A rare duo of kids in the A’s rotation?
Posted By Jeff Fletcher on March 27, 2009 6:36 pm
Now that it looks like Trevor Cahill and Brett Anderson could be in the A’s rotation to open the season, I decided I’d check to see how rare it is for a team to have two pitchers start in their major league debuts in the first five games of a season. (I actually got this idea from A’s broadcaster Vince Cotroneo. Thanks Vince.)
Since 1954 (which is as far back as records go for the database I used), it has happened only seven times, and two were the A’s.
1961 Senators (Ed Hobaugh, Joe McClain )
1963 Red Sox (Jerry Stephenson, Dave Morehead)
1967 Mets (Tom Seaver, Bill Denehy)
1978 A’s, (Alan Wirth, John Henry Johnson)
1991 A’s (Joe Slusarski, Kirk Dressendorfer)
1998 Expos (Trey Moore, Javier Vazquez)
1998 Marlins (Rafael Medina, Brian Meadows)
Now, this is an admittedly imperfect list. First of all, a team may have had rookie starters who weren’t making their debuts (if they appeared in relief or the previous September). If a team had early off days, it’s possible that it might not have used all five of its starters until later on. If you expand it to include two pitchers making their debuts in the first 15 games, the list includes 16 teams. (One of them is the 2007 Yankees, who had Kei Igawa and Chase Wright.)
The only one of those 16 teams to make the postseason was those ’07 Yankees. Of the rest, only one other team finished higher than fourth.
Can’t say I’m happy about this. The A’s have upgraded their offense for 2009, and the Angels’ projected weaker team (though still probably the best in the west) opens a chance to win the division and contend in the postseason — but only if the pitching is solid. As good as the prospects are, it seems to me that — even if Duchscherer was healthy — the rotation is simply not strong enough (in terms of MLB ready talent) to do the job.
I hope I’m wrong. Otherwise we may see a half season of good offense and defense but having to play catchup because of the pitching –and the other half, after the fire sales?
Dressendorfer was the first of the A’s highly-touted “Four Aces” draft class of 1990 to make the big leagues. Hard to believe it’s been almost 20 years since Todd Van Poppel, Don Peters and Dave Zancanaro were going to carry the A’s rotation into the 21st century.
Things look bleak for our hero’s . . .
it would be one thing if somebody in the rotation was at least having a good spring or if Duke was healthy (never gonna happen). What till next year for winning I guess, hopefully the offense makes the season entertaining at least.