Yeah it's a little early but I needed a place to post this... hallelujah!

A’s trade Cliff Pennington for outfielder Chris Young

http://blog.sfgate.com/athletics/2012/10/20/as-trade-cliff-pennington-for-outfielder-chris-young/

The A’s were expected to be one of the quietest teams this offseason, but the second you pin any expectations on Billy Beane, he’ll zag the other direction.

Less than two weeks after saying that he plans to keep the 2012 A’s team together, Beane traded longtime shortstop and recently second baseman Cliff Pennington to the Diamondbacks (shocker) along with minor-league infielder Yordy Cabrera for outfielder Chris Young.

“He’s going to fit in well,” said A’s starter Jarrod Parker, who like several other Oakland players also came from Arizona. “He’s similar to a lot of guys we have here, he’s young, he’ll have a lot in common with everyone. It’s going to be exciting to see him.”

The A’s, of course, already have three very good outfielders, so the only logical conclusion to draw from this is that Beane, Oakland’s GM, is planning to move one of the three. It’s hard to imagine them trading Yoenis Cespedes, who has superstar-in-the-making all over him, or Josh Reddick, who isn’t even arbitration eligible yet and who hit 31 homers.

UPDATE: Beane was very clear on a conference call with reporters that he has no plans to move any of the outfielders under contract for 2013.

So that means, instead of the below speculation, bye-bye Jonny Gomes. That’s something of a surprised, Beane had mentioned Gomes as “under the umbrella” of bringing everyone back next season, and manager Bob Melvin had voiced a strong desire to bring Gomes back.

So is it bye-bye Coco Crisp? Crisp is scheduled to make $7 million next year, but he also provided speed at the top of the lineup and his defense in center gave the A’s one of the best outfields in the league. Manager Bob Melvin often called Crisp both the offensive and defensive catalyst of the club. And, as an industry executive pointed out to me, Cespedes makes even more – $8.5 million next year. It’s really, really tough to picture Oakland parting with the kind of player the club cannot usually get, though.

Here’s another reason Crisp makes the most sense: Young, who made the NL All-Star team in 2010, has played in 851 major-league games, all of them in center. Of course, Cespedes also is a center fielder.

Young, 29, is a career .239 hitter in six-plus big-league seasons, with 132 homers in that time. The A’s hold an $11 million option on him for 2014 with a $1.5 million buyout.

Young doesn’t come cheap – like Cespedes, he’ll earn $8.5 million next year, and the A’s will get $500,o00 to help offset the contract. That’s not really going to make much of a dent in the payroll. Yet another reason Crisp is likely to go….or way, way less likely, Cespedes. Or heck, maybe Beane is just going to move Young along somewhere.

Melvin was Young’s manager in Arizona, so he must have provided a good review, as he did with shortstop Stephen Drew.

This deal makes it appear as if Drew is more likely to return to Oakland, because Pennington would have been Plan B at shortstop if Drew leaves. Drew and the A’s have a mutual $10 million option for 2013, but he could elect to explore the free agent market. I spoke to his agent, Scott Boras, this afternoon, and Boras said he has not yet started talking to the A’s, but will after the World Series is over.

The A’s have made numerous trades with Arizona over the past several years, including sending starter Dan Haren there in the deal that brought back starter Brett Anderson and first baseman Chris Carter (and outfielder Carlos Gonzalez); sending reliever Brad Ziegler there in 2011 for reliever Jordan Norberto; last winter, acquiring Parker and outfielder Collin Cowgill for starter Trevor Cahill; then getting Drew in August.

Will the A’s all be former Diamondbacks soon?

“I don’t know,” Parker said with a laugh. “I think it just has to do with Bob Melvin knowing these guys so well and Billy having such a good relationship with their front office. They work well together.”

So what happens at second base, a spot Pennington handled very well? Jemile Weeks is likely to get the first crack at regaining his old spot (also possible: Scott Sizemore , unless Beane has a grand plan that also includes a new second baseman and maybe shortstop if Drew doesn’t return.

Pennington was the longest tenured player on the A’s 25-man roster, and he was popular with his teammates.

“I’m definitely sad to see him go,” Parker said. “He went through a lot this year with the position change, and if he has the chance to play shortstop again now, that will be big for him.”


