SB Nation User Blog: RyanFromBonas

The future of Matt Holliday: Five options for No. 5

RyanFromBonas — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 04:55:43 -0000

To sign, trade or let him walk: the five complicated options the Athletics have for No. 5.

Now that this appears final, what does the future hold for Matt Holliday? Better yet, where does his future lay beyond 2009?

I'm of the school of thought, with time in mind and having given up our finest positional prospect and sold low on Street, that for us to get our maximum value, we need to extend Holliday well into our Fremont years. Even with salary flexibility, that won't be easy.

First off, I'm reluctant to believe Boras will accept a pre-FA extension. For Holliday to get his max return, I think Boras will demand that he tests the market, even if we offered 6/125 tomorrow.

While I enjoy hearing that foremost on Holliday's demands is playing for a perennial contender, which I think we'll be by 2010. However, that doesn't mean Boras will allow his client to settle for a dollar short of his maximum on his biggest pay day, or that Holliday will allow that, for that matter.

Ignoring the idea that we could have kept Carlos and ponied up for Holliday a year from now, which I don't think is necessarily true, that leaves us with five options:
1) Extend Holliday before 2009, which may already be in the works.
2) Sign Furcal and/or Blake short term, show No. 5 we want to contend starting now, and perhaps sign him long term.
3) Trade him before 2009, which, if we know Billy Beane, may soon be in the works.
4) Trade him before the July deadline, which may sadly be the most likely.
5) Keep him through 2009, try to contend and let him walk, probably netting two first round picks.

I'm obviously in favor of option one, even if it requires us throw him 20 mil a year. If we expect to contend for a World Series, we haven't the offensive firepower to do so without breaking the bank for a Grade A bat. Without that bat on the way, the unfortunate reality is that the only way we can even sign a star is to trade for him first, let him be happy in the Bay Area knowing we'll be an annual contender and make him want to spend the prime of his career here. In the best case scenario, this is what happens.

Option two is really rolling the dice, both in the short and long term. Yes, A's fans might wish we would binge on more FA's and contend in 2009, but, for one, there's no saying it would work. Two, there's no saying this would keep Holliday in town beyond this year. Sure, while we could do this and also get draft picks at year's end, Holliday should be our top priority, not Rafael Furcal, Casey Blake, Giambi, Dunn or anyone else.

I look at options three and four as running in place and possibly improving to an extent. Sure, we could theoretically net a better return on Holliday than Carlos, Street & Smith. The odds of doing so, in my opinion, are better the sooner we flip Holliday to a team looking to contend that has ML-ready prospects to offer, as they'll get more bang for their buck the longer they have him. Still, save an Escobar-Kelly Johnson-type package, we're taking a similar gamble on whoever we get in return as we would have been taking on Carlos and Smith in the first place. From Beane's perspective, he'd obviously feel better with his new prospects, as he's apparently down on Carlos and the odds he reaches his ceiling.

Option five, taking draft picks, is even more of a gamble and would set our contention back even farther than if we kept Carlos and Smith. While they might not be the next Beltran and Glavine, they'd likely both have roles on the 2010-12 A's. With draft picks, we might be doing this all over again with Carlos & Smith v.2.0 3-5 years from now, if we're lucky. In other words, there's no saying with any confidence at all that the picks would turn out as well as Carlos and Smith have. If they did, it probably wouldn't be until at least 2012. That's too late.

Unless there's an angle I'm missing, I think option one - locking up Holliday ASAP - is our best option. If we're looking to contend 2010-12, it might be our only option.

A's sign speed demon Gary Brown

RyanFromBonas — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 04:43:24 -0000

Today we signed 12th round draft pick Gary Brown out of Diamond Bar (CA) HS, the first prep player we selected.

This is huge. I assumed Brown, who took BP today in Anaheim, was on his was to Fullerton. Seen as possibly the fastest player in the draft, Brown is a Figgins type in that his future might be as a utility man. One site projected him as a 2B, and I think he played some SS in high school. This could be especially true with guys like Corey Brown, Sulentic, Mitchell, Herrera and obviously Buck ahead of him in the OF.

