FanPost

Macha's signal about Mulder

Urban's game story quotes Macha saying he will talk to Mulder and Curt Young about skipping his Friday start.  

"It's tough because the kid does nothing but give you all he's got out there," Macha says.  He then doesn't commit to a decision one way or another, saying he will talk directly to Mulder.

Obviously, the final decision about whether Mulder starts Friday will be made by Billy Beane.  But I think we're getting a pretty strong indication of where Macha stands on the question.

I've been saying for weeks now I believe Mulder has a non-arm injury that he's trying to pitch through.  He does okay until he tries throwing the fastball, which he can't locate properly and cannot throw hard.  Everyone on his team, and on the Angels, knows the situation.  All they have to do is wait for that weak fastball and pound it.  I don't want to read any more optimistic comments about how Mulder has worked out his problems in bullpen sessions or other nonsense.  It's been going on for weeks, and should have stopped long ago.  Perhaps, Mulder would be useful now if he had missed a start or two a few weeks ago.  But now it's too late.  Even his own teammates (Chavez, Hatteberg) say he's a shadow of his former self.

Blanton's performance was impressive under the circumstances, although he probably was helped by the fact that the Angels hadn't seen him before.  (He won't have a similar advantage on Friday.)  But he also got some experience, and will have the home crowd pulling for him.

At this point, the team's choice has essentially been made for them.  It's far from an ideal situation, but better than denial.