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It's a little bit of a weird deal, especially with all the OF players we've got. I'm a little surprised if it means Gomes is leaving, since they made such a big deal aobut how huge he was in the clubhouse, and his Bay Area connecions. Getting rid of Crisp makes even less sense though, noodle arm or not, given his second-half/post-season heroics, and his status as one of the players that the fans have really connected with. I guess if Gomes leaves, they can go ahead and make Carter the full time DH and have Moss at 1B.

Otherwise, I gotta wonder who Weeks pissed off if they're already saying that Sizemore may be moving to 2B. Does Melvin just not like the guy? I think he deserves another crack at the line-up.

All that said, hey, no more Pennington. I can live with that.

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I think, if anything, stating that they're moving Sizemore to 2nd means they're trying to push Weeks to get better. They tried to hand him the job on a silver platter, and he got complacent and didn't up his game. Let's see how he does now having to compete for the position.

As for Chris B Young, I think he's great, but I'm not convinced he's not moving as part of another package later.

>As for Chris B Young, I think he's great, but I'm not
>convinced he's not moving as part of another package later.

Fuckin Pennington is gone!

Pops left me a message about the trade Saturday night... He never mentioned who he was traded for and I didn't even bother looking it up until Sunday lol
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>It's a little bit of a weird deal, especially with all the OF
>players we've got. I'm a little surprised if it means Gomes is
>leaving, since they made such a big deal aobut how huge he was
>in the clubhouse, and his Bay Area connecions. Getting rid of
>Crisp makes even less sense though, noodle arm or not, given
>his second-half/post-season heroics, and his status as one of
>the players that the fans have really connected with. I guess
>if Gomes leaves, they can go ahead and make Carter the full
>time DH and have Moss at 1B.
>
>Otherwise, I gotta wonder who Weeks pissed off if they're
>already saying that Sizemore may be moving to 2B. Does Melvin
>just not like the guy? I think he deserves another crack at
>the line-up.
>
>All that said, hey, no more Pennington. I can live with that.

just gonna sit back and stay away from baseball. seeing the Tigers in there and (most likely) the G**nts is just gonna piss me the fuck off.

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<<progressions.

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<<progressions.

Nice
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Everyone here hates pop music, but loves Michael Jackson... Okay Player...

I really would rather he were not there, but not passionately against it.

The whole PED thing never really bothered me, he got caught served his time now lets see if he can continue to pound the strikezone at eat innings. I generally agree with Beane's strategy that you really need an 8-man rotation if you want to get through an entire season and Colon at $3M should bring some decent depth.

If he's got more gas in the tank, unaided by performance enhancing drugs, then so be it. Low risk, low cost. We always can use more starting pitching.

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out there until Peacock is ready, and saving that $3M for Drew. Don't much like the PED thing, but it doesn't really bother me like it used to. At this point, I now assume that every team has players that do it and get away with it easily.

...to sign Drew. I figure Beane and co. have an amount there ready to offer him, and Colon won't derail that.

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Cuz it's slim pickings out there for SS.

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http://www.bostonherald.com/blogs/sports/red_sox/index.php/2012/11/21/source-red-sox-reach-two-year-agreement-with-jonny-gomes/

$5M a year for a platoon player is great. I'm glad for him; he's a good dude that taught our young players how to play the game. I'll give him a standing ovation when he comes into town next year.

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<<progressions.

Athletics and 1B Daric Barton avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $1.1 million contract.

He could make an additional $250,000 with incentives. Barton earned the same $1.1 million salary in 2012 while batting just .204/.338/.292 with one home run and a .630 OPS in 136 plate appearances. The new deal isn't guaranteed, so the A's could cut bait during spring training and only be responsible for a portion of the contract.

The fact he even has a chance to wear the green and gold again sickens me... with Penny gone I thought I was all done with A's I hate. Now watch him hit 400 in spring training.
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Stolen from the comments on AthleticsNation, our lineup could look like this next year:

Vs RHP
------
Crisp-CF
Jaso-C
Cespedes-LF
Moss-1B
Reddick-RF
Smith-DH
Donaldson-3B
Nakajima-SS
Green/Weeks/Sizemore-2B

Vs LHP
------
Crisp-DH/CF
Young-CF/DH
Carter-1B
Cespedes-LF
Reddick-RF
Donaldson-3B
Nakajima-SS
Green/Weeks/Sizemore-2B
Norris-C

Looking forward to March!

