Athletics Nation

no word yet on if Pennington or Petit will be called up

It will be Cliff...or it better be Cliff

pick, its his turn to shine or burn

ryanmoser - July 31, 2009 reply

its cliff.

winchester5 - July 31, 2009 reply

Norm!

I mean,

Cliff!

Gaijin_Suketto - July 31, 2009 reply

On Wikipedia yesterday

at the bottom of the Orlando Cabrera page they had a list of the Minnesota Twins Current Roster, maybe someone out there knew before the story broke.

Hit4TheCycle - July 31, 2009 reply

Someone may have been bored and really, really hopeful as well.

Wikipedia pages about sports

attract a lot more vandalism than other WIkipedia pages. Not saying this was vandalism per se, but clearly someone posted before the information was properly verified. Even if you do have an inside source, it doesn’t belong on Wikipedia before it’s announced publicly.

still

a damn good guess.

naq92 - July 31, 2009 reply

Joe Mauer did it.

I agree that Cabrera played hard and well for the A’s, while Holliday appeared uninterested. Holliday is childish and cares mostly about making his cash. He showed a bad side of himself, but we picked up Brett Wallace, who has a chance to become a big star and the face of the franchise for us. A local guy who was an A’s fan and wants to be here.
Go A’s!

Don't really buy this

Just because someone is uncharismatic and doesn’t smile very much, does not make him childish and cash obsessed.

Sure, he didn’t play as well as A’s fans hoped, but to suggest he didn’t care is ungrounded speculation

bobnothing - July 31, 2009 reply

Holliday didnt hustle

I remember during the A’s short stretch where the Pitchers shut everyone down earlier in the year and the A’s were on a winning streak. Holliday made a diving catch, and the comment from the announcer(I believe it was Fosse) said that Holliday wouldn’t have caught that one a week before. I thought that I was the only one to notice his lack of hustle, but I wasn’t.
Why would he come up with an organization to which he should be loyal and turn down 4 years -$72 mil. That’s a lot of money. He’s one of the guys who’s concerned only with money. Players who go only for the cash, generally aren’t as good as guys who want to win.
With the A’s he frequently went out of the strike zone and made outs. I felt that he was trying to get RBI’s to pad his stats.
As far as his complaints about the stadium. He should take a hike. The A’s have had many great players and have had a lot of success, H shouldn’t think he’s too good for Oakland. I don’t ever want him back

Okay

The only thing I don't get is that

he had all the incentive in the world to prove that he is worth the money he wants, but he didn’t. Did Boras tell him not to strain himself or break something, fearing no big payday?

He's a slow starter

His batting average is now up to .299, and his OPS is fast rising as well, now at .862

Had the A’s kept him, his end of year statistics would probably sit at something like .310/.400/.500 which, when adjusted for ballpark, is right around where they should have been.

"Holliday is childish and cares mostly about making his cash."

most of the human race is childish and cares mostly about making their cash...

Gaijin_Suketto - July 31, 2009 reply

Not me!

OK, you got me. Me, too.

Cash is just one tool used for exchanges.

Since most exchanges involve trying to get things you want while surrendering the minimum of what you’re willing to, then is being ‘childish’ a bad thing?

LowcountryJoe - July 31, 2009 reply

I despise money.

Leopold Bloom - July 31, 2009 reply

You lie.

Does using money cause you anguish and misery?

Or do you strictly trade in charity and acknowledgements?

LowcountryJoe - July 31, 2009 reply

Can I have all of yours?

My wife doesn’t despise money at all.

grover - July 31, 2009 reply

Sadly, that's the point.

All of his is with the ex.

Cash rules everything around me.

C.R.E.A.M.!

Get’cha money.

Just for the record

I think there are players that play for the money only, and I think there are players that really want to win … they know they’ll make millions regardless … but they want to win, too.
It isn’t fair to say that “everyone” only cares about the money. This isn’t true.

Holliday played half-ass a lot. That doesn’t make him a bad guy — doesn’t make him a bad player …. but he played half-ass sometimes.
Is it “pure speculation”? Yup. Kinda like hearing a bank got robbed up the street and then seeing a guy running down an alley with a bullet wound in his leg and 4 bags of money in his arms. Is he the culprit? Don’t know for sure … just speculatin’.

Vacafan - July 31, 2009 reply

That's hella cute.

