12 pitchers the right move?

by EastCoastA on Apr 6, 2005 11:52 AM PDT

Crosby's injury and the lack of roster flexibility have made this an issue, so I thought I'd share my take to get started...

Though in most cases I firmly believe the team should carry 11 pitchers, I agree with 12 at this point of the season for a few reasons:

We have three starters out of five who are not proven commidities at the big league level. Therefore, the chances of them getting rocked in certain starts is higher than in previous years.
Harden has a blister problem that could flare up at any time. (Ask Josh Beckett) This has the potential to strain the bullpen.
Who do we remove from the bullpen at this point? Dotel, Calero, Cruz, the Duke, and Rincon are givens in my mind, leaving Street and Yabu. If we decide to trade Dotel in the summer, we need Street to be ready to take over. As for Yabu, his guarenteed salary keeps him aboard, and we may need someone to pitch for several innings at a time for the reasons I listed above.

This doesn't even mention Bradford and where he fits when (and possibly if) he returns this year.

If Crosby won't be able to go for a few days, I think he should be put on the DL so Scutaro will be avalible.

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Yabu

is the really hard one to fit. I'd like to say
"send him down." But then we just have to eat all
that cash we paid for him.

Forty isn't old -- for a tree.

by atomopawn on Apr 6, 2005 12:26 PM PDT reply actions

exactly.

by xbhaskarx on Apr 6, 2005 12:37 PM PDT reply actions

without a proven starter capable of giving a quality start (7+ innings) on a consistant basis, having 7 guys in the bullpen is a no brainer. That, along with Yabus contract and Street needing to get big league outs and not minor league outs, IF he becomes our closer, should make it a lock.

The bench is't going to get any better with one more guy. Melhuse is already going to waste away there.

"Badges? We don't need no stinkin badges!"

by jbxchico on Apr 6, 2005 12:49 PM PDT reply actions

12 pitchers

I agree with jbx. If Saarloos goes 5, blanton goes 4, and haren only goes 6, that is 12 innings for the bullpen, and the more arms the better. They could and should go more, but they ALL have no track record, so you have to err on the side of caution. Plus the person all you guys are saying needs to be in Oakland is Dan Johnson, and he doesn't play a position we need, and Jermaine Clark, although a good spring, was a non-roster invitee for a reason. He hasn't proven himself anywhere else. You can't find a Marco every year.

by theblackpearl on Apr 6, 2005 12:58 PM PDT reply actions

Carrying twelve pitchers...

...is a tacit admission that our pitching is going to suck this year, I think.

by jrbh on Apr 6, 2005 1:38 PM PDT reply actions

That's Crazy Talk

12 pitchers is reality for a rookie rotation. They don't have the seasoning to pitch complete games, and nobody is going to want to take responsibility for injuring them by asking them to pitch more than they can take. There were 11 on the roster last year, and look what happened to Mulder.

The pitching will likely be between average to dominating this year, depending on how things play out. The endurance of the young pitchers will be low.

by almostreggie on Apr 6, 2005 1:44 PM PDT up reply actions

AAA Sac is a morning commute away

We have talent there that will provide bullpen and starting depth to the MLB team if needed.

I was really hoping the A's would play off of Rheinecker's great ST (ERA of 0.00) and make him our left handed Duke, long reliever that is. Rhino has projected out as starter but that stalled before Meyer's arrival. His value is still high though because LH long relievers aren't exactly falling out of trees either, ... A's don't have one, that's for sure.

They sent Rhino (and his 0.00) back down early from ST. ...With all the pitchers in camp I don't think there were enough innings for the A's to evaluate them all.

Sorry to ramble, point is SAC has the required pitching "depth".

I think 11 pitchers is enough with Street getting more work at Sac than Oakland.

Street as A's closer at soonest; 2006
Calero or Cruz could step into closer this season.

He probably will get soft innings (big lead/blow outs) just to make him feel at home by being in Oakland. What that does to a closer's killer instinct I'm not sure.

"all a's all the time." xbhaskarx 3/28/05

by A s Eh on Apr 6, 2005 11:21 PM PDT up reply actions

My Current Obsession

Those of you who have read my previous posts will know that I rarely let a chance to rant about the excessive number of pitchers used go by. I'm not about to now. Granted, we've got a number of unproven starters who may not be able to give us a lot of innings, but why does that mean that we have to carry guys in the bullpen who are only going to pitch 40 to 80 innings? Forget about the get-one-guy lefty. Bring in Dotel in the 8th inning of close games, or when the game is tied. Why can't the set-up guys go more than one inning? And what about a long-reliever/spot starter? Too many pitchers is choking strategy and turning injuries to one player into a crisis.

by kent1 on Apr 6, 2005 2:05 PM PDT reply actions

Kent1, I agree with you but...

I don't think there will be too many bullpen guys getting forty innings. In the AN interview Billy Beane said something that i thought was awesome. He traded for all of these relievers who can go more than one inning. When you've stockpiled all of these good relievers and your 3-5 starters are just average, you can tell the starters to pitch five strong knowing the pen will pick them up. I wouldn't be surprised if the A's led the league in innings pitched by the bullpen, and in bullpen wins as well.

by Nick86 on Apr 6, 2005 3:48 PM PDT reply actions

Nick86; "I wouldn't be surprised if the A's

led the league in innings pitched by the bullpen, and in bullpen wins as well."

BB put the arms there purposely.
Break in the younger arms with fewer expected innings only protects the investment and the season. Great prep by BB, he had it in his plan most assuredly.

I believe the pen will pitch a minimum 1/3 of the season, probably 40% is realistic. The pen ERA should compete as AL best. If the starters fullfill team expectancies, their collective ERA will also be very good, possibly good enough to let the A's pen push them to the lowest AL TEAM ERA

And that easily translates to another winning season

"all a's all the time." xbhaskarx 3/28/05

by A s Eh on Apr 6, 2005 11:00 PM PDT up reply actions