From Rotoworld this morning:

The Tim Hudson deal is looking like a complete mess for the A's now that Juan Cruz has joined Charles Thomas and Dan Meyer at Triple-A (with Meyer on the disabled list). However, the Mark Mulder deal is looking better and better. Dan Haren is doing an excellent job stepping into Mulder's spot in the rotation, posting a 4.14 ERA in 87 innings. Mulder had a 4.43 ERA in 225.2 innings for the A's last season and has a 4.30 ERA in 83.2 innings for the Cardinals this year. Haren got off to a slow start and has a poor record because the A's don't score him any runs, but he is 3-1 with a 2.73 ERA and 25-to-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio in his last five starts, dating back to May 26. Plus, he's costing the A's about $6 million less than Mulder would have.