SHIPOOPI

Do re me fa so la si
Do si la sol fa mi re do


Squeeze her once, when she isn't lookin'
If you get a squeeze back that's fancy cookin'
Once more for a pepper-upper
She will never get sore on her way to supper


Do re me fa sol la si
Do si do

THE MUSIC MAN




Mark Ellis avoided arbitration by agreeing to a two-year deal worth $6 Million and the ever present Billy Beane paperclip; an option for an additional year at $5 Million. There is also a $250,000 buyout following 2007. Ellis will make $2.25 million in 2006 and $3.5 million in 2007.

Signing Ellis should come as no surprise. Ellis was to be the A's 2nd baseman this season barring any miracle trades or Bobby Crosby running down Ellis in the parking lot in Arizona next month. The second year of the deal ensures the A's have no question marks up the middle for the next 15-18 months. Why not the next two seasons?

This seems to be an area of a lot of confusion among A's fans. Apparently some have not received the memo that

A

There is turnover from year to year on all MLB team's rosters

B

Billy Beane trades and acquires players to keep the A's competitive

C

Many, but not all, players do not play out their multi-year contracts with the A's

D

The above are constant and will not change to meet the fan's eye view of the A's

As an A's fan you cannot, CAN NOT, CAN NOT confine yourself to the idea that any A's player is untouchable or not replaceable. Some just need to take a stroll down the transaction lists of the past ten years and see that to be true. The mistake is that some fans see only what is immediately in front of them and cannot see the warning track for the infield. There is a bigger picture constantly involved with the A's organization, yet fans mysteriously feel that the Opening Day Roster for 2004 will be pretty much the same for 2005. And the players will all perform better and get younger and the bathrooms at the Coliseum will smell better and be cleaner with each visit.


There are two players in the A's organization that are in line to be ready for a 2007 call-up or at least ready for the 2008 season.

Last year's first round pick, Clifton Pennington (SS) and 5th round pick of 2004, Ken Melillo (2B).

CLIFFTON PENNINGTON

POSITION:	SS
BORN:	June 15, 1984	PLACE:	Corpus Christi, Texas
HEIGHT:	5-11	WEIGHT:	175
BATS:	Both	THROWS:	Right
HIGH SCHOOL:	Carroll High School (Corpus Christi, TX)
COLLEGE:	Texas A&M
DRAFTED:	Selected 1st round (21st overall) of 2005

Year	TEAM	League	Age	Org.	Level	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	HBP	IBB	SH	SF	DP	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
2003	Texas A&M	NCAA	19		NCAA	63	241	54	82	14	2	2	41	12	2	22	27	0		2	2	8	.340	.392	.440	.832
2004	Texas A&M	NCAA	20		NCAA	63	257	60	87	7	4	5	35	12	3	33	18	0		4	3	6	.339	.410	.455	.865
2005	Texas A&M	NCAA	21		NCAA	56	212	44	77	13	4	7	39	29	9	37	25	1		2	4	1	.363	.453	.561	1.014
2005	Kane County	Midw	21	OAK	A	69	290	49	80	15	0	3	29	25	6	39	47	2	0	2	1	4	.276	.364	.359	.723
Minor League Totals: 1 years						69	290	49	80	15	0	3	29	25	6	39	47	2	0	2	1	4	.276	.364	.359	.723

KEVIN MELILLO

POSITION:	2B
BORN:	May 14, 1982	PLACE:	Orlando,Florida
HEIGHT:	6-0	WEIGHT:	190
BATS:	Left	THROWS:	Right
HIGH SCHOOL:	Lake Brantley High School (Altamonte Springs,FL)
COLLEGE:	University of South Carolina
DRAFTED:	Selected 5th round (157th overall) of 2004

