Zito set the tone Thursday, now it's Mulder's turn tonight
What’s wrong with the A’s?
It’s not the bull pen. Barry Zito proved that Thursday night against the Red Sox, combining on a 5-0 shut out with Billy Koch.
Mark Mulder makes a huge start for the Athletics Friday night against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Here’s why.Unless the spin from the Oakland A’s was misleading, Mark Mulder is primed and ready to reclaim his spot in its starting rotation tonight against the Blue Jays.
Pitching coach Rick Peterson challenged Mulder to let it fly in their bull pen session on Tuesday in Boston. Mulder responded and threw the way he is capable of throwing.
The A’s stand at 19-21 heading into tonight’s game, losers of 11 of their last 15 games including last Sunday, to Friday’s Toronto starter Roy Halladay.
The Athletics came out of spring training with arguably the best rotation in baseball. Things haven’t worked out for the five pitchers often enough through the first 40 games of the season, to offset the A’s other problems.
Without a solid rotation the A’s will not be playing in the postseason.
Mulder needs to pitch up to his capabilities. Art Howe needs to see the old Mulder, 94 MPH fastballs, impeccable control, tough two strike pitches, and all the rest of the lefty’s “A” game.
The A’s can’t expect Cory Lidle and Eric Hiljus to carry this staff. It just isn’t fair to put that pressure on the fourth and fifth starters. They are at the back end of the roation for a reason: they are not consistent enough to win against the top teams on a regular basis.
Tim Hudson has been very good, despite his last three May starts. One fully expects Hudson to regain his touch and beat anyone in the league.
You can count on Hudson being in sync very soon, especially with Toronto, Baltimore and Tampa Bay on the horizon for the next 16 games.
This breather in the schedule couldn’t have come at a better time for the beleaguered starters. They undoubtedly are heading for a major confidence boost over the next 17 days against weaker opposition.
Zito has been the stopper during the losing slide, winning against Toronto, New York, and the Red Sox.
So, here’s the plan. Say it with me:
Hudson, Mulder, and Zito.
We have said it many times, as the big three goes, so go the A’s.
The answer to the problem is those three words : Hudson, Mulder, and Zito.
Get off the bull pen’s back. Please.
Now, what else is going on with this team.
First base is a problem. Carlos Pena was on the bubble coming out of Arizona in March. He barely avoided being sent to Sacramento to start the season. The A’s braintrust needs to have the feeling that Pena is progressing. It has been over three weeks since the rookie has looked like he belongs in the majors.
What to do?
Olmedo Saenz can hit fastball pitchers. Scott Hatteberg can go deep in the count, giving the A’s some help if he bats seventh in the order. Both need to play first base, giving Pena a rest. If the platoon works, give Pena some time in AAA to regain his confidence.
Don’t let the kid flounder in the bigs. He needs to play and produce somewhere.
The A’s need to get a legitimate leadoff hitter with some speed to go from first to third on a single, thereby creating more scoring chances.
Captain America, Eric Byrnes can fill the bill. Let him play left, leadoff, and hope for the best, maybe his hustle will be infectious.
Someone needs to step up and by his performance on the field, be a team leader. I call him the anchor of the team. The go to guy the others can depend on. It is easier said then done. Perhaps a healthy Jermaine Dye might be the man, perhaps Eric Chavez in the three hole will live up to his promise as a hitter, or maybe Miguel Tejada will keep his focus long enough for his teammates to respect his game on the field.
Whoever it is, he must fill the role of the departed Jason Giambi sometime soon.
The bull pen doesn’t need seven pitchers. If The big three round into shape, which is the premise of this article, then the extra relievers are just that, extras.
Bite the bullet, option whoever must go to the minors, and bring up another potential stick.
How about Esteban German secondbaseman from AAA Sacramento. German was so late to spring training that he was optioned to the minors before he even arrived in Phoenix.
I haven’t checked lately, but if he is healthy give him a shot to contribute on the big league level. Frank Menechino is hitting in the low .200’s. Randy Velarde needs time off, give the PT (playing time) to German, he’s old enough for a trial at second base.
Here’s the skinny: This team is far from done. I think it is a blessing in disguise that the Angels and Rangers are winning right now. The Western Division will remain within reach if these two teams can beat Seattle next month. Neither the Rangers nor the Angels have shown the ability to hang with the Mariners, so far in 2002. Now the two 2001 doormats are winning regularly, the A’s need them to win next month.
Oakland can’t catch Seattle by themselves. Help from within the division will be greatly appreciated by the Green and Gold.
Because the players are talking about a strike date in August, don’t expect many trades. Why break up your team if the season may end in midsummer?
The A’s will have to get it done with what they have on board, don’t expect any July magic from GM Billy Beane.
Hudson, Mulder, and Zito will carry this club over the season if the season runs its full course. Once the big three do what they are capable of doing, all the other pieces will fall gently into place, and once again prove the old baseball adage, “it is a long season.”
Don’t write the team off on May17th, it’s way too early to panic.
I said the same thing last year and look what happened.
Hudson, Mulder, and Zito, you can count on it.
Tonight’s start for Mark Mulder is the second step back.
Zito’s game on Thursday was the first.
0 comments
Marty,
I think it is too early to put out the call for German. We have to recall that this is a young player who has really only had one superior year. He has electric skills, but there is a real question as to whether he is ready to put it all together at the major-league level. Were the team not in contention for the postseason, it would be another question. But this is a situation where rookie errors would be magnified because of the pennant-race pressures. It does not appear German is ready for that.
