Are the A's going to trade all of their veteran pitchers? Susan Slusser thinks maybe they will:
The Harden deal increases the chances that the A's could make more moves before July 31, with Street and starter Joe Blanton potentially on the block. Rumors about Blanton and Philadelphia gained speed Tuesday, and there were also rumblings that teams have interest in Duchscherer. There's still a chance, even with Oakland six games behind the Angels in the AL West, that the A's will move to pick up a big right-handed bat, a need they have this year and beyond.Frank Thomas (quadriceps) is expected to come off the DL by the end of the month, which will put a little more pop in the Oakland lineup, but it's not a fearsome bunch some nights, with Jack Cust often the only real power threat. In 24 games this year, the A's have been held to no more than one run, which is one more than all of last season. Oakland has the second lowest batting average in the league (.250) and the fourth fewest homers (70).
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I don't doubt that teams are interested in Justin Duchscherer. Not with the lowest ERA in the majors.
From the A's perspective, though, Duchscherer's value will never be higher than it is right now; last week exactly the same could have been said about Harden, which of course is why the A's traded him. Granted, Duchscherer is a fine pitcher and generally healthy (except for last season). But a 1.82 ERA, really?
As you might guess, he's been exceptionally lucky this season, with a statistical profile more suggestive of a 3.35 ERA. But if the A's were to trade him and Street and Blanton, can you imagine the depth of their young players over the next two or three years? Of course, that would also mean officially giving up on this season.
In a prerecorded segment last night on HBO's "Costas Now," Indians GM Mark Shapiro addressed MLB's economics:
"The reality still exists that you've got these enormous revenue gaps that allow for highly profitable $200 million payrolls for the Yankees, and for us an $86 million payroll. … The system's not even close to leveling the playing field. … I think you're developing an extreme elite right now; everybody else is going to have to go through cycles of ups and downs."
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Now, you can argue with Shapiro if you like, but I can tell you that his opinion is not uncommon, and I suspect you'd have a hard time finding things about which Shapiro and Billy Beane disagree. On this, I suspect they agree that losing for two or three years might be a precondition for winning for two or three years. But at the moment it's hard to figure which cycle the A's are in, because in 2006 they won 93 games, in 2007 they lost 86 games, and in 2008 they sport the third-best run differential in the American League. Which also makes it hard to figure what they'll do with Duchscherer, Street and Blanton.
Rob Neyer
