A’s Young Staff Coming Together

Remember the good old days when Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder and Barry Zito helped the A’s reach postseason on a cosistent basis? Remember that run of 20-straight wins in 2002? Well, I sure do.

It seems so long ago when you think about it, and I know I’m not the only one who misses those days.

The A’s of today, however, are starting to resmble that of the famous ‘Big Three.’ Youngsters like Brett Anderson, Trevor Cahill, Gio Gonzalez and Vin Mazzaro are giving A’s fans reasons to believe that this young ballclub is close to becoming a serious playoff contender.

Just look at Cahill, last season he won 10 games as a rookie. As of now, Cahill has nine wins, and could become the second pitcher in Oakland history to win 10 games in each of his first two seasons (Tim Hudson is the only A’s pitcher to do so).

The A’s young rotation has been an integral part of the team’s success this season. The A’s have chance at their first winning season since 2006.

Of course it helps to have veteran leadership as well. Guys like Ben Sheets and Dallas Braden, who is just 26 years old himself, have played a huge role in Oakland’s young rotation.It also helps to have a guy like Kurt Suzuki behind the plate.

Suzuki, 26, just signed a four year extension that could potentially be worth anywhere from $25-26 million. Suzuki’s offensive abilities are obvious (88 RBIs last year), but his value on defense is even greater. The fact that Suzuki should be behind the plate for years to come, should bode well for the A’s future.