Swingin' A's | An Oakland Athletics Blog

A’s Trevor Cahill & Gio Gonzalez Next To Be Locked Up?

Joseph Lopez — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 16:12:25 +0000

For most of this season, the Oakland Athletics have seen strong performances out of their young pitchers, and while the A’s have Brett Anderson locked up for four years—possibly six with options—they still have work to do with their other young players. Guys like Trevor Cahill, who has thrust himself into CY Young conversations with his performance this season, has molded himself as one of top young arms in the league. Aside from Cahill’s growth and maturation, A’s south-paw Gio Gonzalez has been solid all season long as well.

This season Cahill and Gonzalez have a combined win total of 29. Earlier in the season, I had predicted that Anderson and Cahill would combine to win 25 or more games in 2010, but Anderson’s trips to the DL this season put a hamper on that prediction. The A’s, however, must be happy about a rotation that includes Anderson, Cahill and Gonzalez—all players capable of winning 15+ games a piece. Oh, and let’s not forget the veteran of the staff, Dallas Braden. At 27, Braden (9-11, 3.47) has been a key part of the A’s starting rotation this season. Braden, who is eligible for arbitration following this season, threw the MLB’s 19th perfect game on May 9, 2010 (Mother’s Day). It’s expected that Braden will make more than the $420K he’s collecting this season.

This season has been all about the pitching staff, and by the looks of it, these young arms should be with the team for a very long time. Like Anderson, Cahill and Gonzalez have shown enough growth and maturity to receive long-term deals as well. A’s GM Billy Beane is a smart guy, so let’s hope he doesn’t wait around too long before getting these guys signed.

Below is a quick look at each of the A’s current starters this season:

Player	G	GS	CG	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	W	L	ERA
Anderson, B	14	14	0	78.2	79	26	14	55	4	6	2.97
Braden, D	25	25	5	161.0	150	62	32	97	9	11	3.47
Cahill, T	25	25	1	165.2	123	50	54	94	15	6	2.72
Gonzalez, G	29	29	1	179.2	149	63	77	153	14	8	3.16
Mazzaro, V	21	18	0	115.1	119	55	48	75	6	8	4.29

A’s Still Chasing Texas

Joseph Lopez — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 16:00:03 +0000

With less than one month to go before the regular season ends, the Oakland A’s are currently behind the first-place Rangers by 7.0 games. The Rangers (75-62) are 3-7 over their last 10, and are currently on a four-game skid. Meanwhile the A’s are 5-5 over their last 10. The Rangers’ lead in the west is still very comfortable, but the A’s are still hanging around in the division.

The A’s young core of arms is getting better with each passing day, and as a result of their growth, the team owns the league’s 4th best ERA (3.53). Guys like Brett Anderson (4-6, 2.97 ERA), Dallas Braden (9-10, 3.23 ERA), Trevor Cahill (15-6, 2.72 ERA), and Gio Gonzalez (13-8, 3.12 ERA) have Oakland in a decent position to make a late season run for the division. Whether or not they’ll actually come close to catching Texas, however, hinges upon their offensive production.

The A’s have scored 555 runs, which ranks 25th in baseball. As a team, the A’s are currently hitting .255/.322/.375 and have hit just 88 home runs this season—the second fewest in baseball. In fact, the A’s only have three players with home runs in the double-digits: Kevin Kouzmanoff (14), Kurt Suzuki (12), and Jack Cust (10). And of those three players, only Cust has a batting average over .260 with a .276 mark entering Tuesday.

1B Daric Barton, who has been one of the few consistent players on offense, owns the highest average on the team with a .283 average. On the season, Barton has performed quite well. Through Monday, Barton has hit .283/.400/.418 with 8 home runs and 47 RBIs. Aside from the players mentioned above, the A’s have not seen much production from their offense this season.

If the A’s are serious about catching the Rangers, the offense needs to step up and produce. The A’s still have a shot to catch Texas, albeit a very small shot, so it’s literally now or never.

A’s Demote Vin Mazzaro To Triple-A

Joseph Lopez — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 03:57:01 +0000

The Oakland A’s made some unexpected news today when they decided to demote starting pitcher Vin Mazzaro. The move is unexpected seeing that the A’s simply could’ve decided to skip Mazzaro’s next start rather than demote him.

With Oakland now 7.0 games back of the slumping Texas Rangers for first-place, the team’s decision to option Mazzaro could be an indication that the team feels they can still catch Texas.

In order to do so, however, they’ll need all the help they can get.