The A’s are finally starting to make some moves this offseason. Patience is a virtue I’m told, but I wanted to see waves crashing in the free agent pool early and often with the money they had available to spend. We barely missed out on the Crawford and Lee sweepstakes, and according to my insider information, they were in the running for both players, until someone else put in their first offer that we couldn’t quite match. Oh well, today we got a Japanese guy, but not the one I originally thought we would. Initially it looked like Hisashi Iwakuma would be joining the A’s pitching rotation next year, but the talks hit a stalemate, and he decided to stay in Japan or maybe the A’s were just blocking their division opponents from getting him. Today we found our DH for the upcoming season though in Hideki Matsui or as most know him Godzilla. We paid Matsui just under $5M for the up coming season, which is about double what Cust was making last year as our DH. I can tell you for sure that I’d much rather see Godzilla striking out with runners on base than Cust. Maybe the Asian bias comes in a little, but he is a big upgrade over Cust, which MCeezy already expressed. Who knows since the A’s never say anything that was said behind closed doors. It already feels like a much better buy than last year’s acquisition of Ben Sheets who never really saw the mound that much. Matsui at least has a better health track record, and since DH isn’t exactly a strenuous spot I’m not worried. Am I super excited about this signing? Not to the point of writing 1,000 words, but it’s a step in a direction filling a spot that we really needed filled. If he hits 21 homers again like he did last year, he will easily lead the team in that department. Also, I’ve been reading about his signing a lot today, and found out that Matsui has been a longtime A’s fan, and even had their cap back in the 80’s while he was living in Japan. He was really into the Bash Brothers growing up, and that alone just gave me a million extra reasons to like him. Nihon Gambare Godzilla! (Long live Godzilla in Japanese)
Tag Archives: Signing
A’s Make a Ripple in the Free Agent Pool
Dubs Always Keeping it Interesting…
I wonder if Spike is making a movie of David Lee's free agency experience?!?
Lost in the Lebronapalooza last night was a trade the Warriors made to acquire David Lee. It hasn’t gone through yet, but is supposed to later today. I’ll be the first to admit I haven’t really watched Lee play a whole lot. He was on the Knicks after all, and the Warriors have been more relevant in recent years than them somehow. We gave up Anthony Randolph, Kelenna Azabuike, and Ronny Turiaf to get him. I think the Knicks got one hell of a deal on this sign and trade. It might be the first good deal they’ve made in awhile. I have very mixed emotions on the move since the Warriors always trade away their young potential guys, so we have to watch them flourish with their new team. I was VERY sad to see that the prospective new owners weren’t involved at all in this decision. It’s a tough one to swallow since Randolph is only 21, and although he’s turnover prone, gets overly emotional, and disappears at times, he is a fan favorite with limitless potential that anyone who watches him play can see. Plus he was only making $2M, Klenna was making about $3M, and Turiaf was only making about $4M. All are good players to give up that were very cheap to keep, and now we are left with a gaping hole at the 3, since Maggette already was shipped away now we gave up Buike. Are we going to roll with Reggie Williams at the 3? Maybe, and I was pretty high on him last year, but not really in the starting lineup. I was thinking he’d be a solid back up to Buike. It’s probably a fitting way to end the Cohan era, one more guy we lose that will possibly be a mega star in the league given away for a big contract that isn’t coming off the books for awhile that may or may not work out. Most of the players on the Warriors seemed shocked by the trade, but gave us the ol’ quote that “this is a business”. I hope this move wasn’t to try and raise the value of the team, because I don’t see it making the franchise worth more. Since last year was a lost season due to the record number of injuries they suffered, and since they are one of the youngest teams in the league it might have been made hastily. I personally wanted to see this team together for all of next year, and wanted to figure out what this squad had playing with a remotely healthy group for a whole year before we blew them up. We don’t even know what our big guys can and can’t do since they never really played together for an extended period of time, and weren’t healthy for 90% of the season last year. Our PF and C for the last two months were from the D-Leagues, so who even knows if they are good or not the way they were constructed. Continue reading
The Dubs D-League All-Stars
If you aren’t in a fantasy basketball league, and don’t follow the Warriors, you might look at their boxscores and not recognize many of the players. The Warriors have been infamous for bringing D-Leaguers up over the past few seasons, and unfortunately for them, it’s mainly due to the ridiculous amount of injuries they’ve sustained during the seasons. This year we found a couple of solid guys to jump into the lineup, although it’s not the picture perfect lineup, these guys are showing that they are worthy of the NBA. After getting to see some of the guys live last night, I thought I’d make a list of the top five guys that the Warriors called up from the D-League.
#1 Kelenna Azubuike – Buke is the best player we’ve pulled up from the D-League ranks. He flourished in the utility man role. Not many plays are called for him, but he still puts up productive numbers. He fills the boxscore by knocking down open jumpers, sneaking in for rebounds/putbacks, dishing the ball to an open man, and playing solid defense. He’s gone from a nobody out of Kentucky on the verge of going to the European League to a starter for the Warriors. Granted he’s been out for all but a handful of games this year, but when he’s on the court he effortlessly fills up the stat sheet. There’s just a lot to like about his game. He has one of those high basketball IQ’s that every fan likes to see in their players.
