Haren for 6 prospects
If you don't want to read the entirety of this entry, I left the end uncut. For those of you who care, enjoy =)
Baseball talk
Baseball has a funny way of pulling at people's heart strings. The die hard fan might fall into bought of depression after their team has just lost a regular season game in extra innings because the normally reliable closer left a breaking ball a little too high in the strike zone that allowed the opposing teams pinch hitter single in the winning run from second. Or the casual fan might be excited for some water cooler talk with his coworkers the next day because he happened to come home right when his home team hit a three run home run that gave them a two run lead in the 6th inning. Whatever the instance, baseball gives us a lot to talk about. It's one of the most unique sports in it's ability to lend itself to fables and folktales. We can all remember some sort of news about baseball that captivated the nation. For those of us living in the Bay Area, who can say they were able to avoid the magic of the Giant's world series run in 2002 or were able to turn on a T.V. or open a newspaper who's headlines read anything other than Barry Lamar Bonds' chase for the single season home run record in 2001 and the all time home run record this past season.
I have to say that I have a San Francisco Giant's biased. There's something in the water in McCovey cove that has me a Giant fan, but I do show love for our American League counter parts across the bay. The A's are filled with as much, if not more history and tradition as the Giants franchise and (it pains me to say this) have been the far more successful bay area baseball club since both teams moved to the bay area.
With that said, I have followed the A's just as extensively as I have the Giant's. Although I'm biased to going out of my way in figuring out the inner workings Giant's front office, I still find time to see what Billy Beane and the A's are doing across the Bay.
In 2004, after what seemed to be a great regular season run, the Oakland Athletics decided to trade two of their three aces (an ace is the title of the best starting pitcher on a baseball team. between 2000-2004 the A's had three in Mark Mulder, Tim Hudson, and Barry Zito, all of which posted 3 consecutive seasons of 15 or more wins during the time they were together) Mark Mulder and Tim Hudson. Tim Hudson was the most enigmatic of the two deals. He seemed to be hitting his stride and the value the A's received in return has never panned out. Tim Hudson was my favorite Athletic at the time, and I have to admit it was heartbreaking to hear Huddy go. Hurts even more that none of the three players the A's traded for have come up to do anything big.
The Mulder deal, on the other hand, was intriguing. As as hard as it was to concede in the end of big three, I knew Beane couldn't have traded away his best pitcher (statistically, Mulder was the best pitcher over his career then the other two) for nothing. In addition, Mulder's injuries during the regular season were grounds alone of an uncertain career ahead. The return from the Cardinals was Kiko Calero, Daric Barton, and Dan Haren. In retrospect, Mulder has never been the same since his injury and it turns out that his deal is one of the biggest fleecing in recent A's memory.
Calero has been efficient during his time as an Athletic being a middle relieve and set up man. His numbers don't blow you away, but he is a reliable arm to get you through the late innings during the regular season. As for Daric Barton, it seems that the pie crust has just about browned and he's ready to go for a full year at 1b at the major league level. Even with solid pick ups of Calero and Barton, A's fans, as well as baseball fans across the nation, will tell you that Dan Haren has arrived and has become one of the top pitchers in all of baseball. If it weren't for a lack of offense and a slight falling off at the end of the season, one could have made a case for Haren as a Cy Young candidate for the 07 season. He's all but erased the stat books of the once loved Mulder and has given A's fans confidence in Billy Beane's ability and foresight in moving players when they peak for, talent that will eventually become and surpass past phenoms.
As fast as the A's nation's love affair began with the potential corner stone, multi Cy Young winner, Ace in Dan Haren, he was traded for yet again another group of unknown talents. Haren seemed to have everything going for him as an Athletic. Great clubhouse presence, fun loving personality, one of the nicest guy's when it came to media relations, and just all around easy going, bar buddy, kick back and argue about fantasy football guy. But Billy Beane looks at his ball club as a business first. The players are the commodities and if sacrifices must be made for the greater good of the organization and it's future, then he is definitely not afraid to pull the trigger, no matter how unpopular it me be from a p.r. standpoint.
