Idiots Write About Sports

The New York Post, in its typically self-assured fashion, reports that a Tim Hudson-to-the-Dodgers deal is all but complete. Oakland’s haul for shipping off its ace pitcher? Edwin Jackson and Antonio Perez.

That’s it?

Look, no knock on Jackson, who seems like as solid a pitching prospect as you can have. But in a Hudson-free rotation, it seems like Jackson would be the No. 5 starter behind Mulder, Harden, Zito and even Blanton — that’s not really what I had in mind as a replacement for a perpetual Cy Young candidate. As for Perez, I never heard of him up until this moment (which is really more my failing than his). Last year’s Baseball Prospectus guide calls him “actually something of a prospect” which sounds like actually something of faint praise. The ESPN bio I linked to up above says he has “an aggressive hitting style that needs to be refined as he learns the strike zone,” which sounds very unlike the kind of player we’ve come to expect to see in green and gold.

I reiterate: that’s it? It’s not like Oakland has to get rid of Hudson. It’s not like the A’s wouldn’t benefit from one more season of him. So why make a trade if all you can get in return is a couple of prospects — albeit promising ones — that may not pan out? Considering early Hudson trade rumors involved names like Marcus Giles, B.J. Ryan and Brian Roberts, this is a bit of a bring-down.

The San Francisco Chronicle raises the prospect that the A’s could be getting more than just two players for its star pitcher, whether that’s from the Dodger or by way of one of the multi-team trades that Billy Beane loves to put together if only to prove that he can. So there’s hope yet we won’t be totally screwed.

All the same, remember how happy I was to be rid of Arthur Rhodes and Fragile Mark Redman while getting a really good catcher in return? I’m not so happy here.

On the bright side, at least Tim Hudson will be less than an hour down a traffic-choked freeway from my apartment, should I ever want to renew acquaintances.

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