Ben Sheets. One-year contract. $10 million. REALLY?! I don't know if the A's got the memo, but Sheets and his agent was seeking a one-year contract for approximately $8 mil. The Mets, the Mariners, and several other teams were interested in signing the former All-Star...but not for anything north of 8 mil considering he missed all of last season.
Obviously my bitterness comes from the fact that I strongly believed the amazing Jack Zduriencik would somehow lure Sheets into Seattle giving his familiarity with him from the Brewers organization. I thought a rotation that features The King (as in King Felix) and The Ace (Cliff Lee) and Sheets as "just" a #3 starter would propel this team from being division contenders to WORLD SERIES contenders. My optimism was for naught, however, and now we wait for Z's next move in a division where no GM is willing to surrender the crown so easily. I predict the AL West will in fact be the most competitive and intriguing division in all of MLB this upcoming 2010 season.
I wonder what the A's plans are for acquiring Sheets. Certainly with the plethora of young starters they have in the rotation and on the field, they know they are still a couple years away from true contention. Secondly, I don't think Sheets is the prototypical pitching mentor you'd seek to be the anchor and teach the younger pitchers. Glavine, Smoltz, and Pedro will be better options for that and they're all still free agents. Finally, the A's already have a promising rotation (a perennial Billy Beane staple) so it'd behoove them to let their young guys get more MLB experience. Brett Anderson, Trevor Cahill, Duchscherer, and their pick between Braden/Eveland/Gonzalez/Mazzaro/Outman. Yikes! My guess is that they acquired Sheets just so they can flip him at the deadline ala Matt Holliday circa 2009. So overpaying him now won't matter so much if they trade him for worthy prospects and have the team eat up part of Sheets' salary (though 10 mil is relatively cheap for 2-3 good prospects). Damn you Billy Beane!
I know Rome wasn't built in a day and the 20+ game improvement we made last season was a refreshing start. However, with Cliff Lee rented for just a year and us going out and getting Figgins, Bradley, and Co. and with this being Junior's probable last year in the Majors, it'd be nice to see us win it all this season. Regarding the World Series: If we had acquired Sheets or another legit starting pitcher/bopper that hits for average, that would put us over the top and qualify us as legitimate contenders. Hell, I'm all for signing Bedard now even if it means he misses the first 2-3 months. If we can stay competitive until then, surely he'd help us run away with the division.
My hope now is that Kotchman overachieves in the first half and hits 20+ HRs and the Padres stink so much that they'd trade us A. Gonz for Kotchman straight-up. It's a pipe dream. Besides, if he really did hit over 20 home runs, you'd be incline to think we ought to keep him thinking he'd keep it up. I don't know what's a realistic package we can give the Pads though - Kotch, Triunfel, Saunders? or Kotch, Lopez, and Saunders?
I know us hardcore M's fans are trying so desperately to believe our team is a WS contender right now even w/o the power bat. But let's face it, when you walk into a place like the new Yankee Stadium, if you're not going to hit some home runs, you can kiss your pitchers goodbye because that ballpark is built for left-handed batters to pad their stats. As of right now, we COULD make the World Series but will we? I think we are 1-2 key players away. A third pitcher with Bedard's stuff would be nice. But more importantly, a 1B like Adrian Gonzalez would be much more nicer.
Jackie Z - if you're out there or one of your men stumble upon this post, PLEASE, PLEASE re-sign Bedard. If the two sides can't come to a fair negotiation and Bedard rather bolt for the Orioles who'd probably pay him more to be on a non-contending team, then so be it. But a rotation of Felix, Lee, Bedard, Rowland-Smith, and Snell is enough to get season ticket-holders salivating at the thought of post-season magic. Or at least sign Washburn or Chien Ming Wang! Alan Nero is Wang's agent and after securing Guti (my favorite Mariner) and Felix long-term, I say it's time to pop some more bottles Nero and Co. after Wang joins the Mariners. SoDo Mojo indeed!
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