Billy Beane is at it Again

Winter means another baseball offseason, and the general manager of the Oakland Athletics has wasted no time in making some big moves. Three days after breaking up Oakland's "Big Three" pitching staff, sending Tim Hudson to Atlanta, Beane dealt ace Mark Mulder to St. Louis. This leaves only Barry Zito in Oakland and for how long is anyone's guess. The A's got reliever Juan Cruz, outfielder Charles Thomas, and pitcher Dan Meyer from the Braves for Hudson. Not a bad deal, and with Oakland's small payroll it is likely they would not have competed for Hudson when he became a free agent after next season. Meyer is close to being major league ready, and will likely have spot in the rotation not too far into next season. Thomas is your typical Billy Beane player....not a big name player yet...played in slightly more than 80 games last year as a rookie...he hit .288 and had an OPS (on-base plus slugging) of .813. He's quick, a great defensive player and will make a name for himself in Oakland. He still needs to become more disciplined at the plate...45 strikeouts to 21 walks, but doesn't appear to be a free-swinging Miguel Tejada type player - a good thing. Beane will be able to keep Thomas for a some time at a low cost and it would not be suprising to see Thomas start daily early in the season. Cruz gives the A's a solid middle reliever, he held a 2.75 ERA in 72.0 IP and will improve a bullpen that held an ERA right at 4.00 last season. But one could argue that all of these players are unproven especially when compared to Hudson, lifetime 92-39 3.30 ERA. Beane, however, has been manipulating the market for years, always signing unknown talented players who eventually blossom in the yellow and green. Mulder was traded to the Cardinals, also for no big name. The A's got pitchers Danny Haren and Kiko Calero and catcher Daric Barton for Mulder. WHO??? This is a guy who was the favorite to win the AL Cy Young going into August. But again, Mulder is not a guy the A's were going to be able to pay anymore. He's a career 81-42 with an ERA just under 4.00. With the 2 of the Big Three (possibly all 3) on the way out Anaheim will be next season's favorite in the AL West. The A's won 65% of the games Zito, Mulder, and Hudson pitched last season and make no mistake, their pitching will drop a few levels. But don't look for Oakland to drop off the charts in the next few years while they rebuild. Beane has done this before and to the shock and dismay of GM's around the league, it works. Granted, the A's stumble in the playoffs every year, but a few years back the team with the lowest payroll in the league was a spectacular Derek Jeter play away from beating the top in league's payroll....the Yankees....and Posada still hasn't tagged Giambi. Losing two of the top pitchers in the league...no question...but look for the other guys in these trades to show up in the next few years.