Looking to 2007 ...
Tonawanda Kardex
sick of the payroll excuse. Enough - spend the friggin' money,
Lewis Wolff. Spend it now.
The A's need changes for 2007, of course.
Kendall has to go, if not now, then definitely after next season. I
don't care about the defense, intangibles, etc. The guy cannot hit,
and if he was so good at handling the starting pitchers, they
wouldn't have imploded at home in the ALCS. He makes too much money
to be such a zero at the plate. If he must stay, he should be a
part-time player, and he should hit ninth in the order, period.
Kotsay is a waste of money, too. He's slow, has no power, and again,
hitting second, he's a GDP machine who can't hit lefties. I know
he's signed for another year, but trade him to the Red Sox if you can
for Coco Crisp. The A's need a real hitter in CF, not some clown with
a .720 OPS who doesn't steal bases. If he has to stay, he, too needs
to bat lower in the order, preferably eighth. But I'd bench him,
period.
Bradley is worth keeping, of course, but let's hope he can play a
full season in 2007. He seemed to be fine in the second half, and his
occasional outbursts were no big deal this year. However, if you can
find takers for him in a trade, get rid of him. He's more likely to
blow up in Year 2, anyway.
Thomas has to be re-signed, although if I were Frank, I am not sure
I'd stay in Oakland. They should have re-signed him already, and if
they lose him, the A's have no one to blame but themselves. He was
the team's MVP this year (if you don't count the entire Mariners
roster, of course). He should be re-signed at a nominal rate ($5M/year
for two years, with incentives in Year 1 to trigger a Year 2 bonus,
etc.).
Payton is a good guy, but his bat is weak. 10 HRs in a full season? How
many RBI? Seriously. I don't care if he hit .296 or whatever; he had
no pop in his bat at all this year. He needs to go. The A's need two
new thumpers in the OF to replace Payton and Kotsay. Probably signing a
real leadoff hitter would help. Trading for Coco Crisp would make that
happen. I know I'm dreaming.
Swisher improved this year, and I hope he can continue to improve into
Year 3 of his MLB career. For a second year guy to hit 35 HRs and draw
97 walks, I'm pretty happy with that. He has the potential to be a
serious thumper for this team for years to come.
Chavez was a loss at the plate most of this year, so let's hope he
returns to pre-injury form in 2007: 30 HRs, 100 RBI and a .275 average.
With his defense, I can live with that, although I really wish he'd
spend some time learning how to lay off sliders from lefties so he
doesn't start so many at-bats with an 0-and-2 count.
Ellis rebounded with a strong second half, and his defense is good. He
is a solid second baseman, and I have no issues with keeping him
around. He really can work on becoming a very good leadoff or
second-spot hitter.
Crosby is facing a put-up or shut-up year in 2007. Entering Year 4 of
his career, he needs to step up. Working on his off-season conditioning
program might be a start. He has so much potential, it just sucks to
see him hurt all the time.
Scutaro should be re-signed. He's proven himself to be a reliable,
go-to guy. His defense at two different positions (three, even, if you
consider he can fill in at third, too) is solid, and he's a good
presence in the clubhouse.
Melhuse can back up or split time with Kendall; that would work. His
bat is livelier, and while his defense is not as good, someone needs to
be prepped to replace Kendall for 2008. Maybe Jeremy Brown is the
better answer as a part-time catcher in 2007.
I'd like to see Dan Johnson get a full-season commitment at first, so
if that's the case, then Swisher can play the outfield more, and all
the A's need is a true leadoff hitter. Kielty is a platoon guy at
best, and the A's need a front-line outfielder who can hit leadoff.
Biggest need for 2007, I'd say, finding a true leadoff hitter for the
outfield.
Pitching is an interesting area for 2007:
Zito is gone, and good riddance. Harden needs to stay healthy, Haren
needs to work on consistency, and Blanton needs to bounce back. If
those three can pitch like they did in 2005 and stay healthy, that's
a great trio to work with.
I don't like Loaiza, and I wish the A's could trade him to someone
stupid enough to take him. Even if he has to stay as the fourth
starter, the A's need another good starter to make this rotation
work. Is Windsor the answer? Komine? Who? The A's may need to buy
someone, and let's hope it's someone better than Loaiza.
The bullpen is fine for the most part; I'd prefer another good lefty
(assuming Kennedy is good), and in general, some more guys who can
throw gas. A lot of other teams seem to have them, so why not the
A's?
The manager? I'd toss Macha in a second for someone like Piniella or
Girardi. But I know it won't happen now.
Lineup:
LF Free agent leadoff hitter
2B Ellis
CF Bradley
DH Thomas
3B Chavez
RF Swisher
1B Johnson
SS Crosby
C Kendall
Bench:
Scutaro
Kotsay
Kielty
Brown
Utility IF
Melhuse??
Rotation:
Harden
Haren
Blanton
Loaiza
Free agent starter
Bullpen:
Gaudin
Another lefty
Kennedy
Calero
Duchscherer
Street
Erik Kusta
"Tonawanda Kardex" <tonawan...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1160788592.4...@h48g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
WHY DO YOU WASTE YOUR TIME HERE WHEN OBVIOUSLY MANY TEAMS WOULD WANT YOU AS
A GENERAL MANAGER--IF LITTLE LEAGUE HAS SUCH A POSITION.
alan gilbert
Erik Kusta
"alan gilbert" <al...@webtv.net> wrote in message
news:20056-45...@storefull-3233.bay.webtv.net...
> that lineup will still suck!
>
HOW MANY TEAMS ARE HOME?
gtvin...@webtv.net
rebuild there
staff. Very few teams go to the WS without at least some pitching.
Tonawanda Kardex
The A's were 7th in MLB in ERA this year (4.21); the Tigers were first
(3.84).
On the contrary, the A's were 21st in OPS (.752); the Tigers were 11th
(.777). This resulted in the Tigers scoring 822 runs (8th), while the
A's only scored 771 (16th).
It's more likely the A's middling offense is responsible for these
losses, especially when facing the Tigers pitching. The A's ERA for
this series is closer to their regular season ERA than their offensive
output is to their regular season efforts.
Credit the Tigers pitching (particularly Rogers' effort yesterday), but
the A's have had their chances to score (at least in the first two
games) -- and they've failed.
Erik Kusta
USE BOTH HANDS AND ANY OTHER APPENDAGES YOU HAVE AND TELL ME HOW MANY TEAMS
ARE AT HOME WATCHING THE GAMES ON TV?