Kuzul

Right now the Oakland athletics are trying to establish a core of a winning team. They have already given two players multi-year contracts: Brett Anderson and Kurt Suzuki. Although they still have some cheap young players who haven’t hit arbitration, I think they should continue to create a young core and give some players long contracts.

A team like the A’s, a team with not too much cash, has to lock up franchise players early. They need to do a better job at that, as the last time the A’s made the playoffs was 2006, and they have exactly two players from that team today, and that’s only if you count Rich Harden. The other is Mark Ellis.

If the A’s wait too long to give their good players long-term deals, the exact same thing will happen. They’ll make the playoffs one year, and then rebuild two years later. So here’s some players I think the Athletics should add to their core of two. They’re listed in no particular order.

Begin Slideshow

Prior to making the offseason moves for Rich Harden and Brandon McCarthy, the Oakland Athletics already had the best pitching staff in the American League.  Their 3.56 team ERA ranked first in the AL last year and fourth in the big leagues behind San Francisco, San Diego and Atlanta.  The starting rotation stands to get better with another year of experience for young twenty-somethings Trevor Cahill, Brett Anderson and Gio Gonzalez.

With Dallas Braden sliding into the fourth slot, the fifth becomes an arms race between McCarthy, Harden, September call-up Bobby Cramer and the stirrup-clad Josh Outman, presumably sending the rest to an already solid bullpen.  McCarthy and Harden seem to be the front-runners to pitch every fifth day.  However, Josh Outman is an intriguing option as he pitched well in the first half of the 2009 season before Tommy John surgery shut him down prematurely.

The front-end of the rotation is set with Brett Anderson and Trevor Cahill each returning with sub-three ERAs from 2010 and in Cahill’s case, all-star recognition.  Gio Gonzalez comes into the 2010 season not far behind them with his own 3.23 ERA and led the team with 171 strikeouts.  Beyond the stats, Gonzalez seemed to mature from an unquestioned talent to a quality starter in 2010.

Lest we forget, their likely least talented pitcher threw a perfect game last year.

Behind the great rotation is a bullpen not likely to give up too many leads, anchored by two-time all-star Andrew Bailey (25 saves and a 1.47 ERA in 2010) and solid setup men Michael Wuertz and Brad Zeigler.  It only gets stronger with the return of Joey Devine (0.59 ERA in 42 games in 2008) and whomever doesn’t make the opening day starting rotation.  Southpaws Craig Breslow and Jerry Blevins seem set to be the left-handed options out of the bullpen for Manager Bob Geren.  The two come into the 2011 season boasting mid-three ERAs each.

Questions certainly abound on the injury front.  Will Devine and Outman be fully recovered from serious surgeries?  Will Brett Anderson complete a full season?  How much does the pitcher-friendly ballpark in Oakland deflate the team’s ERA?  Is there any other AL pitching staff within sniffing distance of the A’s for these questions to matter?

There are quality staffs around the American League, but none that challenge Oakland.  The Tampa Bay Rays have an ace in David Price and two flame-throwers (Joaquin Benoit and Rafael Soriano) in the bullpen but won’t dazzle you otherwise.

Have you heard that Cliff Lee no longer pitches for the Rangers?  C.J. Wilson and Colby Lewis are solid but Texas still needs to fill out the rest of their rotation.

The front-end of the Red Sox rotation looks scary with Clay Buchholz and Jon Lester coming off great years.   John Lackey is a pitcher that everyone wants in their rotation and loves to pitch in big games.  Beyond those three, they have three potential starters with good track records but who struggled in 2010. Tim Wakefield, Josh Beckett and Daisuke Matsuzaka all had sub-standard years for the Sox.

The pitching staff for the A’s, combined with an upgraded lineup should have fans optimistic about the 2011 season.  They can now challenge the scary lineups in New York, Boston, Texas, Minnesota, etc.  After all, pitching wins championships.  The Giants just proved it.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

I don’t know if you noticed two things, but the Oakland A’s with their ragtag, no-name pitching staff and always-youthful roster somehow stumbled their way to an 81-81 (.500) record last season in the suddenly wide-open American League West.

