Dallas Braden's new "bad-ass" A's take on an Indians team that was, last night anyway, just "ass-bad." Are the 11-7 A's just rolling lucky, or can they avoid the craps for a while longer?
Certainly, as good as the A's rotation is it won't continue to have 4 of its starters post ERAs between 1.82 and 2.77. The A's are 10-0 when they score at least 4 runs because their pitchers have been unbelievably stingy. Oakland is 1-7 when they score 3 runs or less and the problem isn't so much the winning percentage, but rather that it has happened 8 times in 18 games.
Today, Brett Anderson faces off against Fausto Carmona, whose career has seen him be a failed closer, a terrific starter, an injured starter, and now a starter who has been difficult to hit but prone to wildness. In 3 starts this season, Carmona has allowed just 12 hits in 20 IP, but he has walked 12 while striking out only 9. Carmona has, however, walked fewer each start than in the one before so the A's might want to go ahead and bring their bats to home plate after all.
