"There's no such thing as pitching being too young. People said that in 2000. We weren't supposed to be in it because we had Hudson, Mulder and Zito in the rotation. No one knew how good they were. Give me young talent over experience any day of the week." — A's General Manager Billy Beane, mid-November.
Actually, there is such a thing as pitching being too young. The A's are perilously close to that line if not over it, threatening all that Beane accomplished in the offseason.Scouts say that the A's current group of young starters is deeper and potentially better than the Hudson-Mulder-Zito trio, which is great news for the team long-term.
Alas, the A's are trying to win this season.
Left-hander Dana Eveland, the team's most experienced starting pitcher, has made only 35 career starts. Righty Justin Duchscherer, the most accomplished, has made only 27 — and missed much of the spring with a tender elbow.
Beane conceded this week, "Our pitching is a concern because it's very young. That's why Duchscherer is so important to the whole thing." But even if Duchscherer recovers, he is injured too often to trust as an anchor.
No, this isn't 2000, when the A's won 91 games to capture the AL West, beginning a run of five postseason appearances in seven years.
Hudson, Mulder and Zito had veteran protection that season, their first together in the majors; Gil Heredia pitched 198 2/3 innings, Kevin Appier 195. What's more, Hudson was not exactly a novice. The previous season, he had made 21 starts.
Mulder and Zito served complementary roles in 2000 — Mulder posted a 5.44 ERA in 27 starts; Zito was dominant, but made only 14 starts. The A's new wave of pitchers, whoever they turn out to be, will be asked to do much more in '09.
