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Michael Duca's A's and Giants Q&A
By Michael Duca May 31, 2009 |
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Sportstalk: The A's who got swept on Friday in a double dip got simply upended at the Ball Park in Arlington on Saturday 14-1. A's starter Brett Anderson got lit up for two homers and pitched four innings, six runs on eight hits. He drops to 2-5, is the weight of being a rookie on a team that's struggling getting to Anderson. Is he pressing and does he force himself to succeed? I don't think you can "force yourself to succeed." Success has many definitions -- in Anderson's case, it is to learn something from every start. He needs to find more and better ways to pitch, to get outs, and to pitch economically. Most young pitchers find themselves in an unfamiliar situation in the big leagues -- they've been able to rely on their stuff for so long, and have dominated at most levels, but when they get to the big leagues, everyone can catch up to a fastball, everyone can hit a hanger, and you don't get away with much of anything. As a result, many pitchers find themselves looking around the infield at a bunch of the wrong uniforms...and they spend time wondering "how in the heck did this happen?", instead of "how do I get out of this?" As a result, they often try to throw harder, relying on stuff instead of pitching. Anderson needs to learn from situations, to get better with each start, and not worry about being on a struggling team. That's why he has the opportunity to learn his craft at the big-league level at his tender age -- because he's on a struggling team. Sportstalk: On the offensive side Jason Giambi is hitting .219, Matt Holliday is at .264, Orlando Cabrera is hitting .236 using Saturday as an example lots of experience penciled in the line up by A's manager Bob Geren but no return for the money? Those numbers are pretty offensive, that's true. Holliday is starting to come around -- maybe he's figured out that if he hits well, he'll get to Boston sooner. Even if he goers in a trade, though, the question then becomes "what do the A's most need, and can they get immediate help?" The answer to the first part of that is, more accurately, "what don't they need?" -- right now, I think it's an honest assessment of the team to say they could use help at any and every position except catcher. Of course, any time a team loses three straight and gets blistered by a 14-1 score, they are going to look awful, and anemic -- but this A's team really is rather anemic at this point. Even if all of their players plyed at the top levels of their careers, they still wouldn't be a serious contender...so I guess you can make the case that the A's aren'd getting enough, or any, bang for their bucks right now. Sportstalk: Giants catcher Bengie Molina has just taken a beating and a beaning this week. Manager Bruce Bochy has decided to rest the tried and true black and blue catcher while back up Eli Whiteside will catch a few more games. How long has this decision been over due? Nah. Bengie is a warrior of the first stripe. Also, he's been a loyal soldier for the Giants, and it's a contract year, so the team kind of owes it to him to play and rack up the best numbers possible, to improve his market value. Eli Whiteside is enjoying his major-league cup of coffee right now, but it's not likely that he will ever be more than a backup catcher, and the Giants simply can't afford to surrender ANY offense, let alone the heart of their offense, for any extended number of games. Bengie will end the year having caught 130-135 games, unless he's injured. |
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