I dunno, seemed like the A's wanted Yunel Escobar because they didn't have a high-quality shortstop before.
Now that they're trading him to the Nationals for Tyler Clippard -- you know, pending physicals or notes from the school nurse or whatever -- it seems like they didn't want Escobar because of that, at all. In fact, Susan Slusser's reportage sorta suggests they couldn't get Ben Zobrist without also taking Escobar ... and suddenly we can't help wondering why nobody seems to want Yunel Escobar, a high-quality shortstop who doesn't make a great deal of money.
Is he really that annoying?
I dunno, maybe.
Of course, the funny thing is the A's are now without a high-quality shortstop again ... while the Nationals now have two of them, because Ian Desmond's still No. 1 on the depth chart. So maybe this spinning wheel of Escobar still isn't finished spinning. Or maybe the Nationals, with a shaky Danny Espinosa at second base and soon-to-be-free agent Ian Desmond at shortstop, figure Escobar's a nifty insurance policy. Makes sense to me.
What doesn't make sense, yet, is how a really good $8 million relief pitcher helps the A's more than a pretty good $5 million shortstop.
But the winter is young, and you know the A's will be interesting.
