The Brand Spankin' New Huston Street Thread

[ILuvDaBush]

Beane must have run across the Kearns trade and assumed the Reds still have the same GM still. But seriously? No sense, unless it's more of the "Adam Dunn for Huston Street" variety. The A's don't really need prospects anymore, and would probably be happy with the picks.

[yoshii8]

Since he was Oakland's closer for two seasons under Ken Macha, I have to think that the Brewers will inquire about Hudson Street this offseason. I for one would love to acquire him, do you think he will be available, and if so at what price? He really came on strong at the end of last season, after really struggling a little before the trade deadline. I for one would love to have him as our closer.

 

Another name to bring up, although a long shot, since he just had another surgery on his shoulder, is still owed around 27 million over the next 2 seasons, and has Milwaukee on his no trade list is Eric Chavez. He is a 31 year old 6 time gold glove winning, lefty hitting 3rd baseman, that has been injured a lot recently, but is supposed to be ready for spring training. Could he be a low risk high reward type player if the A's were willing to pick up part of his contract and/or take Hall or Suppan's contract? In this article it mentions the names Bill Hall and Rickie Weeks as trade possiblities for the A's, although it mentions a lot of players. Just a thought.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.contracostatim...ts/ci_10644199?source=rss

[trwi7]

I don't really want Street as I think it would cost way too much to acquire him.

 

I'd take a chance on Chavez if we could get rid of Hall's contract in the deal.

[colbyjack]

I can't remember, so if someone knows please refresh my memory, but was there a reason for Street's dip in velocity this year? His WHIP went up and his Ks were down, which usually isn't a good combination. He's still plenty young, and I too would worry about how much talent it would take to acquire him. Although I think he already did lose his job as closer with the A's, which has to surpress his market value somewhat.

 

He's an interesting option, but he certainly wasn't as good this year as he has been in year's past, and you have to wonder if he peaked early.

[trwi7]

Street had an average fastball of 90.0 this year, down from 90.4 in 2007. A drop, but nothing big. In 2006 his average fastball was 91.7.

[colbyjack]

I thought they pegged Street's lack of effectiveness on the loss of stuff. I'm guessing that is somewhat of a misconception based on those reports trwi7, unless his breaking stuff isn't as effective, or if he just did peak early in his career. I know he was never a fireballer at any point in his career, including his time spent in college at Texas, although looking at his stat line again for 2008 I noticed it wasn't that far off from what he did the previous three seasons.

 

I know there are some people out there that like to follow the A's, so I'm curious as to the A's stance on him. Why did he lose the closer's job? Was it simply a matter of a bad stretch in the middle of the season? Does the team still plan on using him as a set-up man, or will he be given a chance to reclaim the closers spot in spring training? He will now be entering his second year of arbitration, so his salary is going to go up a little from $3.3 million, but probably not enough to break the backs of the A's, who really don't have a lot of money tied up into any one player outside of Chavez.

[Mike]

For many reasons, but first and foremost "Beane is inscrutable" as Hova stated in an earlier post.

 

Speaking as a former California baseball fan (I still watch though) Billy Beane is now beyond a genius. He is an egotistical guy who still claims he can't win because he is in a small market. Didn't the Crew and TB make the playoffs? My point is Beane now gets his thrills out of trying to outsmart people. These deals are no longer about making the A's better per se. His owner Lew Wolfe has drank the kool aid and will allow Beane to do whatever he wants within the financial criteria set. Beane treats it like we would our fantasy teams. Having said that he is the master at duping fellow GM's by dumping guys at the exact time. Let's see? Mulder and Zito ring any bells?

 

He will do the same with Street if he finds someone to take him off his hands. I assume Douug Melving knows this, but I do not have any real experience with Doug since I recently joined the Brewer fan club.

 

Now addressing Coly Jack's questions: Street's lack of stuff was a mysterious occurrence. The best anyone can figure is he wore down due to overuse and his lack of size. It was not a loss of "stuff", but velocity. Yes he lost the job due to ineffectiveness even though Colby and trwi7 are correct that he never threw harder than 90. His slider was his best pitch and it too was thrown softer in the 85 range and he got smacked around.

 

We will be told Street will compete for the closer role, but if Beane's history is of any lesson, Brad Ziegler will be the guy and he will not tell us that and then peddle him for more than he is worth.

 

If the Brewer's want Street it will cost prospects and after the loss we sustained in the C.C. deal, I think it would be too costly. On the other hand Giant fans here were subject to a very bad Salomon Torres and yet he worked out for the crew, so who knows?