Thank goodness for Billy Beane, or there wouldn't have been any real news over the weekend.
- As you no doubt heard, the Athletics traded third baseman Josh Donaldson to the Blue Jays for third baseman Brett Lawrie, right-handed pitcher Kendall Graveman, left-handed pitcher Sean Nolin and shortstop Franklin Barreto.
- Billy Beane went on the MLB Network to explain why he made the deal.
- Ken Rosenthal examines what the industry thinks of the deal and that while it's a tough pill for A's fans to swallow now, we won't be able to judge it for a while.
- And A's fans are certainly unhappy about it.
- Cliff Corcoran evaluates the deal and says that it is a sure sign that the A's are entering a rebuilding season.
- Rob Neyer disagrees and thinks that Billy Beane is merely "reloading" or "rebloading." Neyer also has a much higher opinion of Brett Lawrie than others seem to have.
- Dave Cameron tries to figure out what Beane is up to. He thinks that there is another move to come for Oakland, such as signing a free agent infielder.
- Keith Law in an ESPN Insider article thinks that the A's didn't get enough for Donaldson. ($) He thinks Blue Jays fans should be happy.
- Kiley McDaniel breaks down the four players that the Athletics received and writes that Barreto is the key to the deal.
- Drew Fairservice looks at the deal from the Blue Jays' perspective. Someone had to.
- Peter Gammons also looks at the Blue Jays situation and says the pressure is on for them to break their playoff drought, now the longest in baseball.
- Ken Rosenthal thinks that Beane will now trade Jeff Samardzija, although Rosenthal believes that Beane will wait until the trade deadline for a few different reasons.
- There was one other trade. The Marlins acquired Aaron Crow from the Royals for Brian Flynn. Good to see that Jeffrey Loria is surrounding Giancarlo Stanton with elite talent like he promised.
- The Marlins think that Crow could possibly start for them.
- The Braves are listening to offers for Justin Upton. Jon Heyman thinks that a trade to Seattle for Taijuan Walker makes sense.
- Braves president John Hart says that it's not impossible that Atlanta may try to sign Upton to a long-term extension. Like what else is he going to say?
- Free agent outfielder Torii Hunter is trying to decide between five teams.
- At least three teams are interested in free agent Kendrys Morales.
- Some team will offer Andrew Miller a four-year deal, reports Jon Heyman.
- Heyman also says that some team has offered David Robertson a three-year, $39 million deal, but he's holding out for a fourth year.
- Nick Markakis may not re-sign with the Orioles after all.
- In a possibly related note, the Orioles and Dodgers have had trade discussions concerning Matt Kemp. Seems like a longshot at this point though.
- Ross Detwiler would like the Nationals to trade him.
- Paul White has some free agent "Black Friday" suggestions for discounted ballplayers.
- Bob Ryan wants to strip the vote from anyone who doesn't vote for Pedro Martinez. Also, he has never voted for a suspected PED user for the Hall of Fame, but says he would vote for one if Cooperstown would put up a disclaimer on their walls.
- The Hall of Fame already has such a disclaimer on their walls, Bob. Isn't Ryan a basketball writer? What the heck is he doing having a Hall vote anyway? (Yeah, I know. The answer is that BBWAA is a joke.)
- Jon Roegele tries to quantify the benefits of pitch-sequencing. I can't say I followed it all, but you might be able to.
- In relation to a story I covered on Friday, Buster Olney (ESPN Insider Only) writes that the death of cricketer Phillip Hughes demonstrates the insanity of intentionally throwing at a batter at any time, any where and for any reason. ($)
- This happens in basketball all the time, but 14 year-old eighth grader Austin Kelly has orally committed to play baseball at Mississippi State. If the kid is that good, he'll never play college baseball.
- The history of "concrete doughnut" multi-purpose stadiums of the sixties and seventies, of which the O.co Coliseum in Oakland is that last one standing.
- And finally, Orioles reliever Tommy Hunter went undercover to work at Orioles team shop. His recommendation for everyone? Buy a Tommy Hunter jersey.