This time I felt like going out of the box a little bit.

Catcher - I am not a big fan of any of the backup catchers people want to sign and call our starting catcher, Thole is not ready and shouldn't be rushed, and we can do better than Bengie Molina in a trade. I would like to trade Castillo, Holt and Santos to the A's for Kurt Suzuki. Why the Mets do it? We get rid of Castillo and his contract, which is why I put someone as good as Holt. Kurt Suzuki would become our young starting catcher and gets matched up with a grizzled old vet until Thole is ready. Suzuki has crushed lefty pitching but struggled some against righties, although still good enough to be a starter. Once Thole is ready we can platoon them for a real cheap, young and effective catching duo. Why the A's do it? They get Brad Holt, Billy Beane loves controlling young guns. They get Santos to fill in as catcher, he is cheap. They get a 2B for two years, or to trade, who fits the small ball mold that the A's need to play at and means they can avoid the free agent market. Trade should be close, maybe add in another young arm with upside like Gee's or Kunz.

Payroll - .4 M (1.2 M tops if you include the backup catcher, but I will add in later)

Second Base - I just traded my second baseman, so I need a replacement. Polanco would be nice, so would trading for Brandon Phillips, but I am going to sign Felipe Lopez. I don't really know what the market will be for him, but I would be looking for two years with an option for a third. I think 16 mil for two with a 1 mil buyout on the third year would do that (?).

Payroll - 8.4 M

Short stop - Joooooooseee jose jose jose!

Payroll - 17.4 M

Third Base - David Wright, of course!

Payroll - 27.4 M

First Base - I am not wasting my money on players who aren't overwhelming and/or are injury risks. I will keep Murphy and Evans there, or Carter, in a platoon. If Murphy didn't beat Carter out of ST I would send him down to see if he can't play second or some position permanently.

Payroll - 28.2 M

LF - Holliday. We need him. If we couldn't win it all from 06-08 with Delgado and the three cores we are hoping return healthy next year, how can we win in 2010 without another all-star. I am spending minimum for my catcher and first baseman, I can afford the best LF available. I will go with 6 year/108 mil to be simple.

Payroll - 46.2 M

CF - Beltran.

Payroll - 64.7 M

RF - I love Pagan...as my fourth outfielder. I have some extra money (though I still got another big spending upcoming) so why not spend some of it here. Non-tender the French guy. I would like Ankiel's arm out here, Dye's bat would be nice too if we knew what we were getting, or maybe even a speedy Gathright, though not really. Ultimately, I get stuck up between Nady and Winn and am leaning towards Winn because of speed and the surgeries Nady has had on his arm. Winn always impressed me with the Giants and is getting a little older so shouldn't need more than two years. By the time we are saying goodbye to him, we should be saying hello to F-Mart and Kirk Nieuwenheis :). I don't think he could command 10 M, figure I get him at 16 mil over two years, too.

Payroll - 72.7 M

SP

Johan - The Ace

Payroll - 93.7 M

Pelfrey - The kid whose value needs to be determined

Payroll - 94.2 M

Ollie - The enigma who I believe will come back strong. I feel a lot better about next year if I believe that, ya gotta have faith. Also, wildness does not equal bullpen success.

Payroll - 106.2 M

Lackey - If we could pull him and Holliday off then we end up with the same coup as the highlanders last year, but we would have gotten ours at a discount due to slightly less value and an even worse market. Sure, Holliday isn't Tex and Lackey ain't CC, but we can get both at almost/just over half the money commitment of the pinstripes. Lackey should be AJ money (85 mil over 5 compared to 161 mil) and Holliday should cost less than Beltran (105 mil over 6 compared to 180 mil over 8). That would be really solid. Also, Lackey and Santana would be one of the best 1-2 punches in baseball, a righty lefty combo unlike any other, for five years. No matter what, the next few years we have 2 spots in the rotation secure, thats worth the money.

Payroll - 123.2 M

The final SP - First off, I would try very hard to sign Noah Lowry to a minor league contract. I am not sure when he will be ready to pitch again, but he was good before injuries so worth a shot. I like Niese in the 5 hole, but if he pushes his way onto the scene that can come at the expense of a bad Ollie or bad Pelfrey. I could get Pineiro, but he doesn't have enough of a track record, especially outside of St. Louis. I don't wanna overpay for some jerk who is almost definitely going to spend time on the DL, Harden, Bedard, Sheets...I want someone who will give me lots of innings and not a ton of runs. I happen to like Arroyo, especially how he pitches under the spotlight, and word is he could be had cheap. I don't know who it would take to get him as we would be taking on his entire 11 mil salary, and possibly be forced to pick up an option, but I imagine not much. If we could do a swap straight up for Carter or Murphy I would, but otherwise I don't feel who we lose here will affect us in 2010 or beyond.

Payroll - 134.2 M

The Pen 

Frankie Rodriguez is closer.

Payroll - 145.7 M

Pedro Feliciano at about 1.7 M (?)

Sign Beimel because we will want another lefty. I like Freel because he is hard nosed and plays all over, so he seems like a good bench guy. I guess I will keep Valdez as MI backup. I like Ausmus, who has a great rep in both places he has been and is expecting a backup gig, but is 41, and Jose Molina at backup, but almost anyone would do (anyone for Ramon Castro?).

Payroll - 147.4

C. Suzuki SP 1 - Santana Bullpen K-Rod Bench Murphy/Carter/Evans

1B. Murphy/Carter/Evans 2 - Lackey Feliciano Valdez

2B. Felipe Lopez 3 - Perez Stokes Pagan

SS. Reyes 4 - Arroyo Nieve Ausmus/Molina (Jose)

3B. Wright 5 - Pelfrey Parnell Freel

LF. Holliday Beimel 

CF. Beltran Figeroa

RF. Winn

I meant to mention on my last post: If I did have control for even a minute, I would fire Jerry Manual permanently from the job of manager. I just want someone who can handle the bullpen all year.