Athletic's Aquire Holliday from Rockies

[Ripcity4life]

There are no detail's right now but this has been reported on SI.com ........

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/b ... index.html

[Fola314]

Athleticsnation says its Greg Smith, Carlos Gonzalez and Huston Street for Holliday.

next year is gonna be interesting, can't wait

[HMFFL]

Matt is set to make $13.5 million. What's this mean when he becomes a free agent or is he just going to be a rental(I hope NOT!)? Anyways, I'm pretty excited about him joining the team, and it should give us a better shot at .500 baseball next season.

On the other hand it's going to be very bad for the team if Carlos was moved for nothing. Meaning, we need to lock Matt up, but I don't like our chances.

[HMFFL]

Extended Holliday in Oakland



General manager Billy Beane is back in the game just a few months after he appeared to tap out, meaning he sees something here few others do, meaning standard operating procedure in Oakland.

And here’s the thing. It might not be Holliday alone. The A’s will make a run at free agent shortstop Rafael Furcal. And they’ve got a notion about at least one more hitter, depending on how the rest of the winter turns. That hitter could be Jason Giambi, in a return to his roots.

They’re going to spend some money, a good portion of $13.5 million just on Holliday, even if he plays the final couple months of the season in New York or L.A. or Tampa. Furcal won’t come cheaply either; he’s coming off a $13-million-a-year gig in L.A. and is not seeking a pay cut.

So, Beane must see the AL West as competitive again. Or, he believes he can make it competitive again. Or, there is a grander purpose here, a scheme that provides for if-everything-goes-right contending with the longer view of full organizational health.

I’m going for Plan C. It’s the Beane/David Forst way.

Their young pitchers – and we haven’t seen them all yet – toiled last season on a razor’s edge, mostly because of atrocious run support. That’s a tough way to learn the craft, pitching away from mistakes and flukes and wind-blown doubles that become 2-1 and 3-2 losses. Their young hitters – most of them – haven’t done much to justify the organization’s commitment to them, and it’s likely Beane is hoping to relieve them of some offensive burden.

So, they put Holliday in left field and in the middle of the batting order. The 2009 season doesn’t hang around the necks of Daric Barton or Ryan Sweeney, or hinge on the shoulder of Eric Chavez, or wait on Travis Buck. So, they put up a few more runs, particularly if, say, in a very long shot, they get Furcal for the top of the order too. And, then, of course, they must assume Holliday is beginning to square up some of those Coors Field/Not Coors Field numbers, which were a little closer (but still significant) in 2008.

Here’s Matt Holliday, boys. Professional hitter. Do what he does. Play like he does. Try to get on base for him. Throw some strikes. Trust there are runs out there.

That’s the plan. It’s the way it looks, anyway.

Of course, if it doesn’t work, Holliday will be traded by the end of July and chances are Beane will get his Gonzalez/Smith/Street back, something a lot like it. He’ll be out $10 million or so, but that’s OK. It appears Beane believes Holliday will serve to hasten the development of a young franchise hoping to mature. If the A’s push the Angels in the meantime, well, they’ll take that maturity and, when Holliday goes, a couple draft picks. It’s an interesting way to go about it. Standard, I guess, for Beane.


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