A little tidbit to get your nose wet and then I'll retrace back to Nick Peters of the Sacramento Bee.

For about two years there have been two types of articles about Eric Byrnes;

1. The article eschewing how much Byrnes hustles and what a throwback player he is - determined to have fun, including going to the Dominican Republic for Winter Ball, and doing it all for nearly the league minimum.

OR


2. The article on how Eric Byrnes is being spirited around the league as trade bait and comments by Byrnes on How he's "just happy to be here...I can't control the rumors...", etc.

Both types of articles had a shelf life of about two years ago, too. Now, the bird droppings are taking a life of their own.

A's General Manager Billy Beane recently went off the cuff with Mychael Urban of MLB.com denying that the A's had a deal in place for Byrnes and that the A's were actively shopping the OF'er. Beane went further to reiterate for the 90th time in seven years that there are no such things as 'sources within the A's organization' or a 'high level team source' or any bastardization of the same are false. That means not true and Beane went as far as to mention that when there are reports that suggest as much information leaking from an A's source that one can "safely assume that it's a bald-faced lie." Beane as much was pointing in Urban's face with this quote as Urban has been guilty of this sportswriter's crime as well.

The problem here is that Billy Beane says this about ten times a year and usually at least once a year at the Oakland A's FanFest. Still, sportswriters (who are morons) keep running with their 'confirmation' as if it were gold.

So here we are nearly two weeks later and Bob McManaman of the The Arizona Republic decides it is a slow news day.

KENDRICK SAYS TRADE IS IMMINENT


Cameron, Byrnes are top options


Bob McManaman
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 2, 2005 12:00 AM


Trade talks heated up Tuesday in the Diamondbacks' search to find a new starting center fielder and although the club still had multiple potential deals on the table, Ken Kendrick indicated a move could be made today.


"We will complete a transaction," Kendrick, one of the team's general partners, said Tuesday night. "We feel confident we're going to bring in a new center fielder to complete the team."


General Manager Joe Garagiola Jr. skipped his scheduled flight Tuesday morning to Mazatlan, Mexico, where he had planned to catch the Caribbean World Series with other team officials, so he could work the phones to try to bring a deal to fruition.


Garagiola entertained a series of phone calls early in the morning regarding various trade proposals and counteroffers and likely could cancel his trip to Mexico altogether if it means finalizing a deal that would bring either Eric Byrnes from the Oakland A's or Mike Cameron from the New York Mets to Arizona.


Although those two players have generated most of the trade talk surrounding the Diamondbacks' quest to find a replacement for Steve Finley, other options could be available. Kendrick said the team has been targeting up to six players. Colorado's Preston Wilson, who led the National League with 141 RBIs in 2003 but was limited to just 58 games last season due to a knee injury, is one of them.


Free-agent Jeromy Burnitz remains another candidate, although it's likely he will sign with either the Chicago Cubs or Pittsburgh Pirates. Earlier this winter, San Diego's Jay Payton was also drawing interest from the Diamondbacks, who aren't ready to give the everyday starting job in center to raw talent Luis Terrero. "We just think it's probably too much pressure to rely on Terrero," Kendrick said.


The Rockies and Mets apparently have talked about a possible swap involving Wilson, who is scheduled to make $12.5 million in 2005, and Cameron, who hit 30 home runs last season after signing a three-year, $19 million deal with New York.


Both players interest Arizona, but their salaries don't fit into the Diamondbacks' budget nearly as well as that of Byrnes, whose pay will top out at $2.5 million should he proceed to his arbitration hearing and win his case with the A's.


Although neither Kendrick nor Garagiola would discuss any trade specifics, it is known that the players most clubs generally ask about in connection with possible deals include starting pitcher Brandon Webb, new first baseman Chad Tracy and top prospects Conor Jackson, Carlos Quentin, Sergio Santos and Ramon Antonio Peņa.




Jocketty talk


Kendrick took issue with a USA Today report suggesting the Diamondbacks are prepared to either fire or demote Garagiola so they could bring in St. Louis GM Walt Jocketty, whose contract with the Cardinals expired on Monday.


"That is definitely not accurate. Definitely not," Kendrick said, adding he has spoken with Jocketty this off-season at a baseball function, but is under the belief that Jocketty will remain in St. Louis.


"I'd like to work out something here (with the Cardinals), but nothing's been done yet," Jocketty said in the USA Today story. "Several clubs have expressed an interest. If nothing happens shortly, I'll have to look at that."

How many players were discussed? Not to mention that the General Manager was about to be fired or not fired. What the hell is a 'general partner' doing talking about players, anyway? Isn't that the job of a GM?

Okay, you can take this with a 10 lbs bag of rock salt, and factor in that the Arizona Diamondbacks are the new Brewers. If you have time, simply go scan a list of the transactions the Diamondbacks have made since their inception. Throw in the fact that the man they wanted to hire to manage their team was fired within a week and was in jail a week after that.

