Does KW now make a play for Cust on the cheap?

[caulfield12]

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_leagu...?urn=mlb,231977

 

 

Or wait it out the first couple of months of the season, based on the performances of Kotsay and Jones in the spring?

 

Would be an interesting addendum to the Moneyball movie!

 

 

[hogan873]

I read the article this morning about Cust being sent down. It sounds like the As GM is either not very smart or playing a game. Either way, I wouldn't be surprised if Cust wants out of there. And there is probably more than one team that could use him. I wouldn't mind seeing him as a Sox, but my guess is that KW doesn't make a play. I think he and Ozzie are set on going with the Jones/Kotsay thing.

[Dick Allen]

Jack Cust is a poor man's Jim Thome. One problem with that though, he actually gets paid more than Jim Thome. If you pass on Thome, you aren't going to want Cust.

Edited April 5, 2010 by Dick Allen

[ThunderBolt]

Jack Cust is a poor man's Jim Thome. One problem with that though, he actually gets paid more than Jim Thome. If you pass on Thome, you aren't going to want Cust.

He was DFA'd, right? Which meanss the A's would assume a chunk of that Thome-like contract.

[iamshack]

He was DFA'd, right? Which meanss the A's would assume a chunk of that Thome-like contract.

Yeah, I think the A's would pay all but the pro-rated minimum.

[sin city sox fan]

I would take the Jones/Kotsay duo over Cust.

 

Cust strikes out way too often and hits for a low average. The only thing good he does is hit a long ball every 5-6 games. I do think this team could use some additional power.....but not from Cust. His negatives far outweigh the positives and I wouldn't take him if he was free.

[Kyyle23]

i think if the Sox wanted Cust, they would of made a play on him during free agency

[iamshack]

Yeah, but he does provide a very nice OBP.

 

Seems like the theme though is that if Kenny could have convinced Ozzie to pencil this type of hitter into the lineup every day, we would have Jimmy on the roster right now.

[caulfield12]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/athletics/index?

 

Further details of the full story...interesting Chavez had no idea he was about to become the full-time DH, though.

[caulfield12]

Yeah, but he does provide a very nice OBP.

 

Seems like the theme though is that if Kenny could have convinced Ozzie to pencil this type of hitter into the lineup every day, we would have Jimmy on the roster right now.

 

 

Seems to be some concern on the part of ownership about his ability to turn on the fastball...but does someone like Cust just lose it in Spring Training?

 

I think Cust might be as good a bet as Thome, and maybe better, because of his age, and the overall talent he would be surrounded with in Chicago while not great, would be a huge step up from Oakland. He could be a complementary hitter, more like a Matt Stairs or Carl Everett in 2005.

 

 

[chisoxfan09]

AGON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[chetkincaid]

What are they doing with Jake Fox? Is he part of the big club? If so, is he starting?

[caulfield12]

Hard to do any A-Gone trade without Mitchell and without Daniel Hudson proving himself a little more...same thing with Tyler Flowers, he had a very quiet spring. We just don't have the pieces to get that trade done without shredding the farm system, and for the amount of time we'd have him, I'm not so certain it would be worth it to KW unless he could get an extension (like the F. Garcia deal) in place as part of the move. (Of course, Gonzalez would be crazy not to see what's out there on the open market, too).

 

There are some pieces, like Jordan Danks, but I'm sure KW and Ozzie feel Danks is their best insurance policy for an injury in the outfield, along with Jones and Kotsay, who are more like "band aid" solutions depending on which position, and Nix.

 

 

PS: If you read that full blog, Gio Gonzalez was officially named the fifth starter for the A's, so congratulations are in order.

Edited April 5, 2010 by caulfield12

[chw42]

What are they doing with Jake Fox? Is he part of the big club? If so, is he starting?

 

Yes, but no.

 

I would really like somebody like Cust in this lineup, a power lefty bat who can DH and platoon with Jones. Let's all hope that Mark Kotsay sucks enough for KW to pull the trigger somehow.

[chw42]

I would take the Jones/Kotsay duo over Cust.

 

Cust strikes out way too often and hits for a low average. The only thing good he does is hit a long ball every 5-6 games. I do think this team could use some additional power.....but not from Cust. His negatives far outweigh the positives and I wouldn't take him if he was free.

 

But he walks a lot and puts up a very good OBP, something this team desperately needs. We don't have a single guy on this team who can touch 100 walks.

[MiddleCoastBias]

Yes, but no.

 

I would really like somebody like Cust in this lineup, a power lefty bat who can DH and platoon with Jones. Let's all hope that Mark Kotsay sucks enough for KW to pull the trigger somehow.

I'm not digging this platoon idea. If we're going to platoon players, leave it with the Jones/Kotsay bag we have right now and see how that works out. If we decide it's not working, go out and get a full-time DH and scrap this platoon idea for good.

[chw42]

I'm not digging this platoon idea. If we're going to platoon players, leave it with the Jones/Kotsay bag we have right now and see how that works out. If we decide it's not working, go out and get a full-time DH and scrap this platoon idea for good.

 

The thing is, this real DH isn't all that easy to get. And the platoon is the way to go when you have skill challenged players like Kotsay and Jones or even Cust for that matter.

 

In related news, Cust is pissed. So if nobody bites, he may just ask for a release.

Edited April 5, 2010 by chw42

[Dick Allen]

Yeah, I think the A's would pay all but the pro-rated minimum.

He's not being released. He's being sent down to the minor leagues. If the Sox claim him, they pay him. If Oakland released him, then they would only have to pay minimum, but that is not what's happening here.

[caulfield12]

But if Beane gives in to his "pity party," they get nothing in return and waste that money....already having experienced that with Taveras I think.

 

I think he's betting on either Chavez having injury problems again and/or the fact that another team will become desperate for a hitter and give him something he actually wants (younger/cheaper) in return...like another Sweeney, Gio or DeLosSantos (pre-injury).

 

Odds are he won't get a pitcher, but it's possible he could get a B position prospect and avoid paying that salary.

[chisoxfan09]

Ignore my AGon posts and a serious question. Is Cust the type of bat Walker can maybe tweak to lower the K rate or is he too far gone in his swinging tendancies that he is a lost cause?

[bmags]

who has walker ever done that to?

[Balta1701]

Ignore my AGon posts and a serious question. Is Cust the type of bat Walker can maybe tweak to lower the K rate or is he too far gone in his swinging tendancies that he is a lost cause?

A high K power guy is who Jack Cust is.

[chisoxfan09]

who has walker ever done that to?

 

OK, forget that idea then.

[SI1020]

A strikeout machine with a low BA and declining OPS the last two seasons. You can't, or at least shouldn't play him in the outfield. No thanks.

[caulfield12]

Ignore my AGon posts and a serious question. Is Cust the type of bat Walker can maybe tweak to lower the K rate or is he too far gone in his swinging tendancies that he is a lost cause?

 

Brian Anderson and Joshua Fields? Joe Borchard?

 

Joking...

 

There are many positive success stories with Walker, but I can't think of one evidencing significant K rate decline in my memory.