And I don’t use “hella” lightly.

pam5981 - July 31, 2009 reply

Sorry to break it to you.....

but Wallace was a Giants fan. He liked the A’s too, but was a Giants fan nonetheless.

0akFoSho - July 31, 2009 reply

Why do you say this?

Because every single quote I saw up until the draft says the contrary

DeJay - July 31, 2009 reply

Wallace was an Oakland fan.

It was Tommy Everidge that was the Giants fan.

Yup

From Brett Wallace’s Sun Devils profile:

“favorite team is the Oakland A’s and favorite player is Eric Chavez”

DeJay - July 31, 2009 reply

My kinda guy

Ironic that he'll be replacing Chavez very soon.

VV A's fan - July 31, 2009 reply

I think it's fitting.

I couldn't agree more.

Maybe Chavez can help him with his technique at 3rd before he is stuck in a wheel chair for the rest of his life (after next season)

VV A's fan - July 31, 2009 reply

can teach him the "hey you forgot to touch home plate" sign.

ak_A - July 31, 2009 reply

+1 on it not being ironic, but fitting.

PL78 - July 31, 2009 reply

yeah no

wrong

flipgatey3 - July 31, 2009 reply

Living off the process

I remember in several interviews Lew Wolf stating the Fremont deal couldnt go thru because the town was “living off the process”. I have been a huge fan of Billy Beane over the years, but honestly it seems this is what the job has become for him as well. Prospects, for prospects, for prospects. Living off the process. There doesnt seem to be a real end goal in mind. With O-Cab gone maybe Pennington will Shine..and get us a great package of prospects in a few years. Or maybe this single A guy from the twins will light it up..and get us a great group of prospects in a few years. At the moment Suzuki is one of our best players. I bet Billy is drooling at the possible package of “prospects” he will be able to get for him when he is up for free agency. At what point is the era of prospects going to end? What good are prospects when they will just become another group of prospects once they are proven major league talent? Im sorry to be bitter. I just want to win some games sigh

Karisman - July 31, 2009 reply

Being cranky is okay

I feel the same way. I understand the logic of the Cabrera trade in that the A’s get back something when they would’ve gotten back nothing. On the other hand, Cabrera’s drive, energy and bat would be helpful both to the young pitchers as well as to those of us who actually want to be entertained this year, in 2009.

"O-CAB TAKES NO WALKS

O-CAB SEE BALL. O-CAB CRUSH BALL"

A hell of a lot more entertaining, I agree.

Once 'ol beane hits the sack

That’s when ERAS PROSPECTUS ends.

Ya I can't remember the last offseason

That he picked up a middle of the order LF, a starting SS and a couple veteran pieces in an attempt to compete.

niallmack - July 31, 2009 reply

Almost certain the intention was to flip them for prospects.

Assuming they didn’t break.

so...

he paid a group of prospects for holliday and approx half of his annual salary so he can have a chance to trade him for prospects?

and everything would go down the drain (in addition to holliday’s remaining salary) if he got hurt?

Billy does what billy does.

hmm..

logic fail

If the A's were within 5 games of the Angels, Matt Holliday would still be in

green and gold

theblackpearl - July 31, 2009 reply

i agree

exactly why i said logic fail to EQC’s statement

Almost certain the intention was to flip them for prospects.

I think it was a win-win situation.

Either he helps us win the division, or he helps get us prospects.

I work very hard to be a logical failure.

I call it my masterpiece.

And what Billy does is called....

Director of Minor League Player Development.

catfan - July 31, 2009 reply

-1

kenntoe - July 31, 2009 reply

Have the this team's fan ever REALLY rewarded the proceess

<At what point is the era of prospects going to end? What good are prospects when they will just become another group of prospects once they are proven major league talent? Im sorry to be bitter. I just want to win some games sigh

When the team was reaching the playoffs? Case in point.

LowcountryJoe - July 31, 2009 reply

A bottom tier prospect

A lot of people are frustrated. Losing does that. I’m sure the players are frustrated, too. One thing that happens when teams start to lose year after year is that an attitude starts to set in place – we’re losers, that just what we do – that is hard to change. A few more years of no offensive talent and the “we’re losers” mindset just might take hold of this team. I hope not.

