Milton Bradley?

[Baseball=Life]

A few points:

Yes, we'll need backups, because Thomas will probably play in 120 games maximum. Johnson will DH (swish 1B, kotsay-bradley-payton OF) when Thomas is on the bench.

I'm not sure if I agree about not getting fair trade value if we traded Payton. I really don't think he's all that valuble. He's only played everyday one season right (?), and those numbers aren't realistic, because he was a Rockie in Colorado that year. Sure, he tore it up in the 2nd half for the A's, but I think he'll settle back down to slightly above average status in 2006. Don't forget that he's older and hit his peak last year (if not before)... no upside to him, unlike the younger guys the A's have.

As for lineup, I'm not sure if this is an original thought (probably not), but here's what I think the lineup should be:

Ellis - 2B
Kotsay - CF
Bradley - RF
Chavez - 3B
Thomas - DH
Johnson - 1B
Crosby - SS
Swisher - LF
Kendall - C

[Joe shmoe]

if we can trade with just payton then make a package deal add one of our 4 starters who are not zito, harden, or haren wait i meant 5 starters oaklands biggest problem is they have too much "depth" under no circumstances what so ever does a team need 8 starters.

[Baseball=Life]

Hey Richard, use more periods dude, otherwise it's hard to understand what you say. Anyway, moving Saarloos into the bullpen is HUGE for the A's. Remember this guy is a ground-ball specialist, so he'll be perfect for getting us some crucial double play balls when he enters mid-game with runners on base. I don't really consider Joe Kennedy in with the other starters. Plus, Kennedy is the one lefty in the A's pen right now (definitely the A's weakness). I really hope Jon Rheineiker is brought up, he has nasty stuff and is a lefty. Anyway, while I see your point to deal from your strength, starting pitching, I do like the way having that extra starter gives us insurance if Harden goes down again (like he did twice last year).

[Baseball=Life]

Hey Richard, use more periods dude, otherwise it's hard to understand what you say. Anyway, moving Saarloos into the bullpen is HUGE for the A's. Remember this guy is a ground-ball specialist, so he'll be perfect for getting us some crucial double play balls when he enters mid-game with runners on base. I don't really consider Joe Kennedy in with the other starters. Plus, Kennedy is the one lefty in the A's pen right now (definitely the A's weakness). I really hope Jon Rheineiker is brought up, he has nasty stuff and is a lefty. Anyway, while I see your point to deal from your strength, starting pitching, I do like the way having that extra starter gives us insurance if Harden goes down again (like he did twice last year).

[Baseball=Life]

Hey Richard, use more periods dude, otherwise it's hard to understand what you say. Anyway, moving Saarloos into the bullpen is HUGE for the A's. Remember this guy is a ground-ball specialist, so he'll be perfect for getting us some crucial double play balls when he enters mid-game with runners on base. I don't really consider Joe Kennedy in with the other starters. Plus, Kennedy is the one lefty in the A's pen right now (definitely the A's weakness). I really hope Jon Rheineiker is brought up, he has nasty stuff and is a lefty. Anyway, while I see your point to deal from your strength, starting pitching, I do like the way having that extra starter gives us insurance if Harden goes down again (like he did twice last year).

[retep]

So, Scott, why did you post that 3 times?

[Baseball=Life]

Unintentional, something was wrong with golkusmaximus.com

[Joe shmoe]

yes we need 6 starters but 8 (if you dont count kennedy then 7) but thats still a lot. im sorry i dont use periods i failed english so many times its sorta sad

[onion]

two cents:

bradley's a good deal. there's a fairly low risk with a high potential payoff. they need a serious hitter, bradley could be just that. maybe he runs a muck, causes chaos and has to be dropped, but that's the worst case.

frank's a good deal. again, low risk, high potential payoff. they ain't payin' him much, so if he stinks it up, no big loss. i don't think that's likely though. the guy was one of the best hitters in the game until a couple of years ago when injuries set him back. anyone notice that while his batting average absolutely sucked last year (.211 or somethin') he slugged like nuts. i think over half of his hits were home runs. i still think there's somethin' left in him. he's definately slowed a bit, and i'm sure he'll strike out too much for a's fans, but, if he's even reasonably healthy, i gotta think he'll be a huge boost to a soft lineup. besides, there's always the chance that he could tear the ball up.

as far as kline for hawkins, coming from a fan of the team that traded the guy, i'd be happy if i my team got him. kline sucked big time last year in baltimore, but i really think he's just another victim of the o's office. some guys just come in and get treated like crap. plus, he had the moronic idea to say "i wish i were still in st. louis" like three days before the season started. fans didn't like that. anyway, the guy has great career numbers. i'd be inclined to think his bad year was just that, a bad year. he is a dumpy little dude, but it's not like there aren't sucessful dumpy pitchers out there. oh, he also had some shit luck. he lost two games on balks. one was literally a game ending balk (bases loaded, bottom of the ninth, tie game). that blows. anyway, i guess hawkins is serviceable, but kline has been solid for a long time.

[Baseball=Life]

oh, Kline also had some shit luck. he lost two games on balks. one was literally a game ending balk (bases loaded, bottom of the ninth, tie game). that blows.

Being called for a balk is not unlucky, it shows a lack of skill on Kline's part. He deserved those losses. What blows is that he was so stupid to fuck up like that (remember Frankie Rodriguez losing the game on the so-called "drop-off" against the A's last year? K-rod deserved that "L" too.)

[onion]

i saw one of those "balks" (the one to end the game) and it was bullshit. he didn't even move. it was absolute bullshit. i don't know about the other, because i didn't see it. i understand that there are rules about balking, but they are not enforced consistantly. it's a joke. there are all kinds of pitchers out there (especially left handed pitchers (mr. petite comes to mind) that balk every damn time they throw to first. it is a clear violation of the rule. point is, you don't wait until the ninth inning to call a balk on somethin' someone's been doin' the whole game, or even their whole career. balks, as they are currently called, are a joke.

[retep]

I agree that those could be earned, but there is a real point that you shoudln't end a game on a play that is rarely enforced.

[Baseball=Life]

Well I totally disagree about balks. I've seen enforcement the vast majority of the time. I've seen plenty of balks be called at the MLB level.

Ok, I'll just admit it, I have personally ended a game on a balk, like the situation you describe. But I can tell you, I was watching for balks the whole game in a consistent manner, and the call only happened when an actual balk occurred. It's actually not suprising that it would end a game. That's when a pitcher, who normally doesn't balk, might be under the most pressure and do just the slightest tick or something.... it doesn't take much.

I'll be happy to talk to you about what I believe is a balk or not at the next live game we have, probably mid-march.