The autopsy show that Nick Adenhart had been invovled in a hit-and-run accident and died shortly later. Everyone in the league is in quite a shock. But this gives a perspective on things in life. There is such a saying that "All good things must come to an end." And in reality all things do come to an end, but rather it is when it is all going to end. Tragically, this young man's life and dream was shattered in matter of seconds after he had accomplished a life-long goal of pitching in the majors. The Angels plan to remember him on Friday, before they play the Red Sox.

Concuring with that same sober mood, the Oakland A's will be holding their own memorial before the game on Friday against the Seattle Mariners. Ceremonies will be held at 6:30 to honor the slain officers that was killed by a wanted parolee.

These recent events of good people dying should make us all appreicate the little things in life and appreicate what we have. We ask so much of these professional athletes and they are just like us, human. One mistake, one error can turn their entire life around. So when you watch a game tonight, any game, remember that just a few days ago, a young man pitched his heart out only to have it stopped by a drunken driver. And remember, that sometimes winning is not the only "win" but it is to live the dream day in and day out.

 On another note, the A's will honor the fallen Oakland Police on their home-opener night against the Seattle Mariners. The ceremonies will begin around 6:30 p.m.

The guy replacing Crosby is an interesting character himself. Orlando Cabrera had a number of public spats last season, most notably with his manager Ozzie Guillen and his countryman Edgar Renteria. He is likely entering this season with a chip on his shoulder, given the relative lack of interest in his services this off-season and the pay cut he is taking. It will be interesting to watch him fit into the A's clubhouse this season. It can't help that Crosby was such a popular player in Oakland.

As a hitter Cabrera is your typical middle infielder from the era before A-Rod, Derek Jeter, etc. Cabrera is a line-drive hitter who has generally always hit for average, but he doesn't take a lot of pitches or walk that much. He will steal his share of bags and bring value to the team defensively. It will be interesting to see where Bob Geren decides to put Cabrera in the line-up. He has hit a lot in the first two spots of the order in his career, and he has some skills that translate well for those spots in that he makes a lot of contact and he has good speed. On the other hand, he doesn't see very many pitches so he isn't as ideal for the top of the order in that respect. The A's can either go one of two ways with their line-up this season: they can stack the power hitter/OBP types at the top of the order and put the contact hitter/speed types at the bottom, or they can spread both types around for a little variety. Here are two possible everyday line-ups:

Possibility One

Sweeney
Cabrera
Cust
Holliday
Giambi
Chavez
Ellis
Buck
Suzuki

Possibility Two
Sweeney
Suzuki
Cust
Holliday
Giambi
Ellis
Chavez
Cabrera
Buck

Of course, these line-up assume that Eric Chavez and Mark Ellis are healthy, which, of course, are no sure bets, especially with the news today that Chavez has been shut-down with shoulder soreness. Which brings me to my next topic: Nomar Garciaparra.

The Garciaparra signing was a very curious one to me. While I understand the logic behind it given Nomar's ability to hit left-handed pitching and his ability to play both corner infield spots, I do have to wonder how much depth a guy can provide if he himself is a big injury risk. Nomar almost retired because of injuries this off-season, something that doesn't bode particularly well for his health in 2009. If the A's are going to rely on him to be the primary back-up corner infielder and the late-inning defensive replacement for Giambi at first, they aren't going to be able to afford to have him in a day-to-day situation that often. This move could work-out just fine, but the last few guys the A's have brought in under similar circumstances with similar expectations (most notably Mike Sweeney and Eric Karros) didn't work out at all. In fact, the A's have been unable to make it work with any of their right-handed bats off of the bench/platoon types in recent years. Hopefully, Nomar can break that trend.

