KNOWING ME, KNOWING YOU

or

MONEY, MONEY, MONEY

Therefore, the superior militarist strikes while schemes are being laid.
the Art of War

So.

What do you want to talk about?

Oh. We can discuss that.

DEPARTMENT FOR ACQUISTIONS AND DISPOSITIONS

Let's look at the bigger picture for a moment.

The July 31st trade deadline in MLB is a misnomer. Players can be acquired throughout the season. However, after July 31st, players must pass through waivers prior to being acquired or dealt away. Let's not get bogged down by the details of waivers, just now.

September 1st looms as the day a player eligible for the post-season roster must be on a team's 25-Man Roster creates a side issue. Players can be acquired on August 31st, placed on the 25-Man Roster and be placed on the post-season roster. In other words, a player can play for the Montreal Expos for an entire season and then be dealt to a contender and earn a World Series ring for 6-7 weeks of 'work'. Not a bad deal, there.

The July 31st deadline seems rather arbitrary at this point and fiscally irresponsible. This seems like another area of encroachment for Oakland Research & Development/Billy Beane & Co, LLC.

Why acquire a player in July when you can limp along until the last week of August and forego paying six weeks of a player's salary? Granted, MLB players are not paid like the rest of us. Actually they are. Players are paid on a pay schedule, just like the rest of us. Though the direct deposits are certainly with more frequent commas and digits involved.

That being said, a shrewd General manager, can side-step bickering back and forth with another shrewd General Manager about a the salary left on a player's contract. Holding up a transaction over how much each side will absorb could be alleviated. A shrewd General manager culd use the pay schedule to their advantage and miss a payment or two and wait until the last minute to acquire a high-priced player, say Jeff Kent.

MIDDLEBAR:
The A's have been rumored to be acquiring Jeff Kent and dumping Arthur Rhodes off on the Houston Astros for almost six weeks. Rhodes was rumored to be going to Houston just after the deal that brought Octavio Dotel to Oakland.

There are the standard arguments against acquiring Kent:


• he's a guy who is from Orange County who talks with a faux southern accent


• sports a mustache


• rides motorcycles


• drives a jacked up 4X4 truck


• and is a 'clubhouse cancer'


• he's a 36 year old second baseman the A's already have a 39 year old at second



There are the standard arguments to acquire Kent:


• he's only going to cost $1.85 Million for the rest of the year


• he's a solid right-handed hitting second baseman that can also play first


• the A's will get two first round draft picks in 2005 as compensation when Kent leaves for free agency.



The A's ownership does not want to spend a single cent more than have to for the rest of the year and a dilemma is created with the draft picks. If the A's fail to make the playoffs the team is essentially paying $2 million to sign two first round draft picks which could cost them another $4-5 million dollars.

Yah, that's a pretty bad argument.

There is every reason to acquire Kent to get to the post-season and advance. There's every reason to acquire Kent for his bat or even Carlos Lee from Chicago.

There's every reason to acquire Kent just for the opportunity to snare two more first round draft picks in 2005. Kent's contract includes options for the next few years but the contract is not vested if the option is not picked up.

This is a no-brainer situation. Which somehow is hand-in-hand with the A's ownership. It always seems that Schott and Hoffman have no clue what they are doing and then Billy Beane pitches in and they come out smelling like a rose.

The difficulty comes when after 80% of a teams games are played for a season a new acquisition is brought in as an upgrade. At least that would be the case on a 'contending' team. The positive side is that with the September 1st Call-Ups (when teams are allowed to expand their rosters to 40 players within the organization) there does not to be any significant movement on the 40 Man Roster. The 25 Man Roster would not have to be refined until closer to the post-season.

Now, with the A's, September Call-Ups are a double-edged sword. Namely the A's won't have any for a week or two. The A's organization has a solid win-loss record up and down the line.

2004 Pacific Coast League Standings (AAA)

Central	W	L	PCT	GB	HOME	AWAY	L 10	STREAK
Iowa	74	62	.544	---	37-32	37-30	9-Jan	Lost 5
Colorado Springs	73	63	.537	1	37-30	36-33	8-2	Lost 1
Omaha	68	69	.496	6 1/2	37-32	31-37	8-2	Won 5
Albuquerque	63	74	.460	11 1/2	34-34	29-40	2-9	Lost 7
Eastern	W	L	PCT	GB	HOME	AWAY	L 10	STREAK
Oklahoma	79	58	.577	---	40-29	39-29	7-3	Won 1
Memphis	70	67	.511	9	38-30	32-37	5-5	Won 2
New Orleans	63	74	.460	16	36-33	27-41	6-4	Won 3
Nashville	60	75	.444	18	34-37	26-38	3-7	Lost 3
Northern	W	L	PCT	GB	HOME	AWAY	L 10	STREAK
Portland	79	58	.577	---	44-24	35-34	7-3	Won 5
Tacoma	74	60	.552	3 1/2	37-26	37-34	3-7	Lost 5
Edmonton	66	71	.482	13	39-26	27-45	4-6	Lost 2
Salt Lake	54	83	.394	25	31-38	23-45	6-4	Won 2
Southern	W	L	PCT	GB	HOME	AWAY	L 10	STREAK
Sacramento	76	61	.555	---	43-29	33-32	5-5	Won 1
Tucson	70	66	.515	5 1/2	42-30	28-36	7-3	Lost 1
Las Vegas	63	74	.460	13	35-33	28-41	6-4	Won 1
Fresno	60	77	.438	16	29-36	31-41	3-7	Lost 1

On a side note; Mike Rose (catcher) and Dan Johnson (1st base) were named to the All Pacific Coast League Team (sort of like an after season All Star team that doesn't actually exist but on paper - Graham Koonce was named to the team last season).