Keep in mind it’s probably only going to take 85 wins to take this division anyway and the A’s are the most improved. Also, keep in mind that every year there is a small market club that seemingly comes out of nowhere. Last year the Reds, my pre-season Wild Card pick, exceeded even my expectations by winning the NL Central. Consider the A’s this year’s Reds.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/346852-introducing-your-2010-nl-wild-card-champion-cincinnati-reds

Series of small, under-the-radar calculated moves

While I can’t name five members of their 2010 roster, 2011 is shaping up very nicely with a series of under-the-radar, well calculated moves. First, the team stole David DeJesus from the perpetually inept Kansas City Royals in a move that got zero publicity. This despite the fact that before his injury, DeJesus was not just a hot trading-deadline name that ultimately didn’t get moved, but one with a solid on base percentage, adequate defense and a .309 batting average.

If you’re thinking its simply a “meh” move, one where the small-market A’s always hope to be finding treasure in someone else’s trash, this move allowed them to swing speedster Rajai Davis to the Toronto Blue Jays so early in the off season (about three days after the World Series it seemed). I wonder how many of you caught that?

While that is a tremendous move, adding much needed speed to the power-hitting Jays lineup, this article is about the A’s and the smart moves they are making, so we’ll stick to that.

Next, they extended starting pitcher Trevor Cahill and cherry-picked Hideki Matsui from the division rival (and fading) Los Angeles Angels in a shrewd move that directly makes them weaker and gives Matsui a 1 year, $4.25M deal.

The move reminded me of the Florida Marlins’ “special money.” They seem to come up with that one big player every few offseasons, one big score they think will make all the difference. In the past, it’s been Ivan Rodriguez, Carlos Delgado, and this year, Javier Vazquez, using money saved from the Dan Uggla trade.

Not only is Matsui still productive (21 HRS, 84 RBI last year), but he fits perfectly in a lineup that’s lost only Jack Cust to the irrelevant Seattle Mariners and to which Matsui is an obvious upgrade.

The move was also reminiscent of a typical Tampa Bay Rays “budget” move, like when they brought in Jose Canseco for that one stellar year or Pat Burrell, who blew up in their faces. These were veterans looking for maybe one more paycheck, only I think Matsui will be around for a couple more years, albeit on one-year deals, hopefully with Oakland.

In similar action that would make the witness-protection program envious, the team quietly rolled the dice on struggling starter Rich Harden, reuniting the once promising player with his original organization, where he made his name and had success. While it’s eerily similar to the 2009 Ben Sheets signing fiasco, it’s got to cost less than the $10M bust Sheets turned out to be.

Then the A’s filled another hole with a recognizable name, obtaining the highly coveted and versatile Josh Willingham from the Nationals in a curious move, considering Washington’s insistence to move a solid player.

2011 moves in sum, to date

In sum, the thrifty and calculating A’s have added the following in patch-work (budget) fashion:

One starting pitcher (Harden) that one might say replaces the Sheets experiment

One DH to Matsui to replace Cust (net gain)

Two outfielders in DeJesus and Willingham to replace one in Davis (thereby adding depth)

All that’s missing, one might suggest, is bullpen arms, but they seemed to do fine (ERA) last year

Here is their starting lineup (I had to look up their 1B, SS, and CF, which demonstrates how anonymous they were last year)

1B Daric Barton

2B Mark Ellis

SS Cliff Pennington

3B Kevin Kouzmanoff

DH Matsui

LF Josh Willingham

RF David DeJesus

CF Coco Crisp

Their rotation is: (didn’t know starters 2-4) 

SP Trevor Cahill (ace 18-8 last year)

SP Gio Gonzalez (15-9 last year)

SP Dallas Braden (11-14)

SP Brett Anderson (7-6 last year)

SP Harden

Divisional rivals Angels, Rangers fading, leaving it open for A’s to take

While the Red Sox and the Phillies have stolen all the headlines for their flashy moves, others like the Yankee$ and Angels have for their lack of moves.

Keep in mind, this division includes the Mariners, whom everyone is going to beat up on to the tune of 90+ losses for them again. Then there’s the fading Angels, who lost Matsui and for whom free agents apparently no longer want to sign with, leaving them a team of Kendry Morales and Torii Hunter and a bunch of nobodies. Lastly, there’s the Texas Rangers, who not only lost Cliff Lee, but even if they were to replace him with Carl Pavano, it’s a net loss overall, leaving the division wide-open for the A’s to take because they earned it with these good moves.