On a larger scale, Oakland A's fans need to get over the Eric Byrnes hype.

...AND IT BYRNES, BYRNES, BYRNES

One of the original mantras, when this blog began four seasons ago, was that Eric Byrnes needed to be in the lineup. Eric Byrnes had a requisite accompaniment of talents and abilities lacking in the other A's outfielders. Yet, Art Howe and Ken Macha insisted on trotting out lesser players into to the outfield. Byrnes was quick, agile, able to steal a base, made the routine play in the outfield, waited for a pitch to hit, hustled down the baseline on ground balls. Byrnes generally went about his duties as if there was a definitive chance that someone would come on the field and attempt to take the uniform off him is he slowed down for a moment.

I ranted and described the play of Terrence Long and Chris Singleton (later, Jermaine Dye and Johnny Damon) in terms that were borderline ridiculous. Then again, they really were that bad. The ongoing question became, "how bad do you have to suck as an Oakland A's outfielder before a change will be made?" Evidentially, you have to suck hard, suck fierce and suck for a long time before anyone with a clue will speak up.

After Jermaine Dye's injury following a broken leg in the 2001 Playoffs (yes, it was that long ago) was slow to heal, it looked like both Adam Piatt and Eric Byrnes were going to have a decent shot of getting regular playing time.

Once Eric Byrnes was given a chance to play every day in 2003 it seemed I was a genius for pressing his case for so long. The problem was, once the wound healed Byrnes was revealed for what he truly is, a temporary replacement for the A's. A scab on a healing wound, if you will.

Seriously, step the hell back and examine your current rage at my accusation.

Are you rooting for a player instead of the team?

Are you seriously considering that the A's are better off with Eric Byrnes in the outfield at $2.5 million (which begs the question - if Byrnes is asking for $2.5 Million in arbitration - is he still the 'underdog'?) than another arm for the pitching staff, a player to be named, cash and having Charles Thomas, Bobby Kielty and Matt Watson platoon in the OF spots with Mark Kotsay and Nick Swisher?

Then you are not an Oakland A's fan. You are a sheep following the hype machine.

I'm going to do the old side-by-side comparison of Player A's stats versus Player B's stats. It's pretty easy to follow along.

PLAYER A = +/- $3 Million a Season

Year	Age	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	HBP	GDP	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
2001	25	19	38	9	9	1	0	3	5	4	6	1	0	.237	.326	.500	.826
2002	26	90	94	24	23	4	2	3	11	4	17	3	3	.245	.291	.426	.717
2003	27	121	414	64	109	27	9	12	51	42	71	2	3	.263	.333	.459	.792
2004	28	143	569	91	161	39	3	20	73	46	111	12	11	.283	.347	.467	.814

PLAYER B = +/- $3 Million a Season

Year	Ag	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	HBP	GDP	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
2001	24	88	158	27	49	3	1	13	32	15	53	7	4	.310	.390	.589	.979
2002	25	131	368	48	97	16	1	16	57	32	116	21	10	.264	.355	.443	.798
2003	26	116	309	49	81	15	4	18	48	35	89	13	6	.262	.360	.511	.871
2004	27	155	561	97	148	35	5	29	82	50	169	30	11	.264	.354	.499	.853

PLAYER A= +/- $3 Million a Season

TOTALS		G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	HBP	GDP	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
MLB Totals: (5 Seasons)		383	1125	193	305	71	14	38	140	96	206	19	17	.271	.336	.460	.796
AVG Totals: (5 Seasons)		162	475	81	129	30	5	16	59	40	87	8	7	.271	.336	.460	.796

PLAYER B= +/- $3 Million a Season

TOTALS		G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	HBP	GDP	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
MLB Totals: (4 Seasons)		490	1396	221	375	69	11	76	219	132	427	71	31	.269	.360	.497	.857
AVG Totals: (4 Seasons)		161	461	73	123	22	3	25	72	43	141	23	10	.269	.360	.497	.857

Who is the more valuable player on offensive numbers alone? Both players are outfielders, both are righty/righty and while Player A is +1 on defense, Player B is -6 on defense. However, Player B can also play 1st base and catch.

Does the difference of 7 make that much of a difference when the larger issue for the Oakland A's is production at the plate - not defense?

Let's call the defense factors a wash.

Look at those numbers.

Is Eric Byrnes worth $3 Million a year? Really?

No. Not to the A's.

Byrnes isn't really worth an everyday job in the A's outfield, either. The A's have cheaper and more productive options available. Further, will Eric Byrnes' trade value ever be higher?

No.

So trade him, already.

Remember, this is from the guy who spent hours culminating data that showed Byrnes should have been in the lineup rather than Terrence Long and Chris Singleton and Jermaine Dye as far back as 2002.

The A's can do better than Byrnes.

The A's should strive to do better than Byrnes.