PAGING DR. SHUFFHAUSEN...PAGING DR. EMIL SHUFFHAUSEN

PAGING DR. SHUFFHAUSEN...PAGING DR. EMIL SHUFFHAUSEN



And the A's outfield redesign takes new shape. Sort of. If amoebic form can be called shape. I am pretty sure that there will still be three outfield spots and players in the traditional Left Field, Center Field and Right Field spots in 2008 for the A's. Mostly sure. Unless they don't.


Susan Slusser has been doing her best to live up to her nickname her at EiO; 'Tool'. Earlier this week Slusser 'reported' that the A's were in talks to sign Mike Cameron - a free agent. Quickly let's hit some reason that makes little to zero sense;

• The A's are in rebuilding mode and are paring salary; Cameron made over $7 Million in 2007 and more than likely would command at least $5 Million in 2008.




• Cameron will start the 2008 season on a 25 Game suspension for violation of the MLB Drug Policy (amphetamines - or 'greenies').




• Mike Cameron strikes out a lot even for a 'power' hitter and doesn't walk enough; he has never hit more than 30 HR in a season, over 150 strikeouts on a 162 game average and owns a career OBP of .341




• The A's already have Mark Kotsay under an albatross of a contract.




• The A's are supposed to be getting younger - Cameron will be 35 in 2008.

Now, sticking Cameron and Jack Cust back to back in the batting order might be a useful way to blow debris around the infield with the amount of swings and misses between them it doesn't do much for the A's at all. While Cameron does have 3 Gold Gloves to sport around he also has enough injury baggage that does not get any lighter with his age.


Here is Slusser's 'report':

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/01/11/SPH3UDEL6.DTL
A's looking for an outfielder
Susan Slusser, San Francisco Chronicle
Friday, January 11, 2008


(01-10) 19:23 PST -- With Nick Swisher traded away and free agent Shannon Stewart unlikely to return, the A's are moving to sign a right-hand-hitting outfielder, according to major-league sources.

Oakland has had several conversations with veteran Mike Cameron, who was also briefly an A's target before he signed with the Mets in 2004. Cameron, who turned 35 on Tuesday, must sit out the first 25 games of the season after testing positive for a banned substance last year. That is an unpaid suspension, which means a bit of a price break for whichever team signs the three-time Gold Glove winner.

Other prominent right-handed hitting outfielders include Reggie Sanders and Rondell White. Jason Lane, who is from Santa Rosa, another possibility, agreed to a minor-league contract with the Yankees on Thursday.

Oakland has been linked to Boston outfielder Coco Crisp in past trade rumors, and the Red Sox have shopped Crisp this off-season, but recent rumblings of a Huston Street-for-Crisp deal are "fiction," one A's official said...

Okay, let's flip these notions aside first the right-handed outfielder bit. The A's are always left-handed heavy with their hitters. Billy Beane is oft quoted as saying, "it's a left-hander's game." Every off season the beat reporters speculate on what right-handed, aged, player the A's will sign. John Jaha, Randy Velarde, Ron Gant, Randy Velarde (again), Ron Gant (again),Eric Karros, Jay Payton, Frank Thomas, Mike Piazza. Some work, some don't, but why on earth can't the A's develop a right-handed hitter?


The A's have been since left-handed heavy since the mid-1990's. They were right-handed heavy prior to that...so I guess it balances out. Oddly, the A's have never been big on switch-hitters until recently with Nick Swisher, Milton Bradley and Adam Melhuse. Sure, you can throw in Bobby Kielty if you want but that is like suggesting Huston Street could pitch with his left arm.


Rondell White? He will be 36, sports a .336 OBP, has played for 15 seasons and had more than 500 ABs in a season just twice - the last in 1999. He has limited to 800 ABs the last two years. Again, a player who has a long history of injury who is getting older. And also can't play the outfield let alone centerfield. He made $2.5 Million last season.


Reggie Sanders? Sanders will be 40 years old in 2008. But, I'll keep going...he has been limited to 600 ABs the last 3 seasons. The last time he was a regular OF'er was 2002 and the last time he appeared in more than 80 games in center was 1998. He made $5,000,000 last season.


Jason Lane? He'll be 31 in 2008 and his home and away splits look like a cupcake next to a wedding cake. And he can't play center.


Coco Crisp? He is entering his prime and is under contract for more than $4 Million in 2008. Boston wouldn't give up Crisp for something less than a blockbuster deal. A healthy Huston Street wouldn't be enough.


So, in the meantime, the A's signed Emil Brown whom they originally drafted in 1994. Brown will be 33 this season and offers little more than someone to track down flyballs to make the pitching staff respectable. Really, Brown's a .262/.329/.401 career hitter. The difficulty is that Brown hasn't played centerfield since 2001. This isn't so much a bad signing for the A's as a worthless one. Jeff DaVanon or Doug Clark would have been cheaper and more reliable.