Samardzija traded to Oakland

[Cuse0323]

We just swept those A's

Tigers or A's to get to the WS seems most likely but gotta get those pitchers to get their shit together.

Now the A's add Jeff, gonna be tough. Your guys playing well lately though. The A's with a +129 differential is crazy though, they just look better than the rest. Fck Punto though regardless of last night...bum.

[jjgold]

AS could win it all now

they are tough as it is

Angels have no shot now

[Big Bear]

Wow is right as an A's fan did not see this coming!! Oak is kings of mlb breeding their own pitchers and just playing "smart" old school baseball to win. Still get mad when I see No Coin refer to it as all luck lol. As a bases purest like me he should appreciate more what the A's do and have accomplished. But this is stepping out of the lane for them. Get em Oak!!

Don't listen to No Coincidences he is clueless.

[LT Profits]

Everyone is keying on Shark, and understandably so, but Hammel is having a nice season in his own right had he has already had a good year in the American League with Baltimore two years ago. Shark is the one that has to prove himself vs. the better hitting league, but I see no reason why he shouldn't.

[LT Profits]

Pretty sad that the best tight end in Oakland plays for the A's.

Samardzija was a wide receiver at Notre Dame, not tight end.

[d2bets]

Samardzija was a wide receiver at Notre Dame, not tight end.

Yes, but would have been TE in the NFL.

[jjgold]

How was this allowed Oakland got two top-flight pitchers

[yisman]

Samardzija scheduled to oppose Hutchison on Sunday.

[d2bets]

How was this allowed Oakland got two top-flight pitchers

Oakland was willing to part with its two top prospects, that's how.

[TwoWays]

prospects, blah. i think oakland management is tired of failing in the playoffs using the same old method. good for them to change it up and see if they can get a better result.

[jay89]

will this be the fairy tale ending for moneyball?? oakland's offense looked great early on, they have some punch but they've slowed down a bit. I don't think their lineup is any special, but it's very balanced top to bottom. the question is are they able to hit good pitching? the tigers are the kryptonite and rightfully so, their pitching rotation is top notch as well.

look for a couple AL East teams follow up in the arms race, although I don't believe my JAYS will make a huge splash. I think the O's and Mariners will try to make a deal as well

[TwoWays]

That's crazy, milone been pitching great and they sent him to the minors instead of Jesse Chavez

[STAX]

A's aint winning it all fellas

[eidolon]

Cubs now have 3 top 10 prospects.
But they are all SS/3B guys
Javier Baez
Kris Bryant
Addison Russell

[Cappinpicks]

A's aint winning it all fellas

they would if they got a 2nd baseman instead of another useless pitcher they have plenty before trade

[Cuse0323]

Have a feeling his bad luck continues and he loses today.

[Pauulzcappin]

gonna watch him pitch today

[imadegen]

That's crazy, milone been pitching great and they sent him to the minors instead of Jesse Chavez

This surprises me quite a bit. He has been pitching lights out as of late. I for sure thought it would be chavez and mills being sent down. The A's are serious contenders, I think the only peice they need is an everyday second baseman.

[JeffTheShark]

Hate to see Shark go, but he wanted Homer Bailey money and he isn't worth that IMO. Jake Arrieta is a better pitcher than Shark and much cheaper and under team control. Not that you only need one good pitcher, but if I had to pick one, I'd pick Arrieta. Shark, while he has good numbers this year, still does not know how to pitch and has mediocre off speed.

As for the Cubs, if you're a Cubs fan who has followed this minor league system, you should be ABSOLUTELY GIDDY.

LF - Kris Bryant
CF - Arismendy Alcantara/Almora
RF - Jorge Soler
3B - Javier Baez
SS - Addison Russell
2B - Starlin Castro
1B - Anthony Rizzo
C - Kyle Schwarber

This is a lineup full of guys who are 24 and younger, all of them have the talent to be superstars (a couple of them might already be) and then a few of those prospects are CAN NOT MISS (Bryant, Almora).

The Cubs have the best farm system in baseball by a wide margin now. Really not even close. Look at the landscape of baseball. Pitching is everywhere. In the steroid era, you couldn't win without pitching. Now, with steroids out of the game, it is clear you can't win without a stacked, talented offense. One day soon, you will see the Cubs splurge their big market payroll on pitching, trade for pitching using their best farm system in baseball assets, and start winning games in DROVES.

Jump on the bandwagon now so you'll have some credibility, if you're interested. You won't be able to insult this team past April 1st, 2016.

Obviously the key thing to the team above is that they'd be insanely cheap for the next 5 years. You could add in 5-6 big name free agents and still come in under where the Cubs likely will sit once they get the revenue deals done in the next year or two.

[Boner_18]

Heard about this yesterday at the ballpark (minor league mets). Everyone is excited to watch a great team reinforce and just go for it. Looking forward to watchingthe a's run.

[JeffTheShark]

As for the A's, this was a good move for them for obvious reasons. The A's will lose half of their roster by 2016 due to financial reasons. Had a window in 2014-2015 and they just increased the chances of winning significantly.

I've watched some film of Addison Russell though, and he's as smooth as hell with the bat and the glove. I won't say can't miss, because 20 year old SS's are what they are... But he's got a good head on his shoulders and all the talent in the world.

