Aaron Cunningham and Adrian Cardenas get promoted

Aaron Cunningham, who was acquired in the Dan Haren trade, was called up to AAA and he hit a homerun in his first game. When the A's obtained him as part of the huge trade I thought of him as a throw in, I focused more on Gonzalez and Anderson. However, I have been pleasantly surprised by how good Cunningham is. He plays center field and is a relentless player, meaning he always gives 100% no matter what. Right now I would compare him to Aaron Rowand, in terms of the way they both will do anything for their team. Cunningham may not have the same kind of power as Rowand, but he has a little more speed and I see him hitting around the same average as Rowand (280-310). It's clear that Cunningham is no regular throw in, and I can see him with the big club next year in September.

Adrian Cardenas was called up to AA, he was acquired in the Joe Blanton deal from the Phillies. Cardenas is a very good hitter with a little pop, he plays 2B, however, he has recently been playing SS. His defense is average at best right now, and he has an average arm. Cardenas, is still only 20 so he has plenty of time to develop. I see him getting to big club in 2010.

As a die hard A's fan, this year has been really hard to swallow. I'm used to seeing a club who takes the field with the confidence that they're going to win the game. This club takes the field hoping they can score three runs. I have full faith in Billy Beane, he said this would be a rebuilding year and I was ok with that. However, what confuses me is that the A's lineup continues to feature Emil Brown. I have no problem with Brown, who at times has been the best hitter on this weak hitting team. However, he clearly has no feature with the team next year except to maybe entice teams to claiming him on waivers. Why not let Murton or Patterson play everyday, seeing as they do have a feature with the team.

I wish Beane would sign Bonds for the rest of the year, I'd rather see him than Brown and I know that Bonds would produce much better than him. Imagine a lineup with Thomas and Bonds back to back, I'm pretty sure that would put a lot of fans in the seats. This would give Bonds a chance to show his talent to the rest of the teams and maybe get a contract for next year. Although this goes against my hope of building for the future, Bonds is such a great hitter he could only help the young guys get better. He would at the very least give these guys some confidence, which is something they have been lacking all year. Obviously, Beane would never do this, as this would mean that he (Beane) would not be the most recognizable person in the A's organization.