Official 2011-12 Oakland Athletics Offseason Thread

I thought the A's were rebuilding? I guess they had to spend their revenue sharing dollars somewhere.

So let me get this right Billy.... . you trade Gio, Bailey, and Cahill and basically give up any chance to win and then turn around and spend $36 million for a guy who has potential? WOW.

Originally posted by Ninerjohn:
So let me get this right Billy.... . you trade Gio, Bailey, and Cahill and basically give up any chance to win and then turn around and spend $36 million for a guy who has potential? WOW.

I wouldn't even try to figure this crap out at this stage, man. Who knows WTH Billy and Wolfe are trying to do. Regardless of who we trade, call up, and sign as a Free Agent, nothing moves for Oakland A's fans until a new stadium is built.

Originally posted by Jigga:

Originally posted by Ninerjohn:
So let me get this right Billy.... . you trade Gio, Bailey, and Cahill and basically give up any chance to win and then turn around and spend $36 million for a guy who has potential? WOW.

I wouldn't even try to figure this crap out at this stage, man. Who knows WTH Billy and Wolfe are trying to do. Regardless of who we trade, call up, and sign as a Free Agent, nothing moves for Oakland A's fans until a new stadium is built.

And the Billy Beane era with the A's continues until 2019.

I feel bad for A's fans sometimes. the way their team is run is so pointless. theyre always perpetually rebuilding. any time they actually get a great player, he gets traded for more prospects. when those prospects become great players, off they go again for more prospects. You cant even buy an A's player jersey, because theyll be on another team within 2-3 years.

A's fans complain that the Giants get all the fanfare in the bay area, but a big part of that has to do with the way the A's run their team. when you look at everything as a statistical puzzle, and never as a entertainment product, you arent going to build your fanbase. part of what the Giants have always done well, is keeping and marketing the fan favorite players. they understand their business comes from the fans, and if the fans arent happy, the business suffers. the A's dont get that.

Originally posted by Ninerjohn:
So let me get this right Billy.... . you trade Gio, Bailey, and Cahill and basically give up any chance to win and then turn around and spend $36 million for a guy who has potential? WOW.

He must have really liked him. Beane would only spend that kinda money on a hitter if he REALLY likes him


According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Cespedes will receive $6.5 million in his first year, $8.5 million in his second year and $10.5 million in each of the last two years of the deal.

Ya, we'll probably trade him in or after year 2, for more prospects

Originally posted by Ninerjohn:
So let me get this right Billy.... . you trade Gio, Bailey, and Cahill and basically give up any chance to win and then turn around and spend $36 million for a guy who has potential? WOW.

honestly, he won those trades. most analysts generally agree. plus he wasn't going to win anything in that division this year, or next for that matter. plus they are banking on moving to SJ. And on top of all of that, the A's might be pretty damn good toward the end of that contract with Cespedes.

i know you love to hate oakland John, but they're moves are all within reason if you consider them objectively.

Originally posted by IdentityCrisis:

honestly, he won those trades. most analysts generally agree. plus he wasn't going to win anything in that division this year, or next for that matter. plus they are banking on moving to SJ. And on top of all of that, the A's might be pretty damn good toward the end of that contract with Cespedes.

i know you love to hate oakland John, but they're moves are all within reason if you consider them objectively.

I agree. The only questionable one was the Andrew Bailey trade but I'm satisfied with what we got for Gio and Cahill.

We have a couple young good players, Weeks had a great rookie yea. Yoenes, Taylor, D Norris and even Carter all have potential to be big hitters. Also have Michael choice

We still have Brett Anderson, Peacock plus sonny gray, Parker in the minors. They could honestly have four #1 caliber pitchers in about 2 or 3 years.

The future looks bright in Oakland if you ask me, we are STACKED with prospects

It's not like we broke the bank for him either. Scouts consider him one of the most talented players to come out of Cuba ever. I think it's a good move. Whether the earlier trades are remains to be seen.