I really like the Jaso trade... I've seen enough of Cole in Sac to know he wasn't breaking into our rotation anytime soon. Jaso is an upgrade from Kottaras and will take some pressure off of Norris. Hopefully Kottaras will clear waivers and we can stash him in Sac should we need another major league ready catcher at some point... If not we still have Stassi in the pipeline... but yeah we're looking really deep for the first time in over a decade.

Can't wait for the season to start.
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http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/32384/oakland-as-compare-to-91-braves

Oakland A's compare to '91 Braves
January, 28, 2013
JAN 28
4:30
PM ET
By David Schoenfield | ESPN.com


I'm about to do something really stupid: Compare the 2012 Oakland A's to the 1991 Atlanta Braves.

That was the Braves team that went worst to first. It was the dawn of a dynasty that saw the Braves win 14 consecutive division titles (or 14 in 15 years if you want to include the strike-terminated 1994 season). The A's didn't go from last place to first, but they did surprise everyone by going from under .500 to win 94 games and the AL West title. A win total, coincidentally, that matches the '91 Braves.

Both teams also clinched right at the end of the season: The A's on the season's final day, the Braves in Game 161. The Braves outscored their opponents by 105 runs, the A's by 99. In terms of adjusted stats, the A's had an OPS+ of 97 and ERA+ of 114, the Braves had an OPS+ of 98 and ERA+ of 112. The Braves actually scored more runs, but they played in Fulton County Stadium, nicknamed The Launching Pad, which isn't exactly how the O.co ballpark is described.

Anyway, let's check out some of the individual player comparisons.

Josh Reddick versus David Justice
Two 25-year-old right fielders in their second seasons, although Justice had a better pedigree after winning Rookie of the Year honors. Both were tall (Reddick listed at 6-foot-2, Justice at 6-foot-3) with thin builds that generated a lot of power. Justice was a good outfielder early in his career and like Reddick had a very good throwing arm. Justice had the big edge in on-base percentage -- .377 to .305 -- as Reddick still has some work to do to match Justice's plate discipline.

Yoenis Cespedes versus Ron Gant
Two guys with about 2 percent body fat who had power and speed, both in their age-26 seasons. Gant was a former infielder playing out of position in center field (the Braves moved him to left in 1992) and Cespedes began the 2012 season in center before moving to left field. Gant had a 127 OPS+ and finished sixth in the MVP vote and Cespedes had a 137 OPS+ and finished 10th in the MVP vote.

Coco Crisp versus Otis Nixon
These two guys played the role of veteran speedy outfielder. Nixon swiped 72 bases that year while Crisp stole 39 in 43 attempts. Both even screwed up October for their clubs. Nixon was suspended late in the season after a positive drug test and missed the postseason; Crisp dropped a fly ball in the Division Series against the Tigers that may have cost the A's the series.

Brandon Moss versus Sid Bream
They aren't an exact match as Moss had a huge season at the plate (.596 slugging percentage in a part-time role) while Bream was a glove-first first baseman, but both were unheralded veteran acquisitions who provided a needed lift for the club, Moss for his power and Bream for his defense. Moss had 296 plate appearances and Bream 298.

Chris Carter versus Brian Hunter
Two rookie right-handed sluggers who played key roles as platoon players at first base. Carter was a little better than Hunter was. Hunter never really developed from there; it will be interesting to see what shape Carter's career takes.

Shortstop
Neither team had a regular shortstop, as the Braves platooned defensive whiz Rafael Belliard with the more offensive-minded Jeff Blauser, while the played gloveman Cliff Pennington but eventually traded for Stephen Drew, a better hitter.

Jarrod Parker versus John Smoltz
Two young, hard-throwing right-handers: Parker was 23, Smoltz 24, although Parker was a rookie and Smoltz was already in his third full season. Parker went 13-8 with a 3.47 ERA while Smoltz went 14-13 with a 3.80 ERA. Thanks to park effects and workload, Smoltz beats out Parker in WAR, 5.1 to 3.8. Smoltz took a leap in 1992, improving his strikeout rate from 5.8 to 7.8 per nine innings. If Parker makes a similar leap, his potential to turn into a staff ace becomes more likely.