Three years down the road Ladendorf may be good, but more than likely he won’t be. He’s the number 30 or so prospect in the Twins system. He seems to have a good attitude and athleticism, but not a whole lot in the skills and instinct department.

This move is one small step above releasing Cabrera outright, although it might save on some salary. If this is as good as the A’s could get, they should have let Cabrera play out the season. You have to have at least a few real players out there otherwise people are being asked to pay 30 bucks for a ticket, 18 bucks to park, and 8 bucks for beer to see minor leaguers. I can see minor leaguers in San Jose for much cheaper. The barbeque is pretty good down there too.

It’s clear Beane had no interest in signing Cabrera at the end of the year or Carbrera had no interest in staying with the A’s.

rovingralph - July 31, 2009 reply

Not according to Slusser

This was a chance to pick up a prospect for the cost of whatever money Beane threw in the deal, and Cabrera re-signs in the off-season.

I don’t like the deal. But….the losing mindset business? I don’t buy that at all. Look at Tampa Bay. Look at the Twins when they re-invigorated themselves. Look at this year’s Giants. Teams with prospects who mature together often make huge jumps.

OCab had a clause that paid him an extra $250,000 if he was traded

That is the money sent to the Twins in this deal

Weird stuff

So you’re saying Beane tells Cabrera: We love you, we’ll loan you out to the Twins for a couple of months, I’ll save some money, and we really want you back? That’s pretty twisted stuff. But with Beane, who knows?

rovingralph - July 31, 2009 reply

We did the same with Rickey in '93.

He went to the Jays, picked up a ring, and was back by Spring. Not sure of the circumstances other than Rickey seemed to like Oakland.

I do not give a rat's behind about winning any more games this season

Seriously. It’s completely over. However many wins this team gets from now ‘til the end of the season is purely for posterity. I am not an advocate for tanking it— say, for prospects— but as long as they trot the young guys out every day and they play hard, they could end the season with exactly as many wins as they have now and I’d be fine.

In this regard, things were different for me back in 2006 when they were contending and every game truly did matter. This is not 2006.

So I like the deal. Grab a 2nd round SS prospect— a position of need within the organization— and all you give up is a declining veteran who won’t make a lick of difference on this season anyway.

Is it 2010 yet?

plus

we give kids a chance to prove themselves in a none sept. situation. I think that alone will be exciting and a reason to watch.

Comments like this make me wish there was no post-season at all.

Just play out the regular season and then that’s all until next year.

iglew - August 1, 2009 reply

FWIW, in the interview with Beane that was posted this week

he basically said his favorite part of being a GM was rebuilding. A team like Oakland, given its resources, revenue, etc., has to “build it up and tear it apart every 5-10 years” out of necessity.

Jackson23 - July 31, 2009 reply

As much as I expected this since we acquired him

I’m gonna miss the guy.
Good luck in Twinkie town, O-Cab.

Now let’s start picking at Ladendorf. Mostly on his name.

Not the right place for this...

But the big news of the day is the Red Sox getting Victor Martinez for the stretch drive.

The guy’s a catcher/DH. His OPS is barely better than Varitek, and if he plays DH, Ortiz sits. And the Red Sox gave up some good prospects.

Am I missing something here?

Oh you know that the BoSox

just stock up on hitters for the stretch. Besides he can play a little 1B, so its a good move for them.

So he'll be a sub...

Rotate Varitek, Lowell, Youkilis and Ortiz, and get Martinez in nearly every day? That’s quite a luxury.

Jeez, I hate the Red Sox and the Yankees. I really hope Tampa Bay goes on a 15-game win streak and one of those teams loses 15 in a row.

la roach

Yes, you're missing something.

You’re missing the other general-purpose trade threads over there in the side bar.

Got my answer anyway.

Apparently I am. I'm in Boston & haven't heard this yet.

[heads to John Sickels’ site]

RyanFromBonas - July 31, 2009 reply

Why Not Give BoCro One More Shot?

The SS postion for the A’s is still a mess. From what I have read on this site it doesn’t seem that we a SS that is ready. Right now I’d place more value on being able to provide the best lineup for our young pitchers. I am not a big BroCro fan, but why not give him the month of August to prove what he can do? If he fails miserably, then he is gone and can be replaced by one of the September call ups. If he succeeds then we have decent competion for the position going into 2010.