The Angels lost out on Carl Crawford, the #1 player they coveted. With the weather Southern California provides, the solid management of Mike Scoscia, deep-pocketed ownership of well-respected Arte Moreno and the friendship of Torii Hunter, the Angels likely would have had enough to land him in seasons past.

Not this time.

Not in a crazy offseason where we see the Nationals, Orioles, and Brewers actively pursuing big name free agents or players via trade, adding payroll to the point where they are doing more than the Yankee$, Angel$, Cardinals, Mets, or Cubs to date.

This has a hint of the 1980’s all over again, when the Brewers, A’s, and Orioles were good and the Yankees? Not so much.

Hmmm

Just sayin’…..

One final thought: if the Yankees somehow manage to steal the Wild card after praying that Andy Pettite comes back so they can have 3/5 of a dependable rotation (CC, Hughes, and him) minus the enigma Burnett, we are going to need the tiny A’s to have a solid season and represent the underdog small markets in the playoffs. That is, if the Chicago White Sox actually win the Central, which I have doubts about.

Information from ESPN and ESPN.com directly contributed to the content of this article.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The San Francisco Giants have just completed an improbable run to the playoffs which ended in a World Series victory.

The question sure to follow is who will be the Giants of 2011 and the answer is simple—it will be the Oakland Athletics.

The Giants made their run to the World Series on the strength of their pitching staff. Don’t look now, but the Athletics pitching staff is younger than the Giants’ and may be even better than theirs next season.

The Athletics pitching staff goes five men deep, and each one is capable of throwing a shutout, or in the case of Dallas Braden, a perfect game.

The rotation starts with their ace Trevor Cahill, who had a breakout season. He won 18 games while only losing eight games on a mediocre team. Many have questioned if Cahill is a one-year wonder because he relies on a hard sinker, but he is here to stay.

Cahill reminds me of a certain sinker-baller who has had a nice long career. Who is this mystery pitcher?

None other then Derek Lowe. He has made a career of firing his sinker into the strike zone in the upper 80s and low 90s. However, Lowe only possesses a slider to keep hitters off balance, while Cahill has an assortment of plus breaking pitches at his disposal whenever he needs them. 

Next in line is the pitcher who sparked a controversy and T-shirts made in his honor with the quote, “Get off my mound.”

Yes, it is Dallas Braden. By no means is Braden an elite pitcher. He is your average middle-of-the-rotation guy, but those types of pitchers are extremely valuable.

Braden does not throw overly hard and seems to throw more breaking pitchers than fastballs to compensate for his lack of velocity. Now this also reminds me of another pitcher, but who could it be?

I know, it is Jamie Moyer, who has carved out a major league career that has taken him to the age of 47. Braden has Moyer’s capability. He may never be an elite pitcher, but he can sure keep up the 3.50 ERA he compiled this season for years to come, making him an above-average pitcher in my book. 

The Athletics also possess a young lefty with one of the best breaking balls in the bigs. His name is Gio Gonzalez. It is hard to understand how Gonzalez has been traded numerous times already in his young career, but with a curve ball as good as his, he is on the verge of stardom. 

This past season, Gonzalez won 15 games while pitching a 3.23 ERA. He went over the 200-inning mark, which is the sign of a workhorse, and also compiled 171 strikeouts. His high strikeout numbers were no doubt caused by his sneaky fast delivery where the ball just pops up on the hitters.

Brett Anderson is another lefty member of the Athletics rotation. He has dealt with injuries the past few years, but possessing a mid-90s heater from the left side is never a bad thing. Anderson has the ability to be a premier strikeout pitcher in the bigs for years to come. Pitching to a 2.80 ERA isn’t too shabby either.

Last, but not least is a guy I believe has the ability to be the ace of the rotation in a few short years. He has some filthy movement on his fastball to go along with the velocity in which it travels to the plate. Vin Mazzaro is definitely an ace in the making. 

Mazzaro struggled this season, but his shutout against the Yankees proved to me that he is capable of performing on the big stage. The man has the same kind of movement which allowed another pitcher to compile a 20-strikeout gem this season.

Brandon Morrow was switched from the bullpen to the rotation on numerous occasions and once he reached the Jays, his career took off. 

Mazzaro could experience the same situation as early as next year. With these five talented pitchers on their staff, it should surprise no one if they dethrone the Rangers and take the American League West with ease.

