Should they A or should they go?

[Rajah]

What A's star players (not talkin about Hatteberg, Singleton, etc) should Beane resign? Which should he allow to walk in order to restock the system? I see Beane going against the mold and letting guys walk for extra draft picks, especially given their penchant for drafting collegians, and their success at developing their kids.

I say Zito must stay, assuming that there is no injury concerns that the public isn't aware of. I also think that Chavez is in need of a long term extension. Dye (I think) is already locked up for a while. Ellis is young and will be around for a while.

The only other player that I think they need to keep is Ruby Durazo. I see numbers coming that will place him amongst the elite in baseball.

I think Tejada should go. With the development of Mark Ellis, I think he becomes more expendable by the day.

[Wolf Hopper]

Originally posted by Rajah
The only other player that I think they need to keep is Ruby Durazo. I see numbers coming that will place him amongst the elite in baseball.

What do his stats look like v. LHP?

[KCBOOMER]

The Beaner has some tough decisions to make. What he has coming up really effects this. He may be able to let one of the Big 3 go if this kid Harden is for real. Personally my first cut would be to see who has Scott Boras for an agent and dump them.

[gyb13]

Originally posted by Wolf Hopper
What do his stats look like v. LHP?

since his small sample size 1145 OPS in 18 AB in 1999, he had a 594 OPS in 2000-02 in 108 AB. So far in 2003, he has a 708 OPS in 6 AB

[gyb13]

Pos Player    2004    2005                 2006
             salary  salary (inc) buyout  salary (inc) buyout
C   Hernandez $2.4    $2.4
3B  Chavez    $5.2  
OF  Long      $2.9    $2.9
RF  Dye      $11.0   $14.0         $1.5
SP  Zito      $2.8    $4.8   $0.7          $7.0   $1.3  $0.0
SP  Hudson    $4.6    $6.0
SP  Mulder    $4.4    $6.0   $1.0          $7.3   $8.5  $0.3
RP  Mecir     $3.3

1B  Hatteberg  FA
SS  Tejada     FA
RP  Foulke     FA

Durazo, Ellis, and German gives them a cheap infield, and they can look to trade Hudson or Mulder for a thumping outfielder...

[JamesI]

Chavez is the first choice, followed by Zito and Mulder and Hudson.

[KCBOOMER]

Looks like they are paying way too much for what Dye is bringing to the table.

[Rajah]

Don't forget Dye was still recovering last year. He's probably overpaid no matter what, but it won't be quite so bad if he can return to the form he once displayed now that he's had time to fully recover

[sweaver]

I think Chavez is the key among players, and among the pitchers, whoever will sign for three years at a time instead of asking for five or more.

[Kev]

I'm an A's fan, and I like Zito best among the pitchers. He has that rare combination of blinding talent and poise. Sure, the other two have it to some degree, but Hudson has shown flashes of extreme hittability and the tendency to overthrow over the past year or so, and Mulder can be maddeningly inconsistent. If we had the money, we'd love to keep all three.

Among hitters, I'd like to see Chavez figure out lefties before we commit many years and millions of dollars to him. His overall numbers always look really solid, but believe me, there are still some holes in his offensive game. That's the challenge for smaller-market franchises. You have to be so damn sold on a guy before you'll plunk down the really big bucks. It's not enough for him to simply be "that last piece in the puzzle" or "a genuine upgrade over the last guy we had."

Well, OK, that's not entirely true. The Jermaine Dye contract seemed excessive at the time and still seems that way today. Even if he matches his career year this year, that's a lot of money for Oakland to pay for a power hitter at a power hitter's position.

[flashyfish]

Chavez may have a few holes in his swing especially versus lefthanders but gold glove winning home run hitting thirdbaseman are a real rarity and he'll only be 26 at the end of the 2004 season so I think a deal with him is very worthwhile.

I think they'll buy out Dye's contract before 2005 or move him before then if 2003 or 2004 turn out to be off years. That extra money will be helpful in bringing in a younger slugger for 2005 or fill a difficult position to find talent such as catcher.

The Big Three are there through 2005 and I don't see any of them moving before then since they seem to work very well together. If Rich Harden makes it by the end of 2003 he, along with Lilly and the others, could put up some incredible numbers. Alas, injuries are fickle however so we'll see. I think Zito is the most productive of the three right now but my untrained eye really thinks Mulder has the best mechanics and seems the strongest so I would hope they could hold onto to him. They might not be able to afford him in 2006 however. I also hope Hudson isn't starting to wear down (he sure looked good last night).

Long's contract is a pain for a franchise like this since I think they could get the same production from Adam Piatt.

Of course like many teams but probably more than others this side of Montreal the A's future in Oakland still seems tenuous. They're not going to get a ballpark unless Al Davis wins his lawsuit and moves the Raiders again in which case they could remodel the Coliseum on the cheap.

Here's one fan, however, who hopes they stay.