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The Oakland A’s received some bad news Friday about the ace of their pitching staff, Brett Anderson. He was already on the disabled list with a sprained ankle, but was determined to have a fractured foot and will be out for at least another month.

Oakland announced that the 25-year-old left-handed Anderson has a navicular stress fracture in his right foot via their official Twitter account:

The #Athletics announced that LHP Brett Anderson has a navicular stress fracture of his right foot. He will be reevaluated in four weeks.

— Oakland Athletics (@Athletics) May 17, 2013

The San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser confirmed the story, while indicating Anderson will be re-evaluated in four weeks. In an update to her story, she reported that he is expecting to pitch again this year, but if it is determined he needs surgery, it would likely end his season.

Now in his fifth major league season, Anderson has been consistently plagued by injuries since a successful rookie campaign in 2009 that saw him go 11-11 with a 4.06 ERA in 30 starts. He has appeared in just a combined 44 games (43 starts) in the four years since, and been on the disabled list a number of times, including undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2011.

Anderson is 1-4 with a 6.21 ERA this year in six games. He has been on the disabled list with a sprained ankle since May 1, and was nearing a return when he found out about his most recent injury.

According to an Associated Press Report on ESPN.com, the southpaw was bitterly disappointed about his most recent setback:

It’s pretty frustrating, disappointing and all the other similar adjectives. I was two days away from making another rehab start and now I’m in a walking boot with a fracture in my foot…

I’d pitched in San Antonio and felt good after that. I was running Monday in the outfield and all of a sudden my foot started hurting. I got it checked out and this is the result. I’m still processing it. I should take up a hobby, maybe play darts or something.

Slusser reported Anderson is in a walking boot and on crutches. She believes that even in the best case scenario, between healing and necessary rehab, he would miss at least two months with his fracture.

Young right-hander Dan Straily replaced Anderson in the Oakland rotation, but his poor performance so far suggests the team could look at other options. He is 1-2 with a 7.27 ERA in five starts, while walking 4.2 batters per nine innings.

In a separate article, Slusser suggests the A’s could look at minor leaguers Sonny Gray or Andrew Werner to step in for Straily if needed.

The right-handed Gray was the team’s first-round draft choice in 2011. He has dominated at Triple-A so far this season, going 4-2 with a 2.47 ERA in seven starts.

Werner, a left-hander, pitched briefly in the majors with the San Diego Padres last year before being traded to Oakland during the offseason. He is just 4-5 with a 6.92 ERA at Triple-A this season, but had a 3.57 career minor league ERA the previous four years combined.

Anderson told Slusser that while he is frustrated, he can’t dwell on his string of injuries or his current situation:

I can’t feel sorry for myself. That would be a waste of time. I’m still young, I’m 25. You never want to be labeled injury prone, but hopefully, I’ll get out there and make consecutive starts. I have the highest expectations for myself and I think I’m one of the better pitchers in the game when I’m healthy.

In baseball, players’ reputations are made from production. If Anderson can come back and pitch to his fullest potential, his snake-bitten past will recede from memory, which would surely be welcomed by both Oakland and the hobbled pitcher.

Statistics via Baseball-Reference 

Follow @historianandrew

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After their first 40 games, the Oakland A’s are 20-20 in the 2013 season.

Remember 2012? The A’s started 20-20 as well. In 2006, The A’s—led by Frank Thomas—rode a five-game winning streak to get to 21-19 after 40 games. 

Historically, the A’s have tended to be a slow-starting team. Under manager Bob Geren, the club never started better than 23-17 through 40 games (2008) and started as slowly as 15-25 (2009) while opening 20-20 three times. 

Go back to the Moneyball era when the A’s opened 21-19 (2000), 18-22 (2001) and 19-21 (2002) after 40 games. Oakland went on to win 91, 102, and 103 games those three seasons, respectively.

In many ways, the 12-4 start that the Athletics have raced out to this season was a bit of fool’s gold. Eleven of those 12 wins came at the expense of AL West foes Seattle, Los Angeles (Angels) and Houston. Those teams sit a combined 31 games under .500 heading into Tuesday, May 14.

Once the torrid starts by guys like Jed Lowrie and Seth Smith died down, so did the early offense. Add to those laws of averages the injuries to Coco Crisp, Yoenis Cespedes, Josh Reddick, Brett Anderson and Jarrod Parker as reality dragged the A’s back down to earth.

The only thing is that this is still a very talented team. WIth a quarter of the season gone, the projected Oakland lineup has played less than 15 total games together. Even if the A’s don’t duplicate their wins from 2012, there is no way that Anderson and Parker continue to post ERA’s of 6.21 and 6.86,  respectively. 

It is still a marathon in the game of baseball and right now, the A’s have run roughly 6.5 of the 26.2-mile 2013 race. They’re just getting warmed up.

Relax and hope that players like Daric Barton can hold the fort down when called upon until all of the gang gets back. When they do, the A’s will take off like they traditionally do when the talent takes the field in Oakland. 

