Done: Lester and Gomes from the Red Sox to A's for Yoenis Cespedes

[arch stanton]

This question is to spark conversation and not to sound like a homer. Should Billy Beane get as much crap for giving up so much of the future for the three starters he acquired in the last month as Dipoto did for giving up 6 rondons for Street and Thatcher? Granted Lester has more value than Street, but at least we have Street next season. Is there ANY hope at all for an A's fan that Lester will be able to be re-signed? My guess is the chances are less than zero percent he signs with Oakland. One last question, do we even know if Lester can grow a disgusting beard?

I think a lot of A's fans will be saying "about freakin time". All the collecting and maneuvering had to have an end goal, right? I guess this is it. This is what he's been working for since dismantling the early '00s team. Game on.

[floplag]

No

 

Well then give me something positive cause everything ive said has been attacked by the powers that be so clearly no one wants to hear it and they are unbeatable. 

[Guest]

Wow this is the biggest panic move I've ever seen at the deadline. What was Beane thinking!?!

[HaloMagic]

"Game on" is a convenient motto for the narrative but it ignores the last two seasons. And our last four. The A's weren't stocking players for a big showdown with us. We fell off the map and they stepped up. Now we are back trying to challenge them. It's our maneuvering in the past half decade that led to this, not theirs.

[HaloMagic]

Well then give me something positive cause everything ive said has been attacked by the powers that be so clearly no one wants to hear it and they are unbeatable.

Say something accurate and I will immediately give you positive reinforcement.

[Lou]

Well then give me something positive cause everything ive said has been attacked by the powers that be so clearly no one wants to hear it and they are unbeatable.

who are the powers that be?

[Stradling]

Did someone say powers that be?

[floplag]

Say something accurate and I will immediately give you positive reinforcement.

so losing Cespedes will have no impact on them.. is that your idea of accurate?

 

oh wait.. i forgot they will actually be better... sorry, i over looked that

Edited July 31, 2014 by floplag

[bloodbrother]

who are the powers that be?

 

Not who, but is. The Answer is simple

 

[Sherlock31]

When CJ Wilson comes back, it'll be like we traded for a starter

I think this is the reason why JD is not looking to add another SP, the Angels don't have enough Rondons to get a better SP than CJ. so why bother.

[gotbeer]

Wonder Twins Power?

[Sherlock31]

Dave Cameron tweet

@DCameronFG: This morning, our playoff odds model gave A’s 70% chance of winning the AL West. After Lester trade: 71%. http://t.co/qAXLjWhQEl

Great trade imo..............LOL!

[Stradling]

Flop they will use a platoon and they will basically get the same result from that platoon that they would get from Cespedes. Also Sam Fuld doesn't have Cespedes's arm, but he will track down more balls than Cespedes would. Also, I think that they will have an even better rotation, which I don't think is deniable.

[Troll Daddy]

There's is no doubt that Dipoto is looking for a starter. At what cost we don't know. It may end up being a whiff.

Will he go all in on Price?

[Hubs]

I don't understand this trade from the A's point of view. Yeah they got a #1 starter type. Lester has been dominant at times this year, and it's a great rotation upgrade. 

 

For a rotation that was leading the AL in ERA. And 3rd in BAA. 

 

It sets them up for the playoffs well. Lester,Kazmir, Gray, Samardizja,…great playoff rotation. But is it that much better than Gray, Samardizja, Kazmir, Chavez? Is improving that third or fourth spot really worth one of your best hitters?

 

Also, defensively, in a big ballpark in Oakland, they just got significantly worse. Cespedes basically has been a fixture in left, while the other two OF spots featured Crisp, Reddick, Gentry and a host of other OF. They traded a fielder who has been great in left, for a guy who can't field in Gomes. They reacquired Fuld, ok, but he's got a good defensive reputation, but not a great one. And he's not been good for the Twins defensively. Crisp makes highlight reel catches, but has been really bad defensively this year. 

 

Next offensively, the A's lead the league in runs scored, 18 runs ahead of the Angels, but the actual stats don't say that they should be. I've stated this before, I don't know how they are doing it.

 

The A's have featured 87 different lineups in 107 games, so there has been relatively little consistency.

 

The main fixtures have been Crisp hitting first, Lowrie or Jaso second, and a 3-4-5 in some order of Cespedes, Moss, and Donaldson.