With Nomar in camp, it is going to be tough for Daric Barton to break camp with the team. It is a pretty big fall for a guy who was a candidate for Rookie of the Year before the start of last season. However, I don't think it will hurt Barton to spend a little time back at Triple-A. He is still awfully young and confidence can be a fickle thing for a ballplayer. If he can get back into a good grove in Sacramento, I think he is very capable of bringing that good swing back with him to the major leagues, much as he did in September 2007. I still believe that he is the A's first baseman of the future, although Sean Doolittle and Chris Carter are going to give him a run for his money in a year or two. The good thing for Doolittle is that he can play a capable right field in addition to an outstanding first base, so having Barton on the roster won't necessarily prevent having the Doolittle there, as well. And Carter may well be the A's DH of the future. As long as there are at-bats for him, it doesn't really matter where he will play on the field. He is probably about two years away, however.

The A's are going to have a lot of difficult decisions to make, not just at the major league level, but in the minors, as well. Assuming that Crosby and Nomar are the two A's back-up infielders, Oakland will be looking at Gregorio Petit, Cliff Pennington, Corey Wimberly, Eric Patterson, Jeff Baisley, Daric Barton, Tagg Bozied, Tom Everidge and Jack Hannahan all vying for time in the Sacramento infield. And Double-A won't be any less crowded with guys like Chris Carter, Adrian Cardenas, Josh Horton, Sean Doolittle, Mike Affronti, etc. in line to see time in Midland. The outfields will be crowded as well, with Sacramento possibly having Chris Denorfia, Matt Carson, Javier Herrera and Aaron Cunningham vying for time. The A's may have to make a move similar to the one that sent Justin Sellers and Richie Robnett to Chicago to free up some room in the system for players to play at the appropriate levels. While having depth is great, it doesn't do a whole lot of good if guys aren't being tested at the appropriate levels.

Early last season, Casilla was one of the best relievers in baseball. Then he injured his elbow, missed time and seemed tentative with his slider (his out-pitch) when he returned. He finished the year with a still-respectable 3.93 ERA and 43 strike-outs in 50 innings.

If Casilla isn't 100 percent, I would agree with the notion that there may be other relievers who could challenge his job. However, if he is healthy, he should be a very important part of the A's overall bullpen. He is a hard-thrower with closer-stuff who the A's have the luxury of using in the middle innings thanks to the depth of the current bullpen. He is also under the A's control for the next four seasons and should be relatively inexpensive to keep. He is out of options, I believe, so if Casilla doesn't make the team out of spring training, the A's will likely have to cut ties with him.

There is good reason to believe that Casilla is healthy again and throwing like he did early last year. He threw 10 innings in winter ball in December and allowed only four hits and he struck-out nine.

Let me know what you think of my selections and the draft in general. It is also interesting to ponder whether there is a member of the A's current organization that you would select in a draft like this. Any suggestions?

I was fortunate to grow up right when Rickey was in his prime as a ballplayer. Watching him play at his best was a pleasure. I remember his first home game with the A's after he was traded back to the team from New York, wearing that number 22 jersey and waving to the crowd throughout the game. He was one of the only players I have ever seen who could maintain a conversation with the fans throughout the game when he was out in the field. Sometimes, in mid-sentence, a ball would come his way. He'd catch it, throw it back and continue the sentence as if nothing ever happened.

One of my favorite Rickey memories was one I didn't see, but only heard on the radio. I can't remember when it was or who the announcer was (although I think it was Bill King), but it was a situation where Rickey was on second with one out. He was running with the pitch, which was hit on the ground towards short. A normal runner would have stopped at third or even tried to go back to second, but Rickey kept running and scored on a groundball to short. Whoever the announcer was, I remember that there was incredulity in the announcer's voice that anyone could score from second on a routine groundball to the left-side. I wish I could find the boxscore because I'm not even sure how you score a run like that. I guess it would be the definition of a "Rickey Run."

The greatest thing about Rickey Henderson is that you would know what was coming, but the opposition still couldn't stop it. Once his fingers starting wagging, he was going to be on the move, but even if the pitcher was able to get him going the wrong direction on a throw to first, Rickey could often beat the throw to second from first base. And no player was better at stealing third than Rickey.

