Clay Mortensen

Looking up Vin Mazzaro's Triple-A statistics, I found another statistic that's pretty impressive: Clay Mortensen is 7-2 in 11 starts this year. His WHIP is 1.43, and his K/9 IP is 6.39, versus 1.39 and 9.16 for Mazzaro, but seven wins in eleven starts really jumps out at you--it tops the Pacific Coast League.

Wins, of course, are reliant on offense and are a bad statistic for player evaluation, like ERA, but they do tell you something about a guy: he's getting outs when they matter the most. Vin Mazzaro still has some years to develop. Mortensen is in a do or die situation right now. Get to the bigs or stop playing ball. Then you say, well, there's no room for Mortensen, considering there's only a spot for Mazzaro because of two key injuries to the rotation. Well, when you have an embarrassment of riches in one area and a poverty in another, there's only one thing to do: trade it for things you need. I can think a number of teams that would pony up for Vin Mazzaro in exchange for a seasoned hitter.

The A's are 1 1/2 games out of first place, and slipping. Unless they find at least one impact guy for their lineup they're done for. And it's not fair really to have a guy who's eighth in your depth chart but could be a number four or five guy on a team like the Mets or Cubs. At a certain point, what is he playing for? Next year, he may slip to number 9 or 10, as another year brings up the next up and coming A's arms.

I can certainly agree to a certain extent that you can never have too much good pitching, but you do have to reward performance. If you're unable to, then you've got to give the guy a shot to go somewhere that wants him. And if you can't find somewhere that wants him, then you ought to trade guys until you have enough roster spots for there to be some mobility in the ranks. Otherwise, you're never going to get surprised by a guy--and surprise is a big part of this game. Some guys have all the ability in the world, but when they get under the bright lights and big crowds, their skills wither and die. Some guys have average stuff, but when they get on the big stage they bring the crowd to its feet.

Understanding the dynamics of how and why players who don't seem like they could succeed in the majors do is admirable, but until the day when it truly is a science, some things are just going to have to be left to chance.