As much as the A's nation loved the guy, us as A's fans have to take a step back and realize what kind of shape the organization is in. Other than pitching, the A's have not been able to pull extraordinary talent out of it's farm system for a few years now with the except of Nick Swisher. The outfield and infield is full of filler players who back up our supposed starters who have been reduced to being full time injured listease. I don't claim to have a complete understanding of Billy Beane's thought process, but I'm sure he believes that his farm system is drying up and that the rest of the league has followed suit in his scouting philosophies. That being the case, although trading away your ace tells the rest of the league that your club will be rebuilding, the deal may prove to covertly be a reloading move when it's all said in done.
In this deal the A's sent Dan Haren and relief pitcher Connor Robertson to the Arizona Diamond backs for six relatively unknown prospects. The D'backs sent left-handed pitchers Brett Anderson, Dana Eveland and Greg Smith, infielder Chris Carter and outfielders Aaron Cunningham and Carlos Gonzalez.
The two players I'm most excited about are Carlos Gonzalez and Dana Eveland. Some stat lines for these guys. Gonzalez's bulk of his numbers came in 120 games/458 at bats in AA ball where his line was .286/.330/.476. Eveland's numbers came in AAA ball when he was with Milwaukee. In 105 innings he was 6-5, posted a 2.74 era, 110 k's, and 41 bb.
Gonzalez number's are very solid. His power is being compared to that of Bobby Abreu and Carlos Beltran. That has me extremely excited. The reason for moving him was because Arizona has 4 young and very talented outfielders already playing regularly that will block Gonzalez time. The one knock on him is his high strike out rate and a lower OPG than that which Beane usually goes after, but if he can rake as good, if not better than Jack Cust next year, maybe the patients immersion training of the ball club will rub off on Gonzalez and we have ourselves a perennial all-star.
As for Eveland, there has not been very many reports on the types of pitches he has or his control. His stat line is decent but there are talks that he may be the next Dan Haren (lefty reincarnation). Although his numbers aren't amazing, he is only 24 and the sample size for his minor league numbers are very limited. Whatever the case, if he doesn't pan out to be a stud like Haren, he's only one of three lefty's that came in the deal.
A few other quick stat lines for the other four players:
Brett Anderson: (A ball) 81.1IP/2.21era/85K/10BB
Greg Smith: (AAA ball) 52.1IP/3.78era/34K/18BB
Chris Carter: (AAA ball) 126GP, 503AB, .324/.382/.532, 68K, 50BB
Aaron Cunningham: (AA ball) 31GP, 118AB, .288/.364/.534, 27K, 12BB
Over all, just from the box numbers alone, I'd say that was a pretty good haul for Haren and Robertson. I wouldn't be surprised to see Chris Carter make the club out of spring training and Greg Smith could see some relief appearances if the A's decided to deal Huston Street before the season starts.
To wrap up this very long baseball blog, I'll end it with this, as hard as it is to swallow your heart when your favorite players are traded, a sports fan must be patient. I'm sure A's fans and even Golden State Warrior fans are in accord that Dan Haren and Jason Richardson were two of the greatest guys to ever play in their city. As much as we may believe that these guys will be with us forever and will pull us through to success in the future, sports always has plans of it's own. Players change, uniforms change, coaches change, managements change, but the one constant in every sport are the fans. What it comes down to are the sacrifices that need to be made in order for the team, that the fans love, to continue to be successful and continue to bring the fans the magic that only sports can. I don't claim to understand the workings of most sports front offices. As much time as I spend at various websites, sports pages, and blogs, I don't work for any organization, which reduces my title to simply a fan (with a dash of obsession). All I can do is root for the guys in Green and Gold or Orange and Black or Blue and the Gold and hope that the guys that come to play are ones who are not only extremely talented, but play every pitch, every minute, like it were there last with a passion and determination that they will not lose tonight. My hope is that the players are great people off the field and appreciate the fans that have spent their hard earned dollars just to say that they live in one of the greatest area's in North America and are blessed with the greatest sports teams to compliment. At end of the day, sports is a business, nothing is personal, but the appreciation for the energy and the life that sports takes is not one to be overlooked. As a sports fan, I trust that those higher ups running the teams that put me on the emotional roller coaster of joy, sadness, frustration, despair, resilience, and accomplishment make decisions based on the people that matter most, the fan.
