Competing for last place

So it looks like the Oakland Athletics will be slugging it out with the Texas Rangers for the cellar of the AL West next season. After trading ace Dan Haren, third place still seemed reachable; but with the recent trade of first-baseman/outfielder Nick Swisher, A’s General Manager Billy Beane seems intent on snatching the last place crown from the team helmed by his former third-base coach.

Nick Swisher has indeed been traded to the White Sox for three supposedly top of the line prospects. Perhaps the only meager solace I can take is that apparently Beane wasn’t shopping him, and that Kenny Williams made Beane on offer he couldn’t refuse. Swisher bears Oakland no ill will, and knows that’s just how the game is played off the field. Which is all fine and fucking dandy, but the A’s will now REALY stink during 2008. I was cool with not being competitive for the AL West, as long as we’re respectable. This A’s team isn’t capable of finishing respectably in 2008.

Nick Swisher was not a perfect player. Despite being the A’s most successful “Moneyball” offensive player, he never hit for average, struck out a lot, and never cracked 100 RBIs. But he did his things, hit for power, and played good defense. And he was the most popular player on the A’s since Miguel Tejada and could have turned into a much less fat and ’roided version of Jason Giambi. In return for him, the A’s got a good prospect OF, and two pitchers who probably won’t be ready for the majors until 2010, possibly 2011. Beane keeps crowing that the team is getting younger, but he’s dealing all the young and cheap players with any real upside for unproven commodities.

So, without Swisher, Haren, and probably Blanton (word is he’ll be gone by mid-2008 season at the absolute latest; likely before the season starts), we’ll be left with a team of players that are really young, really injury prone (Eric Chavez and Mark Kotsay), or a combination of the two (Rich Harden and Bobby Crosby). And once Harden gets injured, the A’s starting five will be comprised of Chad Gaudin, Lenny DiNardo, Justin Duchscherer, Dallas Braden, and Joe Kennedy’s corpse. This team probably loses 90 to 95 games, and could have the worst record in the AL when the season ends.