Year	TEAM	League	Age	Org.	Level	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	HBP	IBB	SH	SF	DP	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
2002	S. Carolina	NCAA	20		NCAA	58	157	36	44	12	0	3	15	4	1	24	20	3		7	0	0	.280	.386	.414	.800
2003	S. Carolina	NCAA	21		NCAA	65	227	59	72	16	0	12	43	6	3	41	54	1		9	4	1	.317	.418	.546	.964
2004	S. Carolina	NCAA	22		NCAA	54	176	45	54	7	1	9	36	4	0	13	38	2		10	4	1	.307	.354	.511	.865
2004	Vancouver	Nwest	22	OAK	A	22	94	22	32	11	2	2	21	2	1	11	16	3	0	0	1	1	.340	.422	.564	.986
2005	Stockton	Calif	23	OAK	A	22	90	21	36	7	1	9	23	2	0	12	18	1	0	0	1	2	.400	.471	.800	1.271
2005	Kane County	Midw	23	OAK	A	78	280	47	80	18	3	8	36	10	4	53	40	3	1	1	5	5	.286	.399	.457	.856
2005	Midland	Tex	23	OAK	AA	35	131	33	37	10	0	7	34	9	2	14	23	0	1	0	2	4	.282	.347	.519	.866
Minor League Totals: 2 years						157	595	123	185	46	6	26	114	23	7	90	97	7	2	1	9	12	.311	.402	.539	.941

Pennington projects, in some eyes, as a leadoff hitter. Melillo as a number two or 5-7 hole hitter. Pennington plays shortstop and Melillo 2nd base. Melillo will most likely be ready for the big leagues before Pennington. After last year's draft most had Pennington eventually moving to second base if the A's retained Bobby Crosby.

So, we've come to another situation where two players currently on the roster have prospects coming up behind them. One will be gone, most likely, in 2008. Maybe even sooner. The two players have contracts that could reach into 2008...hence, the option for 2008 with Mark Ellis.

Of course for the next 15-18 months I'll receive even more hate email. Then when a transaction occurs where Ellis or Crosby leaves the A's nobody will offer an apology. Or when Swisher leaves the A's. That's fine. I just wish that reality didn't have to be visited upon so many, so often. This is why I always say that being a fan of the team means you root for laundry. You root for the name on the front of the jersey, not the name player on the back of the jersey.



The addition of Frank Thomas has people bringing out their calculators and projecting stats clearly not based on any relative information or reality itself.

Beane said there is a good chance that Thomas will be ready by April, "and that's being conservative," he said.
San Francisco Chronicle

"We're not pushing him to be out there on Opening Day," Beane said. "But if you were to ask Frank ... "
Sacramento Bee

Here is the kicker, the point, the reason, the thing...this is why sportswriters hold such a low opinion in my view. Nobody has been able to get Billy Beane or Arn Tellem (and what agent would say his client is physically unable to play?) to publicly state, 'Frank Thomas has been physically cleared to play baseball by a qualified physician and had passed the mandatory physical requirements as set by the Oakland Athletics Baseball Club.'

That included having Thomas come to Oakland early last week to be checked out by the A's doctor and trainers.


"He underwent a number of stress tests, very strenuous, and Frank felt great," Beane said. "He has a very good chance of being ready in April. He believes he'll be ready in Spring Training, we're just taking a conservative approach mentally."
MLB.com

Further, none of them have written anything on the subject of being unable to get Beane or anyone with the A's to offer some validation of Thomas' physical state. They took Beane, Tellem and Thomas' evasive answers as gospel and left it at that. So much for investigative reporting. Exactly which 'stress tests' did the A's physician perform? If Thomas can not run, let a lone jog or take batting proactive, less than a month prior the mandatory reporting date for position players, who in their right mid would even CONSIDER Thomas a possibility for Opening Day, let alone April or even May/

Joe Sheehan of BASEBALL PROSPECTUS offered some insight and suggested Thomas be focused on having him ready for the postseason a la Christina Kahrl's thought on the Yankees dynasty.

That he remained unsigned so deep into this winter, and comes so cheaply--$500,000 guaranteed on a deal that maxes out at $3.1 million--is testament to the uncertainty surrounding his health.
Joe Sheehan, Baseball Prospectus