Brett Anderson versus Tom Glavine
Glavine was the Cy Young winner in 1991 while Anderson missed much of the season after returning from Tommy John surgery, and while they don't necessarily align in stuff -- Anderson is fastball/cutter/slider while Glavine was primarily fastball/changeup -- they do align in the context of throwing left-handed and being the young leader of the staff. Anderson was a year younger but like Glavine is a guy with superb command; in fact, he's averaged fewer walks per nine innings so far in his career than Glavine did in 1991.

Tom Milone versus Charlie Leibrandt
There were at different stages in their careers -- a rookie versus a 34-year-veteran -- but both were finesse left-handers who outpitched their stuff with smarts and location.

Ryan Cook versus Mark Wohlers
Wohlers wasn't quite yet a key member of the Braves' staff, throwing just 17 innings, but the upper 90s fastball certainly compares to Cook's heater.

Sean Doolittle versus Mike Stanton
Two lefty relievers, both in their first full seasons in the majors, both with excellent stuff. Stanton, however, was not a minor league first baseman.

You even have hard-throwing veteran journeyman closers in Grant Balfour and Juan Berenguer (who got hurt in August). The A's don't have anyone to match up with Terry Pendleton, the free agent third baseman who had a career year and won the MVP Award for the Braves.

Finally, average weighted ages from Baseball-Reference.com:

A's hitters: 27.7
Braves hitters: 28.1

A's pitchers: 27.7
Braves pitchers: 27.0

Am I saying the A's have just started a long-running dynasty? No, of course not. Their budget situation will always make that difficult in today's world. It's obviously unlikely that Parker and Anderson will turn into Smoltz and Glavine. More importantly, the Braves' farm system kept churning out young talent throughout the decade: Javy Lopez and Ryan Klesko in 1994, Chipper Jones in 1995, Andruw Jones, Jermaine Dye and Jason Schmidt in 1996, Kevin Millwood in 1997. They were able to trade for Fred McGriff and others. And they signed Greg Maddux as a free agent in 1993.

But I do like where the A's are at in 2013 and for the next couple of seasons. Last year was not a fluke.
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http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=25577019
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Not gonna lie... a little water in eyes...

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Everyone here hates pop music, but loves Michael Jackson... Okay Player...

The Oakland A’s acquired infielder Jed Lowrie and right-handed pitcher Fernando Rodriguez from the Houston Astros for first baseman Chris Carter, right-handed pitcher Brad Peacock and minor league catcher Max Stassi.

WTF? 3 of our better young prospects for an injured utility infielder and a vanilla reliever... I know Billy has made some great trades lately but this shit just looks crazy to me. And all the time we've waited for Carter and now we trade him for THIS?

Last thing I wanted to see the day after the 9ers lose their first super bowl
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Does Lowrie play 2B or something? But yeah, to wait this long on Carter to finally come around, and then trade him (to an in-division team nonetheless) seems a beyond weird.

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2nd, 3rd & SS

I have no problems picking dude up but that price just seems crazy high to me.

The plus side is with Sizemore back this gives the A's good flexibility in the inf... and with Carter now out of the mix opens up some ABs for our extra outfielders at DH

It also frees up another roster spot cause I assume Rosales is a goner... it just better not be used on Barton or I'm going off
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1) The A's don't view Carter as a viable first baseman. Carter's value would be more at DH, but, like you say OP, the A's intend to use the DH to keep their 5 outfielders happy. The front office probably recognizes that Melvin will need every one of those DH at-bats to keep the egos in check. You wouldn't give ABs to young Carter at the expense of Coco and Young, so you had redundancy that you had to eliminate.
2) The A's probably thought last year showcased Carter as far more valuable than they actually view him. This is the highest his stock has been since he was an actual prospect; they wanted to cash that stock in before its value started dipping again.
3) They see Lowrie as a piece that they can deal for high value later if it turns out Hiro is a legit player. It's hard to get a good SS these days! Fools were giving up the farm for shortstops last year around the trading deadline; they probably think they could flip him or Weeks for the next Carter and/or Peacock pretty easily.