Rickey's greatest moment as a player came in 1989 during the American League Championship Series against Toronto. The A's were a traveling circus back then with as many big acts as any team in recent memory. Jose Canseco hit one of the longest homeruns in history in that series and Dave Stewart and Dennis Eckersley were lights out, but the spotlight belonged firmly to Rickey. He was on-base constantly (a .591 clip) and when he got on, he was running. He stole an incredible eight bases in five games, and wasn't caught once (in fact, he was never caught stealing in 33 opportunities in the post-season in his career). Rickey also hit two homeruns, both coming in Game Four when Toronto was threatening to tie the series at two games a piece.

I think the best part about Rickey Henderson, however, is the relationship that he has with his fans. One of the greatest treats is being at the Coliseum when Rickey Henderson decides to attend a game. He will talk to anyone and is always smiling.

It would be great to see the A's honor Rickey with something more permanent than a retired number at the Coliseum. Even though the A's are going to move from the Coliseum, it would be great to see the team build a statue of Rickey, perhaps near the awards ring between the Coliseum and the Arena. Rickey has meant so much not only to the A's, but to the City of Oakland, that it would be a nice monument for the A's to leave in Oakland even when they have left the city for good.

The A's search for offense has seemed to center most recently on getting a OF, 1B or DH-type who is willing to sign a short-term deal. The A's were never publicly linked to Burrell or Bradley, but the Rays, in particular, were thought to be competitors with the A's for a number of the other players the team has targeted (including Jason Giambi, Garret Anderson and Bobby Abreu).

If true, it seems like the Burrell signing is good news for the A's. Burrell is a defensive liability, but he has been a consistent offensive force for the past nine years. Since debuting in 2000, Burrell has posted an OPS below 815 in only one season. He has also been durable, appearing in more than 140 games in seven seasons.

Burrell is, for all intents and purposes, the right-handed version of Giambi and Abreu, although he doesn't run as well as Abreu. All three can play in the field if needed, but none of them are good defensive players. However, all three players work the count extremely well and have power (although Giambi has more power than Abreu).

There had been talk earlier in the off-season that Giambi was looking for a three-year deal, which would almost certainly be a deal-breaker for the A's. However, he may be willing to back-off of that demand now that Burrell has signed for two years given that Giambi is significantly older than Burrell and has a more extensive injury history. Abreu is only two years older than Burrell, but he may be willing to settle for a one or two-year deal in order to be able to re-enter the market in a year or two when the market may be better for free agents.

Anderson is the other player the A's have considered. Unlike Giambi and Abreu, Anderson doesn't have great plate discipline and he has average power, but he has always hit extremely well in the Coliseum and might be had for a one-year deal. He would bring a different look to the A's line-up. He doesn't walk much, but he doesn't strike-out much for an RBI-man either, and he has always hit for high average.

Adam Dunn is also out on the open market and it will be interesting to see if Dunn has to settle for a deal similar to Burrell's, as they are both similar players. Dunn is currently being courted by the Los Angeles Dodgers, but they may be only feigning interest in Dunn to get Manny Ramirez back to the negotiating table. Frank Thomas and Ken Griffey, Jr. are the other veteran DH-types on the market. There hasn't been much noise about whether Thomas will play next year. The Seattle Mariners and Tampa Bay Rays were thought to be interested in Griffey, although the Rays are likely out of the picture with the Burrell signing.

As we have discussed previously in this space, there are really only two areas where the A's can make significant improvements this off-season without setting back the progress of the team's younger players: shortstop and one spot in the rotation (possibly a relief spot, as well, although that isn't as urgent). Adding a Jason Giambi, Adam Dunn or Pat Burrell would be a boost to the A's offense, obviously, but they are all really DH-types and the A's already have one of those in Jack Cust. Moving Cust into the outfield would leave only one spot for Travis Buck or Ryan Sweeney in the everyday line-up. And if Giambi, Dunn or Burrell were to play first base next season, the A's would be forced to send Daric Barton back to Triple-A or use him as a bench player, which would probably be detrimental to his development.

