1. Pitching: Ummm, when will there be any? So far, they have lost 9-3 tot he Cubs and won today 8-7. I would say it’s spring training and everyone scores a lot runs but I saw that the Twins shut out the Red Sox today. Of course you don’t want to put too much stock into anything but the Cubs did hit 5 HR’s yesterday and a lot of that was against starting pitching. So hopefully those guys settle down a bit. Sheets didn’t have too stellar an outing today giving up two runs in 1 2/3 innings and neither did Mazzaro, giving up 2 earned in 2 innings.

2. Eric Chavez: If he is actually healthy and not expected to do too much, I think he can be a huge piece of the A’s puzzle this year. He doesn’t come in with big expectations for once and since all infield positions are pretty well set, Chavez could be the best utility infielder we’ve ever had. I know he had a triple today, which is a great sign. Again, temper expectations but I am keeping an eye on Chavy!

First, the Duke. I know he hasn’t been able to do much throwing yet because of discomfort in his back and that he just had surgery to relieve this pain. My thought it, YIKES! Isn’t it a little early to be hurt already? I wonder if the A’s had signed Ben Sheets first if they still would have signed Ducsherer. My assumption is not. I think they needed a veteran pitcher and Duke made sense at the time. But, with a nagging injury already and a really deep rotation, I wonder if Billy Beane regrets (even a little bit) this signing. I guess time will tell.

Second up, Eric Chavez. I think this is truly the first year that I have no expectations for Chavez. Each year prior, I’ve had my fingers crossed only to be disappointed. I’m glad the A’s brought in Kouzmanoff and I heard Chavez has been trying out first base a little bit. I would LOVE to see Chavez at first, replacing Barton who I think is a total bust. It would add legit pop to the lineup without taking away any good bats. Still need to temper expectations but this is a possibility I could get excited about.

When I first saw this announcement, I asked myself the obvious question, “I didn’t realize Eveland was still with the A’s.” Last year was terrible for Dana, who was supposed to be in the starting rotation. But a terrible spring training opened up the door to the rookies and when Eveland did play, he did not play well.

Now that Eveland, Greg Smith, Aaron Cunningham, and Carlos Gonzales are no longer with the A’s as part of that mega-Haren trade, the A’s still have Brett Anderson (arguably, the A’s top young pitcher), and Chris Carter (first baseman of the future). So, I think the A’s still came out on top.

Unfortunately, Eveland did not

I don’t necessarily think it’s a bad move, nor do I think it’s a great move. The only thing I know about Rosales is that he can play all over the infield and in 87 games with the Reds, he hit .213 with four home runs and 19 RBI. Not the kind of numbers that blow you away.

He sounds to me like a poor man’s Marco Scutaro. So it’s a little tough to get too excited about him. I guess he’s used to playing shortstop so he can fill in for Pennington, which gives the A’s depth at all infield positions. That’s good.

The A’s also signed Gabe Gross to play back-up outfielder. Another move for depth and another move I can’t get too excited about. Gross hit .227 with six homers and 36 RBI in 282 at bats for Tampa Bay. Again, numbers that don’t have me reserving playoff tickets. Do I want to see Gross get PT over Travis Buck or even Michael Taylor? Not really – of course, I can’t remember ever watching Gross play, so the jury is out.

Bottom line, my thoughts on Gross and Rosales are that I don’t really have thoughts other than I reserve the right to have thoughts once I actually see these guys play. Am I excited about the moves? No. Do I think the A’s made bad moves? No.

Jury is out… for now

Number 24: Michael Taylor, Outfield
“Taylor stands out in a crowd — at 6-6, 250 pounds, he’s one of the biggest position players on this list. It’s a strong 250 (as opposed to a fat 250), and now that he has gotten away from Stanford’s hitting coaches, his athleticism is matched by his offensive performance. One consistent criticism from scouts who’ve seen Taylor is that although his size points to future power, his swing plane is somewhat flat; he’s likely to hit for a high average but not to reach the 30-homer power someone as big as he is would be expected to show. It’s a legitimate point, but at the same time, a good corner outfielder who hits .300-plus with lots of walks and doubles and 15-20 homers is an above-average player and not far below star caliber. Taylor was traded straight up for Brett Wallace in one of the aftershocks of the Roy Halladay trade, and I have Wallace slightly ahead of Taylor here, but Taylor’s advantage over Wallace — and they’re going to be compared to each other for years, even if each player reaches his potential in the majors — is that he can affect the game on both sides of the ball as a good athlete who should be worth five or more runs a year in the field.”

My prediction is that both Carter and Taylor are regulars in the majors by the end of the season, supplanting both Coco Crisp in Taylor’s case and Daric Barton in Carter’s case. I think Green is still a couple of years away from making any impact in the major league level.

The A’s today signed Sheets for somewhere in the neighborhood of $10M per year. The 31-year old and 4-time all star is no sure thing. He spent all of last year on the disabled list as a result of elbow surgery.

But, after watching him throw one session, apparently Billy Beane felt that he showed enough, hitting 92 mph regularly on the gun.

The A’s obviously wanted to spent some money, and since a big bat was no longer an option in the free agent pool, the A’s went for a big arm.

I like the Sheets move for a couple of reasons:
1. The A’s now have have a legit potential ace on their staff;
2. Their starting rotation is now VERY deep. After Sheets and Ducscherer as the top two starters, there are probably about five guys who be an every fifth day starter;
3. The A’s are a team that is typically decimated by injuries so having a lot of depth at pitcher is a good thing;
4. If the A’s are out of the race by the trade deadline, they can pull a “Holliday” and trade Sheets for some more young talent.

I am still a little concerned about the lack of power in the batting order but we’ll see if the A’s make any other moves like adding Johnny Damon or someone else who can hit in the middle of the order.

Billy Beane did take a bit of a risk on Sheets, but I think it will pay off on either the front end or help the A’s stack up their talent pool once again, especially since one of their top young outfield prospects has retired to become a priest… a story that I totally missed the boat on. Oh well.

What I learned is that the seven pitchers vying for a starting role on the 2010 Oakland Athletics make a COMBINED $4,410,000 – almost half of what Joe Blanton alone is making in 2010.

Those pitchers and their salaries are:
- Justin Ducscherer: $2,000,000
- Dallas Braden: $410,000
- Gio Gonzalez: $400,000
- Brett Anderson: $400,000
- Trevor Cahill: $400,000
- Vin Mazaaro: $400,000
- Josh Outman: $400,000 (the pitcher the A’s obtained for Joe Blanton)

Many of these will be eligible for raises in the next year or two but if you just think about the fact that the A’s starting five, plus two potential starters make that much less than Blanton tells me a couple of things:
1. Blanton is overpaid
2. The A’s have accumulated some very inexpensive pitchers and some bona fide future stars
3. Perhaps the A’s learned their lessons a bit with the Matt Holliday, Nomar Garciaparra, Jason Giambi, Orlando Cabrera experiments last year

While it is always difficult to watch the A’s big competitors snatching up the better free agents every year, I do think that given the fact the A’s are a small market team, there is definitely a method to Beane’s madness, and I feel more and more confident in the continued blueprint for success.

The trade works really well for the A’s, who have been searching for a very good fielding third baseman with some pop and getting rid of Hairston was perfect because with the addition of Coco Crisp, the A’s were pretty loaded in the outfield.

Kouzmanoff last year hit .255 to go along with 18 home runs and 88 RBIs. He would have been second on last year’s team in home runs (after Cust) and tied for first in RBIs. Even more importantly, Kouzmanoff only committed three errors in 311 chances.

Nice trade by the A’s!!