#2 Reggie Williams – I’ll be honest, I haven’t seen this guy play all that much, but that didn’t stop me from picking him up on my fantasy team last week. Last night I went to the Clippers-Warriors game, and he was much better than I expected. Since being called up to the NBA, five of his twenty games have been 20+ point performances, including 20+ in three of the last four games. I think he’s finally feeling comfortable in the league that he probably should’ve been in all along, and last night I was impressed seeing him in person. This guy has a great all around game, and he’s twice as good a defender as Anthony Morrow. Reggie is going to last in the league; even if it’s not with the Warriors he showed that he’s a complete player. I was surprised how he ran the offense so well, he must have one of those high basketball IQ’s. Taking it to the hole and dishing or putting up the shot, shockingly every time he made the right choice. He has been the floor general for chunks of games over the past week and a half.
#3 Anthony Tolliver – I wasn’t sold on Tolliver the first couple times I saw him play, but he’s grown on me a lot over the past month. He’s a very active guy on the defensive end which is something the W’s have lacked for a loooong time! I guess he hasn’t had his only NBA stint with the Warriors as he also had brief stints with the Spurs and Blazers, but the W’s gave him his first extended shot on the court, and is currently the starting power forward. I hope we keep him on when Randolph and Wright come back, he’s shown far more abilities than someone knew he had in him. He’s perfect for Nellie, because he plays hard and can drain his jumpers from deep, which is what Nellie loves in a big man.
#4 CJ Watson – I’m not sure how I feel about this third year former D-Leaguer. I’m just really hot and cold with him everytime I watch him play. He always plays hard, and never complains, so those are big check marks in the positive column. He’s been a nice fill in for the often injured Ellis. He’s outplayed all the guys that have come in to take that backup role such as Marcus Williams, Marco Bellinelli, Acie Law, and Demarcus Nelson. I don’t really see him as much more than a career backup, and has less upside than the top three on the list, who I feel could start for some teams, but he’s going to be on the team and in the rotation, unless we land the Wall sweepstakes. Would that make Ellis be the first guard off the bench?
#5 Anthony Morrow – Yeah, I know he wasn’t ever in the D-League, but since he was an undrafted signing I couldn’t resist putting him on the list. Besides, did you really think I was going to put Chris Hunter or Jamero Moon on here?!? In Morrow’s first start last season, Mceezy and I got to sit as close to the court as either of us had at Staples Center. Hell, we were a few rows in front of Mitch Richmond! Anyways, he scored 37 that day, and won both of us over. Nellie has even proclaimed him the best pure shooter he’s ever coached. I’m not sure exactly what that means since Nellie is crazy, and has coached some of the best shooters in the game, but there’s got to be something to it. He led the league in 3PT% last year. I probably would’ve had him higher on the list, but the guy doesn’t play ANY defense. He looks lost on that side of the court, and gets burnt more often than not, which is why Reggie is getting so much more playing time over him the past few weeks.
Twinkies Get Their Cream Filling
Yesterday the Twins decided to avoid having the elephant in the locker room all season long, and locked up their free agent to be and Minnesoootan God, Joe Mauer. He signed there with a no trade clause for the next 8 years for the generous hometown discount of $184 million. Locking up far and away the best catcher in the game doesn’t seem like a bad idea. It’s been highly debated if it’s worth using that much of the franchises total salary on one player. At first I thought it was pretty bold maneuver tying up all that money in one player, but after looking at it further there were some other factors that left me feeling like this was a good move for the Twins.
Getting this deal done well before he was a free agent most likely did get them a discount, believe it or not. If they had held off on the contract talks until the off season, they may have had to pony up an A-Rod type salary ($275 million) to keep him in a Twins uniform, and it would’ve been a distraction all year long. The Twins shifted from their normal MO of letting star players go via free agency, and signing one of their home grown talent must coincide with the grand opening of their new stadium, which looks pretty cool I must admit. It’s been reported that Minnesota’s payroll could hit the $100 million mark as soon as next season pushing them out of the small market team division. If they get five solid seasons out of Mauer behind the plate, and throw him on first base for those last few. He could be winning multiple batting titles. If it pans out that way, the Twins would sign the contract twice over. He could also be the next Eric Chavez, but I hope not for his sake. Will he stay healthy? Who knows, I’m not Nostradamus. My question to the league is, when are the A’s going to get their new stadium built? We were so close, and it fell off the table. We really want to sign some players to ridiculous contracts too!
Subtraction by Addition
Well, the A’s signed JacKKK Cust today to a one year deal of about $2.4 million. I was crossing my fingers he wouldn’t be back, and thought we did say our goodbyes, but sadly he he is back. He was our top home run hitter last year, so in the end I see why, especially for a discounted price… It’s funny how the Giants were rumored to be talking to him, they must be pretty happy the A’s stepped to the plate with a contract. I’m hoping we never have to see him in the field. We already have a few too many outfielders, and what looks like a good defensive team. Messing up that defense by putting Cust down there doesn’t make you feel all that excited. Adding one more outfielder to the mix isn’t going to help anybody feel like they have a set role on the team. Maybe Beane has some plans to make some more trades. I for one, hope he does. It’s still early in the off-season, so I won’t say this is a bad move yet. The signing of Duscherer was a major plus, but I think this signing could be bad. I hope he doesn’t clog up the bases with his walks and not give all our speedy guys a chance to run the bases or strike out with the bases loaded too much this year.
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