That's what I think is going on in Beane and Forsts' head. That said, I'm going to stand up and clap for Chris Carter when he comes into town as the DH for the Astros, and I have a feeling he's going to do really well for them.

..as I am worried we’re putting all our eggs in the Moss at first basket. hopefully he can replicate 2012 but if not who do we turn to then? Barton *shutters* I understand wanting more depth at the other 3 infield positions but I don’t think exposing yourself at first is the way to go about it.
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I've like Lowrie for a while but this seems like a bit much for him considering his injury issues. I guess the A's are taking the shotgun approach on fixing the infield by just adding a number of interesting players with question marks and hoping that a couple of them break out.

I don't know what the plan is for first base because I have very little faith in Brandon Moss, but I guess it's easier to find capable first basemen than guys for the rest of the infield. I think this also means that we might see more Cespedes at DH and John Jaso getting a good amount of AB's at first or DH.

i'm ready for some hardball
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Susan Slusser ‏@susanslusser
Michael Taylor looks pretty raw at 1B still, but he's a big target, which infielders love.

Susan Slusser ‏@susanslusser
Taylor is watching superb fielder Barton intently during drills and Moss is pointing out to him what Barton is doing. #Athletics
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First game is Saturday, right? Things I wanna see:

1) How Hiro looks at short
2) If Weeks can make a compelling case to reclaim second
3) If Sizemore looks anything like 2011 Sizemore.
4) How Addison Russell looks in limited PT (if any)

This one's for you, OP!

http://www.sfgate.com/athletics/article/A-s-Daric-Barton-tries-for-roster-spot-4314911.php

Daric Barton has had the strangest of career trajectories.
A golden boy after coming to Oakland in the Mark Mulder trade with St. Louis in December 2004, Barton could do no wrong, especially when he was racking up high walk totals.
Barton, though, didn't develop the sort of power associated with first base, and his best attribute at the position wound up being his defense.
That wasn't enough to keep him in the big leagues, especially when a rough start at the plate in 2011 affected Barton's play in the field. Not hitting much, and making too many errors, he was sent down in June and has seen little time with Oakland since then.
And yet: He's still here, six years after his major-league debut at the age of 22. He's the longest-tenured position player in A's camp - and don't rule him out entirely for a roster spot. Barton remains the best defensive first baseman here, for one thing, and the incumbent first baseman, Brandon Moss, is actually an outfielder.
Barton is on a non-guaranteed contract. He gets his $1.1 million deal only if he makes the team, and he is out of options. So this spring is it as far as his Oakland career is concerned. He makes the team, or he goes elsewhere.
Barton was surprised the A's even wanted him back.
"To be honest, I didn't think it would happen. Nothing pointed to me signing here," he said. "But when they offered it, I said, 'Yeah, I love it here.' It caught me off guard, but it's nice knowing that they brought me back. I can't say a bad word about this organization. They've given me chances."
Sometimes, health affected Barton's performance, a shoulder injury in 2011 especially. But other times, he might have fallen into the walk trap: The team valued getting on base so much and preached patience so thoroughly, that some players in recent years have spent more time looking than swinging.
"There's a difference between being patient and passive," one American League scout said. "Barton started to look to get walked."
Barton realized last year that he's at his best when he's more aggressive, and he has continued to focus on that.
"My mind-set has changed," he said. "Now I think walks come from swinging at good pitches, hitting good pitches, rather than taking early in the count until you get a mistake to hit. I realized there's a difference between being passively aggressive and aggressively passive.
"If you leave it over the plate early in the count, I'm going to be swinging. Why not swing? You don't get in a hole right off the bat.
"I was taking just to take. I used to take the first pitch every time. Everyone knew that, so I was already in a hole. I'm not going to do that anymore. Now I'm looking fastball and adjusting if it's something else."
Barton had two hits in Oakland's first game and, on Wednesday, he hit a ringing double off the wall in right in the A's 11-6 win over the Padres.
"Everything's looked really good," manager Bob Melvin said. "He's fully healed from the shoulder, and he's not getting bogged down with numbers. He's just trying to make his best effort. He's got the ability, we've seen in years past, to do well at the big-league level."
Barton knows that the non-guaranteed deal looms toward the end of next month. "I don't know if it makes much difference, really," he said. "It's just more incentive to make the team, but I'm not in it to make money. I just love being out here, being where I am right now."

