2010: The Second Coming of Oakland's Big Three?

Joseph Lopez by Contributor Written on August 29, 2009
BOSTON - JULY 06:  Starting pitcher Brett Anderson #49 of the Oakland Athletics celebrates his shutout against the Boston Red Sox on July 6, 2009 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. The Athletics defeated the Red Sox 6-0. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

Pitching wins games. Surround that pitching with offense, you win championships. Well, the A's are certainly on the right track.

Though their staff is extremely young and relatively inexperienced, the A's will head into the 2010 season with a bright future. Mainly because they've got a young, talented, bright rotation in the works.

In the offseason prior to the 2009 season, General Manager, Billy Beane decided to see what would happen if he surrounded the pitching staff with good hitting. It didn't quite work out the way is was supposed to, mainly because the GM's timing was off by one year.

However, the intentions by the GM were relatively good. Beane wanted to give his young staff some room for error while they made the transition into the big leagues. And even though the moves didn't pay off this year, the A's should have their heads up high heading into next season.

Despite boasting the League's youngest rotation, the A's haven't been a complete disappointment on the pitching side of things. Brett Anderson, Trevor Cahill and Vin Mazzaro are certainly making themselves look like the second coming of Oakland's "Big Three."

Anderson, Cahill and Mazzaro are joined by Gio Gonzalez and Dallas Braden who make up the rest of Oakland's 2010 projected (very early projection) rotation. Angels Manager, Mike Soscia has given the A's credit on building around their pitching, which he thinks will ultimately help the team become a perennial playoff contender once again.

If by some miracle, Eric Chavez can salvage his career by becoming a full-time DH, he might be able to contribute to the A's 2010 season next year. One thing is for sure, he won't be preventing Brett Wallace from developing as a third-baseman, since he said he'd be more than willing to help Wallace during his development.

As for the rest of the offense, if the A's introduce Cris Carter, among other highly touted young studs next season, then A's have a shot at making some more noise.

Anderson, Cahill, Mazzaro, and Gonzalez are all very young and for the most part still inexperienced. Still, though, they've worked hard and have shown improvement. And that's all you can ask for.

Vote Now! - Author Poll

Will 2010 be the year Anderson, Cahill and Mazzaro "break out"?

  • Yes
  • Still too early to tell
  • No
vote to see results
Results - Author Poll

Will 2010 be the year Anderson, Cahill and Mazzaro "break out"?

  • Yes

    53.1%
  • Still too early to tell

    34.4%
  • No

    12.5%
  • Total votes: 32
(0)
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written on August 29, 2009 Preview/Prediction

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