The Soft Part of the Tiger's Rotation

One knew there had to be a reason why the Tigers are expected to do more with their bats than on the mound (their terrific bullpen, of course, excluded). That's because 3-5 in their rotation is not getting it done.

Willis: 25 BB and 39 H in 38 IP

Porcello: 18 BB and 67 H in 50 IP

Gallaraga: 4 BB and 11 H in 10 1/3 IP

That's a combined WHIP of 1.67. Of course, the A's offense has made some middling starting pitching look pretty good, but it hasn't yet made awful pitching look passable. You know with the Tigers that you're not going to get many shutouts; the question is, with Willis, if you can be patient and let him take himself out of the game, and with Porcello, apparently, if you have a bat and your hands and you intend to swing it.

Of course, Sheets has been pretty hittable, and Anderson will not go more than 75-80 pitches on Saturday (if he even makes the start), so there's some questions at the front of the Oakland rotation even as it faces the back end of the Tigers rotation. But I can't think of a better cure for the A's road woes than facing those starters.

Ben Sheets is not turning it around. He may have wriggled his way out of jams on Sunday, but he was eminently hittable. A ridiculous grab by Mark Ellis saved his whole afternoon. He'd thrown 86 pitches through four because he could not find the plate, and the San Francisco offense he "shut down" hasn't managed much all offensively all season. He struggled mightily through six, which does not augur well considering that, best case scenario, Anderson will only go six himself.

Update: Galarraga pitched tonight, which means he probably won't start as scheduled on Sunday. Cruising around the Detroit blogosphere, it appears that Max Scherzer is the likely fill in. He hasn't been called back up from the minors yet (because it involves a difficult roster move) where he was sent on May 15 after going 1-4 in 8 starts and giving up 54 hits and 16 walks in 42 innings, but apparently has nothing left to prove at the minor league level.

Make Powell Gonzalez's Personal Catcher

Another fun line to add to the fire: 0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 0 K

Tyson Ross is all kinds of awful all of a sudden, and it's just been in the last couple of weeks. It's real easy to break down what the problem is: he was throwing all of his pitches for strikes before, and now he's pitching none of them. His delivery was so compact before, and now he's wide open, probably because he's afraid of getting rocked. I don't know what to say.

Gio Gonzalez, on the other hand, was a lot worse than his line.

6 1/3 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 6 K

For some reason, Gio Gonzalez cannot pitch with two outs. He gets two outs in an inning, and he seems compelled to walk the very next batter, even though after getting two quickly outs is exactly when you should start believing in your stuff. You can of course, look at the bright side of it: he's getting those first two outs. Chances are, he's going to be able to get a third at some point in the inning. There's another chance, though, and that's the chance that walking a lot of batters is going to cause problems in the long run.

I got to say, that I believe if they had put Powell behind the plate and Suzuki in the DH spot, they would have been better off, as far as Gonzalez goes. Cust was monstrous at the plate; so has every other DH. I had to think, anyway, that when I saw Suzuki batting with two outs in the first, that his mind couldn't have been on hitting. He had a game plan running through his head and he was becoming anxious as to whether or not it was a good one.

Look, I do see the logic in preferring offensive numbers; but the logic only holds up if the DH spot has a better hitter beckoning. I think what you're looking at in Suzuki is a guy whose numbers are depressed because he has so many other responsibilities (which he performs admirably, but not exceptionally) and a young pitching staff that just doesn't seem to respond to his presence behind the plate. I just think you could look at the catching/DH position as responding not only to day/night situations and lefty-righty but also think about the pitcher on the mound, and whether Kurt Suzuki is the guy to have behind the plate for that particular pitcher.

Ross' Role

I was a big fan of inserting Tyson Ross into the starter's role. It seems, however, that the starts and then the move back to the bullpen has messed with his mojo a little.

His last three lines:

Yesterday: 1 2/3 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 0 K

May 20: 4 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K

May 15: 3 2/3 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

Totals: 9 IP, 11 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 3 BB, 7 K

Record: 0-3 WHIP: 1.56 K/9 IP: 7.00

You could make a lot of excuses: he's twice been thrust in the role of emergency starter without proper side sessions and other training that starters usually get to make them more effective longer, but it's very simple: his breaking pitch ain't breaking. It seems like a mechanical issue, which is strange, because his mechanics were gorgeous at the start of the year. He looked so professional.