I like the talk of being more aggressive but I need to see him do it consistently before I buy in though. But I'm not as worried about Barton as in past years because the lineup is loaded enough to not have to depend on him a whole lot. I'm still somewhat worried about what type of follow up season Moss has... so as strange as it sounds, now that Carter is gone I'm kinda ok with Barton providing a little insurance at the position. He's gonna need to shave that fuckin Duck Dynasty beard though.. Reddick too
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...but I certainly didn't want him around last year. But I certainly rather him on the roster than Rosales or Sogard as the 25th man.

and yeah, I hope Moss 2013 is legit and that Moss 2012 wasn't on that Biogenesis.

I'm ready to say it's just not going to happen for dude... So basically we'll have nothing to show for the CarGo trade *smh*

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/michael-taylor-cuts-pinkie-finger-trying-throw-gum-180212918--mlb.html

No matter what happens for the rest of his career in Major League Baseball, this might be how Michael Taylor of the Oakland Athletics is remembered.
Taylor already has missed a week of A's camp because he cut the pinkie finger on his right hand in two spots trying to throw away a wad of gum. One of the gashes has healed, the other has not, Taylor told reporter Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle on Sunday:
He’s 6-foot-5, and his hand hit the light on the ceiling of the dugout as he made the toss. So he’s missed a week, he told me, and he cannot play until the cut has totally closed, which it has not.
That's definitely going to make the Bizarre Injury Hall of Fame, once ground is broken. And before anyone belittles Taylor's intelligence too much: He went to Stanford. OK, so there's a difference between book smart and dugout smart. Always know where your light fixtures are in the dugout, tunnel and clubhouse! And please, deposit your used gum in the nearest trash bin.
There is a semi-sad part of this story, though. Taylor, at one point, was going to be somebody in the majors.
He was the N0. 29 rated prospect by Baseball America in 2010, shortly after he was traded away by the Philadelphia Phillies in the Roy Halladay megadeal. Taylor (and Shane Peterson) are all the A's have left from the Matt Holliday trade.
Now that he's 27 years old, Taylor's career certainly is at a crossroads, as Slusser writes. It's actually been there since 2011. He wasn't going to make the team out of spring training. The A's are deep in the outfield (and even at first base, which Taylor also is trying to learn). And they never have seemed all that eager to give him an extended look. He's got 56 career plate appearances in the bigs.
His minor league numbers are good: .294/. 377/ .469 with 79 homers and 92 stolen bases in 2,772 plate appearances, but the returns seem to be diminishing. And he's got Triple-A down, having gotten about 1,600 plate appearances there. He seems like the kind of player who would benefit from an expansion draft, like one of the guys the Rockies or Marlins or D-backs would have taken back in the day. There's no expansion draft coming soon. Taylor probably could contribute in the majors if given a chance.
Even though he's one step away, right now, he's not really that close.
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That fool hit .270-something in Oakland, .350-something in St. Louis post-trade. Started balling when we were clearly out of the race, just in time to attract the trade market. Fuck that guy.

Peep this opening day lineup from 2009...

1. Ryan Sweeney CF
2. Orlando Cabrera SS
3. Jason Giambi DH
4. Matt Holliday LF
5. Nomar Garciaparra 1B
6. Eric Chavez 3B
7. Kurt Suzuki C
8. Jack Cust RF
9. Mark Ellis 2B
Dallas Braden P

Chavvy played 8 games that year, Giambi batted .200 and went from 32 HRs to 13 HRs. That was a tough lineup to watch.

I HATE that fuck
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Oh, and what the fuck was Nomar doing on that lineup? Beane got so happy with his year of Frank Thomas that he tried to fill out an entire lineup with old dudes that *just* might have some magic left in them.

(Frank Thomas was a beast though; I wish we had him for '07 as well.)