If the determination is that neither Menechino nor Velarde is performing up to standard, the other option is Mark Ellis. Ellis is more of a singles hitter, but he would add something solid to the team. He is also far better defensively at this point. German has more potential, but he is less consistent.
After tonight, the immediate change might be to put Byrnes in the lineup at leadoff, then do whatever it takes to make the lineup work around that. This could mean moving Giambi to first base and sending Pena to Sac. Or it could mean making Hatteberg a bench player. This is the time to make a change, and Byrnes is the most obvious possibility.
Casey Tefertiller
I couldn’t agree more.
Brynes brought a breath of fresh Aquarian air infusing the team with much needed energy and spirit. You knew the game was gonna have a diiferent tone the minute he lead off and got on base. He was the much needed fleet footed winged messenger. Leadoff hitters need to get on base, unsettle the starting pitcher, steal, and be able to score on a hit from first. Give him a chance. With the unique planetary alignment in Gemini, it sparked Brynes Mars in Gemini and he was a blaze!
DH Jeremy please get him out of left field.
Give Hatteburg a rest too.
Huddy will have a strong June with Jupiter in Cancer and will be back to form.
Mulder should rise to the occassion Friday, after dealing with this saturn transit–delay does not mean denial, I would have kept him on the dl till now. Zito did a great job tonite and reminded us of our true potential.
Let’s go A’s!
Andrea the Astrologer
Casey, Great comments. I thought German had a shot to make the club in spring if he didn’t run into visa problems, thus delaying his arrival. Byrnes gives this team a spark. They have zero speed without him in the lineup. Maybe his winter ball performance was not a fluke. He should play right now. Do the A’s have any potential bull pen prospects who could be eased in this year? What about Chad Harville?
thanks, Marty
I was in Sacramento a couple of days before they called up Brynes and I do not think that German is anywhere near ready to come up to the big club. He isn’t hitting well at AAA right now, and I don’t think improved pitching and breaking balls for strikes are what he needs to boost his confidence.
Marty, I agree with your take on our starters completely. They need to step up, 4 run innings early in the game are not an acceptable thing if you expect to play plus .500 ball. I think some of the blame lies in the bullpen also, however. Recently when the starters have at least kept us in the game the pen has come in and thrown gasoline on the problem. I think we are carrying to many pitchers and in addition to several being of questionable quality (Holtz & Venafro) I think that spreading the time out among so many guys is hurting some of the pitchers (specifically Tam is not getting enough work and thus his ball is not sinking properly). I think if we can move one or both of these guys it would greatly improve the pen (I would lose Holtz, and possibly Venafro, perhaps replacing both of them with a long man like maybe Fhyrie) of the two (non Magnante) lefties I like Venafro more, but I think we could part with him as well.
Watching the game yesterday (game 3 Boston) was like watching the REAL Athletics, and it has been a while since we have seen them. That team needs to continue to come to the park. Terrence Long was hustling, the pitching was sharp, and the catching was looking good as well. Nice errorless play for the most part, no sloppy mistakes, no lack of hustle.
Finally, as a parting word, how about moving Brynes into CF and putting Long in LF and DHing Giambi? assuming Byrnes can keep his spot up here, I like that outfield a lot better defensively, Long is a better corner outfielder, he seems to pickup the ball better and gets a quicker release on the outfield assist.
Just my 2 cents
Gil in Oakland
As far as the 2b position, I think Velarde has proven he is the man; he’s batting .333 with a reliable glove in the infield. It’s my belief it’s Randy’s job to lose, at least at tjis point.
I like your characterization of seeing the real Atletics last night. I’m going to mention it tonight if you don’t mind, on my show at 2:50 PM. I’ll accept your report on German, I appreciate the feedback.
Marty,
With German, the question in February was how much he improved over the offseason to see if he had a chance at the second-base job, but it was probably a longshot under any circumstances. There are still too many pieces to put in place, and that was one of the reasons for bringing back Velarde.
Harville appears absolutely ready, though there are still a few questions. In the past, he would be lights out in the minors, then come to the majors and sort of change his game. His stuff was so good that minor-leaguers just could not hit it, but in the majors, the hitters are so much better that stuff alone was not good enough to survive. A 97-mph fastball at mid-thigh does not overwhelm great hitters. Harville is throwing more two-seamers now, and that makes him much more effective. If Harville can adjust to the majors, he could be a force out of the bullpen.
Beyond that, Matt Miller is probably the next in line. He is a veteran guy waiting for a shot at the majors. There is not much at the higher levels. The A’s really emptied the top minors with the offseason trades. One guy worth watching is first baseman Larry Sutton, a veteran with a good deal of big-league time. If there is a need a first base — and that may very well be the case right now — Sutton has been hot early in the season for Sac. If Hatteburg and Pena continue to struggle, it might be time to give Sutton a shot. Piatt is another possibility. He has finally started getting hot, and he can play first base.
Another possibility for pitching is Bryce Florie, the former Tiger, who is just returning from injury. Rocky Coppinger is also starting rehab. These guys were supposed to be the insurance if anything went wrong in the majors, and they broke down as well as the big leaguers. Rough season, particularly if Lidle is gone for an extended period.
Casey Tefertiller
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