Baseball talk
Baseball has a funny way of pulling at people's heart strings. The die hard fan might fall into bought of depression after their team has just lost a regular season game in extra innings because the normally reliable closer left a breaking ball a little too high in the strike zone that allowed the opposing teams pinch hitter single in the winning run from second. Or the casual fan might be excited for some water cooler talk with his coworkers the next day because he happened to come home right when his home team hit a three run home run that gave them a two run lead in the 6th inning. Whatever the instance, baseball gives us a lot to talk about. It's one of the most unique sports in it's ability to lend itself to fables and folktales. We can all remember some sort of news about baseball that captivated the nation. For those of us living in the Bay Area, who can say they were able to avoid the magic of the Giant's world series run in 2002 or were able to turn on a T.V. or open a newspaper who's headlines read anything other than Barry Lamar Bonds' chase for the single season home run record in 2001 and the all time home run record this past season.
I have to say that I have a San Francisco Giant's biased. There's something in the water in McCovey cove that has me a Giant fan, but I do show love for our American League counter parts across the bay. The A's are filled with as much, if not more history and tradition as the Giants franchise and (it pains me to say this) have been the far more successful bay area baseball club since both teams moved to the bay area.
With that said, I have followed the A's just as extensively as I have the Giant's. Although I'm biased to going out of my way in figuring out the inner workings Giant's front office, I still find time to see what Billy Beane and the A's are doing across the Bay.
In 2004, after what seemed to be a great regular season run, the Oakland Athletics decided to trade two of their three aces (an ace is the title of the best starting pitcher on a baseball team. between 2000-2004 the A's had three in Mark Mulder, Tim Hudson, and Barry Zito, all of which posted 3 consecutive seasons of 15 or more wins during the time they were together) Mark Mulder and Tim Hudson. Tim Hudson was the most enigmatic of the two deals. He seemed to be hitting his stride and the value the A's received in return has never panned out. Tim Hudson was my favorite Athletic at the time, and I have to admit it was heartbreaking to hear Huddy go. Hurts even more that none of the three players the A's traded for have come up to do anything big.
The Mulder deal, on the other hand, was intriguing. As as hard as it was to concede in the end of big three, I knew Beane couldn't have traded away his best pitcher (statistically, Mulder was the best pitcher over his career then the other two) for nothing. In addition, Mulder's injuries during the regular season were grounds alone of an uncertain career ahead. The return from the Cardinals was Kiko Calero, Daric Barton, and Dan Haren. In retrospect, Mulder has never been the same since his injury and it turns out that his deal is one of the biggest fleecing in recent A's memory.
Calero has been efficient during his time as an Athletic being a middle relieve and set up man. His numbers don't blow you away, but he is a reliable arm to get you through the late innings during the regular season. As for Daric Barton, it seems that the pie crust has just about browned and he's ready to go for a full year at 1b at the major league level. Even with solid pick ups of Calero and Barton, A's fans, as well as baseball fans across the nation, will tell you that Dan Haren has arrived and has become one of the top pitchers in all of baseball. If it weren't for a lack of offense and a slight falling off at the end of the season, one could have made a case for Haren as a Cy Young candidate for the 07 season. He's all but erased the stat books of the once loved Mulder and has given A's fans confidence in Billy Beane's ability and foresight in moving players when they peak for, talent that will eventually become and surpass past phenoms.
As fast as the A's nation's love affair began with the potential corner stone, multi Cy Young winner, Ace in Dan Haren, he was traded for yet again another group of unknown talents. Haren seemed to have everything going for him as an Athletic. Great clubhouse presence, fun loving personality, one of the nicest guy's when it came to media relations, and just all around easy going, bar buddy, kick back and argue about fantasy football guy. But Billy Beane looks at his ball club as a business first. The players are the commodities and if sacrifices must be made for the greater good of the organization and it's future, then he is definitely not afraid to pull the trigger, no matter how unpopular it me be from a p.r. standpoint.
