In scanning the non-A's postings on MLBTR this morning, I came across the Carlos Beltran contract situation, and it struck me as a great "buy low" opportunity. If you look at this year's free agent class, it would be tough to find anyone as talented as Beltran aside from Carl Crawford, who you know is going to cost a ton. Similarly, with the Chavez money coming off the books next year, the 18.5M owed to Beltran for one season doesn't seem so crazy. Wouldn't it be nice to have him in the lineup next season, a year removed from surgery, to anchor the lineup?

You know a guy with Beltran's talent will have to bounce back soon ... it's like buying Citi stock when it's at $1. Any chance the A's would claim him off waivers?

Matier & Ross of the Chronicle break down the political barriers (both within MLB and the United States Congress) standing in the way of the team's move to San Jose here.

The piece is pretty interesting. Despite Matier & Ross' take, however, I'm not sure that Feinstein will care all that much -- especially after Oakland had 15 years to put something together and Dellums is just starting to make noise at the 11th hour.

The antitrust exemption for MLB is still a live-wire policy debate, but it's hard to imagine that a repeal would be evoked here. Neukom's gripe would essentially be that he has territorial rights that he wants to enforce, and that the A's move to San Jose would hinder the Giants' ability to cash in on those territorial rights. That sounds like he's trying to keep competition at arm's length; not exactly the argument you topple an antitrust exemption with. If anything, the squashing of the 1992 Giants sale to the Tampa group would have been closer to an ideal case with which to challenge the antitrust exemption head-on.

That being said, Neukom does come from a big-guns legal background, so a lawsuit under any theory coming from him and his team of attorneys could be pretty scary. 

All of that aside, I would bet Selig could line up support amongst the owners. No owner wants to set precedent for being pinned down to a stadium they don't want, and there is already precedent for moving into another team's territory with the Washington Nationals camping out in the Baltimore Orioles' backyard...still, it's a potentially hairy situation.

What I find interesting is that Matier & Ross didn't touch on political forces that stand in the way of the move stemming from San Jose; even if you have the mayor and some city council members on board, there's no guarantee that San Jose voters would approve a deal. In this economy, I wouldn't be surprised if even the most exciting projects that carry potential debt loads came under serious attack locally.

[Editorial Note: this just came across the newswire. San Jose A's does a nice, concise job of summarizing what I'm sure we're all thinking]

1 year deal for 4M, courtesy of Tim Brown.

This move shores up the make-up of the team (at least until the trading deadline), and the price is right (even though some lower numbers were thrown out there for a while, 4M is still pretty solid).

While some may be sentimental about Bobby Crosby and his early potential, there's not much one can say about his recent performance...it's hard to imagine him breaking into games now, and it's hard to think of any other team that wants him.

According to mlb.com, the Angels are out of the hunt for Manny Ramirez.

Says GM Tony Reagins:

"Manny Ramirez will not play for the Angels in 2009, or beyond, for that matter."

Kind of snippy, eh? Link here.

It looks like the Halos weren't in such a giving mood this holiday season. What angle do people see the Angels playing now? What does this do for our pursuit of guys like Giambi, Dunn, et al. this off-season?

Whatever the answer to that question, I'm just happy that our staff doesn't have to face Tex or Manny for all of those division games. Whew.

Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal's latest column features some comments from an anonymous agent who seems to think so.

The A's rarely are major players in free agency, but the agent said that the poor working conditions and occasionally unruly crowd behavior at McAfee Coliseum are turnoffs for his clients.

"Many players are uncertain about the atmosphere," the agent said. "They're not as comfortable going to work there or having their families attend games there on a regular basis."

Column here.

The agent thinks that moving out of the Coliseum will help the team on this front. There's got to be other variables involved...I've never been to the clubhouses, but they can't be that bad. Similarly, A's fans have fun and get their drink on, but I've seen much more rude and obnoxious behavior in Chicago, Detroit, Boston, and New York...they seem to be able to draw free agents just fine.

In the end, I say if you don't want us, then we don't want you. Wimps.