Its going to be hit or miss. We are going to have some real good games and then some real bad games in blow outs. I have faith in Curt Young of pulling it together but we need some luck too.

Anderson and Cahill with all their inexperience cannot be any worse than the others (All of them)

cahill/anderson would start the yr in AA
braden would be in that swing start role like a dinardo/saarloos or at worst a 2nd bullpen lefty
eveland the 5th starter
gallagher working out his issues in AAA or a 5th starter, i put gio in the same boat

once you think about it, we’ve been spoiled with good to great rotations the past 8-9 yrs, so that above group seems ridiculous to start the season with

For the last 20+ years, the A’s have been obviously better than the Giants well over 90% of the time. This year … ouch. It could be really, really ugly.

The good news: I’m going to show up last minute a lot this year and buy tickets from scalpers for $3 a pop…

Seeing Anderson and Cahill pushed to the majors so quick does worry me a bit, but I think the rotation will be decent to pretty good.

I think people are overreacting slightly to Spring Training numbers on guys like Braden, Galagher and Eveland. I expect all three to show some improvement on their numbers last year which should put them all at least at league average and hopefully better.

Anderson has good stuff and great poise on the mound, he will probably have to work through some rough patches against MLB hitters but I think he can do it. I think he’ll be a pretty reliable starter.

Cahill worries me the most. He definitely has the stuff to succeed at the highest level but I’m concerned that he is still learning to control all the movement on his fastball. More disciplined hitters are going to pick up on the sinking action and lay-off pitches that start in the strike zone but end up in the dirt. He’s going to have to learn to start the pitch higher up and trust that the natural movement will bring it down to bottome of the strike zone. Getting ahead early in the count will be especially important for Cahill and that means getting the sinker for a called strike consistently.

I’m still hoping that Gio isn’t hurt too bad and will be able to take Cahill’s place in a month or so if he is struggling.

both out of options

In a perfect world, Cahill, Anderson & crew would be the starting staff in AAA, and left there to continue to learn, then get their September cups of coffee. Unfortunately, since the rotation has imploded, we’re going to have to accept that we’re going to see them all before they are really ready, and accept the bad with the good. With Duke hurt (I wouldn’t count on him at all this year, I have a bad feeling about that elbow), Gio hurt and not yet reliable, and no other actual SOLID starters, it’s going to be a tough year for us fans. But you know what? Some of my fondest A’s memories are of watching teams that weren’t very good, but were filled with young kids full of potential playing hard and learning on the job. The Holliday trade looks odd now, since I really think we’re going to have a hell of a time getting to even .500 ball, but I’d rather see us trade him and load up on more prospects than to see Beane trade some of our farm for another team’s castoffs (starters).

the return will be better than what they gave up to get him….. And will be a stud 3b and/or SS. Another OF would be nice, as well!

While I like the idea of Dallas Braden and the person of Dallas Braden, I am highly unenthused by Dallas Braden as a pitcher. Him as the opening day starter is a terrifying. The only real SP value we have is going to be on the DL.

I really feel like we’re gonna see some young AAA studs come up and struggle, and it’s gonna hurt to watch.

I’m okay with Eveland, but I just can’t see him ever being higher than a #3-4. I think he’ll become a solid middle-rotation guy, but there’s just not a spark there. Watching games from the fourth- or fifth-inning onwards may be better for my blood pressure and sanity than actually watching the whole game.

I don’t see a reason that Cahill and Anderson can’t learn on the job. They both pitched decent in the Olympics, and those are much bigger pressure games than AA or AAA starts. Didn’t one or both get playoff starts in AAA as well?

Why not give them a chance to show what they can do. The argument that rushing people to the majors ruins their long term potential is a myth to me. Keeping players who might be ready in the minors is purely economical.

The A’s have a very solid defense, and one of the best pitchers parks in baseball, so I cannot fathom a situation in which two future studs would thrive more. They are healthy, so why waste another 120 innings on minor league hitters?

I like our rotation consisting of Braden, Eveland, Gallagher, Anderson and Cahill. Sure, not everyone thinks Braden should be starting on opening day; personally, I’d have Eveland start opening day. But I think the key is our bullpen. If our bullpen stays health (especially you, Joey Devine), we could have the group of Casilla, Ziegler, Wuertz, Springer, maybe Gio and Devine wrap up games instead of forcing these kids pitching into the 7th every time they are out there. I think Eveland and Gallagher have tendencies to fade significantly later into their starts and I’m confident that Cahill and Anderson would benefit from not being stretched out there. Would’ve been huge if we had been able to sign Beimel or Reyes.

I’d love to see Duke back on the active roster but with all the injuries, he may help the team best as a relief pitcher. Nothing more than two innings, which would be huge to get to our closers, Devine and Z. If something happens with any of the five guys above, then maybe Outman or Gio gets the call (although I’m not sure about his consistency) or we could see Mazzarro in the bigs. I’m excited to see these guys in Green and Gold!