Dan Meyer gets his second shot at positioning himself to make the A’s 2008 rotation. While Dallas Braden may still have potential, he has simply not succeeded as a major league starter, and so now Meyer gets his shot at laying claim to “spring training favorite” for the #5 spot. My hope is that Meyer will mix in more sliders, a pitch that drew good reviews at AAA, to complement the fastball/changeup combination he (like Braden) has relied on quite a bit. Meyer is opposed by Kason Gabbard, who came over to the Rangers in the Eric Gagne deal and who has compiled a 6-1 record for the season.
It’s interesting to see Ellis ahead of Cust in the batting order, tributes both to Ellis’ success against lefties—and specifically Gabbard, against whom he is 4-4 lifetime—and also to Ellis’ recent success in the #5 hole. He’s earned the right to stay there for now.
The lineups:
Kinsler – 2B
Wilkerson – 1B
Young – SS
Sosa – DH
Byrd – RF
Botts – LF
Murphy – CF
Metcalf – 3B
Laird – C
Stewart – LF
Barton – 1B
Swisher – CF
Piazza – DH
Ellis – 2B
Cust – RF
Suzuki – C
Hannahan – 3B
Murphy - SS