[Cuse0323]

As for the A's, this was a good move for them for obvious reasons. The A's will lose half of their roster by 2016 due to financial reasons. Had a window in 2014-2015 and they just increased the chances of winning significantly.

I've watched some film of Addison Russell though, and he's as smooth as hell with the bat and the glove. I won't say can't miss, because 20 year old SS's are what they are... But he's got a good head on his shoulders and all the talent in the world.

Yeah, the A's gotta go for it all and this is the year. I hope they win it because I feel they deserve it for some reason.

[Libanese]

Have a feeling his bad luck continues and he loses today.

I'm not sure if Oakland ends up losing but I can see this being a 7-5 final with him giving up 5 runs in 7 innings.

In what has turned out to be a league with a lot of parity, You would think Oakland is a "lock" in the American League. I'm not jumping on that bandwagon. If Detroit gets Koji, they will win the AL.

As a Sox fan, that would kill me but I can see that happening.

[The Giant]

Baseball playoffs are a total crapshoot.

Billy Beane knows this and still made the trade.

Oakland has a surplus of pitching, and when Parker and Griffin come back next season, they'll just flip more pitching for prospects.

The Cubs have a ton of potential moving forward, but who is going to pitch for them?

[jjgold]

How does Oak do it??

Many years they are good with minor league players

Whoever running that team is a genius

Yanks lose year after year with washed up overpaid players (Tex, Jeter, , etc)

[Big Bear]

Samardzija scheduled to oppose Hutchison on Sunday.

get your popcorn ready

[Big Bear]

How does Oak do it??

Many years they are good with minor league players

Whoever running that team is a genius

Yanks lose year after year with washed up overpaid players (Tex, Jeter, , etc)

Lets keep in mind they have not won a world series which is the ultimate goal.

Until they win the World Series they are just a poor mans Atlanta Braves.

[Bluehorseshoe]

Cubs now have 3 top 10 prospects.
But they are all SS/3B guys
Javier Baez
Kris Bryant
Addison Russell

Which means Starlin Castro is headed to the Mets for pitching.

[Big Bear]

Which means Starlin Castro is headed to the Mets for pitching.

no chance in hell

[Bluehorseshoe]

no chance in hell

Why not?

[JeffTheShark]

Baseball playoffs are a total crapshoot.

Billy Beane knows this and still made the trade.

Oakland has a surplus of pitching, and when Parker and Griffin come back next season, they'll just flip more pitching for prospects.

The Cubs have a ton of potential moving forward, but who is going to pitch for them?

Cubs sign Maholm and he pitches like a stud and they deal him. Cubs sign Feldman and he pitches like a stud. Cubs trade for Arrieta and he pitches like a stud. Cubs sign Hammel and he pitches like a stud.

Here's a secret: Pitching at Wrigley is easier than most people think, for whatever reason. Slow bats for day games + wind blows in more often than not.

Pitching is not a huge, huge issue. Cubs need an ace, but I have every bit of confidence Theo will fill out a good rotation with the money he'll have available.

Part of the reason I hate Edwin Jackson. He posts 5+ ERA in the shitty ass offense in the NL Central pitching half his games at Wrigley. What a douche that guy is.

[JeffTheShark]

Which means Starlin Castro is headed to the Mets for pitching.

Castro's range has gotten worse ever since he put on power/weight. A move to 2B would be good for him and good for the Cubs. So we're not going to dump him just for the sake of dumping him. If the Mets want him, they'll have to compensate us accordingly considering he's a 24 year old SS who is locked up to a team friendly deal and probably top 3-4 offensive SS's in the game.

Theo likes Castro, so I'm not sure of the speculation that says we're trying to move him.

Baez at 3B, Russell at SS, and Castro at 2B works. Castro said in an interview yesterday that he'd be open to playing any infield position and sounded sincere.

[JeffTheShark]

As Theo keeps saying, having log jams of players isn't really that bad. A prospect or two won't pan out and how they hit will decide where they play. Alcantara is having a monster season in AAA, who we're moving from 2B to CF to make room for Baez/Castro/Bryant/Russell/Rizzo infield cogs we already have. Almora plays center, so if he works out (5 tool player) then you'd slide Alcantara somewhere else. Bryant's defense at 3B has been better than people have thought it would be, so maybe he'll slide in at 3B. He's embarrassed pitching at every level he has been at.

[yisman]

That's crazy, milone been pitching great and they sent him to the minors instead of Jesse Chavez

what's crazy to me is they kept Mills

they traded one dollar for him. I thought he was just a temporary stopgap until they got someone else.

[d2bets]

As Theo keeps saying, having log jams of players isn't really that bad. A prospect or two won't pan out and how they hit will decide where they play. Alcantara is having a monster season in AAA, who we're moving from 2B to CF to make room for Baez/Castro/Bryant/Russell/Rizzo infield cogs we already have. Almora plays center, so if he works out (5 tool player) then you'd slide Alcantara somewhere else. Bryant's defense at 3B has been better than people have thought it would be, so maybe he'll slide in at 3B. He's embarrassed pitching at every level he has been at.

I was thinking more like Baez at 2B and Castro at 3B. But 3rd may be a bigger move at this stage in Castro's career, so you could be right. And then Bryant moves to RF with Alcantara in CF, at least until Almora is ready. LF would be Soler or Schwarber when ready. Alcantara could end up trade bait.