Who knows, maybe they can follow in the Giants’ footsteps and prove the old adage true—you can never have enough pitching.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Trevor Cahill enjoyed a breakout season in 2010, his second full season in the Major Leagues.  At the surface the numbers are certainly impressive, but there certainly are reasons to be concerned.

Before we get to the reservations, let’s take a look at his statistics:

18 Wins
196.2 Innings
2.97 ERA
1.11 WHIP
118 Strikeouts (5.4 K/9)
63 Walks (2.9 BB/9)
.238 BABIP

The BABIP sticks out like a sore thumb.  In fact, it was the luckiest number in the Major Leagues in 2010, as he was one of just two pitchers to post a mark below .250 (Bronson Arroyo was the other at .246).

The number certainly was advantageous, considering his inability to strike batters out.  He did show significantly more upside in the minor leagues, with a career K/9 of 9.9 over 247.1 innings.  Of course, he also spent just 45.2 of those innings above Single-A, so it’s tough to get a great read on him there.

Prior to the 2009 season Baseball America ranked him as the A’s second best prospect saying the following:

“Cahill works off an 88-92 mph two-seam fastball with outstanding heavy sink and running life, enabling him to rack up both grounders and swinging strikes. He also can touch 94 mph with his four-seamer. He backs up his fastballs with a nasty 79-81 mph knuckle-curve, a swing-and-miss pitch with hard downward movement.

“He also has another tough breaking ball in a low-80s slider with cutter-like action at times. He’s a good athlete with a simple, compact delivery and good balance over the rubber.”

The groundballs were certainly there, at a 56.0 percent clip in 2010.  That is an incredibly impressive mark, putting him fifth in the league.  That certainly will allow him to pitch to a lower BABIP, as does the ballpark he plays in.  Look at his split:

Home: 11 W, 2.18 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 64 K, .241 BABIP over 103.1 innings
Road: 7 W, 3.87 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 54 K, .235 BABIP over 93.1 innings

OK, so he was lucky everywhere.  To put it in better perspective, since 2003 there has been only one other pitcher who qualified for the ERA title who has posted a BABIP below .240 (the Padres’ Chris Young posted a .237 mark in 2006).  There’s no way he maintains it.

His groundball rate helps, making it more likely to post a strong mark.  However, a regression there (and it is an almost certainty to happen) is going to mean a regression across the board, unless he can significantly improve his strikeout rate.

He’s shown the potential there, so there’s hope, and at 22-years old (he’ll turn 23 before the start of the 2011 season), there is reason to believe that he can take another step forward.  You have to think a pitcher who averages 90.4 mph on his fastball can strikeout more then five batters per nine innings.

Still, he’s not going to suddenly become a strikeout an inning guy.  So, even with his elite control, his WHIP is going to take a hit.  Maybe not a huge one, bit he’s not likely to be around 1.10 once again.  In turn, his ERA is going to rise as well.

The truth of the matter is, he should’ve been closer to 4.00 then below 3.00 in 2010, but luck played a tremendous impact in is numbers.  I’m not going to say that he should be avoided, because with his groundball rate and control, there is the potential to be a great low-end option.

The perfect comparable I can have for him is Chien-Ming Wang in 2007.  Just look at the numbers:

3.70 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 4.70 K/9, 2.7 BB/9, 58.4% groundball rate, .293 BABIP

Cahill will likely out produce the strikeout mark, but not necessarily by much.  The rest of the numbers look about spot on, so that’s exactly how I would value him heading into 2011.

He’s got a ton of potential, thanks to his strikeout upside, but until we see it he’s really nothing more then a late round option, just like Wang always was.

What are your thoughts on Cahill?  Am I being overly skeptical of him?  Do you think he will be a fantasy ace in 2011?

Make sure to check out our 2011 projections:

Freese, David
Morrow, Brandon

THIS ARTICLE IS ALSO FEATURED ON WWW.ROTOPROFESSOR.COM

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Expectations can be tricky things.

Often times, teams with high expectations fail to measure up, while squads without expectations do better than anticipated.  For the 2010 Athletics, the latter is true.

Without any considerable power threat on the roster (Jack Cust started the season at Triple-A), it was hard to imagine the non-explosive A’s coming close to .500 record.  With two games the left, Oakland is two wins away from finishing 81-81.  

No matter what happens the next two nights in Seattle, the Athletics’ brass must be pleased with the way the summer played out.