As much as the A's nation loved the guy, us as A's fans have to take a step back and realize what kind of shape the organization is in. Other than pitching, the A's have not been able to pull extraordinary talent out of it's farm system for a few years now with the except of Nick Swisher. The outfield and infield is full of filler players who back up our supposed starters who have been reduced to being full time injured listease. I don't claim to have a complete understanding of Billy Beane's thought process, but I'm sure he believes that his farm system is drying up and that the rest of the league has followed suit in his scouting philosophies. That being the case, although trading away your ace tells the rest of the league that your club will be rebuilding, the deal may prove to covertly be a reloading move when it's all said in done.
In this deal the A's sent Dan Haren and relief pitcher Connor Robertson to the Arizona Diamond backs for six relatively unknown prospects. The D'backs sent left-handed pitchers Brett Anderson, Dana Eveland and Greg Smith, infielder Chris Carter and outfielders Aaron Cunningham and Carlos Gonzalez.
The two players I'm most excited about are Carlos Gonzalez and Dana Eveland. Some stat lines for these guys. Gonzalez's bulk of his numbers came in 120 games/458 at bats in AA ball where his line was .286/.330/.476. Eveland's numbers came in AAA ball when he was with Milwaukee. In 105 innings he was 6-5, posted a 2.74 era, 110 k's, and 41 bb.
Gonzalez number's are very solid. His power is being compared to that of Bobby Abreu and Carlos Beltran. That has me extremely excited. The reason for moving him was because Arizona has 4 young and very talented outfielders already playing regularly that will block Gonzalez time. The one knock on him is his high strike out rate and a lower OPG than that which Beane usually goes after, but if he can rake as good, if not better than Jack Cust next year, maybe the patients immersion training of the ball club will rub off on Gonzalez and we have ourselves a perennial all-star.
As for Eveland, there has not been very many reports on the types of pitches he has or his control. His stat line is decent but there are talks that he may be the next Dan Haren (lefty reincarnation). Although his numbers aren't amazing, he is only 24 and the sample size for his minor league numbers are very limited. Whatever the case, if he doesn't pan out to be a stud like Haren, he's only one of three lefty's that came in the deal.
A few other quick stat lines for the other four players:
Brett Anderson: (A ball) 81.1IP/2.21era/85K/10BB
Greg Smith: (AAA ball) 52.1IP/3.78era/34K/18BB
Chris Carter: (AAA ball) 126GP, 503AB, .324/.382/.532, 68K, 50BB
Aaron Cunningham: (AA ball) 31GP, 118AB, .288/.364/.534, 27K, 12BB
Over all, just from the box numbers alone, I'd say that was a pretty good haul for Haren and Robertson. I wouldn't be surprised to see Chris Carter make the club out of spring training and Greg Smith could see some relief appearances if the A's decided to deal Huston Street before the season starts.
To wrap up this very long baseball blog, I'll end it with this, as hard as it is to swallow your heart when your favorite players are traded, a sports fan must be patient. I'm sure A's fans and even Golden State Warrior fans are in accord that Dan Haren and Jason Richardson were two of the greatest guys to ever play in their city. As much as we may believe that these guys will be with us forever and will pull us through to success in the future, sports always has plans of it's own. Players change, uniforms change, coaches change, managements change, but the one constant in every sport are the fans. What it comes down to are the sacrifices that need to be made in order for the team, that the fans love, to continue to be successful and continue to bring the fans the magic that only sports can. I don't claim to understand the workings of most sports front offices. As much time as I spend at various websites, sports pages, and blogs, I don't work for any organization, which reduces my title to simply a fan (with a dash of obsession). All I can do is root for the guys in Green and Gold or Orange and Black or Blue and the Gold and hope that the guys that come to play are ones who are not only extremely talented, but play every pitch, every minute, like it were there last with a passion and determination that they will not lose tonight. My hope is that the players are great people off the field and appreciate the fans that have spent their hard earned dollars just to say that they live in one of the greatest area's in North America and are blessed with the greatest sports teams to compliment. At end of the day, sports is a business, nothing is personal, but the appreciation for the energy and the life that sports takes is not one to be overlooked. As a sports fan, I trust that those higher ups running the teams that put me on the emotional roller coaster of joy, sadness, frustration, despair, resilience, and accomplishment make decisions based on the people that matter most, the fan.