Jack Cust

What impact does the A's resigning Jack Cust, their main source of power for the past three seasons, have on players like Jake Fox, Eric Chavez, Chris Carter and other DH-eligible players?

What if (and I know it's a huge if) Chavez does comes back next season and is able to at least swing the bat? Or what about the one-in-a-million possibility that Chavez returns to the hot-corner next season? What happens to the newly acquired Fox?

It looks like the Oakland Athletics will retain their main source of power from the past three seasons by bringing back Jack Cust for a one-year, incentive-laden deal. The deal is reportedly similar to the $2.8 million he made last season. 

Cust was targeted by several teams this offseason, but decided to stick with the A's instead. In 2009, the A's slugger had a .240/.356/.417 season, blasted a team-leading 25 homers, and walked 93 times.

Sometime in the spring of 2007, I was sitting in an AP English Language classroom as a high school senior. Since I had already gotten into college, I wasn't really 100 percent engaged anymore, and the works of Henry James and Joan Didion did little to motivate me. I was pretty much going through the motions.

Still, one assignment that we got piqued me interest. It was simply: "Write a persuasive essay of three pages on anything you want."

With the A's coming off their third-straight sub .500 season, General Manager Billy Beane has made it clear to the A's very small and ever thinning fan base that rebuilding is key for future success.

The A's over the past two or three seasons have spent most of their efforts trying to replenish their depleted farm-system.

However, last season's off-course "spending spree" that ultimately backfired, caused Beane and the rest of the A's front office to re-evaluate their situation and their biggest organizational needs. 

Last winter, A's General Manager Billy Beane actually went on a "shopping-spree" and acquired Matt Holliday via trade with the Rockies. Then he got Jason Giambi, Orlando Cabrera, and Nomar Garciaparra via free agency.

Holliday and Giambi were supposed to bring power to a team that desperately needed some, but ultimately Beane's plan didn't quite pan out.

After a mid-season revelation that his team was not quite ready to compete, Beane unloaded the players he acquired during the offseason, in order to give younger players a chance to strut their stuff.

Billy Beane used too make great decisions and make trades that benefited the Oakland A's, but lately, Beane's genius has backfired on him, and it hasn't been pretty for the Oakland A's.

No one could make the argument that the hiring of Ken Macha was the beginning of the end for the A's run, but at least Macha had teams that made the playoffs and had a winning record.

This article originally appeared on Fantasyfootballmaniaxs.com.

For the Oakland A's, starting the season 2-4 with the team they have should leave a very bitter taste in their mouths. Especially with the latest 1-0 loss to the Seattle Mariners.

Not only that, but the A's lack of offense turned Trevor Cahill's tremendous start into a loss. Cahill's only mistakes came in the sixth inning. He gave up a solid single to Adrian Beltre for the first hit of the game and the next batter Mike Sweeney, a former A, lined a double to score Beltre.

The 2009 Oakland Athletics have created the opportunity to compete in the American League West, especially with the veteran hitters brought in during the offseason. These players are going to determine how the A's season will be.

Last season, the main problem for the A's was their offense. Part of the reason was injuries to key players like Ryan Sweeney, Eric Chavez, and Mark Ellis.

With those injuries it forced in players that were not necessarily ready to be in the major leagues players like Eric Patterson, Cliff Pennington, Wes Bankston, and Brooks Conrad.