Beane's job this off season is to sell off any player who won't be a part of the Oakland A's future. In other words, any player that makes too much money or will make too much money. Exit Trevor Cahill and Gio Gonzalez. And a probable exit coming for Andrew Bailey and Kurt Suzuki.
So far, for Cahill and Gonzalez, the A's will receive Jarrod Parker, Ryan Cook, Colin Cowgill, Derek Norris, Brad Peacock, Tommy Milone, AJ Cole, and a partridge in a pear tree.
No GM gets more prospects, good prospects for pitchers who are helped by ball park effect than Billy Beane.
Will Cahill and Gonzalez pitch well for their new teams?
Probably.
As well as in Oakland?
Probably not.
Beane knows that.
What Beane knows is that Gonzalez E.R.A. Was one run higher on the road than home.
Cahill's was two runs higher.
Josh Byrnes, the Padres GM took a page out of Beane's book and traded Mat Latos for Yonder Alonso, Yasmani Grandal, Edison Volquez, and Brad Boxberger.
Latos has more qualities to like than either Cahill or Gonzalez. There is a chance that he has enough stuff to flourish, no matter the park. Just the same, I'd bet against him having better years in Cincinnati.
Billy Beane knows, and Byrnes is finding out, that being in a pitchers park is a bonus for a General Manager.
They can trade a 'top pitcher' who flourishes in a big ball park and simply recycle.
It is only after being traded away do we find out whether it was the pitcher or the ball park.
Dan Haren can pitch anywhere. Barry Zito can't. And Billy Beane doesn't care. Both served their purpose.
We can hear Beane on the phones...
"Yeah, Cahill has a great arm. Sure, big park here, but he throws a lot of ground balls, he should be great in your park!
Not to mention he had to face dh's here, he'll absolutely kill in the National League!"
Beane seems to have this conversation a lot. He's traded Cahill, Gonzalez, Haren, Mulder, and Hudson all to National League teams.
Beane doesn't always win. The prospects that he got back from the Braves for Hudson, for the most part failed.
But the trade that Beane could not make has to be the one that haunts him.
In 2006, at the trade deadline, contending teams were making a push for Barry Zito.
Beane played hardball.
He knew the deal that he wanted and wanted to dangle Zito out on the end of the pole as long as possible to drive his price up.
Zito had the Mets on one line with Lastings Milledge, but was hoping for the deal on the other line.
A deal with Ed Wade and the Phillies.
But, at the last minute, Wade said no to the trade.
Beane kept Zito.
And history was not altered.
The offer from Beane to Wade?
Barry Zito for Chase Utley, Michael Bourn, and Ryan Madson.