pickoff22

This biggest problem in being able to clearly evaluate AA is that we never will truly know what financial resources have been available to him and when. We also will never know exactly which FAs he targeted but wasn't able to sign because of geography or turf concerns. We're left with a lot of questions when it comes to his failures - what efforts were put forward this offseason when it comes to the bullpen as an example. We know he talked to Zack Duke, but really we didn't know that until Duke spoke up prior to the White Sox series. His pursuit of players aren't made public for the most part so we just don't have all the information we need to do a proper analysis of his efforts. When it comes to the draft and his trade record, as a whole I'm happy with AA. He has made some unbelievable trades that I don't think many GMs would be able to pull off. And of course he's had a dud or two. That happens. The glaring holes that this team has had the past few seasons is what angers everyone (including myself), but outside of the occasional hissy-fit I try to remember that I just don't know exactly what he has tried to do and what he has had in terms of dollars available to him.

I read "below-average" as the same as "below replacement", which I assume is not what you're trying to say here

s***, you're right. Mind drew a blank on that one, the extra year makes a massive difference.

I am also curious how he projects to be below-average? For 5-7 million a year for a guy who has held up well, I would roll the dice. A #4 or 5 pitcher who can eat up innings and stay healthy is worth that in my books. A guy like Estrada has been great this year and would have been perfect any of the past few years as we cycled through pitcher after pitcher.

No. Not saying that wouldn't be the price, but I wouldn't be willing to part with that. The qualifying offer system has made rentals all the more expensive. Look at what Oakland gave up for Shark, Cincy is gonna want something comparable

Who knows. It screams spot start for Saturday's game and I just don't see AA doing a rental. Fun to imagine though.

McCarthy is joking around. He's constantly sarcastic.

Well two days would be Saturday, the day he would pitch here. And they may not call him up yet as they dont want to send anyone down till last minute

I know, just creating some afternoon excitement. I Was surprised he had been held back after it was said he was fine.....

Do we believe Cueto was really pushed back to Friday because of a trade in the works and Jays wanted him for Saturday?

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/dave-stewarts-misguided-comments-on-market-value/

If it makes you feel better I see your point. Even if you look at when they really turned it on that year (August onward) it's not like their pitching started to dominate.

Especially when you look at what they go back. I would be very curious to know what packages they could have gotten elsewhere. I bet 95% of GMs would have assumed they would have been laughed at had they asked about his availability.

Sure there's a chance, but the odds certainly aren't in his favour. And the A's get one less year of him no matter what. Plus JD is likely going to be >6 WAR while Brett is likely going to be <4 WAR even when healthy.

Very well put.

No matter what, as a Jays fan you would make this trade 100% of the time under the same circumstances. Everything has to go right for the A's for them to "win" this trade.....and even then with the type of production and years we can expect to get from JD, I doubt any fan will feel bad about the trade in the future. Not sure if anyone would say Beane got fleeced for this move, but it sure was puzzling. No top prospects involved, really just a bunch of potential along with an MLB ready player who never lived up to his own potential. You have to wonder what he could have gotten had JD had been openly shopped to other teams. You have to think the prospect haul could have been much greater.

He has been outstanding. I refuse to live in a world where I always assume someone who is doing better than expected will simply crash back down to earth - here's hoping this is the new norm for him. Guy works his ass off.

Sarcasm is a thing.

Thought the same thing.

No kidding, should have kept him in cleanup after yesterday's amazing performance!

It was sad to see how few people were there last night. For a 1st place team! Attendance was said to be 10k, but I think that's a stretch

That's possible. To me, Hutch is a great piece in a potential Hamels trade. Philly would be happy with a low cost, MLB ready starter for the same # of years as Hamels has left on his contract. And he likely transitions well to the NL.

Has appeared to be wildly inconsistent, but hasn't been terrible. Highest WAR and lowest FIP of our rotation.

Thanks, sounds like quite the process to come up with these numbers.

I'm looking at: http://www.baseballprospectus.com/sortable/index.php?cid=1667331 I haven't studied/read enough about pitch framing. Anyone want to give me a synopsis of how this data is gathered and the most important things to look for? Also, am I correct to assume that pitch framing isn't accounted for when calculating WAR?