Mazzaro Set For Season Debut

Vin Mazzaro, who just so happens to be one of my new favorite A’s players, will be making his 2010 seasonal debut against the Texas Rangers tonight. Yesterday, the A’s faltered against former-Athletic (also one of my favorite players), Rich Harden. Harden’s fastball isn’t what it used to be, but it consistently hit 93 mph on the gun last night. The A’s hitters looked silly and dazed, but they will look to improve tonight against Texas pitcher, Scott Feldman (1-2, 4.50 ERA).

Mazzaro, who went 4-9 with a 5.32 in 17 starts last season, will be filling in for the ailing Justin Duchscherer. Duchscherer, who existed his last start against the Jays, has inflammation in his hip, but will not make the trip to dreadful DL. Needless to say, Mazzaro will be making most of this opportunity, and will hopefully make a lasting impression during his time up in the big leagues. Mazzaro has experienced success in the minors, and has the talent to be a starter in the MLB. It is only a matter of time before Anderson, Cahill and Mazzaro begin to emerge as the new “Big Three” in Oakland.

In other news, Eric Chavez and A’s owner Lew Wolf have made generous donations to “Feed the Children Caravan.”

Also, I’d like to take a few moments to discuss how better former-A’s ace, Barry Zito has looked this season for the Giants. Zito is now 4-0 (first time in his career to start 4-0), and has an ERA less than two (1.53). More importantly, Zito is starting to work deeper into his starts: he’s tallied 35.1 innings thus far in five starts. More impressive, however, is that Zito is holding opponents to a meager .167 batting average. Right now, Zito is looking like the Zito of Old. With Zito pitching well right now, the Giants rotation has to be one of the best, if not the best in the league.

Just a thought: When will Oakland call up Michael Taylor? How about Chris Carter?