The Beauty of BOMAC

by jasonthea on Jun 23, 2009 10:30 AM PDT

Since they may no longer be an intact quintet (and the loss of Outman makes the acronym a whole lot harder), we should examine their collective performance, with special emphasis on the last 5 weeks.

For the season:

341.2 IP 336 H/107 BB WHIP of 1.23 ER 144 for an ERA of 3.79

215/107 K/W ratio of 2/1 5.67 K/9 innings

Since May 19th:

193.1 IP 171H/47BB WHIP of 1.13 ER 69 for an ERA of 3.21

129/47 K/W ratio of 2.7/1 6.03 K/9 innings

Simply put, this is so far one of the most impressive collective performances by a young rotation in recent memory. Of course the entire season will be the more complete test, including the dog days and when some of these guys start to hit the wall in terms of their experience. I don't expect them to be able to repeat the last five weeks in the next five weeks. But the fact is that a rotation consisting of 4 first-year starters and 1 second year starter has been among the best in the entire sport for the last 5 weeks and is clearly above average for the entire season.

Seasonal ERA+ are: Braden 126, Outman 118, Cahill 112, Anderson 72, and Mazzaro at an other-worldly and small sample of 234. Only Anderson is pitching substandard, akin to Mulder most of his rookie season. Cahill, Outman and Mazzaro are, so far, approaching what Hudson, Zito and Harden were able to do in their rookie/2nd year campaigns. (Hudson was 142 in ERA+ in 1999, 113 in his first full season in 2000; Zito 172 in 2000, 125 in his first full season in 2001; Harden 100 in 2003; 114 the next year; Mulder 86 in 2000 and 126 in 2001) I said approaching because a) they're not quite at level, unless the last 5 weeks becomes the norm and b) the bar is even higher down the road, and we have no idea how their injuries or further development will pan out.

That said, so far the grand experiment does seem to be a pretty unqualified success.

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It makes you get one of those warm fuzzy feelings when you think about

the next 5+ years for these boys. Now all we need is some offense to turn some of those ND’s into wins! These guys could dominate the AL west for years to come.

PREPAREDNESS_Because those goddamn zombies aren’t going to kill themselves

by adragon on Jun 23, 2009 10:52 AM PDT reply actions

+1

Great post. I’ve only seen one story on ESPN about how our young pitching was performing, and that was over two weeks ago. It’s been very easy for the sports world to instead talk about how bad our offense has been. The pitching has put us 6.5 games out. Without them—we’re looking at 12+ games out of first at this point.

by asyouwish33 on Jun 23, 2009 10:59 AM PDT up reply actions

+1

Barring trades involving any one of them, our pitching staff looks amazing for next year.

concocting something witty....check back frequently

by OptimistPrime on Jun 23, 2009 11:05 AM PDT up reply actions

And barring, well...you know, with pitchers...

I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal

by Nico on Jun 23, 2009 11:53 AM PDT up reply actions

Herpes?

"I’m Joey Devine, I’m what Joba Chamberlain would be if he was good and nobody had ever heard of him."

by mikev on Jun 23, 2009 11:58 AM PDT up reply actions

locust?

by Future Ed on Jun 23, 2009 12:08 PM PDT up reply actions

Herpes in the right spot can be advantageous

Ever seen what a little herpecin can do to a curve ball?

by jeffro on Jun 23, 2009 12:14 PM PDT up reply actions

Barry Zito would be the one to ask about that.

"You end up with a name like ‘Outman,’" he said last week. "What else are you going to do? You’re going to get people out, man." ~ Dallas Braden

by Blicks on Jun 23, 2009 12:18 PM PDT up reply actions

I don't get it

…

A curve ball joke?

http://www.myspace.com/ryanmac10

by RyanFromBonas on Jun 23, 2009 12:56 PM PDT up reply actions

Alyssa Milano joke

by cityplANner on Jun 23, 2009 2:03 PM PDT up reply actions

I thought it was Miss Alba

"Go ahead and overachieve, you scrappy Brett-Favre-colored walk-takers." —Rev Halofan

by iglew on Jun 23, 2009 4:41 PM PDT up reply actions

Another thing to consider:

we still have more on the farm.

Gio Gonzalez, and if they ever get back to where they’re supposed to be, Gallagher, DLS and Eveland.