Too, I do like the “put pressure on the other team” philosophy employed by the A’s since about July 1. The aggressive base running and seamingly more aggressive approach at the plate (except for Cust) at least makes the games worthwhile to watch. OCab was a key player in this philosophy. I do hope who ever replaces him will contribute to this approach.

EastbayBen - July 31, 2009 reply

Why Not Give BoCro One More Shot?

I’d rather give the shot to Pennington, really.

We are 100% sure that Crosby stinks,

but we’re only 95% sure that Pennington stinks,

so let’s give him some rope to hang himself with,
and if he happens to by chance lasso himself a job instead,
well then bonus for us!

Gaijin_Suketto - July 31, 2009 reply

I'm 99% sure

Crosby sucks and 100% sure that Pennington won’t pad out.

I Don't See Alot of Downside with a Crosby experiment

The A’s sit the dude if he is truly aweful to start. But maybe…just maybe…he will use this chance to up his game to the likes of his rookie of the year season. If not, we move on to the prospect of the week.

EastbayBen - July 31, 2009 reply

So Crosby proves himself and then signs with someone else?

I’d rather let Pennington get consistent starts.

Yeah, but I'm totally 50/50 on Gregorio Petit

So WTF?

One more shot of what?

jeepers - July 31, 2009 reply

Whatever made Tejada a power hitter

Why Not Give BoCro One More Shot?

I think they’ve given him enough shots.

so....who's gonna bat second now?

Not a lot of good options here.

coffee roaster - July 31, 2009 reply

Davis is on fire.

Maybe move Davis to leadoff

and bat Kennedy second?

coffee roaster - July 31, 2009 reply

Sweeney is hitting around .330 in his last 35 games or so.

Last 28 days: .279/.310/.353

travdog6 - July 31, 2009 reply

No

Davis should be kept low in the order. He’s a 8/9 hitter at best, with speed.

I kinda like him as a second leadoff hitter, i.e. 9th.

Cust

Noooooo -1000

Keystone State - July 31, 2009 reply

He bunts the singles

Can someone give me the argument against Cust in the 2 hole?

travdog6 - July 31, 2009 reply

I agree, but it hasn't happened yet so, don't hold your breath

I wish Cabrera well.

I had no problems with his play this season. Let’s give Pennington a shot and see what happens. I have a feeling Crosby may be playing some at SS as well.

KCa's - July 31, 2009 reply

I liked Cabrera

Out of the guys who gave us less than expected, he gave us the most.

I wish I could make that sound less awful.

But really, I liked how he held himself accountable; may not mean that much to some fans, but it was refreshing to me.

You, sir, are refreshing.

You are just plain fresh.

And all that it implies.

Awesome.

Don't give him any ideas 67M

Come on, now. :|

Like he needs the extra encouragement, right?

Perhaps.

A leader

is one thing this franchise so desperately lacks.

I was watching him celebrate in the dugout last week and thought, man if he and Holliday were on this team in 06 we could have gone all the way.

Susan Slusser was just on ESPNEWS

saying that she wouldn’t be surprised to see Beane pursue O-Cab again in this offseason because he was so well-liked and fit into the clubhouse really well. I wouldn’t mind seeing that at all.

Tyler Bleszinski - July 31, 2009 reply

I'd like that

I wouldn't either

But isn’t that a little schizophrenic? I mean, this guy Ladendorf might be good, but wouldn’t it have just been better to keep Cabrera and apparently, the money?

cuppingmaster - July 31, 2009 reply

I don't see it that way at all

Hell, Beane got a guy to take a chance on AND he has the opportunity to re-sign a temporary solution who he knows fits well into the clubhouse and can still perform well on the field instead of just losing him for nothing in case he decides to walk away.

Tyler Bleszinski - July 31, 2009 reply

And we saved money...

The difference between Cabrera’s remaining salary for this year ($1.5 mil?), less the $250,000 we sent to the Twins due to Cabrera’s trade-bonus clause. So the A’s saved roughly $1.25 million that hopefully can be plowed into contract extensions, FA’s, etc….

andyinfremont - July 31, 2009 reply

And OCab could come back to us with a second WS ring.

It’s like he’d have his cake and eat it too.

