In what we can only hope and pray is not a chilling sign of things to come, Marco Scutaro – the most useful, reliable and popular player in Oakland for the last four years or so – was traded to the Blue Jays for two jobbers today. Apparently his prospective 2 to 2.5 million dollar salary was just a bit too hefty for the front office to handle, and it was decided that we’d be better off with two career minor-league pitchers instead.

Gone, baby gone.

Allow me to get my biases out in the open – I love Scutaro. Absolutely love him. I love that he gave us a solid replacement every time one of our brittle-boned infielders went on the DL, I love that he bats with those enormous Mickey mouse-style battings gloves, I love that he boasts walk-off hits off just about every premier closer in the American League, and I loved the way his teammates beat the absolute crap out of him at home plate following sad hits. Most of all, I love him for his bases-clearing double in the 2006 ALDS, the hit that clinched the series for us and set off a SCU-TAR-O chant that was probably the loudest crowd reaction I’ve ever heard for a single athlete.

Perhaps I shouldn’t be too suprised – I made out out a mock 2008 roster about a week and a half ago – which I would have posted to the site already, if stuff hadn’t fervently insisted on going down – and while it never occurred to me to leave Scutaro off of it, it troubled me that I didn’t have a spot for Donnie Murphy.  Problem solved - if Murphy can indeed prove to do everything Scutaro can at a fraction of the price.  Maybe he can, but that still doesn’t make Scutaro expendable – not when our starting shortstop has Laffy Taffy where his ligaments should be.  

So I’m not happy about this (and I’m really not happy that I’m going to have to tell my wife about this – she loves the little Venezuelan more than I do, and she was alread threatening to never go to another game after we lost Frank Thomas), but my unhapiness stems from more than my Marcaffection.  It stems from the fear that this is just the beginning of a “rebuilding” phase for the team – where anyone with a marginally high salary or the slightest bit of trade value is shipped out.  And if Marco Scutaro was deemed too costly to hold onto, it’s a sure bet that no one is safe.

And here’s the thing – it’s not like we lost a good player and gained value in return.  We lost Scutaro and got two largely-ineffective, Double-A pitchers in return, giving us what is in effect the most pathetic salary dump ever.  I can accept a ”rebuilding” process if absolutely necessary (and I’m not convinced that it is), but shouldn’t we be rebuilding with, you know, potentially good players?  When, exactly, are we rebuilding for?

So I’m not happy about this.

And just wait ’til that Haren trade comes through. 

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