Catcher's Era

I know catcher's ERA (CERA) has been much discredited in the sabermetric community, but the point of sabermetrics is to find out the truth, and not to be blinded by superstition. So instead of make an argument for or against, let's let the numbers speak for themselves by keeping the pitcher constant: Gio Gonzalez.

May 17 (Suzuki): 7 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 4 K

May 12 (Powell): 4 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

May 7 (Donaldson): 7 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 5 BB, 7 K

May 1 (Donaldson): 6 2/3 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 8 K

April 25 (Fox): 7 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K

April 20 (Suzuki): 4 1/3 IP, 3 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 5 BB, 5 K

April 15 (Suzuki): 4 2/3 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 5 K

April 9 (Suzuki): 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K

Suzuki: 22 IP, 15 H, 12 R, 12 ER, 14 BB, 20 K

Others: 24 2/3 IP, 20 H, 9 R, 9 ER, 9 BB, 21 K

Comparative WHIP: -0.14

Comparative K/9 IP: +0.52

So less hits, more walks, and slightly more K's with Suzuki; more hits, less walks and slightly less strikeouts with others. I think those back to back starts tell you a lot. With Powell, 0 BB, but 9 H; with Suzuki, 4 BB, but only 4 H. But because of the walks, those 4 hits turned into 3 runs; whereas the previous start, those 9 hits turned into only 4 runs.

The bottom line? I think it's time to try Powell as the everyday catcher with Suzuki, their best overall hitter, in the DH spot. I think that's sort of a no-brainer. I mean, I dig getting that kind of offensive production out of the catcher--Lord knows what a sinkhole it's been offensively since Terry Steinbach left for Minnesota--but no more so than, say, putting Jake Fox or Eric Patterson in the lineup. I just think there has been an appreciable difference, and it's time to see if that difference is worth the cost.

Gio Gonzalez is not finishing his pitches when Kurt Suzuki catches him. That's just the bottom line. Now we could argue that it's really up to Gio Gonzalez to make due with what he has, but we both know that Gio Gonzalez isn't going to man up to anything anytime soon. Someone has to make him finish his pitches, and then means setting up inside all of the time. Landon Powell seemed to understand that about him; Suzuki seems sort of clueless about it.

Don't get me wrong. I like Suzuki a lot. And the club is probably right that even given there being a difference between the catchers behind the plate, there's simply nothing that can approximate having his offensive production in the catcher's spot in the lineup. But when you see something that compelling--0 BB from Gonzalez, a perfect game from Braden--you have to take a step back and wonder what would happen if you put Powell behind the plate every day and Suzuki in the DH spot (which, by the way, is itself an offensive sinkhole).

A Tale of Two Starters

So they did exactly as I would have liked: Ross for 4, and Mazzaro for 5. The two lines:

Ross: 4 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K

Mazzaro: 5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K

So who would you pick? I choose...I choose...both. I think this a good model to deal with Duchscherer's spot in the rotation, until Anderson comes back (and rumor has it he might soon). You might say, flip the two, but I disagree. I think Mazzaro pitched better because he had nothing to prove.

As for Ross, was it just me, or was he able to throw strikes when he needed to, but unable to when he didn't? Somebody needs to take him aside and tell him that there's not a single pitch in a single at-bat that's not important to the end result of the game. The difference between a batter being an 0-2 count and a 2-0 count as far as the probability of the end result of the game is not insignificant. On a single batter I mean.

Nonetheless, I think this is a winning formula, not just for this start, but for breaking guys into the majors in general. I don't think anybody should look at it like, hey, well, Vin Mazzaro had a slightly better line than Tyson Ross, therefore, choose one not the other. Having two future starters in the fifth spot keeps the bullpen fresh, and keeps pressure off of one or the other from feeling like the weight of the whole game is on their shoulders.

