and who we should be hoping for???

pitchfork and torch sales jump through the roof in Denver…

Seriously there’s no way we get Cahill or Anderson is there?

Boras has to be killing himself right now. Going from extreme hitters park to extreme pitchers park isn’t going to do wonders for walk year stats.

in the long run, this is going to be a much better trade for the Rocks than the Cardinals trade. It gives them a better surplus of players at positions (CF & SP) where they lacked quality depth. Greg Smith could be used, or frees up other prospects to be packaged, with Atkins for a sold ML-ready return. Plus, Street will either get more draft picks or be packaged in another trade later this off-season. It seems unlikely O’Dowd would be good with letting Fuentes go and then trade for another closer.

Hey there, I’m an A’s fan and thought I’d just weigh in with thoughts on the 3 players (apparently) heading over to the Rockies:

1) Street is, in my opinion, highly undervalued by A’s fans in general. He has had pretty amazing peripheral numbers for the past couple of seasons, but has been thought of as a disappointment after his amazing rookie season. He is slightly homer-prone but is still striking out a lot of people (8.87/9). Since his skill is in keeping the ball from being put in play I would think he will probably do as well as anyone pitching at altitude. He has managed to blow several high-profile saves the past few years, pitching “just poorly enough to lose” but since that is probably not a skill I would expect him to bounce back.

2) Smith, on the other hand, I think is probably as overrated by A’s fans as Street is underrated. He keeps the ball in the park, and on the ground, but strikes nobody out (5.25/9) and walks far too many (4.11/9). I think his ERA was likely a product of the A’s exceptional defense instead of a product of his skill. I wish him the best of luck, but he is the type of pitcher who could go very bad, very quickly.

3) Carlos Gonzales is the player most A’s fans are going to be the saddest to lose, at least initially. He is amazing to watch at bat, where he just drives balls that he shouldn’t even be swinging at. This is both a blessing and a curse. If he learns how to control the strike zone better, he could turn into a Carlos Beltran, he is that good. On the other hand, if he doesn’t learn what not to swing at he could end up as Pedro Feliz. I don’t know anything about the Rockies organizational philosophy and whether you expect them to be able to teach better strike zone knowledge. I am guessing that Beane thinks that he is unlikely to learn it at the major league level in Oakland, but it is scary giving up a young talent like his in a trade. On the other hand, it is hard to get quality without trading quality, so seeing him in the deal makes sense.

Anyway, there are some thoughts from someone who has been watching these guys for a while. Anything you can tell me about Holliday? I pay almost no attention to the NL, so I have only a passing familiarity.

-Dan

Street is 34 for 46 on save opps the last two years and lost his job last year. Smith hasn’t stood out at any level since Rookie ball. Gonzalez is interesting, but a work in progress.. Was this the best O’Dowd could do throughout the entire league?

Ziegler was closing games at the end of the year with Street setting him up… By definition, Street ‘lost’ his job as their closer because they had someone more effective when Street was healthy..
As for Smith, I’m not saying he couldn’t be a decent 4/5 starter, but definitely not an impact player.. He could very well prove me wrong, but look at his track record..
The Rox had to deal Holliday, and a lot of people were going to be disappointed no matter what they got in return

that we didn’t land a top of the rotation starter (or prospect) this is a lot better than the Ludwick nonsense. Of course, it’ll feed into the “hope springs eternal…2010!” mentality that I’m not really excited about, but if we’re going to trade Holliday, I’m glad they’re doing it for a potential superstar.

I would like to take a moment to say that I will absolutely miss Holliday in a Rox uniform. His slide against the padres is without question the greatest moment in the team’s history, and he’s responsible for many, many more great memories for me. He’ll join the Blake Street guys as former players on other teams that I will always cheer for. He was a damn fine player here and deserves our respect (and deserved more from the organization, but whatever).

Back to business at hand, now Atkins has to go (and Taveras, of course). Do they ship him for a Cuddyer type that can play next year while we wait for Dex and the new kid to be ready? I say no, I’d rather see another near-majors prospect deal, even if its just bullpen help. The way I see it, we’re now playing for 2010, so no reason to waste any assets on short-term help for 2009.

I actually saw him pitch twice this year. He’s a decent pitcher, I’d say high 80’s, maybe 90, 91 tops. He is not a David Price kind of lefty. A version of Francis, I guess (tho I’ve never seen Francis in person). My main concern with him is that he walked a bunch of guys both times I saw him. That has to stop or he’s gonna be looking at loads of 3-run HR’s.
Street I like. Can’t hold injuries against him. Again, tho, he’s not a real hard thrower. That slider is his meal ticket. Personally, I like flamethrowers, but that’s just me.
I think I agree with MADness in that this might get down to how Gonzo develops (or doesn’t). Beane hasn’t been wrong too often…
I was hoping the Yanks rumor was true regarding getting Hughes. He’s young, hard throwing, and will be in someone’s rotation for a long time. Oh well.

What? The Rays would (rightfully) never do a trade like that. Balfour throws absolute gas and had a great year for them. What, other than steal some bases, has Taveras ever done for the Rockies? I’ve never been a fan of his. I’m always reminded of the old baseball adage that you can’t steal first base. Whatever they get for him, so be it. I’m certainly not holding my breath for any upgrade.

