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But as I've had time to think about it, I'm not convinced the sky is falling.
Let's set all the concern about Beane giving himself a juggernaut while the M's stand pat and look at this again.
Good for the A's:
-They shore up the biggest potential weakness on the club, the back end of the rotation, and give themselves some safety against injury or players having a rough spell.
-Samardzjia could be a post season ace, giving the A's a big three.
-Good PR move and will sell extra seats because the A's are in it to win it or some such jazz.
-Prevents another team from adding this players to the roster, notably Baltimore, which would really improve with two good pitchers.
Not so good for the A's:
-Jeff Samardjzia has not been an ace up until this point in his career. Yes he's been the Cubs opening day starter, but has he been one of the best 30 pitchers in baseball? The guy has a career ERA of almost 4 (3.97) and that's with getting to face pitchers 2-3 times a game. A 3.80 FIP in an era dominated by pitching doesn't scream ACE to me.
-Jeff Samardjzia has not been a winner. 31-42 career W-L. It's not like the A's just added a Félix, Kershaw, Price type who will put the team on his back with 8 or 9 shutout innings. I think Sharks best case scenario is a Doug Fister type explosion in W-L record in a new city (even though I'd argue Fister is a better pitcher).
-Both Hammel and Samardjzia are having career years. Maybe it's a plateau leap. Maybe it's unsustainable. We don't know.
-Hammel is 69 innings shy of his career high. He could easily fatigue down the stretch.
-More than likely, this club just added two wins down the stretch. Maybe one more maybe two less.
-The Mariners biggest weakness is LHP. We have no additional worries as a result of the trade.
Adding 2003's Joel Pinerio and Ryan Franklin to your pitching staff might be a great idea if the plan is to hand the ball over to your bullpen in the 7th or 8th with a close game and take it from there. I think it cements Oakland as a playoff team, but I don't feel less comfortable playing them than I did two days ago.