Oakland scored the fourth-fewest runs in the American League, was second-worst in total bases, and hit the second-fewest home runs.  

But the team was able to hover around the .500 mark for most of the season because of its pitching staff.  As one of the youngest staffs in all of baseball, the A’s have the lowest team ERA in the AL (3.57).  They did it largely without two of their top starters heading into the season, Ben Sheets and Justin Duchscherer.

No one had questioned whether or not the team had built a foundation for a strong staff, but not many outside the organization believed its young arms would be this good this quickly.

Trevor Cahill pitched his way into the role of the team’s ace with his outstanding season in 2010.  The sinkerballer showed flashes during last year’s rookie campaign but was unable to consistently locate his pitches.  In 2009 Cahill gave up 27 home runs while compiling a 4.63 ERA. 

This season the 22-year-old right-hander only let 19 balls leave the yard, strung together a 2.97 ERA, and won 18 games. 

Brett Anderson managed only 18 starts, but still pitched well and lowered his 2010 ERA (2.91) by more than a run from his 2009 mark (4.06).  When healthy, he could have the best stuff of any left-handed starter in baseball.  But he’ll have to prove that he can stay healthy over the course of an entire season. 

Like Cahill, Anderson is 22 years old.

The advantage the starting staff is the different look each pitcher provides.  Cahill can dominate with his sinker, Anderson’s a true power arm with four plus pitches, Gio Gonzalez was praised by Torri Hunter as having the best left-handed curve in baseball, and Dallas Braden’s bulldog mentality allows him to be successful with less than dominating stuff.

Those four starters are good enough to win a pennant if healthy.  If Vin Mazzaro can make the jump next season like his counterparts did in 2010, the A’s should have far and away the best pitching staff in baseball.

Owner Lew Wolff and GM Billy Beane have both pledged to make the offense better in 2011.  Whether it comes from inside the organization, through free-agency or trades, the team could very well find itself back as a contender for an AL West crown this time next year.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The year 2010 has been the year of the pitcher in Major League Baseball. It is filled with no-hitters and perfect games, from very different pitchers all throughout the league. 

Last year, Zack Greinke surprised us all by having a 3 under ERA, and earning 15 wins even with low run support. 

This year, only two pitching candidates are veterans, and one is only 24 years old (guess who it is)!

This has certainly been a surprising and exciting season thus far, and this discussion gives us another reason to love baseball.

Begin Slideshow

It may be all over except for the crying.

With eight innings of one-hit ball on Thursday afternoon against the Oakland Athletics, C.C. Sabathia has become the front-runner for the AL Cy Young Award, and he may have even clinched it.

Why?

Well, I’ll tell ya.  C.C. Sabathia will be the 2010 AL Cy Young Award winner because . . . 

Begin Slideshow

After Wednesday night’s victory over the Indians, Trevor Cahill improved his record to 14-5.

            Cahill was named to the American League All-Star team this season and is having a season in which he is worthy of Cy Young consideration.

            Cahill currently has a 2.43 ERA, which is second among American league starting pitchers. He also has a WHIP just over one (1.005).

            Although he may be worthy of a Cy Young, Cahill will have a hard time getting recognition because he plays in the small market of Oakland and is not on a contending team.

The A’s are currently 63-62 and eight and a half games back in the American League West.

            Cahill is hardly ever talked about and it seems not many people know who he is or what kind of year the 22-year-old right-hander is having.

            If more people begin to take note of Cahill, he can become the first Oakland Cy Young award winner since Barry Zito. However, it seems Cahill is being ignored right now and it is hard to believe there will be a drastic change in the next month and a half.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Trevor Cahill has become the ace of the Oakland A’s staff. Brett Anderson had the role at the beginning of the year, but because of injuries, Anderson has conceded the role. 

Today, Cahill improved his record to 12-4 today, his ERA is now at 2.56, WHIP .98, and has struck out 76 while walking 41. At 22 years of age, Cahill has blossomed. 

When the season started, it didn’t look like Cahill was going to have a shot in the rotation. He started the year off rough against Toronto, but has been tremendous since. So much so Cahill is about to tie Nolan Ryan for most starts going five plus innings with giving up six or less hits. 

Ryan did it 20 consecutive starts and Cahill, after today, is at 19. 

Begin Slideshow