March 30, 2011; San Francisco, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Dallas Braden (51) delivers a pitch against the San Francisco Giants during the first inning at AT

It’s really hard to imagine Braden especially wearing another uniform, but the chances of that happening are very real now.  Braden was never the most gifted pitcher, but his grit and determination along with a heart the size of Stockton always kept him in games.  He went from garbage time long reliever, that guy who you never wanted to see unless the game was way out of reach, to the emotional leader of the A’s pitching staff.  It was an unexpected, yet extremely gratifying transformation to witness.

Of course Braden will be most fondly remembered for two events during his time in Oakland.  The obvious one was the Mother’s Day 2010 perfect game Braden threw against the Tampa Bay Rays that tugged ever so hard on the heart strings of A’s fans everywhere.  I remember being at my own mother’s house, and seeing the ESPN text that Braden had a perfecto through 6… my heart skipped a beat.  I thought to myself, “That’s pretty cool, but no way he’ll get it done.”  Then alerts after the 7th came along, I started to get nervous.  I told my mom we had to put the game on but wasn’t at liberty to say why.  After the 8th inning, I frantically tried to call my fiance (now wife) and tell her to turn the game on and not ask questions.  I sat there infront of the television, strangely nervous yet confident about what was happening.  I watched with tears in my eyes as Gabe Kapler grounded to Cliff Pennington, on to Daric Barton to record the 27th out.  I was speechless, it was amazing.  And I still feel those same emotions just thinking about it as I write this.

The other notable event had little to do with the game itself, but with Braden fighting for the respect that he and the Athletics deserve.  The epitome of “have” Alex Rodriguez, on the team that epitomizes that same thing disregarded etiquette and jogged directly over the pitcher’s mound after the 3rd out of an inning had been recorded.  Braden didn’t take kindly to that blatant disrespect by A-Rod.  He shouted at him to get off his mound, and was pompously brushed off with a waive of the hand.  Braden wasn’t backing down, and continued to shout in his direction.  The confrontation made national headlines, Braden stood his ground against the high and mighty Alex Rodriguez and lived to tell about it.

Jun 24, 2011; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Oakland Athletics pitcher Joey Devine (33) delivers to the plate during the eighth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies defeated the Athletics 1-0. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-US PRESSWIRE

Joey Devine was the main piece acquired in the trade that ended Mark Kotsay‘s tenure with the Athletics.  He might be best known for giving up the walkoff home run to Chris Burke in the 18th inning of a game in the 2005 NLDS for the Braves, or maybe for his microscopic 0.59 ERA in 2008 with the Athletics.  Either way Devine’s story of talent and potential not met because of injuries is a pretty heartbreaking one.  He’s battled back from Tommy John surgery, only to require another.  This one was enough to end his Athletics career.

Both Dallas Braden and Joey Devine are good people, easy players to root for.  Maybe a change of scenery will be what is necessary to get their careers back on track.  Or maybe the A’s will bring them back on minor league contracts that will allow them to gradually work their way back to the Major Leagues.  Either way, they will always have fans in Oakland, and we’ll be rooting for you all the way (as long as you don’t sign with the Giants, Angels, Rangers, Yankees, or Red Sox).

May 31, 2011; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Brett Anderson (49) pitches against the New York Yankees during the first inning at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jason O. Watson-US PRESSWIRE

As evidenced by the Washington Nationals steadfast declaration that they will shut down their ace Stephen Strasburg once he reaches the 160 inning mark, teams are downright terrified of working their young hurlers too hard.  What the Nationals have decided to do is happening regardless of the fact that the they are steamrolling the NL and may be favorites to reach the World Series this year.  Strasburg already has undergone Tommy John surgery since his epic 14K MLB debut, but that seemed to be due to a flaw in his supposed perfect mechanics and not workload.  The A’s made a bold decision in the beginning of 2009 when they opted to put young stud starters Brett Anderson and Trevor Cahill right into the starting rotation as 21 year olds.  That decision may have cost the A’s somewhat in the long run, Brett Anderson went from a fireballing lefty hitting the upper 90′s with his fastball to a lefty with an average fastball and a breaking ball that lacked the bite it once had.

It all came to be as Anderson’s left elbow began bothering him during the 2010 season, he missed significant time then and most A’s fans probably knew what was coming eventually.  On June 5th 2011 Anderson took the mound at Fenway Park against the Boston Red Sox, he pitched 5 innings and allowed 5 ER, and he hasn’t appeared in a game for the Athletics since.  Anderson underwent Tommy John surgery soon thereafter and the process of rehabilitation was about to begin.

It has been a fairly smooth recovery from the surgery when you compare it to the struggles witnessed by A’s fans for pitchers Josh Outman and Joey Devine who had the same surgery and took much longer than the normal recovery times.  The surplus of starting pitching the A’s have right now made it easy for them to make sure Brett Anderson took his time.  That time is just about up though as Anderson is finishing his rehab stint with the Sacramento Rivercats and could make his 2012 A’s debut within the next week or two.

Expectations for Anderson should be tempered as he’s still going to be fine tuning his command and still getting readjusted to pitching in the Major Leagues.  I would expect the A’s to refrain from pushing him far beyond the 100 pitch mark in any of his starts.  Anderson showed massive potential at times and he’ll recapture that at some point, but perhaps not before 2013 though.  For the rest of 2012 though, Brett Anderson will serve as a complimentary piece to a strong but pretty worn down pitching staff.  It may turn out that Anderson’s value to the 2012 A’s may come in the fact that he can help take the load off of Jarrod Parker, Tommy Milone, and Dan Straily by making a handful of starts and keeping the A’s in games while he’s at it.

July 24, 2011; Bronx, NY, USA; Oakland Athletics relief pitcher Joey Devine (33) pitches during the eighth inning against the against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees defeated the A

Last night, the Athletics revealed that their right-handed reliever Joey Devine will undergo surgery on his right elbow. The surgery, which is yet another setback for the reliever, will be performed today by Dr. James Andrews in Pensacola, Fla. according to the associated press.

Devine, 28, underwent Tommy John Surgery back in 2009. Since the surgery Devine has had some trouble finding his way back to Oakland’s bullpen. The A’s would love to have Devine healthy and ready to go, but the team knows that injuries are part of the game.

In 2008, Devine went 6-1 with a 0.59 ERA in 42 appearances for the Athletics. After his impressive start with the Athletics, Devine’s career hit a few roadblocks. The biggest one, though, came in 2009 when the right-hander had Tommy John Surgery.

He made a brief comeback with the A’s last season, going 1-1 with a 3.52 ERA in 26 appearances. This year, though, has been a frustrating one for Devine, who has not yet made an appearance with the A’s.

Tuesday’s surgery could potentially cost Devine all of 2012, but more details involving the procedure will not be known until later today.

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