The Oakland A’s picked up troubled slugger Frank Thomas. But Barry Bonds? He was never in the picture. That’s what A’s general manager Billy Beane said when we talked.

“We decided last fall that we wanted to put together a team that could be competitive for several years, and we aren’t going to do anything that would upset that plan,” Beane said.

Specifically, that means not suddenly plugging in a veteran player and forcing a young player to sit. Thomas, who was released by Toronto, will be 40 soon, but the player he’d replace would be Mike Sweeney, who will be 35 in July.

“If it were someone like, say, Daric Barton, we’d say no way,” said Beane. “But because Frank would be replacing a veteran, that’s a conversation (we had). Plus, he has right-handed power, and that’s been a problem for us for several years now.”

Beane, who has been an admirer of Bonds since at least 1999, gave no reason for not looking at the former Giants slugger, but Bonds would wind up taking away playing time from Jack Cust – who recently was named the American League’s player of the week after hitting .500 during the week with three home runs, a double and four RBIs – and nobody has ever accused Barry of being a positive influence in the clubhouse.

The A’s GM also did not believe that Bonds would necessarily attract people to the park. In a conversation last fall, Beane said he believes a star player is a draw only if he’s on a good team. He cited the fact that the A’s did not draw well in Mark McGwire’s last half-season in Oakland but the Cardinals did when McGwire went there. The difference: The A’s were not a good team, the Cardinals were.

The A’s strong early season performance has pretty much shredded the popular opinion, that they were aiming to put together a team that would be down for 2-3 years but would be strong for 2011, when the A’s are scheduled to open Cisco Field in Fremont. (Don’t bet on that ever happening.)

“We never said anything about our expectations for this year,” Beane said. “Others said we were going to be terrible, and then, when we weren’t, they’re saying, ‘Well, the team is better than you expected.’”

Beane has consistently said, though, that he wanted to get enough good young players, on the major league roster and in the minors, so that the team could have a run of several years when it would be in the postseason.

“This is my favorite part, building a team,” he said. “The most enjoyable time was in the late 90s, when you could see the good players coming up and others behind them.”

There are some exciting young players on the team now. Catcher Kurt Suzuki has made great strides defensively and hits well, too. Barton is a solid, gap hitter now who could develop power as he gets older and stronger. Ryan Sweeney has looked good, both in the field and at bat.

And Carlos Gonzalez is in the wings at Sacramento. The only thing that’s kept him out of the majors is that the A’s wanted to get him some experience at Triple-A. He started the season hitting .370 at Sacramento. Don’t be surprised if, by midseason, Gonzalez, Ryan Sweeney and currently rehabbing Travis Buck are the regular outfield for the A’s.

“We not only give young players a chance to succeed,” said Beane, “but we also give them a chance to fail, which other clubs don’t.”

So, yes, it’s a rebuilding year for the A’s, but it could be a lot of fun along the way.