The Winter Meetings Have Come and Gone…

Hey A’s fans, its Jordan here. Now that the smoke has cleared in Las Vegas, and some of the bigger names have signed, notably CC Sabathia, K-Rod, and A.J. Burnett, the off-season can go back to business as usual. For the Oakland A’s that starts with continuing their pursuit of free agent shortstop Rafael Furcal. It was reported before the Meetings began that the A’s had offered Furcal somewhere in the neighborhood of $36 million over four years, and the A’s deadline came and went with no agreement. Apparently, Furcal and his representative, Paul Kinzer are looking for something more like those four years for $52 million, which may be a bit steep, considering his health problems from 2008, in which he only played in just 36 games.

Also, just because Billy Beane did not make any moves at the Meetings, which does not always mean that he was there for nothing. While names like Jake Peavy, Mark Teixeira, CC Sabathia, and A.J. Burnett dominated the news, work was being done. Billy has put multiple plans in action in the past, getting the ball rolling, so to speak, while at the Meetings. He has gotten some big moves done after the conclusion of those meetings. Only time will tell whether or not any roster moves will go down that were set into motion by Beane at these Winter Meetings, but hey, the anticipation and rumors are half of the fun during the off-season anyway.

I have a newfound excitement for the 2009 Oakland Athletics, and am ecstatic about the addition, of course, of Matt Holliday to this lineup, and I really hope that there is some way that we can keep hold of him for longer than half of this season, or just the ’09 campaign. With an addition of Furcal, a veteran starting pitcher (Randy Johnson anyone?), and another bat with some pop, I believe wholeheartedly that the A’s may be able to throw their hat in the ring with Los Angeles, assuming they lose Teixeira and don’t land Manny Ramirez through the rest of the off-season. By the way, those same Angels just threw down an eight-year contract proposal to Mark Teixeira reportedly thought to be worth at least $20 million per year, so who knows if he remains an Angel. I am happy to say though that optimism is flowing through my veins this off-season, and that flow would increase with the signing of the pieces mentioned earlier. Take care everyone, and have a good Holiday season.

That’s how I see it…Let’s Go Oakland!