As inconsistent as Gonzalez, Ross, Mazzaro, Anderson and Cahill have been generally (because they're young), why not us those five guys like a tag team pitching corps, with the expectation that they will be the rotation at some point in the future? Or was that the plan all along, and I'm just now realizing it?

Tyson Ross

Tyson Ross has been announced as the starter for tomorrow's game versus one Jeremy Bonderman, who was pretty public a few year ago about the fact that he thought he'd been given a raw deal in the A's minor league system. Probably doesn't have the chip on his shoulder he once did versus the A's, but still has pretty good career numbers against the A's.

Tyson Ross, on the other hand, in short order, has been catapulted from rookie reliever to primary set-up guy, and now to fourth starter. He's basically a two pitch pitcher, but those two pitches are pretty good. The only thing to watch with him is the movement on his breaking pitch; he's effective when it starts high and outside and nips the plate; when it gets flat, he's hittable.

His last three lines: 

(L) 3 2/3 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

(W) 3 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

(ND) 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

Totals: 8 2/3 IP, 10 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 5 K

Record: 1-1 WHIP: 1.15 K/9 IP: 5.77

Some Other Guys in the Minors

Vin Mazzaro: 30 1/3 IP, 28 H, 11 R, 9 ER, 14 BB, 35 K

Record: 2-1 WHIP: 1.38 K/9 IP: 10.38 Age: 23

Bottom Line: Has nothing left to prove at the minor league level.

Prospectus: Will be back with the team soon--possibly starting in Duchscherer's spot in the rotation.

Clay Mortensen: 43 IP, 48 H, 29 R, 22 ER, 15 BB, 33 K

Record: 4-1 WHIP: 1.47 K/9 IP: 6.91 Age: 25

Bottom Line: The only numbers that impress are the wins, which are dependent on offensive production that day. His strikeouts need to go up and his WHIP needs to go down--especially the walks. If he just cut his walk total in half he'd have the Major Leagues calling.

Prospectus: Is in the unfortunate situation of watching younger guys taste some success in the Big Leagues. Is in the other unfortunate situation of probably benefitting from a fresh start somewhere else but not having any takers. He will probably succeed somewhere at the Major League level; unfortunately for him, it might not be Oakland.

Cedric Bowers

His minor league numbers: 17 2/3 IP, 10 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 8 BB, 26 K

Record: 1-1 WHIP: 1.02 K/9 IP: 13.92

He was dominating the minors, and was worth a try at the major league level. Unfortunately, he's 32--the second oldest person on the active roster. Has human interest story written all over it; hopefully, he can also pitch.

Got a Deal for You

I've been watching a lot of the Pirates lately, and they have the one thing we can't seem to find: position players with pop. There's one thing we have that they can't seem to find: decent starting pitching. That seems like a no-brainer. The back end of our rotation for the middle to bottom of the Pirates lineup. It's win-win for both clubs I think.

As for our starting pitching, it's been actually pretty decent, even on the road. The totals for the week.

Cahill (L): 7 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

Ross (L): 3 2/3 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

Braden (L): 8 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 5 K

Sheets (ND): 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 8 K

Gonzalez (L): 4 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

Cahill (ND): 5 2/3 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 K

Totals: 34 1/3 IP, 31 H, 17 R, 17 ER, 6 BB, 22 K

Record: 0-4 WHIP: 1.08 K/9 IP: 5.77

The hits are worrisome, but because of the six walks, that's a WHIP of 1.08--pretty impressive. Without Anderson or Duchscherer. I think they should have let Ross go 5. Each of the games they started, one must remember, only got out of hand because Gaudin came in and got pounded, for which he was summarily demoted.

Blevins got rocked on Saturday, but we must remember that warming up for a third of an inning is no different as far as stress on the arm as warming up and going three. If they used him every fourth or fifth day for three they'd get a lot better results than using him every other day for a couple outs.

Still, I think there's actually a lot to be positive about on the starting pitching front, with the exception of Duchscherer yet again going out for the season. Hopefully someone in the organization paid attention to the fact that Ross retired nine batters in a row to start the game, and that the 3-1 fastball that Matsui hit for a home run should have been a 2-2 count (where was that pitch), and that's probably what Ross was thinking about when he hung that slider.

