And why does Oakland always seem to have a good team no matter who plays for them?  I had no idea that they had any talent left (other than Blanton and Street) after they traded both Dan Haren and Nick Swisher.  Of course they always have depth in the minors, but how do they get them to always develop at the same exact time and form a good team?  Kurt Suzuki, Jack Hannahan, Daric Barton, three guys under 25 who have been solid contributors so far.  It doesn’t hurt to get lucky with Jack Cust who has re-shaped his career since joining the A’s.  Getting a consistent (and healthy) Rich Harden back is huge for them also.  Imagine how much better they would have been in past years had he been healthy.  Hopefully this isn’t an aberration and he can keep everything in one piece for a full season.  He’s a top talent if he does, and also increases his value, something Billy Beane would love to see, as I’m sure he’d trade Harden in a heartbeat.  He did trade Dan Haren and Tim Hudson, after all.

I guess I should learn to have faith in Billy Beane, he certainly knows his baseball, and he knows how to get the most for his players.  Looking back, the Mark Mulder trade was pure genious.  He netted Dan Haren who is now an ace (albeit for another team), Daric Barton who is one of the game’s top 1B prospects and is now in Oakland, and Kiko Calero, a solid bullpen arm.   All of this for Mulder who had only one good season in St. Louis and has since taken a gigantic dump.  The Haren trade may work out in their favor also.  Carlos Gonzales is a high-potential OF who can do it all, Dana Eveland is a solid young pitcher, and Chris Carter has a ton of potential at first base.  6 players for 1 is never a bad thing, and odds are that this will work out to make the trade a little more even as opposed to a highway robbery by the Diamondbacks.

It’ll be interesting to see what the A’s do the rest of the year and if they’ll give Anaheim and Seattle real competition for the top spot in the AL West.  I think they need a little more offense personally, but anything is possible.

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