Dan Straily Headed Back to Oakland
By Sean Davis
Reports this morning from the O.co Coliseum and the Athletics clubhouse by CSN’s Casey Pratt are that Dan Straily is back with the Athletics and is expected to take Brett Anderson‘s spot in the rotation Monday night versus the Angels. Susan Slusser reported that Anderson was wearing an ankle brace today, so odds are that he’ll be headed for the 15 day DL.
August 8, 2012; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Dan Straily (67) pitches the ball against the Los Angeles Angels during the fourth inning at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Needless to say this is a disappointing development, not because I’m a firm believer that Dan Straily needs a lot of work harnessing his “stuff” in Triple A, but because this is another ill effect from the tiny injuries that I believe will always plagued Brett Anderson. He never really missed time aside from the start in Tampa Bay where the injury occurred, he made his next start in Boston with poor results. I don’t believe this is the type of injury that will become a recurring issue like we’ve seen with Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors next door at the Oracle Arena. At least not in the sense that there will always be ankle problems to deal with, Anderson seems likely to injure himself much in the same vain again, that’s just what he does.
Straily has certainly excelled in Triple A thus far, in his 3 starts he’s 3-0 with a 0.96 ERA in 18.2 innings pitched. He has 20 strikeouts and just 6 walks. Excellence from Straily in the minors is nothing new, but transitioning that success into the major leagues has been something of a struggle. He made one start for the Athletics this year before Bartolo Colon was reinstated. He struck out 11 in 6.2 innings while allowing just 2 ER in a winning effort.
Straily figures to face the Los Angeles Angels on Monday night. He faced them twice last year and pitched 4.2 and 6.2 innings in those two starts, he allowed a total of 8 ER in the 11.1 innings, gave up 15 hits, and struck out 13. Straily did face Josh Hamilton and the Texas Rangers as well, and Hamilton took him deep as well. The Angels have struggled quite a bit this season, but they have a lot of offensive potency so Straily will have to be on his game to keep their lineup down.