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Since the team moved from Kansas City to Oakland 45 years ago, the A’s have largely been a team built on great pitching. Whether it was Charley Finley’s Mustache Gang, the 1981 “Billyball” club, the Walter Haas owned/Tony LaRussa run team from 1988 to 1992 or Billy Beane’s Moneyball teams, Oakland has always won with great pitching.

As such, there have been great pitching performances—some in the regular season, others in the playoffs or even the World Series. Finding the 10 best is a matter of circumstance and history. It is also highly subjective. Having followed this franchise since 1985, I have seen good, bad and ugly. But it has almost always been interesting. 

With that said, here’s a nice look back in to time. Here’s my list for the 10 greatest pitching performances in Oakland A’s team history. 

*Stats are courtesy of “Baseball-Reference.com unless noted otherwise.

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Entering the second week of the Major League Baseball season, the Oakland Athletics find themselves in a comfortable spot.

Sitting atop the American League West, the A’s continue their road trip against the formidable Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. This marks another early-season test for the Athletics: how will they fare against a team who many believe to be the prohibitive division favorites.

Particularly after an offseason spending spree that saw the Angels land the heaviest of free agent bats for the second year in a row.

But Oakland will look to prove for the umpteenth time that its frugal version of team building brings better results than their free-spending foes. After the A’s snatched the 2012 AL West title, bypassing both the vaunted Angels and Texas Rangers squads, the question this season resurfaces: Can the A’s do it again?

The odds suggest that lightning cannot strike twice in the same spot so quickly.

And the Angels aim to show that last season’s disappointing underachievement was merely a product of unfamiliarity with one another.

This season, however, the Angels have 2012 Rookie of the Year Mike Trout, acclimated Albert Pujols and the talented slugger Josh Hamilton. Hopefully, the Angels will be able to put their pieces together and reach expectations.

Which is not simply the playoffs.

The Angels have assembled the offensive equivalent to the Miami Heat‘s Big Three not to just win the division but to take home the World Series trophy.

And they have a lot to prove, too.

That said, this week’s series versus the Athletics will be an equal test for Los Angeles as it will be for Oakland. And with the recent battles and bad blood between these two ball clubs, it makes for some early April fireworks.

Here are five things to look for in this week’s Athletics-Angels series in Anaheim that starts Tuesday night. 

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The Oakland A’s made a couple of transactions yesterday by claiming a couple of minor league right-handers off waivers, and to make room the A’s designated Daric Barton and Travis Blackley for assignment.

Barton has been up and down for the last several years in Oakland. The first-base job has been his to lose for a while and, finally, the A’s found a power hitter in Brandon Moss to replace Barton. Barton had a stellar glove in the field, but lacked production at the plate.

As for Blackley, he was claimed off waivers on May 15, 2012 after the Giants let him go. Blackley became a reliable arm in the bullpen and was good to make a spot start in the rotation when needed. Blackley ended up starting 15 games in 2012, going 6-4, and had an ERA of 3.86 in his 24 total appearances.

Among Blackley‘s 15 starts, he started the second-to-last game of the regular season against the Texas Rangers. The win kept the A’s alive in the race for the AL West and led to their eventual division title in a sensational season.  

That was last year, though, and the A’s need to revamp their team to defend the division title in 2013. The A’s stocked up on relief pitching over the offseason and Blackley, and his poor spring performance, became expendable in the eyes of the A’s.  

Blackley is out of options so he must clear waivers for the A’s to be able to send him to Triple-A Sacramento. If Blackley does clear waivers, he must also accept the assignment to Sacramento. He tweeted what appears to be a goodbye letter to the A’s and the fans as if to signal he isn’t interested in playing in the minors to stay with the organization.

It is still possible that Blackley accepts the demotion to Triple-A and rejoins the team at some point in the regular season. It is also possible that Blackley joins a group of Jonny Gomes, Brandon Inge and Brandon McCarthy as guys who the A’s had to let go.

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What if each of Major League Baseball’s awards were given out to every team—who would end 2013 as the Oakland A’s Most Valuable Player? Who would be their Cy Young winner? What about Most Improved Player or Comeback Player of the Year?

Whether any player actually wins any award is yet to be seen. Regardless, there’s going to be a top hitter and a top pitcher. Someone will rebound. Guys will improve.

Count on it.

Here’s an analysis of who could win these awards if they were doled out, one to each team.

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The Oakland A’s were doing a good job of staying healthy this spring until Tuesday.  The A’s suffered two injuries with Hiroyuki Nakajima and Adam Rosales getting hurt.

Nakajima jokingly downplayed his injury to the Japanese media as a cramp, but Rosales’ injury got him put on the 15-day DL.  

Rosales was a part of the wide-open competition for the job opening at second base and was strongly considered a lock to make the Opening Day 25-man roster because of his versatility.  Along with his versatility, Rosales was hitting .324 with three home runs during the spring.

The A’s were beginning to narrow down their spring roster after sending Jemile Weeks to Triple-A.  With Weeks gone, Scott Sizemore, Eric Sogard, Hiroyuki Nakajima and Andy Parrino are still competing for the remaining roster spots that remain open before Opening Day.

Although Weeks was out of the picture, the A’s still had many tough decisions to make with the competitions for the middle infield spots.  