The Perfect Game Hangover

No doubt the biggest story in sports will be how Dallas Braden pitches tonight, barring a press conference from Brett Favre on his future in the game, or a press conference from Tiger Woods on his future. No matter how well he pitches, he can't match the hype. Going six or seven and allowing a couple runs on a few hits will be considered a middling start.

It all begins with walks. This year, he's walked 7 batters in 46 innings. For a comparison, Ziegler's walked 9 in 17. Because his strikeout numbers are not all that impressive, continuing to not walk batters is his most impressive weapon. A perfect game is nice; not walking a batter in three consecutive starts would be a much more impressive feat. You look at a guy like Gio Gonzalez, who has walked 19 in 39 2/3 IP, and he's obviously buoyed by the fact that he's struck out 37 batters. Braden must continue to throw strikes if he's going to succeed.

Hopefully, someone will remind Braden that not allowing a hit was a team effort; not allowing a walk was all him, and he didn't allow a walk in his previous start either, in which he pitched seven strong innings. He probably won't throw a no-hitter the rest of his career, but that doesn't matter; a guy who doesn't strike out many batters shouldn't expect to throw no-hitters. Not walking many batters, though, is going to mean long-term success.

Well...

The pitching staff did only give up two runs in 11 1/3 IP. In Arlington. Of course, it was a clinic in offensive futility for the Rangers as much as the A's. They had about as many men in scoring position with less than two outs not score as the A's--and we know the A's are not going to shock anybody with their power.

As far as Bailey goes, well, Ziegler was lucky to make it out of the ninth. But then, Ziegler's supposed to be their set-up guy, and Bailey their closer, so I guess there's never an excuse when either one of them gives up game-tying or game-winning runs--or even puts runners in scoring position unless they're inherited runners, and putting them in scoring position is being traded for outs.

As for Sheets, I do think it was pretty good to have enough composure to withstand having a strikeout victim reach on a passed ball, and then get into scoring position on a bad throw to first. Those are the type of plays that discombobulate a guy like Gio Gonzalez--or for that matter, Brad Ziegler. Of course, when every out is a struggle, I guess you don't quibble with how you do or don't get one.

It really gets into the mysticism of the game. Do you get outs because you expect to get outs, or do you get outs because the natural flow of the game leads to them? In other words, do you stand against a mighty river of runs when you pitch, or do you gently guide a river of outs?

The Back End of the Bullpen

Whoa. That was all kinds of awful.

Gaudin: 1 2/3 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

Rodriguez: 1 1/3 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 0 K

Ramirez: 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K

I don't know if you can argue that any of those guys deserve a roster spot, especially considering the A's ran out of position players in the ninth inning on Tuesday. Of course, some of the position players didn't exactly make a case for why, when Suzuki and then later, Crisp and Ellis, come back, they shouldn't themselves be demoted.

But Jesus. I have about zero respect for Yankees management. After all, it seems like year after year they spend the most money per win of any team in any sport. But it looks as if Gaudin and Ramirez shouldn't just have been released, but possibly tarred and feathered as well.

Rodriguez is only twenty-three, so he has two to three years before he can be considered a bust--although it appears as if it will take him two to three years at least to get command of his fastball. Then again, though, maybe throwing 100 and being known as wild is not necessarily a bad thing. I mean, not that wild, but still.

That would have been the perfect opportunity for Mazzaro. Why would you start him or demote him rather than bring him into that situation, in which it would appear innings were not at a premium?  

Gio Gonzalez

His last three lines:

May 7 (L): 7 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 5 BB, 7 K

May 1 (W): 6 2/3 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 8 K

April 25 (W): 7 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K

Totals: 20 2/3 IP, 11 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 9 BB, 18 K

Record: 2-1 WHIP: .97 K/9: 7.84

Andrew Bailey Debriefing

His line: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K. Is it just me or does the closer for the A's not seem to have a strikeout pitch working at the current moment? He used to look imposing on the mound--even psychopathic. Now he looks uncomfortable.

