Ken Rosenthal (which I found via Joe Stiglich) reports that Lance Berkman told him the A's have been making the hardest push to sign him. Color me: mystified.

Berkman is a platoon DH, which is a nice thing to have if you can get it because the A's already have one in Jack Cust. Problem: Berkman's split is the same direction as Cust's -- neither of them hits lefties well enough to take seriously as a starting DH for a contending team.

The A's being linked with guys like Berkman and Hideki Matsui when they've already got Jack Cust and Chris Carter on board will not stop striking me as odd and unproductive. It's one thing to not chase an offensive upgrade at third base because none is available -- it's another to chase players that are available simply for the sake of it.