If you figure a 11-man staff is our optimal number of pitchers, currently 45.5% of our pitching staff is on the disabled list.  Wow.

Anyway, within the Chronicle's A'S NOTEBOOK, we learn that Rich Harden is medically cleared, threw from the mound Sunday, and may be able to throw a simulated game on Tuesday in Chicago.  No word on whether throwing at AJ Pierzynski will be simulated.

We also learn in the same article that Joe Kennedy has been officially placed on the DL, which, of course, means he is dead/day-to-day.  Jairiago Garsilla was called up to take his place.  The good news is that an MRI on Kennedy revealed no structural damage, so it's just a muscle issue.

Just a muscle issue...sound familiar?  Harden, Loaiza, Kennedy, Street, Crosby, Bradley...the list of muscle issues goes on.  At some point, one has to wonder why we're the only team in the league who has had 25% of its roster (25%!) suffer from muscle strains.  What's different about our training regimen in comparison to other teams?  Urban or Slusser need to have a fireside chat with Larry Davis.  Or we need to FIRE LARRY DAVIS NOW!

Take heart, though--things could always be worse.  You could be the the Yankees, who are aggressively recruiting A's retreads like Terrence Long, Erubial Durazo, and Carlos Pena to fill roster spots; Long has already been called up to the big show.  They're also primed to pluck Richard Hidalgo off the "can't play anymore" heap.  Omar Olivares, you're next.

In other news, the total meltdown of The Angels Angels continues.  I think the following snippet (emphasis mine) sums it up nicely:

It was the Angels' fifth loss in a row, and they're 5-14 in May. They're also off to their slowest start since 1998, when they also started the season 17-27. Only the lowly Kansas City Royals have a worse record in the American League than the Angels.

The Angels travel to Texas to play the Rangers--perhaps the only negative here, since the Rangers look increasingly like the only other team that matters in the division, and stand to get fat off the lowly Angel offense.

Thus concludes the initial small sampling of daily links--go forth and dump your own!