If he could sign OC

for the 2-3 Million range awesome. We gave him up out of contention for a high upside athletic SS, and have the chance of getting him back and losing zilch as far as prospects. Pennington probably wont be any kind of answer, Crosby is laughable at the plate, and thats about it for our SS’s. We could very well re-sign him.

son of wes - July 31, 2009 reply

means we paid 250K for the Dorf

I must admit that I was an O-Cab hater...

and did not want the A’s to sign him. But now? I don’t necessarily love him (in a Tejada way) but I really respect him and think that it would be great if we picked him up again.

the_rozeboom - July 31, 2009 reply

23 minutes til the trade deadline?

The non-waiver deadline is over in about 21 minutes.

is it worth it?

Personally I would have rather had O-cab til the end of the season over this a-ball scrub. Baseball skills aside, he would have been a good mentor to Gio etal that makes it worthwhile.

Playball - July 31, 2009 reply

Agree

EastbayBen - July 31, 2009 reply

Well he can still just as easily mentor him as a minnesota twin.

While he collects 4 hits off Gio in an A’s/Twins series, he can tell him “HEY GIO, WHAT YOU THREW TO ME, DON’T EVER THROW THAT AGAIN” from the basepaths.

Bobby Crosby’s issue is that for the past three years his OBP is below .300. He just doesn’t get it done often enough on offense. I actually kind of like him as a utility man, but he’s making $5 mil per year. Too much for a bench player

Value

It’s kinda funny to me that a proven major leaguer is apparently worth less on his own than an unproven Single-A guy at the same position.

KMoAsFan - July 31, 2009 reply

Well, I think time has something to do with it

The Twins get 2-3 months of OrCa at a prorated portion of his $4 million dollar salary. If somehow OrCa was signed to a 3-year contract for the ML minimum, I’m guessing he would be worth more.

el generico - July 31, 2009 reply

you would think another team could have done better than Dorf

the Twins must have been the only ones pursuing him

OmahaHi - July 31, 2009 reply

If Cabrerra stays the season the a's get nothing.

so trading him for something is better than nothing.

I could care less about the players involved in this deal.

I just hope that between trading Holliday and Cabrera and not paying ALL of their combined salaries for the rest of the season, Beane and Company have saved enough cash to be able to quickly sign Grant Green, Max Stassi and Sam Dyson and get them playing professional games for this organization before the end of the minor league season.

Green + Stassi + Dyson + Ladendorf + Wallace + Mortensen + Peterson > 2 months of Cabrera + Holliday

Taj Adib - July 31, 2009 reply

Insofar as I know

The money was always there. With revenue sharing, the A’s make a profit.

“We have always managed our budget, and we could quite possibly lose money this year – very likely we will.”

Beane intimated during a recent interview with Slusser that the team..

will likely lose money this season. If that is/will be the case, then it makes sense that Wolf might be loathe to pay overslot bonuses on recent draftees. Thus, Beane might have had added incentive to free up some cash in the baseball operations department.

That’s just my own speculation, though.

Taj Adib - July 31, 2009 reply

they are losing money because they aren't winning

hopefully they see where they have failed this season and won’t EVER repeat this again.

Everyone is losing money this year.

It’s the business cycle.

Nope. Not everyone is losing money.

Shitty teams in shitty markets are losing money.

brenarlo - July 31, 2009 reply

There is no f'in way any team in MLB is losing money ...

this is complete and total bulls***, and any owner or GM saying this is lying his ass off. Losing money … um, ok.

Vacafan - July 31, 2009 reply

Can I see the account books for the team you run?

the rangers had to take a loan from MLB

to pay their employees salaries..

tosk - July 31, 2009 reply

Didn't the Padres nearly go bankrupt in June?

Depends how he's defining it.

If he’s including depreciation and interest, I believe him.

Owners get most of their money from gain in value of the team, not from business operations.

iglew - August 1, 2009 reply

that's not how it works

Big money payrolls are more likely to lose money.

Maybe it will be used to sign Geren to an extension.

KMoAsFan - July 31, 2009 reply

shoot me now

Good Points

We really have to save some cash for the Geren extension. How we will ever afford to keep him?

He should pay tha A's to be a ballboy

We should bring back 21 year old ballgirls.

I’m in favor of that.

me too

Raymond St. Martin (Saint) - July 31, 2009 reply

Geren apparently is the lowest paid manager in MLB

Do you not think he deserves a raise?

No me neither…..

