In the trade that sent Mulder to the St. Louis Cardinals back in 2004, the A’s acquired pitchers Dan Haren and Kiko Calero and then-minor league prospect Daric Barton.

In retrospect, the deal wasn’t all that bad. In fact, you could call it a definite win for Oakland. Mulder, who was a perennial Cy Young contender in most of his seasons with Oakland, fell apart in St. Louis; Mulder made 32 starts in his first season with the Cardinals, but made only 21 starts over the course of the next three years.

The A’s, meanwhile, got three solid seasons out of Calero and saw Haren develop into an All-Star. Haren, like Mulder before him, was traded to a team in dire need of an ace. The Diamondbacks in exchange for Haren, rewarded the A’s with a slew of prospects. That, however, is a different story. (more…)

Entering the season, the A’s had hoped their defense would be a reliable source of support for the team’s young starting pitching. While the Athletics boasted one of the better pitching staffs in the American League, the team’s defense, to say politely, wasn’t up to par.

All politeness aside, the A’s defense proved to be downright atrocious in 2011. In addition to the numerous injuries the team sustained and the inconsistencies on offense, the A’s had to deal with the defense’s miscues. In the early goings of the season, the team’s young pitching kept the team in contention, but after the injuries to Dallas Braden, Brett Anderson, Tyson Ross, and a few others, the A’s quickly sank to the bottom.

The struggles on offense and defense ultimately proved to be too much for the A’s this season. Over the course of the season, the Athletics committed an AL-leading 124 errors (2nd in MLB) and posted a team .979 fielding percentage.

The inconsistencies on defense is just another example of how 2011 proved to be a Jekyll and Hyde season for Oakland. In 2010, the team prided itself on its strong defense. The A’s committed just 99 errors and posted a .984 fielding percentage that season. When you typically think of the A’s, you usually associate the team with having a strong pitching staff and a strong defense. (more…)

Despite entering the year with one of the best starting rotations in baseball, the Oakland Athletics somehow placed third in the AL West in a very disappointing 2011 season. Oakland’s young arms, considered to be among the best in the business, entered the season with a ton of hope and potential, but injuries to several of the staff’s starters and inconsistencies on offense derailed Oakland’s 2011 campaign.

Oakland’s staff bolted to success during the first-half of the season, despite losing Dallas Braden and Brett Andersonto injuries. The A’s starting pitching depth proved to be extremely helpful this year, as Brandon McCarthy and Gulliermo Moscoso stepped up big this year in Oakland.

For Oakland, McCarthy and Moscoso definitely proved to be valuable pieces of the rotation. McCarthy, who battled shoulder problems in 2010, stayed relatively healthy this year en route to a 9-9 record and a 3.32 ERA in 170.2 innings pitched. Moscoso, meanwhile, was nearly just as good, posting a 8-10 record with a 3.38 ERA in 128.0 innings pitched this year.

Heading into to next season, both McCarthy and Moscoso should be included in Oakland’s starting rotation based on their performances this year. As Oakland learned this season, having too much starting pitching isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It actually comes in handy. (more…)