Another one Bites the Dust

Beane has done it again. I guess at this point no Oakland fan should be surprised yet every time he wheels and deals I question his moves. The latest in the Billy Beane house cleaning is Joe Blanton. My father and I called him big Joe and even though he was not your typical image of a ball player, we loved him.  He really defined the Athletics for me as being scruffy out of the ordinary players that other teams might have passed on at first but that when given a chance performed amazing.  I know this year was tough but I always referred to him as Bad Luck Blanton.  He never got any run support.  This year even if he had been given more run support he would have still been shaky on the mound.  But 6 innings from Blanton are better than 6 innings from some prospect.  The Athletics now it seems must have every prospect in the Majors because that is all we seem to keep getting in these Beane trades.  The Chronicle sports writer Bruce Jenkins put it so well this morning" The beauty of this deal, for Oakland, is that unlike the Haren, Jason Giambi, or the Miguel Tejada decisions, this one won't cost them any fans.  Wait- they don't have any fans to begin with.  Maybe 10,000 die hards, tops. It's a brutal world, but it's Billy Beane's world. No other executive in baseball could make it so livable." I am proud to say I am one of the 10,000 die hards and I do not find Beanes world livable.  I do agree that Beanes world is brutal and that he fact they have so few fans is largely due to him.  If you keep trading al of your big names and have a team of prospects what will keep the fans coming?  I do not want to wear a jersey with a question mark on the back instead of a name. I love the Athletics with all my heart but I have to say I barely tolerate Beane with my pinky finger.  Blanton I will miss you! Best of luck on your new team.