You get what you pay for I suppose

DeJay - July 31, 2009 reply

+ a million

hero66 - July 31, 2009 reply

X3

well

lets hope you are at least half right! ;)

Remember though

MLB hierarchy has been reluctant to approve over-slot bonuses this early. The A’s may have had all the cash they needed to sign Green+Stassi+Dyson prior to these deals but they wanted to wait for the red tape to clear on its own.

grover - July 31, 2009 reply

Really?

I don’t get this trade at all. Why not just let him go into free agency and get a compensatory draft pick? Sounds like this kid is not all that promising based on the scouting reports and stats.

mattortega - July 31, 2009 reply

A's couldn't offer him arb as part of his contract

FrankCohen - July 31, 2009 reply

Cabrera's contract had a clause that prevented the A's from offering arbitration

Bad deal on Beane’s part there

Could've prevented Cabrera from signing the contract, though

or required the A's to pay more than just 4M

I think Beane had a pretty good idea he was going to flip OCab.

Or, if they were still in the running, it would have been worth the tradeoff.

Its another money deal

thats not about what we get in return.

Glad he's gone.

It figures that we deal him right after he finds the bat he left at home for most of the season, but whatever. We got something for him, and we’re not missing anything without him.

jeepers - July 31, 2009 reply

No ARB

Not offering arb allows the A’s to get a player for a cheaper price. The A’s did the same thing with Jay Payton a few years ago.

They chose not to offer to Payton

cabrera made sure they didn’t have the option

Payton

One of the year’s the A’s had Payton they agreed not to offer arb as part of his contract as they did with Cabrera.

I really wish Blez had not said this:

The good news is that the A’s got something for a guy who was leaving and they wouldn’t get anything for.

Look, I understand the logic of the trade, and I have no problem with it. I also understand the bit about not getting any draft picks because of the arbitration clause in the contract.

But when you characterize giving up O-Cab as giving up nothing at all, an idea repeated by a half-dozen commenters in this thread, you make it sound like he’s worthless.

What we gave up in this trade is two more months of O-Cab. That may not be a lot, and it may be worth it for the prospect we got, but it’s not nothing. To carelessly word your trade observations in a way that implies it is nothing is a sure way to piss off all the people who are frustrated with the rebuilding process.

and

dont we give up a 1st rounder since we signed OCab?

Dub_TC - July 31, 2009 reply

no, his deal with the A's will be the same with the Twins

since it’s the same deal. Twins can’t offer him arby.

good

Dub_TC - July 31, 2009 reply

I do wonder what the Twins will do for SS next year

Do they have anyone in the high minors to slot in?

Nick - July 31, 2009 reply

Trevor Plouffe

currently in AAA

Sounds like a restaurant in Belden Way

lol

I'm not really sure what to make of Ladendorf

Every scouting report I read on the guy is different. MLB.com listed him at 5’11", MiLB.com had him at 6’0" and Scout.com has him at 6’2", and his weight is listed anywhere from 185 to 210.

They say he’s a freak athlete but he may grow too large and be forced to move off SS. I guess it’s not totally contradictory, but when you think of freak athletes, you don’t think of them becoming too fat to hold their own at their position.

Also, Sickels said he has a “mediocre arm”, while Scout.com called it “tremendous.”

I guess he’s just a toolsy guy that’s somewhat of a wild card, and people are just in disagreement about how good his tools are.

NateHST - July 31, 2009 reply

either that or he's so unmemorable

that nobody really remembers him.

wait, who are we talking about again? :)

Kallus - July 31, 2009 reply

When they talk about a guy outgrowing a position...

… it doesn’t necessarily refer to his waistline. Obviously, dudes fill out as they get older. Sometimes it results in losing some agility in the field.

Pujols, for instance, came up as a shortstop before outgrowing the posish.

fuck, imagine if he still played SS.

dtownmbrown - July 31, 2009 reply

He sounds like a mirage to me.

Ack

Rotoworld just trashed Dorf, saying he was a 21 year old struggling in single A, not a good sign.

Rotoworld has also said that Randy Johnson was an A

I would take anything from there with a grain of salt.

Crosby's pissed:

From a story on the A’s site.

“It’s a joke,” said Crosby, who will be a free agent at the end of the season. "I’ve been taking ground balls [at shortstop] every day in the event that something like this happened, and I’ve been swinging the bat great. It’s an absolute joke.