This isn't to say that these scenarios would be all bad. In Barton's case, it isn't entirely clear that he doesn't need more time in Triple-A. He is still quite young and would be only entering his prime years in 2010 even if he spent the 2009 season in the minors. However, if you send Barton down to Triple-A, it has a ripple effect on the rest of the organization. The A's have already inked minor league free agent first baseman Tagg Bozied and they have Tom Everidge heading to Triple-A after leading the Texas League in RBIs last season. At Double-A, the A's will have Sean Doolittle and Chris Carter sharing time at 1B/DH/OF. Given that Doolittle and Carter are both top prospects and that Doolittle has already had a half season in Double-A, it is likely that at least one of them will be ready for Triple-A at some point during the season. Therefore, the A's need to have some wiggle room in Triple-A to allow for a spot for either Doolittle or Carter should there be an opening. Matt Spencer, acquired in the Joe Blanton trade, is also a 1B/OF type and he will be at Double-A next season, as well.

Sweeney and Buck both have little left to gain in the minor leagues. Sweeney proved last season that he can hit for average and play solid defense in the major leagues. Buck struggled with injuries and went through an early season slump, but he was back to swinging a potent bat during the final two weeks of the major league season. Even with last season's early struggles, Buck's career major league stats are .266/.347/.459 over 120 games. If Buck were to post those exact numbers next season, he would be one of the A's better offensive players. Add to the Sweeney/Buck mix players such as Aaron Cunningham, Rajai Davis and Chris Denorfia, who are all capable of being solid fourth outfielders (and maybe more in Cunningham's case) right now, as well as the A's curious decision to spend a Rule 5 pick on an outfielder, and you can see where the A's are already crowded enough in the outfield that creating a situation where Cust would need to play left every day would create some problems.

The A's have committed to Mark Ellis at second and as long as Eric Chavez is on the roster and there is a possibility that he can play, it doesn't really make sense for the A's to try to sign a starting third baseman. Certainly, they could improve their depth by signing a legitimate back-up at that position, but the A's have more than $11 million already invested in third base, so they aren't going to invest much more. The catching position is well-manned with Kurt Suzuki.

Which leaves us again with only one position where a clear upgrade is possible: at short. Bobby Crosby is in the final year of his contract and clearly isn't going to be the shortstop of the future that the team envisioned when he was called up in September 2003. Both he and the team need a change of scenery. The free agent shortstop market beyond Rafael Furcal is very weak, however, so the A's will probably have to look to a trade now to fill the shortstop spot for 2009.

There have been a few names bandied about on the trade market. J.J. Hardy of Milwaukee was mentioned earlier in the off-season, although there doesn't seem to have been much activity surrounding him at the winter meetings. Yunel Escobar of Atlanta will now clearly be available given the Furcal signing, but he is likely to come at a steep price (he'd probably cost at least a Brett Anderson or Trevor Cahill, which would be a very high price to pay). The other name that has been most mentioned is the man that Crosby replaced: Miguel Tejada.

Now I am a sentimental person, but I'm not the type of person who is always advocating bringing back past stars. However, it just so happens that Tejada might be the person who most makes sense for the A's right now. For one, he is in the last year of his contract. He is owed a lot of money ($13 million), but it is only a one-year commitment, so it isn't like the A's would be hamstringing themselves financially for the long-run (as they may have with Furcal should his back have acted up) or blocking the position from a younger player. And if the A's are able to dump Crosby's salary, they would be looking at roughly an $8 million commitment to shortstop next season, which is around the same amount they paid for one year of Mike Piazza.

There is no question that Tejada is no longer the player he once was. He is 34 years old and he looks his age on the field. He had his worst offensive season since he was a second-year player last year and in a good hitter's ballpark in Houston. After a strong April, Tejada scuffled for most of the rest of the season. He wound-up posting only a 729 OPS.