Ever the great John Jaha reclamation project of 1999, Beane has spent almost 15 years trying to recreate that magic. Sometimes it works: Thomas in '06 was damn near MVP, and David Justice was really good in '02. Sometimes it doesn't work: Nomar, Piazza, the second go-around with Frank Thomas, the second go-around with Giambi.

I never feel like it hurts the team, because they always come on the cheap, and let's face it, up until last year, we hadn't really had a promising 1B prospect. But it does get a little bizarre at times.

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I wish I could erase all memory of those teams from 2007-2011
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https://twitter.com/CaseyPrattCSN/status/315966045582155776

That's an insult to him, because he was playing well and he certainly hasn't had many missteps this spring training except for an injury issue. But I hope he uses that, plays pissed off and earns his way back onto the roster. I hope the organization hasn't given up on him, because I still think he can be a really good player.

(I give Sogard 3 weeks to survive on the big league roster.)

I have nothing against the guy at all but I've seen more than enough of him in triple A to know a backup when I see one... I hope he proves me wrong but if anyone was going to get the nod at 2nd over Weeks it should have been Sizemore... and he's having his own struggles this spring. Weeks put in the work and won that job so this is pretty disappointing.
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And they'd like the idea of a player with his flexibility.

That said, Weeks deserved the spot.

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He's young and he has shown an ability to hit for average in the past. But he's a pretty poor defender and he can only play second base. With all the other players competing for the spot who have more versatility I'm not that surprised to see Weeks go down.

Opportunities will come and if Weeks can hit in AAA up the level he showed in 2011 he'll get his chance.

...prioritizing spots to guys who I guess earned their spot last season and/or can play multiple positions. So Weeks would look like odd man out for the time being. I think it's smart. If someone who played well last season regresses, there's always someone else we can throw out there. Or if someone is making a case that he should play more often, maybe he can get some starts playing at another position where the starter needs a break or isn't playing as well. Weeks only being able to play 2B disadvantages him in this sort of roster-philosophy, but maybe in Sacramento he can get practice playing other positions, helping his cause at a lower risk for the big club.

He lacks consistency but I don't call that being a poor defensive player.

I agree with hood that this is a move based on options... for both Sogard and Rosie. It also sends a message to the player in your system that if you perform you will get a shot... and that's not a bad thing at all. I'm sure once Sogard returns to earth and starts hitting about 220 we'll see Weeks back up.
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But at this point I think Weeks successfully converts significantly less plays than the average second basemen so I consider him to be a poor defender right now. Pretty much all the players who were competing for the 2B/utility infield job for the A's have had pretty good springs so given the option situation and defensive versatility demoting Weeks make sense.

I don't really feel like the decision is unfair or should be considered an insult to Weeks. He was handed the job last season and given a really long leash. After providing 500+ plate appearances of consistent suck last season without showing many signs of adjusting I have no problem with having him work his way back to the top of the pecking order.

Although, I do agree that I'm not expecting much out of guys like Rosales or Sogard so I don't think they should provide much of a roadblock to Weeks. I like how Lowrie has looked and I think he should be getting regular at bats at either SS or 2B, and I'd give Donaldson the benefit of the doubt at 3B for now. I think the real competition for Weeks is going to be Sizemore, Nakajima, and Green. I don't really know what to do with Nakajima, making the jump from Japan to U.S. has got to be tough and he should be cut some slack for a poor spring, but I can't help but notice that he looks really overmatched.

But Sizemore hasn't hit at all this spring and has had a few defensive lapses of his own... Green has been moved all over the place due to his own defensive struggles and Nakajima has yet to prove anything at the big league level and is pretty much an unknown at this point. I do think Weeks needed a wake up call last year but from everything I've seen and read he's put in the required work... I just hope that when (not if) he does become the player most of us know he'll be that this doesn't effect the relationship between him and management. I have to admit this episode reminded me of some of Billy's past dealings with other black ballplayers... I'm not calling him a racist but there is somewhat of a pattern developing here.
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I swear the A's are just trying to keep all their depth on the roster by any means necessary.

I get Barton, but Blackley deserved a roster spot just off of the strength of his performance last year.

Other than that, I'm good to go. Wish Cespedes had saved those recent home runs for the regular season, but we're looking as good as can be right now.