A's trade Kendall: Step One

by Theidiotchronicles

I had mentioned before what things Billy Beane needed to do to move forward. A few of them were trades. Mike Piazza and Shannon Stewart were 2 names. I did also mention that Kurt Suzuki would be the catcher but I thought the A's would keep Jason Kendall even though he is a free agent at season's end so that Suzuki could learn from him. So much for that theory.

I wasn't surprised though that Beane traded Kendall. He was able to get decent value for a .226 hitter whose best defensive trait is that he "calls a good game". Don't get me wrong, I am a huge fan of Jason Kendall and always will be. The fact is he just wasn't worth keeping around given how the team is playing. Suzuki needs to play, he is ready.

So the A's got Rob Bowen in return to backup Suzuki. I think this means that Piazza is also going. Piazza never really got a chance to show the A's what he could do but they need to give people like Jack Cust playing time.

Another name mentioned in trade talks is Dan Johnson. Makes sense to me. Johnson is a good young player but not a superstar like Daric Barton will be. Barton is another guy who needs to be given a look and some playing time (I've said this before too). Look for Johnson to get dealt to the New York team or even the Twins.

This is a repost from my blog: The Idiot Chronicles

MetsJetsDevilsDraft Pick

865 days ago

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I have always liked Johnson. I think he will be a plus power hitter in this league. He might have to bounce around like Carlos Pena before it happens though.

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TheidiotchroniclesWaterboy

865 days ago

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That's an interesting comparison: Carlos Pena to Dan Johnson. The A's seemed to panic and gave up on Pena very quickly but as we've seen, they saw something. Johnson is more consistent than Pena already in his 3rd season. The A's just have better options than Johnson.

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MetsJetsDevilsDraft Pick

865 days ago

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but keep in mind that it took Pena a long time to produce and time will tell if this year is just a fluke. I mean he had every chance to win the job in Detroit and he was just terrible. Johnson has not been given much of a chance in Oakland. Whether it is Swisher, Cust or Piazza, he always seems to have someone taking away his at bats. He can't afford to struggle because the A's won't give him the chance to work his way through it. Send Johnson to the Nationals (where he can simply use Nick Johnson's empty jersey) and I think you would see a very different player.

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JuTMSY4Legend

865 days ago

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I love when catchers who suck are still lauded for "calling a good game" Honestly, there are quite a few that "call a good game" and still sucks...its just something defenders use to make them feel better about themselves... Shit, last year i was told Sal Fasano "calls a good game" What?!

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WoodsmeisterVarsity Captain

865 days ago

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The fact that Beane was able to get anything for Jason Kendall is a measure of both Beane's greatness and Hendry's idiocy.

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JuTMSY4Legend

865 days ago

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Well...the cubs, via Mike barrett, needed to make the move to fill a hole...moving to the NL central (again) will benefit Kendall and, if anything, he's an upgrade to waht they've got...plus money isn't that much of a big deal to the cubbies... Mutually beneficial trade anyone?

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Twins15Varsity Captain

865 days ago

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Yeah I thought it was decent for the Cubs... they didn't give up much and Kendall should be a small upgrade over Koyie Hill/Rob Bowen... for Oakland, it saves them some money and gives Kurt Suzuki a chance to play everyday.

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Willf123JV Squad

865 days ago

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of the 22 qualified catchers in fielding his catcher era or era while his is catching is 3.38 the best in baseball and is .33 runs better than his teams era which is excellent (Pierzynski at .44 is the higest, barrett at -1.04 the worst). But his caught stealing percentage is .203 the worst among the 22 and his hitting is...well that's already been discussed.

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