Blanton to Phills; Gio getting call?

The A's fire sale continued Thursday night with Joe Blanton being shipped to Philadelphia for a trio of prospects.

The questions are plentiful.

1). Why is Oakland, at just 6 games out, trading away its top two pitchers (Blanton and Rich Harden)?

2). What are the A's going to do with a million prospects?

3). Who is left for Oakland fans to cheer for?

4). Does A's GM Billy Beane get a bonus for every trade he makes?

5). Who will get Joe Blanton's spot in the rotation?

Of all the questions surrounding this trade, only the last one is relevant and we'll get to that in a minute.

First, Blanton goes to a much smaller park and already was sporting a 4.96 ERA, his value probably takes a small dip, as he should get more run support and more wins but will also be pitching in a richer offensive division.

Now, to the A's rotation sweepstakes, which is especially critical in AL-only formats where every starter is scrutinized with a white glove.

The consensus from the Oakland media points to Gio Gonzalez, who came over from the White Sox organization in the Nick Swisher trade, who has a 7-6 record with a 4.34 ERA in 110 IP, but also has struck out 117 Pacific Coast League batters.

Off the subject, did you know that according to milb.com, there are 79 minor league prospects with the last name of Gonzalez, including five with the name Miguel and four Carlos. I haven't checked, but Gonzalez may be the most popular name in the minors.

Back to Gio, who is worth a pickup in very deep mixed leagues that count K's as well as probably all AL-only formats. He was the main piece of the three players swapped for Swisher and has great upside, despite his average ERA.