So there lies the blessing in disguise to Rosales’ injury.  Rosales going on the DL opens up a roster spot for two weeks, giving Bob Melvin more time to figure out his 25-man roster.

With Rosales inactive, the A’s can take more time to answer their questions about their 25-man roster.  One of the questions is whether or not Nakajima is ready for the majors.  Another question is whether or not Sogard can continue his hot spring in the majors.  Another is whether or not Lowrie should be a utility guy or a starter.

With all those questions around the roster, the A’s are fortunate to get more time to get it right. It is unfortunate it had to be with the cost of Rosales for two weeks.

Rosales will surely take a roster spot upon his return from injury, but it will buy the A’s time to make up their minds.

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In 2012, the Oakland A’s called up a minor league first baseman named Brandon Moss, and he proved his worth to the team, hitting 21 home runs with a batting average of .291.  

In 2013, the A’s are taking another risk on a minor league first baseman.  This year, it is Nate Freiman who is getting his chance after the A’s claimed him off waivers from their new division rivals in Houston (csncalifornia.com).

Why is it significant that the A’s are claiming some minor league first baseman off waivers?  

First of all, he is automatically on the 40-man roster now.  Also, if he is designated for assignment by the A’s, the San Diego Padres (the team who originally drafted him) have a chance to take him back if they want him because of the MLB rules.

The A’s have been searching for a right-handed first baseman to complement Brandon Moss since the A’s traded Moss’ platoon-mate, Chris Carter, to the Astros for Jed Lowrie.

Freiman, in 137 games last year, hit 24 homers and 105 RBI in Double-A ball.  This spring, he is hitting .278 in the Cactus League. He owns a career .294 batting average in four minor league seasons.

This is a low-risk, high-reward situation for the A’s.  If he fails to provide the power he has shown in the minors, then the A’s just waive him.  If his power translates to the majors, then the A’s could have the 2013 version of Brandon Moss.  

Also, Freiman would be platoon-mates with Moss.  They could give the A’s a new power-hitting duo at first base.

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Coming into spring training, the A’s had five potential starters battling for playing time at second base in 2013.  Surely the A’s could find a starter in a pool of players consisting of Jemile Weeks, Scott Sizemore, Jed Lowrie, Adam Rosales and even Andy Parrino.

Yet the A’s find themselves just more than two weeks from opening day and nobody has emerged from the crowd.  

Weeks was off to a hot start only to get a shoulder injury to derail his momentum.  Sizemore has been in a horrible slump with three hits in 24 at-bats this spring.  Rosales is hitting .294 but has been a bench player for most of his career.  Parrino is a switch-hitter hitting .333 with a .407 OBP but is in the same boat as Rosales.

Then there’s Jed Lowrie who is perhaps the best-suited man on the 25-man roster for the everyday job but he is likely going to be used as a utility player.  His role is giving days off to the rest of the infield as he starts around the diamond.  

The A’s were able to make a playoff team out of a group of outcast players and unknown prospects in 2012. Does that mean they would be willing to have Parrino or Rosales as the opening-day second baseman?  

Regardless of who is on the opening-day roster, the A’s also relied on frequent calls to Triple-A Sacramento last year for extra players.  Brandon Hicks and Brandon Moss are perfect examples of the A’s willingness to promote a player to help the team.  

With that in mind, does it really matter who is the A’s opening-day second baseman?  If that opening-day starter struggles out of the gate, Bob Melvin and Billy Beane will be quick to make the call to Sacramento looking for an upgrade.

With just a little over two weeks until opening day, the A’s are unlikely to acquire any new players via free agency or trades.  The A’s opening-day second baseman is with the team now, but who is it?  

It could be anyone wearing green and gold right now.

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The hottest position competition for the Oakland A’s this spring is at second base, which is where one of their hottest hitters happens to play his defense.

Jemile Weeks has had an up-and-down career, having been called up from the minors in 2011, being deemed untouchable in trades that offseason and then being sent back to the minors in 2012.

With the A’s trading Cliff Pennington and losing Stephen Drew in free agency, Weeks has gotten his chance to climb back to the top.  

Weeks has missed some time with an injury this spring, but before getting hurt he was off to a hot start, hitting .545 with a home run in 11 at-bats.

Weeks has given a small sample size, and it is only spring training, but it is worth questioning if Weeks has found his 2011 form where hit .303 after being called-up, or if he is just taking advantage of the inferior competition that is the Cactus League.

If Weeks has truly found his 2011 form, then he will be a great fit with the A’s as Bob Melvin’s everyday second baseman.  Melvin likes to use platoons, but with Weeks being a switch-hitter there would be no need to divide at-bats based on the opposing pitcher.

Weeks is also a threat to steal whenever he gets on base, which would make him a nice No. 2 hitter behind leadoff man Coco Crisp.  

With those two runners on base for the heart of the A’s order (Josh Reddick, Yoenis Cespedes, Brandon Moss), the A’s will have a recipe for a high-scoring offense.

It is still the Cactus League, and the regular season is still about three weeks away, but it can’t hurt to dream of how much better the A’s could be if Weeks can continue his hot spring when he returns from injury and carry that success over to the regular season.

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