He could give up fewer leadoff hits, sacrifice bunts and intentional walks before getting a double play.

No one expects Ziggy to maintain such a remarkable low ERA. Obviously he’s going to regress toward the mean — his mean — and I don’t think anyone expects his mean ERA to be almost zero. So, I was doing a quick-and-dirty projection based on the pretty reasonable expectation that his early success was more a matter of small sample size and not a perfect indicator of where is at this phase of his career. I used the term “upside” in the sense that he’s not expected to be in his prime, despite his early, anomalous success.

I just read your reply a moment ago, and so my subsequent reply is late in coming, but I found it so little irritating that I had to respond, however long after the fact.

You’re right, of course, in a rigid semantic interpretation, but I think it’s important to consider a little more context when trying to determine whether or not someone like Ziegler still posses upside. I mean, it was sloppy use of the word, fine, but obviously I never meant to say that Ziegler was going to have a better than zero ERA, so it shouldn’t take a great leap of logic to realize that I was using, however incorrectly, the term “upside” to refer to this early phase of his pitching career, which will be better reflected statistically after he’s accrued more innings pitched.

Maybe not. But either way, you don’t have to be so smug. Really, what kind of person starts a reply with “uh,no”?

He has the best stuff in the organization, and among the best in all of baseball. The A’s will have him for a minimum of nine years. I’d trade Suzuki in a heartbeat if it could help solve 3B or SS for the next six years. Bowen or Kendall can handle C. Same with Cunningham, especially if it looked like Buck had a future in a corner and Sweeney at 4th OF. We need power at the corners.

You are not serious? The dude is sick!!

After this year he’s a 10 and 5, I think, so there’s truly no chance he’ll ever be traded.

Generally speaking, I’d move any of those pitchers for a good, cost-controlled starting pitcher (somebody like Haren). I think those guys are the best value in the game. So even though any one of Cahill, Anderson, Gio, or H-Rod might end up better than a Haren-type (and I’m not suggesting trying to get him back, he’s just the first guy who popped into my head), I think having a youngish, successful, proven-healthy pitcher for the next 5 years or so is worth giving up a couple of those players.

I think the ’ key is broken as well.

if he does it hitting .280 with 10 HRs he’s far from a star.