Sorry, you hit one of my sore spots (Willy) by refering to the very type of guy I wish the Rockies had more of—Balfour, a flamethrower.

The Rockies weren’t going to give Holliday the years or money he was looking for because of the way the Helton contract has handcuffed this team. Helton was roughly the same age as Holliday is now, and 7 years into the deal the Rox are stuck paying 18 million for corner infielder with the production of a light hitting second baseman who has nagging back injuries. That deal is the reason Holliday and eventually Atkins will be out of here.
I’m gonna go get drunk now.. Have a good night everyone

   Okay, WAY hypothetically…. Should the Rockies not deal Street……… How does our team look with these additions and the one significant subtraction. My initial thoughts:
Starting pitching: Modest upgrade. We’ll now certainly have no problem throwing a different pitcher out there every day for five days, and may even have a choice between some good ones. Smith (only 25ish) would even seem capable of being a #3 type with any luck, but for now I think we can only put him slightly above the Hirsch/De La Rosa crowd.
Bullpen: I think slightly worse without Fuentes and with Street. Fuentes has proven he can do it in Denver, and that’s always hard to watch go.
Hitting: Big drop unless Gonzalez not only finds his impact talent, but does it fast. So realistically, it’s a big loss to the line-up. Also concerns me that he’s left-handed and we already have Stewie, Hawpe, and Helton batting from that side and hitting in the middle of the line-up .
Defense: Large upgrade I should think. I though Matt really improved his defense last year, but he was still only average on a good day. I’d think a CF playing LF in Colorado would be a huge help for the pitching.
Bottom line: I’ll miss Holliday tremendously, but I think it was an okay trade considering the circumstances. Pretty sure it doesn’t help our chances in 09 very much, but if it had to happen (and sadly I’m afraid it did and usually will) at least it wasn’t a firesale for A ball prospects, or some weird attempt at pseudo-replacing Holliday with a trade like the one discussed with St. Louis.

Right when I was about to start posting again at Purple Row, I have to change my name.

for the A’s i doubt they miss street/smith much..for any other team this seems like a decent haul. A’s didnt have to touch their farm system and have a ton of depth

street…devine/ziegler/casilla/blevins/brown…plus even more power arms carignan/hrod/demel/lansford/bailey

smith or eveland wouldve been passed up eventually by cahill/anderson/gio/gallagher/simmons/mazzaro etc plus have similar types like braden/outman as options. they made that choice already

i hate giving up gonzalez tons of upside/athleticism, but still very raw. A’s tried to tweak his approach with not good results. doesnt walk and has a hitch in his swing. if he can fix that, he’ll be very good. some A’s fan thought star potential, probably closer to very good

i still wouldve liked to pry away a stewart/nelson but thats not possible it seems
if A’s add more bats with the payroll available 20-30mill…getting holliday makes sense…if not, he’ll be traded again in july

I can’t fathom people defending this deal. If we are trading Holliday to Oakland, we must demand Trevor Cahill and others. If Matt isn’t enough, package another prospect to get him. The only way we should trade an Allstar like Holliday is if we get an impact player in return. “CarGo” is just bad baggage. Smith is not as good as JDLR. And Street is being shipped off somewhere else, so I don’t know the ENTIRE picture yet. But, from what I see so far, I don’t like it.

That [right fielder] really tied the [lineup] together.

You’re out of your element.

Honestly, I’m a little mad that we couldn’t get a long term contract with Matt. He is a stud and a face of the Rockies. I realize though that he probably wants to see just how much the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers will pay for him though and sort of why he didn’t accept the Rockies contract offer.
As for him, I love Holliday, but I don’t see him doing as well in Oakland and it may cause his price to go down.

As for who we got, I’ll wait and see. I just don’t like trading a MVP candidate and near lock every year All Star for “potential”. Smith to me seems like a throw in and maybe he’ll be adequate, I don’t expect much from him. Gonzalez I pray will develop who will get a lot of hits. Street IMO should be dealt, I don’t like him pitching in Coors Field. He’s also battled some injuries recently and like it has been stated, has blown 23 saves the past 3 years. I don’t know, maybe I’m too hard on the guy, but I think we already have closer candidates in Corpas and Bucholz. If we can get something good for Street, trade him.

The Monforts are in this business to make money. They don’t care about putting a quality product on the field, and they keep a guy like O’Dowd around to make that happen. The Rockies will save 13 million this year and over $100 million in the future by not wanting to re-sign Holliday.
This move is eerily similar to the trade of Jennings to the Astros for Taveras, Hirsh, and Bucholz. Hirsh and Greg Smith are guys that will battle for the 4th or 5th spot in the rotation (not a lot of upside in either)..
Bucholz and Street are decent setup guys. Street is so overvalued and people think they’re getting more with that name than what he’s actually done on the field
Taveras is a hacking center fielder with speed and had some major league experience, while Gonzalez is a hacking center fielder with speed and a little major league experience, but is definitely a project.
In the eyes of Dan O’Dowd, Jason Jennings was as valuable and important to this team and the future of this team as Matt Holliday. It’s pretty disgusting