Hopefully we don't take a path similar to that of the Angels, who are still bouncing Figgins around the diamond. At 6-0, 165, I'd like to see what Brown could if we left him alone at 2B, as we have no real potential impact 2B in the system. There he would project as a plus bat and arm with a little pop and potentially a ton of range, and he has the next half decade to iron out footwork and instincts.

Could the money we saved trading Kendall have been key in signing Brown? I'm excited not to have another Justin Smoak on our hands, especially since we spent a 12th round pick on Brown. Your thoughts:

DrunkAthletes.com - Swish, Street and Blanton ... and ladies

RyanFromBonas — Sat, 12 Aug 2006 02:38:55 -0000

Don't know if this is old news (apologies if so), but I don't think it is, as my friends check this site pretty often. The site is DrunkAthletes.com, which includes funny pictures of everyone from Nash to Leinhart to Dirk to some pretty funny shots of Jimmy Johnson's most recent cookout. It was only a matter of time until our boys made such a site, and if you haven't taken a look, I think they'll make you proud.

Nobody's stumbling over drunk, so don't overreact. Compared to other, more high-profile athletes on this site, they're choir boys. Just having a good time over a few barley sodas, allowing 7's-9.25's to throw themselves all over them.

One question: What on earth is up with Tongue Girl? Is she on X? Either she has a twin or she actually acted like this on more than one occasion. Holy Grouipe, Batman. See for yourself:

http://drunkathletes.synergyofsports.com/2006/08/10/its-the-oakland-as.aspx

Top 10 Favorite Things About Our Sweep of NYY

RyanFromBonas — Sun, 11 Jun 2006 21:26:44 -0000

10. Huston being Huston. Four days, four saves, including today's 10-pitch 1-2-3 9th. Now a much-needed day off. Nice work, kid; good to have you back.

Huston being Huston. Four days, four saves, including today's 10-pitch 1-2-3 9th. Now a much-needed day off. Nice work, kid; good to have you back.
Frank Thomas. No, not just the homers on consecutive days, the fact that he made Saarloos aware of the team's record while wearing grey on days following wins in green. Kirk said, 'Fine, we'll wear grey,' and we won, thanks in part to a Thomas blast that gave us a lead we never gave back. More grey jerseys, more Thomas homers, more wins.
Speaking of Big Hurt, how about Randy Johnson's implosion. From the boo's of Yankee "faithful," do Unit's body English. According to Michael K(g)ay, Unit has "lost all drive to remain a professional athlete." This, in essense, is what I live for: The A's bringing out everything everybody loves to hate about the New York Yankees.
Johnny Damon. He blasted his club in the media and got blasted by Melky Cabrera's leather in return, which led to Swisher's hillarious inside-the-parker. Hillarious. ntonio Perez. I watched him for nine innings in Cleveland Wednesday, and it was downright painful. I listened to his blast take off deep into the Gotham twilight, and it was the single high point of my weekend. Mr. 1-33 kills the Yanks and compounds Unit's implosion. Perfect.
Thomas and Crosby are OK. This news should make what I thought was obvious in January official to Ken Macha: Frank Thomas needs a pinch runner. Period.
Dan Johnson's 2006 coming out party, capped with his opto-bomb off Farnsworth. It's been a long time coming, Dan. Don't look now, but he's hitting .285 since his 1-37 start.
Antonio Perez. I watched him for nine innings in Cleveland Wednesday, and it was downright painful. I listened to his blast take off deep into the Gotham twilight, and it was the single high point of my weekend. Mr. 1-33 kills the Yanks and compounds Unit's implosion. Perfect.
Mike Rouse. The last member of the Tacoma Tigers remaining in the A's organization. Kidding, but you gotta feel good for this kid. He had a career in a night, his ML debut at that. Followed it up with a game-winning hit Saturday, and suddenly Beane has a decision to make.
To cap a road trip to New York, Oakland is now accused VWI - Victorious While Injured. Constantly reminded how banged up the Yanks are listening to Yankees feeds, we win without Crosby at all, Thomas on Sunday and Chavez on Friday, not that I feel the least bit good about Eric's health. Bandaged, bruised and without our entire infield on Friday, we play like the midsummer warriors of years past. Rich who?
To cap a sweep while in New York - A SWEEP IN NEW YORK - Derek Jeter makes the last out. I could not have written it any better. Thirty-two and 31 has never felt so good.

-MAC