Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr. Sparkle
I actually think they did pretty well, all things considered. Holliday's home/road splits are pretty dramatic, plus is agent is Boras, so he was a goner either way. They got a solid enough bullpen arm to replace Fuentes, a young pitcher in Greg Smith that they can control for the next 5-6 years, and an outfielder in Gonzalez that has the chance to be a damn fine player and is only 23. I'm surprised the A's actually made the deal for him. It's so un-A's like.
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I have to disagree that its un-A's like. This is the exact type of deal Beane was making when the A's were contenders earlier this decade. The A's payroll is expected to increase to $80 million next season and they're going to make a run at signing Furcal. This puts them in excellent shape and if things go wrong Beane can shop Holliday at the deadline or let him walk and take the 2 draft picks.
Greg Smith is a soft tosser that is probably going to get killed Colorado. Scouts have been down on Gonzalez for a couple years because of his work ethic. He simply hasn't improved the past couple years and was overmatched last year when he was called up. Street is the guy with serious value and he's an upgrade over Fuentes, but he's still a closer.
Holliday's splits last season:
Home: .332/.413/.584
Away: .308/.405/.486
There is a split, but just about every team in the league would line up to make the deal the A's made for a 29 year old OFer with that line away from Colorado.
The Rockies should have done better.