FanHouse Daric Barton

Fantasy baseball draft season is coming, so you best be prepared by delving through every major player on each team. Fantasy FanHouse is here to help with a quick once-over.

Meet the...
Most average team in the league. It's weird, because there don't seem to be many real weaknesses on team -- but can you really find a bunch of strengths? I hate the term "very average," but this team is pretty close to the mean across the board. As you scroll through ADP charts, you'll find the A's aren't often towards the top of the lists, but they are definitely there. As I said, average.

Strange as it might seem, the Oakland Athletics -- the very same club that has built its reputation on jettisoning All-Stars for the better part of the decade -- are pretty clearly in go-for-it-now mode. That's the only way trading for Matt Holliday, signing Jason Giambi and making a serious play for Rafael Furcal makes sense.

It's also the only way they would ever consider trading a cost-controlled 23-year-old first baseman like Daric Barton for the perennially injured Nick Johnson, as Dave Sheinin of the Washington Post reports.

It's really going to happen: Jason Giambi is going home. Mike Puma of the New York Post reports that Giambi has agreed to return to the A's on a one-year deal worth $4.5 million, with a team option for 2010 worth $5 million or a $1 million buyout. Once he passes his physical tomorrow, the deal will become official.

The A's now have a logjam at first base and DH with Giambi, Jack Cust and Daric Barton, who's now the odd man out. Still, it's not hard to see why the A's jumped on bringing Giambi back.

Pat Burrell, whose offensive numbers were nearly identical to Giambi's last year, looked like a bargain when news broke that he agreed to a two-year, $16 million deal. Billy Beane, king of capitalizing on market inefficiencies, should get the same production for almost half the price. Granted, Burrell is six years younger than Giambi, but Giambi has shown little sign of decline the last few years, at least at the plate.

From the Windup is FanHouse's daily, extended look at a particular portion of America's pastime.

As the final week of the regular season unfolds, millions of baseball fans across the nation are being treated to several close races.

Except for me, of course. I live near Detroit, and the only race the Tigers are involved in is the race to avoid last place. And after losing 6-2 to the Royals last night, the chances the Tigers might take sole possession of the AL Central's basement by Wednesday is a very real possibility.

This got me thinking: the Tigers have to be the most disappointing team in the majors, right? (It's actually been a recurring thought all year, but now seems like an appropriate time to dwell on it ...) They have the second-highest payroll in baseball and haven't been relevant since opening the year with seven straight losses.

As I see it, no other team comes close.

The Yankees had a disappointing final season in their stadium, but at least they're guaranteed a winning record (and haven't officially been eliminated from the playoffs, though that should happen any day now). The Rockies hoped for a chance to defend their NL pennant, but last year's finish was a little too incredible to be surprised by a let-down this season. I didn't expect the Mariners to be the worst team in the majors, but I also never thought they'd contend. Plus, this year wasn't a complete waste; at least they rid themselves of Bill Bavasi.

If the Tigers have been this year's most disappointing team, who's been the game's most disappointing players? It's a fuzzy question, so let's try to establish some guidelines.

As I've noted over the last few years here since I began writing at FanHouse, the Oakland Athletics sure do suffer a lot of injuries. Last season it seemed like everybody on the roster spent some time on the disabled list, and so far in 2008 it's been a lot of the same. That's why I'm hoping when the A's finally move to Fremont and build a new stadium, they build some kind of bubble around it so nobody gets hurt.

One thing I know they won't be putting in the new park is a pool, because the last thing they'll need is Daric Barton diving in and nearly breaking his neck again.

The A's rookie first baseman dived into a shallow pool and struck his head during the All-Star break, and has a stiff neck and six staples on the crown of his head as a result. His neck was worse after batting practice Friday, so the A's recalled Wes Bankston before Saturday's game to take Barton's roster spot.

Barton, 22, knows that such accidents can lead to paralysis or even fatalities, and said he felt fortunate to escape with minor injuries. Barton called it "a stupid mistake," and added, "I've got to take full responsibility for it and deal with the consequences."

Team lifeguard manager Bob Geren wasn't too pleased with his rookie's antics, and considering that Bankston his .294 during a nine-game stint with the club earlier this month, there's a possibility that Barton (who is only hitting .224) may end up losing his job over this.

Things to watch for in 2008 is, well, FanHouse's attempt to keep track of what's worth keeping your eye on as we roll into the 2008 season, be it good, bad, or ugly.

You'd be forgiven for thinking that every good young player in baseball was a member of the Red Sox or Yankees. All of the hemming and hawing associated with the Johan Santana trade was about how the two teams didn't want to give up Joba Chamberlain, Jacoby Ellsbury, Clay Buchholz, Phil Hughes or Ian Kennedy because of how bright a future they had ahead of them. Well, as the Mets package made clear, there are good young players on other teams. Here's a quick primer on potential Rookie of the Year winners.

Evan Longoria - It's fitting that Longoria will never play for a satanically associated club because his talent is a gift from the heavens. He's going to hit for average, power, draw walks and play sound defense that will be a cornerstone of the first Tampa team to ever reach .500, be it this year or in the next few. And no, he's not Tony Parker's brother-in-law.

Jay Bruce - The name most often associated with Bruce is Larry Walker. Since he plays for the Reds he'll be putting up those numbers at sea level, which should make him a strong candidate for awards as a rookie and well beyond.

Things aren't going terribly well for the Athletics right now. They continue to lose players to the disabled list, and they've lost 12 of their last 16 games as they keep falling further and further away from the division leading Angels.

All of which makes you wonder if Billy Beane is getting ready to be a deadline seller rather than buyer.

Oh, yes, the A's. Losers of 12 of their last 16, the traditional early summer sprint toward the front nowhere in evidence. The bullpen is in shards, with players going down left, right and center, and their rehab and return dates being pushed back almost weekly. Rich Harden has been activated from his own injury but has pitched only three times, including two innings of relief Saturday, and seems to be rehabbing on the fly.

Mike Piazza is rumored to be on the block after only 103 at-bats as the new Frank Thomas. And if he isn't moved, the A's apparently want him to catch about half the time, which leaves Jason Kendall in a sedentary predicament. Bobby Crosby and Eric Chavez play, but at nowhere near their established capabilities. And with Kurt Suzuki, Chris Snelling, Jack Cust and Travis Buck (freshly disabled and replaced by Dee Brown) already on board, Kevin Melillo making a brief cameo and Daric Barton savaging the Pacific Coast League, it seems increasingly clear that Billy Beane is thinking young, and thinking about it fast.

Ever since Beane took over in Oakland, the A's have been buyers at the deadline. Always finding that one under the radar player to put the team over the edge and get them into the playoff race. It seems that for all his knowledge of sabermetrics, Beane doesn't have a mathematical answer for players elbows exploding, and hamstrings being pulled.

As of right now Oakland finds itself in third place, 8.5 games behind the Halos, and if they don't make a run over this next week into the All-Star break there's bound to be plenty of changes in Oaktown come August 1st.