As for the RBI hit--that was a nice piece of hitting. An inside out swing on the fastball with a lot of movement down in the zone. I don't think there was anything you could do about that, except to say that Bailey's did not look imposing the entire inning. That's bore out by his strikeouts per 9 IP: 4.26. Last season it was 9.83.

You can't have a closer who doesn't scare batters, and I wonder if there's sort of an interrelation between being imposing on the mound and strikeouts. The way he used to just stand there, with his hat bobbing up and down--the flat affect of a serial killer. Just a thought.

Brad Ziegler Debriefing

Line: 1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 K...and a HBP. Definite case of compounding an error by overcompensating for the result. I mean, consider this scenario. You're holding a cup of liquid that's scalding hot. You almost lose your grip on it moving forward, so you pull it towards you--so you burn hand instead of having lost the beverage. That's exactly what he did. He hit a guy to his right of the plate, and then served it up high and on (to the left-handed batter) the inner half of the plate.

The art of dealing with error is to realize that greater calamity waits in your reaction to that error. I think Hamilton understood that, swinging first pitch fastball from a submariner; why was Ziegler, who is supposed to be in control of the game, the only person who didn't realize that he was at risk of making a mistake not from the mistake itself but from reacting to that mistake?

So you say this: in the future, when you make a mistake--even a home run--you have to ascertain whether it is a greater calamity to have committed the mistake, or to commit others in reaction to that mistake. And the club has to work on their reaction to that error. Delay the game. Call a pitch out. Something to get the pitcher's mind out of the error. 

Jerry Blevins

Blevins, while admittedly he did walk a batter, lowered his opponents batting average to .216. Cahill, on the other hand, lowered his slightly to .262, while only going 5 2/3. Ross looked uncomfortable on the mound for the first time. I don't know if that was because of the unexpected at-bat or what, but he definitely did not look his usual composed self.

Do I think that Jerry Blevins is the second coming of Christ? No. But I think it should be a race between Cahill, Blevins and Ross for that fifth slot, and right now Blevins looks like he can get guys out with the most efficiency.

I did enjoy Cahill being lifted without anybody on the base paths in the sixth with two outs. The best pitching change I have witnessed all year with the possible exception of Joe Girardi lifting a New York set up man in the middle of an at-bat for Mariano Rivera. Not because the guy was hurt, but because he went 3-1 on a batter. 

Colby Lewis

Facing the Athletics tonight is Colby Lewis. His last three lines:

May 5 v. the A's (L): 6 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 6 K

April 30 v. Seattle (ND): 9 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 10 K

April 25 v. Detroit (W): 6 1/3 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 10 K

Totals: 21 2/3 IP, 15 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 6 BB, 26 K

Record: 1-1 WHIP: 0.97

The Week That Was (Relievers)

Bailey: 3 1/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

Ziegler: 3 1/3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

Ross: 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

Breslow: 2 2/3 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K

Wuertz: 1 2/3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

Blevins: 1 2/3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

Gaudin: 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

Totals: 16 1/3 IP, 13 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 10 K

WHIP: 0.98

Bottom Line: The relief staff is nasty. Bailey leads the league in baserunners per nine and Ziegler's in the top 10. Breslow and Wuertz round out the bullpen nicely, with Ross proving effective in his rookie season, Blevins doing his job as a situational lefty and Gaudin mopping up garbage innings. Worth it to note that Gaudin leads the league in inherited baserunners scored, at 0. Of course, he doesn't seem to have the same luck with his own baserunners, but that's a different story.

Prospectus: The league doesn't stand much of a chance unless it can get to the soft part of the Oakland rotation. We always seem to note the incredible amount of appearances and innings pitching for A's relievers, but it never seems to hobble them. They've led the league with Wuertz out until last week and Devine out for more than a year. Henry Rodriguez hasn't even been thrown into the mix yet, and his fastball's supposed to top out at 100.

