Teams have an infatuation with Paul Bako. I'm not sure why.

I wouldn't mind the Yanks taking a chance on Castro, if only because even just a replacement level catcher is quite valuable - given how few BUCs meet that standard!

BTW - this has got to be the 2007 Jim Dean Memorial Post, right? I can't hear the term "backup catcher" without thinking of that guy.

Because he was in a 1997 trade that involved Wil Nieves's brother?

---

Moeller... Moeller... ?
Something-d-o-o economics...?

http://bronxbanter.baseballtoaster.com/archives/763108.html#39

Side note: BP's Indians top prospects list shows a High-A first baseman (Beau Mills) at #3 who could be knocking on Ryan Garko's door soonish - Garko might be a nice pickup if the price weren't outrageous. Right handed. Though I'd still prefer getting Rollen on the cheap for giggles.

i'm all for bringing molina back...

Cliff, Wilbert Nieves was granted free agency October 17th. FYI.

Now does he get to be called C.C.C.?

CHRIS IANNETTA
CHRIS IANNETTA

18 rbj, BUCs get an awful lot of at-bats. It makes a difference whether they are Nieves-horrible or Molina-bad. I'd be okay with re-upping Molina, myself, since the opportunities for getting a better BUC are slim, and the possibility of a Nieves-awful substitute is very real.

At least the writers got the Top 4 right this time. After the Delmon Young got #2 in the ROY voting, I was expecting to see Wang in the Top 3 again (he should really be about 11th -- as should Verlander, who got a 3rd-place vote).

25 Ha,Ha - Good one. And I agree - Jorge will never get enough rest if someone like Nieves is BUC. Someone like Molina or Castro is not a disaster even if they are small sample gold.

23 I'm glad CC won too - he probably won in large part because of all those innings which could have hurt him in the playoffs though.

But that's nothing compared with Karstens: -11.2 VORP in 14-2/3 IP. That's practically a full run per inning worse than a freakin' replacement pitcher.

But why Chris Iannetta?

Yep, except when it really counts. CC and Wang would be a great 1/2 for any team. Except in the playoffs where a team would be doomed.

When I saw this I just had to post it here. If what he writes is a remote possibility, we have to make the trade all day every day 1000 times a day, no? Re-posted without permission from the Fox Sports Chin Music blog:

"[regarding Dan Haren] Chance He'll Be Traded: I give it 80%. If Beane is in fact serious about blowing up the A's, look for him to trade Haren, Joe Blanton, Huston Street, Nick Swisher and without a doubt, Eric Chavez. This is how I could see a trade to the Yankees happening, the Chavez deal. Knowing the weak market for starting pitchers, and knowing the Yankees are looking for an ace and a third baseman, I could see him dropping Haren to the Yankees for a decent package, assuming they take Chavez off Bean's payroll. Chavez is owed $11 million in 2008, 2009, 2010 and has a club option of $12.5 million in 2011. The more of Chavez's salary that Beane wants to pay, I'm sure the better package he could get from the Yankees. Two ways for this to possibly go: either Beane gives NYY Haren and Chavez (and all his contract, a salary dump a la Bobby Abreu in 2006) for SP Humberto Sanchez, Chase Wright/ Jeff Karstens, and Brett Gardner. However, if he offered to pay, say half, of Chavez's remaining salary (which would shock me, from the tight wallet of the Oakland A's) he could maybe make out with an Alan Horne, or possibly Ian Kennedy package. There has also been rumors surfacing that Beane could want JASON GIAMBI back (!), so keep your ears to the road on this one… This could get interesting."

Why can't I get past the notion that this is the type of trade floated by a Yankees fan and not a rational person??

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/I/Chris-Iannetta.shtml

If the papers/blogs are to be believed, the Rox seem to have little interest in bringing him up again since they seem to be courting Torreabla and other BUCs. This season wasn't that great, but it's better than Jose Molina's career numbers.

If the guy starts hitting like he did in AAA, throw a parade. If he hits like he did this year in Denver, then he's a passable BUC.

His wife was kind enough to visit us here and tell us the terrible news. His last words in this world were to us.

Haren
Wang
Hughes
Joba
IPK/Moose

Too good to be true!!

They already have an upgrade over him. His name is Andy LaRoche. See World Baseball series results this past week for more on him. Then there's the ARod and Cabrera rumors. Who knows?
But as for the rumors mentioned above, they are completely ludicrous. Especially the idea of Beane trading Haren, who is still young and relatively cheap. No way. But I could see him looking to trade Chavez, and he could be cheaper than some of the other top thirdbasemen. He's been on the downswing last couple of years. But overall those rumors are nonsense, imho.

Looking up Wang's playoff stats:
2005: Lost 1 game with an ERA of 1.35
2006: Won 1 game with an ERA of 4.05
2007: Lost 2 games with an ERA of 19.06

Wang had a bad playoffs this year. But he didn't doom anybody with his pitching the last two years.

CC Sabathia was fine against the Yanks. And he kept the Sox close in his final game. It was 2-1 thru six innings. And he ran out of steam in his 7th after throwing over 100 pitches. He gave his team a chance to win.

Chavez will make $11 million/year for the next three years, and Haren will make $5 million/year. In terms of pure value, the salaries should probably be reversed, but in either case, the A's are not overpaying for the combination of Chavez and Haren. Haren is a top-10 starting pitcher, and is probably worth $16 million/year on the open market all by himself.

The A's are not swimming in debt. They are profitable. Chavez' contract, while probably overpriced, is not an albatross. There's no reason for Beane to sell low on him now, when he's recovering from two surgeries (shoulder and back). He'd be far better off waiting until June, or next offseason, when Chavez is likely to be healthier, and the market isn't flooded with quality third basemen.

If Beane decides to sell Haren, who is healthy and cheap and locked up for several more years, it won't be for anything less than a bushelful of top prospects. Your dreams of getting him for second-tier youngsters is just that, a dream.

Of course, Farnsworth pitched far more innings, but a 93 ERA+ must be above replacement player, so Farnsworth's VORP must be positive.

(Where can you find current VORP? Only with a BR subscription?)

Karstens did an amazingly efficient job of sucking away value with every pitch he threw. But Farnsworth did rank much higher in PWRRH - Pitchers We Really Really Hate.