762 career major league OPS through age 26

I give the edge to Mosley, based on experience more than anything. Idon't think there will be a stoppage; I see it going to the scorecards.But who knows anything can happen. I'm no Nostradamus or King J, for that matter.What do you guys think. The Jack Cust Era in Oakland appears to be over, as the A’s have just acquired Jake Fox, the player most likely to be the next Jack Cust. Cust was beloved by all MoneyBall fans, because he was way undervalued when the A’s pulled him out of minor league obscurity and turned him briefly into a star.Cust had put up some enormous minor league power and OPS numbers, but he wasn’t very good in the field and he struck out an ungodly amount. He had value, though, which the A’s alone saw, and they got some good years out of him.The writing was on the wall for Cust, however. After a terrific .912 OPS in 2007, his OPS fell to .851 in 2008 and .773 this past season. His salary had increased to $2.8 million, and as an arbitration eligible player, he would likely have gotten at least $4.5 million as a result of the arbitration process.Meanwhile, any MoneyBall fan will love Jake Fox for the same reasons they loved Jack Cust. Fox has a career .885 minor league OPS and .762 career major league OPS through age 26. Last year, he posted a ridiculous 1.336 OPS during two months in the AAA Pacific Coast League before getting called up the Cubs, where he posted a respectable .779 OPS as a major leaguer.Fox will be 27 in 2010 and is a great candidate for a breakout season. He’s also cheap, which means a lot to the financially down-and-out A’s.The A’s also required 2Bman Aaron Miles in the trade, but Miles doesn’t look to have much left. He had a strong .753 OPS in 2008, but has a career OPS of .678 and was absolutely terrible for the Cubs last year. He’ll be 33 next season, and I’ll be surprised if he contributes much to help the A’s win.The three minor leaguers the A’s gave up, pitchers Jeff Gray and Ronny Morla, and corner outfielder/1Bman Matt Spencer, aren’t great, but they aren’t terrible either. Gray will be 28 next year and has a career 4.35 ERA in 31 major league innings pitched with only 5 walks and 23 strikeouts. He was terrific at AAA Sacramento last year, posting a 1.54 ERA with 16 saves in 37 relief appearances.The thing I like about the Cubs obtaining Gray is that Gray doesn’t have fantastic stuff, but he has tremendous control and doesn’t give up many homeruns (19 in 401.2 professional innings). Wrigley is a tough place to pitch, but I think groundball pitchers who throw strikes have a relative advantage there. Every pitcher is going to give up hits and runs in that park, but it you keep your walks and opponent homeruns down, you can have success there.Ronny Morla will be 22 next year and has had little success so far in the low minors, posting a 7-15 record with a 4.52 ERA. He’s got a good arm however, with 202 Ks and 74 walks allowed in 197 minor league innings pitched. He’s a long-shot, but he could get better in a hurry.Matt Spencer will be 24 next year, and it doesn’t look like he hits enough for a corner outfielder/1Bman to have much of a major league career unless he gets better in a hurry. He had an .808 OPS in AA in 2009. Like Morla, I’d rate his chances of a successful major league career at less than 50, but he’s at least got a shot. This article is also featured on

DUBLIN, Ireland(Business Wire)Research and Markets( http://) hasannounced the addition of the "Analyzing Food Retail in Brazil" report to theiroffering. Aruvian Research's report Analyzing Food Retail in Brazil is a complete insightinto the Brazilian food purchase and consumption pattern which is helpinginternational hyper marketers and retail giants to focus and understand theBrazilian food market better and prepare for eventual investment or waitdecisions. This report provides a market synopsis of the beak up segmentation of the foodretail industry setup as prevalent in Brazil and how the changing foodconsumption patterns of the Brazilian population are leading the change forshift of focus to processed food retailing supermarket chains. The report analyzes the key propellers of growth of the industrywhich are fuelled by changing consumer preferences and have galvanized theindustry into long term investment decisions. This report also applies the PEST Framework Analysis & Porter's Five ForcesStrategy Analysis to the Brazilian Food Retail Industry wherein the reportprovides important bearing on the industry's internal mechanisms at bay andprovides a crucial answer for new investors whether to go ahead or hold oninvestment. Thereafter the report has also been compiled with a complete tally of the majorplayers in the market arena in the Brazilian Food Retail Industry and alsoprovides information across parameters as Revenues, Market Shares, RecentDevelopments, etc.

The report also presents a future growth perspective for theBrazilian Food Retail Industry which gives a better understanding of the overalldirection heading for this dynamic and growing industry. Key Topics Covered: Executive Summary Market Synopsis Accelerated Market Kinesis PEST Framework Analysis of Brazil's Food Retail Industry Porter's Five Forces Strategy Analysis Market Share Arena - Major Competitors Brazil Food Retail Industry - Future Perspective Appendix Glossary of TermsCompanies Mentioned: Carrefour S.A. Companhia Brasileira de Distribuicao Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.For more information visit http:// and MarketsLaura WoodSenior Fax from USA: 646-607-1907Fax from rest of the world: 353-1-481-1716 Copyright Business Wire 2009. It’s no secret that 17 of the Lakers' first 21 games are at the Staples Center.