Beaneball

It's currently a nine-run lead for the A's. Greg Smith pitched well, but he's done after seven innings. In comes new mopup man Dallas Braden, right? Nope! It's Andrew Brown, who hasn't allowed an earned run yet this year. Maybe Braden will pitch the ninth, but it seems silly to use him in a one-inning role. He's a starter in AAA, so his arm is perfectly well stretched out to throw two innings at a time. Especially when the results don't really matter. Did I mention that it's a nine-run lead? And that Justin Morneau isn't even in the ballgame anymore?

I guess, by the way, the Frank Thomas thing really worked out. Eleven runs in a game that Francisco Liriano started for Minnesota looks pretty good to me. Thomas has walked twice and reached on an error. As for the lineup, I'm not sure I like it so much: Sweeney started at first, gimpy legs and all; and Rajai Davis was the center fielder, with Chris Denorfia in left and Em(a)il Brown in right.

On the other hand, it's a day game following a night game and Liriano is, on paper at least, a tough lefty, so maybe sitting Daric Barton (he's in the game now anyway), Ryan Sweeney, and Jack Cust (who's struggling and isn't in need of development in any case) isn't such a bad idea. But the lineup definitely warrants keeping an eye on.

Posted by Jason Wojciechowski in Oakland A's at 17:56 | |

The Official Site of The Oakland Athletics: Official Info: A's agree to terms with DH Frank Thomas

I see how it all comes together now. Eric Chavez is transferred to the 60-day to clear a 40-man spot, and Travis Buck is put on the 15-day to clear a 25-man spot. This also explains a little better the Rajai Davis waiver claim, since with Buck out, a new fifth outfielder will be handy. Of course, the Mike Sweeney question still isn't answered. Is he basically a pinch-hitter now? That's fine by me, I guess, since the A's were just taking a flier on him in the first place, although you do hate to see the A's do the dirty on a solid citizen like Sweeney. And what happens to him when Buck comes back? I'd hope that the A's would at that point see the sense in DFAing Rajai Davis, but we'll see, I suppose.

The lineup now is presumably Em(a)il Brown in right, Sweeney in center, Cust in left, Barton at first, Ellis at second, Crosby at short, Hannahan at third (although Donnie Murphy will get more time if Hannahan continues to struggle both with his hitting and with errors), Suzuki behind the plate, and Thomas at DH. The bench, then, is Mike Sweeney, who can pinch-hit for Hannahan and Sweeney; Denorfia, who can pinch-run, play defense for Cust, and spot-start anywhere in the outfield; and Rajai Davis, who can pinch-run and play defense (if he gets any starts, I will throw things). Donnie Murphy and Rob Bowen's roles are obvious.

Chavez is now eligible to come off the DL at the end of May, so you have to wonder whether we'll see him at all this year.

Anyway, this is all pretty exciting, since Thomas will make the pro-rated minimum (i.e. he's basically free) and he'll almost certainly outhit Sweeney. Meanwhile, 1/8 of the way through the season, the A's are +18 in run differential, are tied for the second-best record in the AL, and have allowed the fewest runs in the AL despite no pitchers in the top-20 in baseball in VORP (Dana Eveland is 21st). Seattle and Texas clearly aren't that good, so the A's are putting themselves in a position to make a surprise run if the Angels falter (e.g. John Lackey doesn't come back fully effective, or they keep suffering injuries to players like Lackey and Howie Kendrick, or Garret Anderson gets 650 plate appearances). And of course this is all without mortgaging the future in any way. Thomas isn't blocking anybody, just like Mike Sweeney wasn't.

Posted by Jason Wojciechowski in Oakland A's at 13:12 | |

Rays designate 1B/DH Dan Johnson for assignment - mlb - SI.com

This is just terrible for poor Dan Johnson. Dan Johnson didn't even get into a game with the Rays before they DFA'd him to make room for the newly acquired Gabe Gross (who the Brewers felt the need to trade to make room for Tony Gwynn, Jr., who was coming off the DL). Andrew Friedman referred to this as "an awkward situation", which is an awesome way of putting it. But he basically said that they could carry Johnson, but he wasn't going to be getting playing time anyway, so why bother?

Is there really no one out there who could use a decent backup first baseman? Just looking through the Baseball Prospectus depth charts and team audits, I see a number of teams that might want Johnson's stick, such as it is, off the bench. I guess the real problem is that in this era of short benches, there's no room for a guy who's limited to one position and he's not a defensive-replacement kind of guy at that spot, either. So you'd use him to pinch hit for a middle-infielder or a catcher or you'd play him at first after you pinch-run for your real first baseman. That's really not that valuable when you realize that Johnson's not the kind of high-contact hitter you might want as a PH, nor is he likely to be very good if he gets an extended run due to injury or something: his PECOTA weighted mean is just .258 / .361 / .443.

Posted by Jason Wojciechowski in Baseball at 11:36 | |

The Official Site of The Oakland Athletics: News: A's claim outfielder Davis from Giants

So my last post mentioned that Dallas Braden wasn't likely to get many innings given that he was basically the second long-man on the team.  But now the A's have claimed Rajai Davis on waivers and DFA'd Kirk Saarloos, so it looks like Braden will actually be the full-time long reliever (whatever that means), and maybe spot starter in case of injury, at least until Justin Duchscherer comes back, allowing Lenny DiNardo to head back into the pen (and presumably sending Braden back into the rotation in Sacramento).

Claiming Davis is a little odd.  This gives the A's six outfielders.  I guess he'll basically get the time that Chris Denorfia has been getting, as the defensive replacement and pinch-runner, but that opens the question of what Denorfia is for. One pinch-runner / defensive guy for Jack Cust and the other one a pinch-runner for Mike Sweeney? That sounds fine, I suppose, given how many close games the A's are likely to play this year, between their weak offense and their strong pitching. But more importantly, Davis doesn't really have a future, not even in the way that Chris Denorfia might have, so it seems weird to use games and at-bats and appearances on him when those could be going to Denorfia or Ryan Sweeney or whomever.

Posted by Jason Wojciechowski in Oakland A's at 01:54 | |