The Week That Was (Starters)

Braden (L): 7 IP, 11 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

Mazzaro (ND): 3 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 4 K

Cahill (W): 5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 4 K

Gonzalez (L): 7 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 5 BB, 7 K

Sheets (W): 6 1/3 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 8 K

Braden (W): 9 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K

Totals: 37 1/3 IP, 25 H, 13 R, 12 ER, 15 BB, 32 K

Record: 4-2 WHIP: 1.07

Bottom Line: Cahill and Mazzaro are garbage; Gonzalez walks too many damn batters; Ben Sheets is probably better than his numbers indicate, but should nevertheless only be the No. 1 guy on a team like, oh, I don't know...the Brewers. Braden and Duchscherer are fighting to be discussed as top starters in the game today; unfortunately for both of them that means fighting with their body to comply with their wishes.

Prospectus: John Shea reports that Duchscherer may make his scheduled start on Saturday. If that's true, it significantly increases the possibility of quality innings from the starters. I don't know if the A's organization is going to face it now or in the future: without one more veteran guy in the rotation (perhaps one they already have), at least one start out of every five is going to be garbage until Brett Anderson comes back, and two out of five have a high probability of being garbage if Duchscherer is out for a prolonged period of time. As far as guys developing, I think it's a lot better opportunity for Mazzaro or Cahill to come in in the fourth or fifth inning without any pressure than to have the expectation of going six or seven from the outset, which is not realistic at this point in time. If Gaudin's role is to mop up garbage innings, until Anderson is back, the fifth spot is prime mop up garbage innings time.

Trevor Cahill

His two lines:

May 5: 5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 4 K

April 30: 5 IP, 7 H, 8 R, 6 ER, 1 BB, 3 K

Compare that to the last 10 2/3 innings pitched by the bullpen in long relief.

May 5 (Ross): 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K 

May 2 (Kilby): 3 2/3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

April 30: (Gaudin): 3 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K

Insanely, Brad Kilby has since been demoted, and Cahill is being given a third start. I know we're going to hear about the A's bright young future, the A's bright young future, but it seems like the only thing the A's are working on is figuring out is how to up Cahill's trade value. If you were going on performance alone, you would have to say that either Ross, Kilby, or Jerry Blevins should get the start over Cahill, and that Cahill should be demoted to long relief--or the minors.

Promote the Bullpen

Considering the health problems in the A's rotation, it defies explanation that the organization is opting to go to the minor leagues rather than start some of their excellent long relievers. Jerry Blevins has been up and down, but a lot better than Trevor Cahill, Vin Mazzaro, or, in reality, Gio Gonzalez. Tyson Ross seems like a no-brainer. Except for one bad relief appearance (with inherited runners, mind you), he's looked dominant.

Especially considering Oakland seems to be fond of experimenting, why not experiment this way: do the fourth and fifth spots in the rotation like you would a long relief spot. Pitch a guy until he gets into trouble, replace him with another guy. He gets into trouble, replace him with another guy. While Blevins and Ross might not be able to by themselves to go seven, they can certainly effectively split seven innings between them.

In that way, you have a true system of promotion. The system of promotion currently goes like this. A starter goes down, so we're going to throw a guy in there and expect him, with little or no major league experience, or few or no career starts, to go six or seven innings. Why? Why not expect a guy in a spot start to go three, and be surprised if he lasts seven, rather than expect him to go seven and be surprised that he only lasts three?

Duchscherer is the perfect example of a guy for whom this worked. He came up in 2004 and was asked to do long relief. I remember one game his rookie year he pitched the ninth, ten, eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth innings on the road (where a single run would have been the end of the game) for a win. They didn't do this by choice; it was at the end of a series and they didn't have anybody else to pitch extra innings. They were basically up and against a wall, and found a starting pitcher.

This is not to say that every long reliever will be a good starter, nor that every starter will make a good long reliever, but to say that chances are, a guy that is a good long reliever in the big leagues has as good or better chance at being a good starting pitcher than a guy with no major league experience whatsoever. Plus, it's sort of brutal to send a guy out, see three runs go up on the board, and hope he "settles down." I would love to see the statistics for the probability of giving up runs after having given up one, two, or three already. If he gives up three runs, yank him. Ben Sheets or no.