Cespedes is a No-Go

Yoenis Cespedes is not walking through that door...

The Cuban defector has spurned the Miami Marlins in favor of the Oakland Athletics, signing a 4-year deal worth $36 million.

So much for a LoMo-Cespedes-Sr. #MONSTERDONG outfield troika. Cespedes' agent was reportedly asking for either a 4- or 10-year deal, as opposed to the 5-6-year deals other teams were offered. This makes a lot of sense. A 4-year deal allows Cespedes to become a free agent at age 30, when he is much more marketable to MLB teams than he would be at 32.

Plus, the A's will pay him $12 [ed.: Math!] $9 million a year, while the Marlins were offering $6 million per year.

So you know who'll be patrolling centerfield on Opening Day (provided Chris Coghlan doesn't suddenly become a serviceable baseball player by then)...

/starts drinking

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The Time Trader Jack Swindled a 12-year-old Hammer

Via Baseball Nation comes a tale of Jack McKeon's interactions with a young Hammer, who A's owner Charlie Finley took under his wing in the 1970s. It's great because it elucidates the bizarre nature of Finley's ownership ("little Hammer was the owner's West Coast eyes and ears, picking up the telephone to update Finley with game action and the goings-on in the Oakland clubhouse.") and McKeon's willingness to fuck with Hammer for the hell of it:

"We used to sit up in Charlie's office and guess the attendance. I'd bet him a few bucks,'' McKeon says. "But I happened to know how to get in touch with the attendance guys. I'd call down and say 'what's it look like tonight?'

"The closest one wins, so I used to take Hammer to the cleaners.''

That's some bad foreshadowing for Hammer, btw.

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