go into the details of Bradley's now famous temper and on and off-field problems. He is an extremely talented player who has not hit his true potential yet, and I am going to give him the benefit of the doubt. You can listen to interviews with Bradley and Beane here (for Bradley) and here (for Beane). If Bradley starts up with his old tricks again then of course I will condemn him for the team cancer he has so famously been labeled with. But until then, I am giving him this chance.

Even if Bradley gets injured (again) or ends up in trouble again, Perez could still make this deal worthwhile. A utility infielder who will be able to spell Chavez at 3B and also fill in at SS and 2B? And his offensive skills are superior to Scutaro, no offense to Marco, I like him just fine. Who knows, if he plays solidly enough he could earn a more permanent spot in the infield.