“I thought the idea is to put the team on the field that gives you the best chance to win, and I think I can play the position pretty well.”

Emmett89 - July 31, 2009 reply

Oh. This is the reaction when finding out Pennington will be the SS

Emmett89 - July 31, 2009 reply

Funny

If he’d done a better job before 2009 this wouldn’t even be an issue to begin with.

I think Crosby is a joke

hero66 - July 31, 2009 reply

"Knock knock."

“Who’s there?”
“Not you!!!”

Nico - July 31, 2009 reply

I know BoCro has been doing better lately

but he’s .222/.298.339 this year.

He is hitting .334 in July, and SLG .500 in that time. Unfortunately, he’s drawn 0 BBs this month, and only 4 since June 1.

Nick - July 31, 2009 reply

Crosby will have a tough time getting a call in the off-season

I think he has a right to be pissed, but he should’ve realized that this is Pennington’s time to make it or break it. He knows he has no future with this club. The problem is that people elsewhere see these quotes and figure he’s not a team player. His agent is probably calling him right now, begging him to retract his comment.

I think a National League team will take him on next season.

I'd bet the best he'll do is a minor league contract

Independent league at best, IMO.

Mike Gallego

Stated in a radio interview, that he helped BoCro, work through his anger he had towards the organization, and to spin it into a motivational tool to become a better utility player.

hishnik - July 31, 2009 reply

he's wrong anyway

the idea is not to put the team on the field that has the best chance to win, it’s to play meaningful games as deep into many seasons as possible. Pennington might be a part of doing that, maybe for the 2010 or 2011 A’s. Crosby won’t be a part of it for the A’s.

The chance to marginally improve next year’s team is worth more than the chance to marginally improve this year’s team.

jakarta - July 31, 2009 reply

Also...

He thinks that him being in there gives the team the best chance to win. Not necessarily, but we’ll see.

A'sian - July 31, 2009 reply

We need O and D Bobby

Crosby gives good d., but continually under .300 OBP is not very good. You have to do better Bobby!

HAHA

Does he really not know how bad he is.. I mean Bobby, just look at your numbers since your rookie year, you suck.

son of wes - July 31, 2009 reply

Haha, that's rich. You had your chances Bobby.

rebus - July 31, 2009 reply

pssssst......Booby....check out your bank account

The real joke is that he’s earned millions of dollars and in return he’s been a low .200’s hitter. I can’t believe he’s mouthing off about this.

coffee roaster - July 31, 2009 reply

Seriously? A joke?

Mr. Crosby, you had parts of FIVE YEARS to prove yourself. Fine, you were injured off and on for maybe half of that time. But it’s not like you were just never given a chance; the starting job was handed to you in 2004 and you were given a LOT of rope. And still, you ran out, and now you’re blaming the organization. Very classy.

Whatever. All I know is that Pennington over Crosby means I spend more time watching games this season, even if Pennington is terrible.

oblique - July 31, 2009 reply

I dont know Oblique

Maybe Big Mac’s Tutelage alongside Holiday last off-season is finally going to pay dividends.

hishnik - July 31, 2009 reply

LOL

oblique - August 3, 2009 reply

And swinging the bat great is great

but you also need to make contact with the ball, and furthermore, if you should make contact, it is incumbent upon you to touch first base before the other team’s first baseman does so while carrying said ball.

oblique - July 31, 2009 reply

But..

He is, apparently, very popular on this team. And I’m sure his teammates will sympathize with him… I hope this doesn’t have a negative impact on Pennington..

tosk - July 31, 2009 reply

Crosby

Is purportedly very good friends with Ellis, and of late Holiday. Heck, even when Mulder was his roomate, he left an angry Voicemail to BoCro for buying a rolex.

hishnik - July 31, 2009 reply

but Cliff P.

is probably friends with Everidge, Patterson, and some of the starting rotation. Plenty of Rivercats to make him feel comfortable in the locker room.

Swinging the bat, maybe.

But eventually you’re going to have to try to hit a ball and not just flail.

Note to Bobby Crosby...

Shut the fuck up.

grover - July 31, 2009 reply

My crystal ball...

….tells me Crosby will not be back next year.

Well, he wouldn’t anyway. And he does have a point. But still, at $5M/year, you should probably suck it up.

Good

I don’t want him here.

The crystal Ball last spring

Crosby stated his stance is “McGwire-itized.”