 

Crisp is hitting to a .789 OPS, Lowrie .681, Jaso .824. Then Cespedes at .767, Moss at .842 and Donaldson at .797. 

 

The bottom of the order looks really bad in Callaspo, Reddick, Sogard. Callaspo has a .614 OPS, Reddick is at .701 and Sogard is .513.

 

Derrick Norris is the best hitter on the A's but he's their catcher, and not playing everyday..because Vogt also is hitting the cover off the ball with a .951 OPS in a limited number of plate appearances.

 

So subtract Cespedes from the middle of the lineup and add Gomes to the mix? Gomes has better OBP than Cespedes, but it's almost exclusively against lefties as he has a .494 OPS against righties this year.

 

It's a huge blow to the middle of the lineup for the A's, plus a defensive negative, to improve their pitching staff, substantially. I don't think the risk is worth the reward going forward, but it is going to be a wild finish to the season.

[arch stanton]

"Game on" is a convenient motto for the narrative but it ignores the last two seasons. And our last four. The A's weren't stocking players for a big showdown with us. We fell off the map and they stepped up. Now we are back trying to challenge them. It's our maneuvering in the past half decade that led to this, not theirs.

I'm not talking about him challenging us but the entire league. He obviously sees this as their chance to take it all. 2012 probably surprised him as much as it did everyone else. When I say game on it's meant from an Angels' perspective. 

[floplag]

Flop they will use a platoon and they will basically get the same result from that platoon that they would get from Cespedes. Also Sam Fuld doesn't have Cespedes's arm, but he will track down more balls than Cespedes would. Also, I think that they will have an even better rotation, which I don't think is deniable.

 

so...  better.. you know you assume a lot here, but hey i guess thats ok as long as you agree with the consensus.

so again i ask why bother?  2.5 games down, they have an easier schedule, and... they just got better.  season over right?  isnt that the bottom line most of you want to hear?   any attempt to spin this as anything else is immediately beaten into submission and dismissed as ludicrous

At the end of the were in a one game playoff against King Felix and everyone has already said we would lose that so... time for a fire sale then?

Edited July 31, 2014 by floplag

[RallyMo]

I'm sorry, but we're not ****ing with Samardzija, Lester, Kazmir, Gray...as much as I love our team it's just not happening

 

 

That's a loser mentality.

 

I agree that this rotation that they have is stunning.

 

Then again, so was the rotation they had in 2002.

 

Play baseball and win, Angels.

[Stradling]

so... better.. you know you assume a lot here, but hey i guess thats ok as long as you agree with the consensus.

so again i ask why bother? 2.5 games down, they have an easier schedule, and... they just got better. season over right? isnt that the bottom line most of you want to hear? any attempt to spin this as anything else is immediately beaten into submission and dismissed as ludicrous

At the end of the were in a one game playoff against King Felix and everyone has already said we would lose that so... time for a fire sale then?

Yea, sorry I am assuming that a very good major league pitcher would be an upgrade. By the way, calm the **** down. You asked a question I politely gave you my opinion. I am not beating you down. I am telling you why everyone, other than yourself, is seeing with this trade. As far as your last sentence, I am sure you and everyone else on this board knows where I stand with that. I don't think like that and I have more faith than most that we will be fine in a one game playoff regardless of who we face.

[Spirit]

No team is unbeatable. 

 

 

[Inside Pitch]

That's a loser mentality.

 

I agree that this rotation that they have is stunning.

 

Then again, so was the rotation they had in 2002.

 

Play baseball and win, Angels.

 

 

Expecting people who punted on the team in April to have any faith in August is a fruitless cause.  

[Chuck]

It's gonna be hilarious when the A's only get the Wild Card.

This!

[Chuck]

Expecting people who punted on the team in April to have any faith in August is a fruitless cause.

+1

[HaloMagic]

so... better.. you know you assume a lot here, but hey i guess thats ok as long as you agree with the consensus.

What assumptions are being made? Also, practically no one is saying the Halos should give up. We're just recognizing the A's just got better. Is that giving up? We still have games to play. They still have to win. Edited July 31, 2014 by HaloMagic

[ten ocho recon scout]

He was able to decode all the signs from opposing teams. He's kind of like that Indian from the World War II movie starring Nicholas Cage.

noce pull. That movie was freakin cheesy as all hell, but super solid 'out of nowhere' drop flute.