Add Simmons, Ross, Hunter, Haviland and maybe H-Rod to that list, and we’re talking about (almost) 3 rotation’s worth of talent.

One of BOMAC will get traded, for some kind of bat, eventually.

by noava22 on Jun 23, 2009 12:07 PM PDT up reply actions

Trade

It is also likely that Gio will be dealt, especially if he keeps throwing up flashy strike out numbers and pitching only 5 innings a start.

by jeffro on Jun 23, 2009 12:18 PM PDT up reply actions

perhaps

but trading someone like, for example, outman, might net more in return because of his proven ability to get major league hitters out.

just food for thought.

by noava22 on Jun 23, 2009 12:22 PM PDT up reply actions

Agreed

Trade one fo the guys who gets a real bat in hear… Maybe Michael Taylor?

by jeffro on Jun 23, 2009 12:35 PM PDT up reply actions

Hmmmm.........well it is very interesting that Philly is in dire need of pitching at the moment

So we could see another potential deal between the Phils and A’s before it’s all said and done. Do you have any more links or scour reviews about Michael Taylor? His stats look good but I would like to see some feedback from other sources if possible.

Maybe Philly would want Gio or Gio and Eveland + another minor league bat for Taylor?

Zeigler to Geren…."A-Rod? He’s my bitch." -alox

by mrod on Jun 23, 2009 4:51 PM PDT up reply actions

I don't think Gio/Eveland serves the Phillies' needs

They might be keen on Braden, but…

I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal

by Nico on Jun 23, 2009 5:41 PM PDT up reply actions

you are correct, it would take more than eveland/gio

It would take Braden, which I would think as a bit of a sell high move. Though I would miss Braden he is replaceable.

by jeffro on Jun 23, 2009 10:39 PM PDT up reply actions

Here is some sickles stuff

**Phillies outfield prospect Michael Taylor continues to terrorize the Eastern League, hitting .432 with three homers in his last ten games for Reading, giving him a season line of .342/.388/.618 with nine homers and eight steals. It is apparent that the progress he made last year was not just an A-ball fluke. His walk rate isn’t great with just 11 in 152 at-bats, but he’s struck out just 19 times, which I like a lot. If I were the Phillies, I’d leave him in Double-A until July 1st, then move him up to Triple-A and see how he handles breaking stuff at that level. His tools have always been excellent, but he never really developed his baseball skills at Stanford, falling to the fifth round in 2007. Something clicked last year, and it’s still clicking now.

and

His Double A numbers

I am somewhat biased, I watched him play quite regularly at Stanford and saw him take short, quick strokes that sent balls 450 feet.

by jeffro on Jun 23, 2009 10:37 PM PDT up reply actions

Thing is, let's say he moves up to AAA and doesn't

handle breaking stuff well…Oops. Braden has pitched like a legitimate front-end of the rotation starter all year and is cheap, under contract for 4 more years, a leader of an otherwise incredibly young rotation. I don’t think he’s that expendable.

So basically if Taylor were a sure thing, maybe you take the plunge. But he’s not yet that; he’s proven at AA. If he were a 3Bman or SS, that would also make it maybe “too tempting to say no.”

But I’m not keen on trading Braden for a corner OFer who hasn’t played above AA. Now watch him turn into the next Jason Bay.

I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal

by Nico on Jun 24, 2009 9:12 AM PDT up reply actions

.... AND defense.

I can’t remember the last time our infield defense has done so poorly this far into a season. (I do have short memory though.) Pitching to contact with our infield has not exactly been stellar this year (Giambi gets a pass for his age, but Cabrera…?), plus our best player at the moment was an emergency pick up for our injured unicorn.

Sorry, I’m a little aggro too. But what can I say…? The A’s have spoiled me with an automatic defense for the past nine years. This year seems suspect at best.

Bob Geren, on 8/2/07, on the success of Alan Embree as new interim closer: "What can I say,... he's been our Steady Tremendous Bullpen Man"

by popcornjames on Jun 23, 2009 3:00 PM PDT up reply actions

Really the only guy who has played good infield defense is Hannahan,

who, IMO, gets too little credit because he swings at 1-1 fastballs when the count is 1-2.

I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal

by Nico on Jun 23, 2009 4:25 PM PDT up reply actions