This trade hurt; J.D. was easily one of my top 5 favorite Athletics of all time.
“We needed to do something that wasn’t timid.”
–Billy Beane
Billy Beane waltzed into the saloon again with guns blazing as he traded Josh Donaldson to the BlueJays for Brett Lawrie and 3 prospects, 2 of which are supposedly ML ready. I saw this coming when Kyle Seager, an inferior third baseman, signed a huge contract with the Mariners–all but pushing the A’s out of the picture for an extension during arbitration. Donaldson also had endeared himself to his already rabid fan base by calling owner Lou Wolff a cheap son of a bitch on Twitter, or in his own words, “they have plenty of money, my friend. they just tell everybody they don’t.
The fans are predictably upset and tired of the Oakland owners playing with MLB’s piece of the profit-share pie for ultimate profit. There is an underlying stench of betrayal, lack of loyalty and an overall disregard to the fan base. Donaldson was the Athletics most popular player and maybe the most popular 3rd baseman in franchise history. (sorry Chavy!) J.D. was very likable with his defensive hustle, power when the game was on the line and awesome trademark mullet/mohawk/rat-tail combo. He was visibly shaken and spoke to reporters about the trade: “I’m so shocked, I just got off the phone with Billy Beane, and I guess they got an offer that they couldn’t resist. I’m definitely a little emotional about it. Oakland is my home. At the end of the day, it’s a business, as much as it hurts emotionally. The guys in that clubhouse are my brothers.”
Our new guy…40 ounces to freedom!
I was/am a huge fan of J.D., and although I’ve analyzed the trade with a heavy heart, I am trying to stay positive and see the pot of gold through the rainbow, or as the Dalai Lama says, “In order to carry a positive action we must carry here a positive vision.”
1. It is no secret that Beane loves pitching, and the two minor league pitchers we received in return (Sean Nolin and Kendall Graveman) put up some good numbers last year. You can be positive both of these gentleman will start a handful of games in an Athletics uniform next season all but assuring Jeff Simardizija or Scott Kazmir will be traded in a packaged deal for oh, say….Justin Upton.
2. Brett Lawrie plays 3rd base with a little bit of second sprinkled in…the dude has a shit load of tattoos and epitomizes the word “bro” more than anyone in my own personal life. The ladies might see him as a “sexy scumbag.” As far as on-the-field he is much younger than Donaldson (25) and is just a notch or 2 below J.D. on the offensive and defensive side. A major concern is his history of injury. He is definitely serviceable with the talent to be really good.
In the end Donaldson says this to the fans of Oakland:
“To the fans of Oakland: Thank you for all the memories on and off the field I truly am blessed to have been part of it. We have had a lot of great memories together and the memories I will have will always hold a special place for me. Everyday I wore that uniform with pride, and gave you all that I could. Thank you again!!”
Strap yourselves in Oakland fans….this is just the beginning.
Coco Crisp's Afro 
Look at the AL East’s Hot Corners now … (I’m going alphabetical here) … Donaldson, Longoria, Machado, Rodriguez (I guess …), Sandoval. That’s a pretty good list. Plus, now Donaldson and Machado are assured of getting into their little boy fights several times a season … fun for everybody.
What does Billy Beane have up his sleeve? It’s kind of fun to watch from afar anyway.
It’s no fun losing our start third baseman. He knew how to get it done and it seems, was as good a teammate as one would like. However, I think that this trade has a lot of potential. I’d love to see Lawrie over at second, play a full year and become the star everyone thought he’d be. And of course, the pitchers seem to come and go, so let’s get more pitching any time possible.
Not sure this is a good idea for Oakland.
v
I disagree, v. based purely on contractual bullshit…we’ll see.
After being elated when the Brewers drafted Lawrie and elated again when they traded him to Toronto because we needed a pitcher and Marcum felt good enough at the time, but Lawrie, yes, he plays amazing defense at both third and second and has some of the quickest bat speed I’ve ever seen, but should probably lay off the energy drinks. That’s my half ass scouting report and anytime the A’s get pitchers it’s always worth watching them because they’re bound to be good.
look for him to be a superstar…and I almost don’t want it to happen with this collection of rubbish owners. Is this how it feels to be a Mets fan?
I hope you’re right about him being a superstar. He works real hard; good attitude and all that and man oh man, all the hype about him being Canadian and a Blue Jay; musta been slightly annoying to him despite his thank you letter to Toronto and all Blue Jay fans.
Nicce post thanks for sharing