2004 Texas League Standings (AA)

East	W	L	PCT	GB	HOME	AWAY	L 10	STREAK
Frisco	40	24	.625	---	22-11	18-13	8-2	Won 3
Wichita	33	31	.516	7	17-10	16-21	3-7	Lost 3
Tulsa	30	34	.469	10	17-15	13-19	2-8	Lost 2
Arkansas	25	39	.391	15	15-20	10-19	4-6	Won 1
West	W	L	PCT	GB	HOME	AWAY	L 10	STREAK
Round Rock	37	27	.578	---	24-12	13-15	8-2	Won 2
San Antonio	34	28	.548	2	20-13	14-15	7-3	Won 3
MIDLAND	32	32	.500	5	18-14	14-18	5-5	Lost 1
El Paso	23	39	.371	13	11-15	12-24	3-7	Lost 3

Another side note: Nelson Cruz was named Player of the week; 12 for 29 3 HR 10 RBI one walk and 5 runs.

2004 California League Standings (High A)

North	W	L	PCT	GB	HOME	AWAY	L 10	STREAK
Modesto	43	20	0.683	---	21-7	22-13	1-Sep	Won 6
Stockton	35	28	0.556	8	16-13	19-15	6-Apr	Lost 5
San Jose	31	32	0.492	12	17-13	14-19	6-Apr	Won 1
Bakersfield	27	36	0.429	16	13-17	14-19	5-May	Lost 2
Visalia	19	44	0.302	24	25-Aug	19-Nov	6-Apr	Lost 1
South	W	L	PCT	GB	HOME	AWAY	L 10	STREAK
Lancaster	39	24	0.619	---	19-10	20-14	4-Jun	Lost 1
Inland Empire	35	28	0.556	4	18-11	17-17	6-Apr	Won 1
Lake Elsinore	33	30	0.524	6	19-17	14-13	2-Aug	Won 5
Rancho Cucamonga	32	31	0.508	7	18-19	14-12	6-Apr	Lost 2
High Desert	21	42	0.333	18	26-Aug	13-16	8-Feb	Lost 5

Yet, another note; The California regular season is over this week so playoffs are set to being next week.

2004 Midwest League Standings (Low A)

Eastern	W	L	PCT	GB	HOME	AWAY	L 10	STREAK
West Michigan	37	26	0.587	---	19-14	18-12	8-2	Lost 1
Lansing	35	28	0.556	2	17-18	18-10	5-5	Won 1
Battle Creek	34	29	0.54	3	14-18	20-11	5-5	Won 1
Fort Wayne	33	30	0.524	4	20-11	13-19	4-Jun	Won 3
South Bend	31	32	0.492	6	14-17	17-15	5-5	Won 2
Dayton	18	45	0.286	19	8-24	10-21	2-8	Lost 3
Western	W	L	PCT	GB	HOME	AWAY	L 10	STREAK
Kane County	37	26	0.587	---	19-12	18-14	5-5	Lost 1
Clinton	34	29	0.54	3	14-18	20-11	7-3	Lost 1
Quad Cities	33	30	0.524	4	17-14	16-16	7-3	Won 3
Beloit	32	31	0.508	5	13-15	19-16	5-5	Lost 3
Burlington-A	31	32	0.492	6	14-17	17-15	6-4	Won 3
Peoria	31	32	0.492	6	16-16	15-16	3-7	Lost 3
Cedar Rapids	29	34	0.46	8	11-20	18-14	3-7	Lost 4
Wisconsin	26	37	0.413	11	15-16	11-21	8-Feb	Won 1

Notey note; Brad Knox and Steve Bondurant were named to the Midwest League Post Season All Star Team. If you were waiting around for the A's next stream of great starters - these guys are on the fast track. Kane County and the A's also renewed their associated through 2006. The Midwest League Playoffs last deep into September. Odds are long that any player from Low A ball would make the cut for Call-Ups

2004 Northwest League Standings (Short-Season A)

East	W	L	PCT	GB	HOME	AWAY	L 10	STREAK
Boise	40	30	0.571	---	17-15	23-15	8-2	Lost 1
Tri City	38	32	0.543	2	22-16	16-16	7-3	Won 1
Spokane	36	34	0.514	4	20-15	16-19	5-5	Won 2
Yakima	32	38	0.457	8	16-19	16-19	3-7	Lost 2
West	W	L	PCT	GB	HOME	AWAY	L 10	STREAK
Vancouver	39	30	0.565	---	24-11	15-19	7-3	Won 1
Everett	38	32	0.543	1 1/2	19-16	19-16	3-7	Lost 1
Salem Keizer	34	36	0.486	5 1/2	20-15	14-21	4-6	Lost 2
Eugene	22	47	0.319	17	13-21	9-26	3-7	Won 2

Note of Importance; Outfielder Javier Herrera was named Northwest League MVP for 2004..

2004 Northwest League MVP -Javier Herrera

Batters	BA	SLG	G	AB	R	H	TB	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	E
Herrera	.343	.573	58	239	44	82	137	14	4	11	44	19	49	21	1	4