Those numbers are discouraging, but they are still an improvement over what Crosby produced last season. And one has to factor in some of the off-field distractions that Tejada had to deal with last season: being traded for the first time, a new league, the Mitchell report, the age scandal, not to mention the death of his brother. In his final year with Baltimore in 2007, Tejada posted a 799 OPS. Although he isn't the number three hitter he once was, Tejada could make for a solid second or sixth place hitter, either batting before Jack Cust-Matt Holliday-Eric Chavez, or batting immediately after them. The fact that he is a right-handed bat is also helpful, as it would bring more balance to the lefty-heavy A's line-up.

Tejada would not only be a low-risk acquisition because of the length of his contract, but he would also be relatively inexpensive to acquire, more than likely. The Astros are looking to rebuild and dump salary, so if the A's are willing to take on Tejada's contract, they probably won't have to give up much in return for him. Certainly less than it took to get Holliday and would take to get Escobar. From a PR perspective, given Tejada's popularity with A's fans, bringing him back would likely bring some enthusiasm to the fanbase.

There will certainly be questions as to whether the A's want to associate themselves with Tejada given the Mitchell report and "age-gate." However, if the team was really considering Jason Giambi, that would be an indication that past steroid use is not going to deter the A's from making a move. And Furcal was also one of the former "age-gate" players, so that won't likely be a deterrent either.

In summary, the A's have traded roughly 15 years of service from Huston Street, Greg Smith and Carlos Gonzalez for what is expected to be one year of service from Matt Holliday. While there is no question that Holliday is the best player involved in this deal from a talent perspective, the years of service question certainly gives many people pause when analyzing this deal, particularly those who have bought into the A's way of building a team over the past few years (i.e., gathering up young, cost-controlled players).

What the A's are receiving in this deal is probably easier to quantify than what they are giving up. Holliday is an established player and while there is always some risk that his stats will suffer with the league switch and the home park switch, he is a pretty sure bet to put up solid offensive numbers (an 860 OPS or higher).

What the A's are giving up is harder to evaluate. Street, when you look at his career numbers, appears to be a dominant reliever. However, when you look at the injuries he has sustained over the past few years and the decline in his performance last season, it is harder to assess whether Street is the pitcher of his first three seasons, or the guy with the declining fastball we saw for much of last season. Given the A's growing collection of young, effective relievers, Street's loss -- even if he does return to form -- may not be felt that greatly by the team.

The same is likely true for Greg Smith. As much as Smith was an anchor for the A's rotation early in the season, by season's end, the walks and homeruns were starting to catch up with the Louisiana product. His stuff has never been described as great, and while he has always made it work despite not having an overpowering fastball thanks to his pitching smarts and sheer competitiveness, it seemed by the end of the year that the league was starting to catch on to Smith's pitching style (nibbling at the corners). Given the offensive firepower in the AL, it is understandable why Smith wasn't all that eager to challenge hitters regularly. He may fare better in the NL, where the offenses are a little weaker, and he is moving into a favorable division for his pitching style, although his home park might be a challenge.

From the A's perspective, though, trading Smith is not a big risk given the sheer volume of young pitching talent (especially left-handed pitching talent) they have in their ranks, Dana Eveland, Gio Gonzalez, Dallas Braden, Josh Outman, Brett Anderson, to name a few of those lefties. Young pitching always has a value, but you also only have five spots in your rotation, and there is an argument to be made that the A's even now have five pitchers who are likely to pitch at least as well, if not better, than Smith projects to next season (Eveland, Gonzalez, Sean Gallagher, Justin Duchscherer and Dallas Braden).

