I ranted like most of you when I heard about the trades, but upon reflection,
Beane may have pulled a fast one. I emphasize "MAY" because I'm still a little
ambivalent.

They were called the Big Three, but just how big were they? Comparable to
Koufax, Drysdale and Podres? Hardly.

Hudson won 20 games in 2000, then 18 in 2001, and dropped off after that.
Mulder won 20 games in 2001 and 19 in 2002. Last year he did begin to remind me
of Koufax during the first half, but then as we know he just lost it. Zito won
23 games in 2002 then dropped off.

The mark of great pitchers is their ability to win big games. I remember well
that day in 1965 when Sandy Koufax won game seven of the World Series against
the Twins. He realized in the first inning he had no curveball that day. After
the second inning he gave up on the curve, and threw fastballs the rest of the
afternoon. He found a way to win.

Neither Hudson nor Mulder nor Zito ever won the big games against the Yankees,
Red Sox, or even the Twins. Not one. In my humble opinion, Dave Stewart would
have won every one of those fifth games of the divisional series. (Hell, he
would have demanded the ball!) Maybe Beane figured out he wasn't ever going to
win with those guys.

And, maybe it's no coincidence that he traded both to National League teams.
Except for the handful of teams the Athletics play in interleague play, the NL
general managers know the Big Three by reputation only, and were ready to offer
more than their AL counterparts.

Maybe I'm wrong, maybe my initial outrage was the correct reaction, but I'm
willing to give Beane the benefit of the doubt. For now.

Al



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