For every Rich Harden, there’s an equal and opposite Joe Kennedy.

Kennedy gave up nine runs in 2 1/3 innings today, his fourth straight a-clobberin’. This is no Gaussian slump. It’s either a Gomes or a Crosby or a Blass. Something is clearly out of whack here.

Starters ERAs so far:
Rich Harden: 1.04
Dan Haren: 5.40
Joe Blanton: 9.00
Esteban Loaiza: 10.12
Joe Kennedy: 20.48

But hey, don’t fret your little head none, ‘cuz ERAs don’t matter, wins do. It all starts with heart, and Joe Blanton is a tough son-of-a-gun out there.

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Back on the happy side, Rule 5 pick Jay Marshall is making a good case for sticking around. He followed Kennedy’s disastrous outing with two perfect innings. His ERA this spring is 2.89. In fact, the entire A’s bullpen, with the exception of Justin Duchscherer (who is expected to pitch for the first time tomorrow) has been lights out this spring. Kiko Calero, Alan Embree, Huston Street and Jay Witasick have yet to yield a run in a combined 20 innings of work. They’re making Chad Gaudin, who has yielded one run in six innings of work, look bad in comparison.

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I have two openings in a very casual head-to-head Yahoo fantasy baseball league.

Update: Looks like the openings are filled.