Carlos Gonzalez is the biggest risk for Oakland in this trade, although the A's were once again trading from an area of strength in dealing a young outfielder because the team has plenty of those. It remains to be seen, however, how the young outfielders the A's currently have will ultimately match-up with the career that Gonzalez will have. Carlos, for certain, has the potential to be a super-star in the big leagues. However, there are plenty of players who never reach their top potential. The A's used to have a theory that plate discipline was something that a player couldn't learn, but rather had to always have. If they still ascribe to that theory, then it seems likely that they feel that Gonzalez will never reach that potential. His inability to lay-off of breaking pitches was badly exposed in August of last season, and it remains to be seen whether or not he can fix that flaw in his game. Terrence Long never did, but there are certainly other hitters who have improved in that area. However, one thing is certain: if Gonzalez continued in 2009 to look as lost at he did last August, his trade value for Oakland would have been dramatically reduced next off-season (for a reference point, you can see what happened to the trade value of Lastings Milledge in one year when he struggled some in 2007). So the A's are taking a risk here that they are selling high on Gonzalez.

One could make the argument that while the A's certainly could afford to trade away these three players, it made little sense for Oakland to trade them for a player who isn't likely to be with the team beyond one year. As observers of the A's way of doing things over the past 10 years, we have become used to the idea that it is always better to have younger players than it is to have experienced players on the verge of free agency, even if those experience players are better players. I think that theory works very well when you are putting together a core of your team. However, a team without any superstars is a team that isn't likely to win.

The past two years, the A's have had their core of young players, but they haven't had any superstars to help that core succeed. All of the A's playoff teams over the past 10 years have included at least one star in nearing free agency: 2000-2001, it was Jason Giambi and later Johnny Damon and Jermaine Dye; in 2002-2003, it was Miguel Tejada, Keith Foulke, Ray Durham, David Justice, Eric Chavez; in 2006, it was Barry Zito, Milton Bradley and, of course, Frank Thomas. Since Thomas and Zito left and Bradley was traded, the A's have been without any veteran stars (unless you could Eric Chavez and Rich Harden, but their injuries all but negated their impact on the team the past two seasons).

Adding a veteran superstar who has been to the World Series should only help the A's younger players develop. Baseball players are like sponges. They absorb so much information and feed off of one another. I'm sure having Todd Helton around the Rockies all of these years helped Matt Holliday develop as a player, and Matt Holliday should help Travis Buck, Ryan Sweeney and Daric Barton develop in a similar way. In addition, having a hitter like Holliday in the line-up allows the A's to place the rest of their hitters in spots that are more suited to their skills. There will be no more Kurt Suzuki or Ryan Sweeney hitting third next season. And if Eric Chavez is healthy, a middle of the line-up featuring Jack Cust, Holliday and then Chavez should be pretty potent. For the pitchers, there should be a psychological lift, as well, as they will start games knowing that there is someone in their line-up who can do some damage and that they might not have to be perfect in order to win the game, something that couldn't be said last season. Manny Ramirez seemingly had this impact on the Dodgers last season.

I've said this before, and I'll say it again, one of the biggest parts of the A's philosophy that is often missed by the media is that they strongly believe winning breeds winning. They work very hard to develop a winning culture in the minor leagues on the theory that winning allows players to develop good habits. Although I think the tear-down of the A's roster over the past two seasons was necessary, it did put the A's in the position of being a losing team for the first time since 1998. The A's are in danger of having their entire core develop at the major league level in an atmosphere of losing. While that isn't necessarily a death-knell for an organization, it does run the danger of becoming a habit after a team runs a few losing seasons in a row out there.

Matt Holliday alone does not make the A's a playoff team, and it may not even guarantee them a winning season next year. However, on paper at least, it seems that the A's are already a better team than they were in 2008, which gives them hope of a winning record, given they were just seven games off of that pace. And if the A's supplement the Holliday trade with one or two other moves to upgrade the big league roster, Oakland will be giving itself a legitimate chance to compete for the first time since 2006. Given the fluid nature of the league and the success of a few losing-to-first-place teams over the past few years (Tampa Bay and the Chicago White Sox, to name two from last year), it is worth the shot for Oakland to take this risk, even if it isn't a sure bet to succeed. They have to depth to recover if the trade doesn't net them anything more than prospects or two draft picks and the financial flexibility to handle the salary increase. If the trade does lead to a shot at the playoffs, then I think that it will be more than worth it for the overall development of the organization.