TheFightinPhils
02-09-2005, 02:52 PM
OAKLAND -- A's manager Ken Macha had a quick and definitive answer when he was asked what he'll remember most about the 2004 season.
"The eighth inning," he said.
Not the eighth inning of any particular game, mind you. He was talking about the many, many eighth innings that led -- directly and indirectly -- to an A's loss.
It was a not-so-subtle indictment of an Oakland bullpen that was among the worst in baseball and shouldered much of the blame for the A's seeing their string of four consecutive playoff appearances come to an end.
The final meaningful game of the season provided a microcosm of the previous six months. Needing a win on Saturday to force a winner-take-all game against the visiting Angels on Sunday, with the American League West title on the line, the A's watched the 4-2 lead Barry Zito handed the bullpen after seven strong innings quickly turn into a 5-4 loss.
All three of Anaheim's runs came in the eighth inning, and the blown save was Oakland's 28th of the season. The A's 55.5 percent conversion rate on saves (35-for-63) was the third worst in the Majors.
"The bullpen," general Billy Beane said the day after the season ended, "didn't work."
What it did do, though, is provide Beane with a very clear objective going into the offseason. The bullpen had to get better, and by all accounts, it has.
In the trades that sent Tim Hudson and Mark Mulder to Atlanta and St. Louis, Oakland added two relievers, in Juan Cruz and Kiki Calero, who give the A's bullpen something it sorely lacked in 2004.
"With the exception of our closer, we didn't really have any power arms," lamented Macha. "And we didn't have many guys who can go for more than an inning and on back-to-back days."
Cruz and Calero both throw in the mid- to high-90s and have shown the durability Macha desires throughout their careers.
"I've talked to several people about those guys since the trades were made," Macha said last week, "and I like everything I'm hearing. Obviously Billy had something very specific that he had to get in return to give up players of Huddy and Mark's caliber, and it looks like he got what he wanted."
The hard-throwing righties won't be the only new faces in the bullpen. Closer Octavio Dotel, long man Justin Duchscherer and setup specialists Chad Bradford and Ricardo Rincon are the only holdovers from last season -- out are Jim Mecir, Chris Hammond and Arthur Rhodes -- so there figures to be another opening should the A's decide to stick with the seven-man bullpen they went with for most of last season.
The favorite to win that job is Huston Street.
Street, who was drafted in June 2004, quickly shot through the minors and finished the season closing for Triple-A Sacramento in the playoffs. He did nothing to diminish his stock while lighting up the Arizona Fall League, and Beane said Street, a 22-year-old righty, might be ready for a role in Oakland sooner rather than later.
"I don't want to say that he is ready," Beane said, "but we hope he's ready. And from what we've seen, he looks ready. I'm just hesitant to say we're counting on him."
Others in the mix will be Japanese import Keiichi Yabu and minor league free agent Seth Etherton, who will be competing for a spot in the rotation as well, and it might not be long before A's fans get another look at Jairo Garcia, who started last season at Class A and reached the big leagues in August before struggling against the top level of competition.
"Jairo has some work to do," Macha said. "He's got a great arm, but he needs to learn some things, and one of the things he needs to learn is how to react to getting hit. He tore through the minors so fast, and when he got to the big leagues and got knocked around a little, he didn't handle that too well."
Another reliever to keep an eye on is Chris Mabeus, who went 7-2 with a 3.00 ERA for Sacramento last season.
"I like the team we're taking to Spring Training across the board," Beane said. "But if I had to pinpoint one area that we've improved most significantly, I'd have to say it's the bullpen."
http://oakland.athletics.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/oak/news/oak_news.jsp?ymd=20050208&content_id=940855&vkey=news_oak&fext=.jsp
"The eighth inning," he said.
Not the eighth inning of any particular game, mind you. He was talking about the many, many eighth innings that led -- directly and indirectly -- to an A's loss.
It was a not-so-subtle indictment of an Oakland bullpen that was among the worst in baseball and shouldered much of the blame for the A's seeing their string of four consecutive playoff appearances come to an end.
The final meaningful game of the season provided a microcosm of the previous six months. Needing a win on Saturday to force a winner-take-all game against the visiting Angels on Sunday, with the American League West title on the line, the A's watched the 4-2 lead Barry Zito handed the bullpen after seven strong innings quickly turn into a 5-4 loss.
All three of Anaheim's runs came in the eighth inning, and the blown save was Oakland's 28th of the season. The A's 55.5 percent conversion rate on saves (35-for-63) was the third worst in the Majors.
"The bullpen," general Billy Beane said the day after the season ended, "didn't work."
What it did do, though, is provide Beane with a very clear objective going into the offseason. The bullpen had to get better, and by all accounts, it has.
In the trades that sent Tim Hudson and Mark Mulder to Atlanta and St. Louis, Oakland added two relievers, in Juan Cruz and Kiki Calero, who give the A's bullpen something it sorely lacked in 2004.
"With the exception of our closer, we didn't really have any power arms," lamented Macha. "And we didn't have many guys who can go for more than an inning and on back-to-back days."
Cruz and Calero both throw in the mid- to high-90s and have shown the durability Macha desires throughout their careers.
"I've talked to several people about those guys since the trades were made," Macha said last week, "and I like everything I'm hearing. Obviously Billy had something very specific that he had to get in return to give up players of Huddy and Mark's caliber, and it looks like he got what he wanted."
The hard-throwing righties won't be the only new faces in the bullpen. Closer Octavio Dotel, long man Justin Duchscherer and setup specialists Chad Bradford and Ricardo Rincon are the only holdovers from last season -- out are Jim Mecir, Chris Hammond and Arthur Rhodes -- so there figures to be another opening should the A's decide to stick with the seven-man bullpen they went with for most of last season.
The favorite to win that job is Huston Street.
Street, who was drafted in June 2004, quickly shot through the minors and finished the season closing for Triple-A Sacramento in the playoffs. He did nothing to diminish his stock while lighting up the Arizona Fall League, and Beane said Street, a 22-year-old righty, might be ready for a role in Oakland sooner rather than later.
"I don't want to say that he is ready," Beane said, "but we hope he's ready. And from what we've seen, he looks ready. I'm just hesitant to say we're counting on him."
Others in the mix will be Japanese import Keiichi Yabu and minor league free agent Seth Etherton, who will be competing for a spot in the rotation as well, and it might not be long before A's fans get another look at Jairo Garcia, who started last season at Class A and reached the big leagues in August before struggling against the top level of competition.
"Jairo has some work to do," Macha said. "He's got a great arm, but he needs to learn some things, and one of the things he needs to learn is how to react to getting hit. He tore through the minors so fast, and when he got to the big leagues and got knocked around a little, he didn't handle that too well."
Another reliever to keep an eye on is Chris Mabeus, who went 7-2 with a 3.00 ERA for Sacramento last season.
"I like the team we're taking to Spring Training across the board," Beane said. "But if I had to pinpoint one area that we've improved most significantly, I'd have to say it's the bullpen."
http://oakland.athletics.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/oak/news/oak_news.jsp?ymd=20050208&content_id=940855&vkey=news_oak&fext=.jsp