Matt Holliday, who has been at every session with Crosby, said BoCro was going to have a break-out year.

Talk about a broken magic 8 Ball.

Don’t let the door hit you on the way out BoCro

hishnik - August 1, 2009 reply

Tyler Ladendorf

is Black. A very Caucasian-y last name.

Had me fooled. I remember thinking Daric Barton was Black for a long while. I like when this stuff happens, it’s fun!

Emmett89 - July 31, 2009 reply

Chavvy wasn't Mexican enough....

Is Ladendorf not German-American enough?

GreenNGoldSooner - July 31, 2009 reply

I'd thought Andre Ethier was black at first

I'm pretty sure he's in left field

Nico - July 31, 2009 reply

Omigod, I still thought Andre Ethier was black!

He’s not? There are white guys named Andre?

This is what happens when I only listen on radio and never watch TV.

iglew - August 1, 2009 reply

Whoa.

I thought he was like German.

muffinpryde - July 31, 2009 reply

Could've been adopted or something.

brenarlo - July 31, 2009 reply

Sort of a reverse "The Jerk?"

I was born a small black child.

dtownmbrown - July 31, 2009 reply

I remember somebody saying once...

… that Reggie Willits and Howie Kendrick needed to trade names and restore the order of the universe. I was amused.

bill simmons

flipgatey3 - July 31, 2009 reply

Yes, thank you

I was picturing a white guy too

probably because the A’s don’t have that many black players. They have only had a few black players the last 9 years but not all at the same time. Long, Singleton, Justice, Dye, Payton, Rhodes, Bradley, Thomas, Stewart, Rajai, Patterson are the only guys I can think off.

It's interesting that Dominican players are viewed differently.

There are probably many Dominican players with roots to the continent of Africa yet they’re not typically included in the conversation.

LowcountryJoe - August 1, 2009 reply

Well they are different . . . aren't they?

Tejada, Casilla, and the former Athletic Estaban German all have dark skin but I never thought of them as black. I don’t know much about the Dominican Republic, but I would never picture a person with the name Tejada to be black. How is the Dominican Republic linked to Africa? (honest question, not trying to argue because I know nothing about it)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caribbean#Demographics

They're linked through the slave trade that occured from the 16th through 19th centuries

LowcountryJoe - August 1, 2009 reply

interesting

micdog2001 - August 3, 2009 reply

I have noticed

the current ownership has done a lot of this trading quality for prospects and it has done us nothing but taken a potential playoff team in 2006 and spiraled us down into a last place team and it sucks!

beatNYY - July 31, 2009 reply

2006 was not a potential playoff team.

They WERE a playoff team. American League West Champions. And the team was getting older more expensive. Because they couldn’t resign everyone, they traded away instead of watching them walk at the end of the season and getting nothing for it.

Yes, it sucks being a last place team, however, if you take more time to follow the team and it’s minor league system, there is very much to be happy about.

LOL....

What would happen if we still had Frank Thomas, Milton Bradley, Shannon Stewart, Dan Johnson, Jason Kendall, etc? Haha.

hero66 - July 31, 2009 reply

We would have a lot of old and aging players with decreasing value and

less than stellar baseball ability.

Imaseasonticketholder - July 31, 2009 reply

All I would like to say is

Goodbuy O-Cab we will miss you the rest of the year. You did not suck all year, (which is more than I can say for most of our team). Good luck in Minn and watch out for that Punto guy, (I have heard some scary things).

adragon - July 31, 2009 reply

I predict the following pattern:

The Twins will play Cabrera for three games, and then on the fourth one they’ll Punto.

Nico - July 31, 2009 reply

I think Punto moves to 2B because of there own version of suck named Casilla playing 2B

and that sounds like the Raiders strategy from last season, (heck the last five seasons).

adragon - July 31, 2009 reply

This Thread is ONe big Running

QOTM

I gotta say, I liked Cabrera's energy

I’m going to miss his antics after hits…

A good dude for sure…

Good luck in Minnesota.

robber23 - July 31, 2009 reply

I know I won't miss

Cabrera not running out double play balls.

TerrySteinbach - July 31, 2009 reply

I miss Terry Steinbach.

Sue me.

I still miss Kotsay's Wife

Eastbayjim - July 31, 2009 reply

Don't we all.