We finally got a power hitter who the A's can afford. I love this move. Absolutely love it. Hopefully we can get into a new stadium then we can field a starting pitching stuff that will be sick and have a trio of offense in the form of Weeks, Cespedes, and Carter possibly.

Someone else stated in this thread... I think we won both trades for Cahill and Gio and hopefully Reddick turns into something from the Bailey deal. Only time will tell.

Originally posted by socalfan21:

We finally got a power hitter who the A's can afford. I love this move. Absolutely love it. Hopefully we can get into a new stadium then we can field a starting pitching stuff that will be sick and have a trio of offense in the form of Weeks, Cespedes, and Carter possibly.

Someone else stated in this thread... I think we won both trades for Cahill and Gio and hopefully Reddick turns into something from the Bailey deal. Only time will tell.

Hell yes. The next 2 years will suck but it'll be interesting after that seeing all our prospects come up to the majors.

What's awesome is most of our prospects are around the same age the future looks bright doot

I'm sorry A's fans.....so sorry.

Originally posted by niners4lyfe:
I'm sorry A's fans.....so sorry.

Alright brah

Originally posted by AllTimeGreat:
It's not like we broke the bank for him either. Scouts consider him one of the most talented players to come out of Cuba ever. I think it's a good move. Whether the earlier trades are remains to be seen.

its a pointless move though. you clearly arent going to compete for the division in the next 2 years, and by year 3 even if youre much improved, Beane will have likely already dealt him for more prospects.

Beane always has some ulterior motive for stuff like this. obviously its not simply about improving the team, because he kind of told everyone what he thinks of competing this year by trading Gonzalez, Cahill, and Bailey. He pulled the same thing when they got Matt Holliday. he has no intentions of keeping him as an A's star hitter. he just wants to trade him when his stock is up.

They likely see him as a valuable trade chip. He came at a relatively cheap price compared to his upside. now they will just wait until he shows hes legit, and send him off to the highest bidder for a prospect package. Same reason why they were looking at signing Manny Ramirez. he comes cheap, he serves his suspension, he plays well after coming back, and they trade him off before the deadline to a team who bought into the hype.

Beane is a great strategist, but its like thats what he enjoys, and never stops doing it. Its great if you then stick with what you got out of the trade, but hes always moving on to the next batch of prospects. the A's are never going to be a consistent winner if the team continues to be a turn style.

Still going after Manny even though we got Yoenes


Oakland seems to have emerged as a more plausible landing spot for Ramirez. Phil Rogerswrote last weekend that Ramirez is likely to sign with the A's since general manager Billy Beane almost certainly would try to deal him before the July 31 deadline if he showed he still can drive in runs

WE WILL BE AWESOME IN 2015

But there is common thread to all of it, and you can sum it up with four numbers: 2. 0. 1. 5.

As in the year 2015. Everything the Athletics are doing is being funneled into 2015, or thereabouts.The earliest they could probably open a new San Jose ballpark, if the commissioner's office forces or negotiates with the San Francisco Giants to give up the territorial rights to that city, would be in 2015.

The final year of Cespedes' deal -- when the Athletics probably have the best chance of getting return on their investment -- will be 2015.
"To me, what you're paying for is two years of development for him, as he makes his adjustments," said one general manager, "and two years of good production, if he is what they think he is."The Athletics, who debut in our Future Power Rankings in the bottom third of the 30 teams partly because of their uncertain ballpark situation, have created a wave of prospects that could hit in a big way in 2015.

Jarrod Parker, who Oakland got in the Cahill deal, will probably be in his third or fourth full season by then. Sonny Gray, a right-hander taken in the first round last summer, may follow a similar path. Brad Peacock, who might be the most important piece from the Gonzalez trade, is highly regarded by rival executives. "I think he's got a chance to be a special pitcher," said an NL evaluator on the day the deal was finished.

...but will suck terribly for the next 2 years