2007 Photo Outtakes: Five-Man Rotation
2008-01-20 6:26
There are five slots in the A’s rotation, not one of which is today filled with any certainty. Every potential A’s starter is a question mark:
- Joe Blanton: on the trading block.
- Rich Harden: injured, or about to be.
- Chad Gaudin: just had two surgeries.
- Justin Duchscherer: coming off surgery, never been a full-time starter.
- Dana Eveland: minor league star, but as of yet, no major league success.
- Dan Meyer: improving, but still hasn’t regained pre-injury top prospect form.
- Dallas Braden: not sure if he can succeed without his screwball, not sure if he can stay healthy with it.
- Lenny DiNardo: less talented, but more reliable than all of the above, he is the backup plan, if all else fails.
- Kirk Saarloos: non-roster invitee is backup plan to the backup plan
This is the most unstable rotation the A’s have had since 1997, the year Billy Beane took over as GM. That rotation had names like Steve Karsay, Ariel Prieto, Dave Telgheder, Mike Oquist, Brad Rigby, Don Wengert, Willie Adams, Mike Mohler and Jimmy Haynes all taking turns not pitching well. Obviously, the 2008 group is more talented than the 1997 group, but even the fact that those dismal days have returned to our thoughts is cause for distress. Bad memories! Bad! Bad! Stay away!
1. That's just the front nine. I also expect to see:
Andrew Brown -- 4 pitches, 74 starts in minors
Gio Gonzalez -- no introduction needed
Greg Smith -- 60 starts in minors
Trade fruits for Blanton and Street (and maybe Embree, Ellis, Chavez and Harden).
We could see 20 starters this season.
2. The 1997 team won sixty five games.
If Blanton is traded do you think the 2008 team will win more than sixty games?
3. I was going through my Scoresheet keepers, and an amazing thought hit me... who would you bet on to throw more innings from here on out for the rest of their careers, Greg Maddux or Rich Harden? Even with over a decade age disadvantage, it is very well possible Maddux could through 180-200 innings for the next 3-5 years, especially with Petco helping maintain his effectiveness. Does Rich Harden have even 600 innings left in his major league career, with all his injuries? If you gave me 3-1 odds, I'd be inclined to take Maddux...
4. More back to the future: Jack Cust = Geronimo Berroa. If only we could have the stock market of those days. Sigh.