http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/02/28/as-pick-brett-anderson-as-opening-day-starter/ Baseball. Baseball. And then a bit more baseball. Tue, 21 May 2013 15:38:58 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/02/28/as-pick-brett-anderson-as-opening-day-starter/comment-page-1/#comment-449267 Thu, 28 Feb 2013 19:22:45 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=300607#comment-449267 True. I don’t think it’s universal. That’s why I put “cautionary” in there. It can happen. But like you said, it isn’t ironclad. But I think Gio is some kind of freak, he’s got the easiest motion for a guy who throws 95 I can recall seeing. At least the A’s got some good guys in those trades, like the Haren trade, which brought them Anderson (and Car-Go).

]]> http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/02/28/as-pick-brett-anderson-as-opening-day-starter/comment-page-1/#comment-449199 Thu, 28 Feb 2013 18:17:03 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=300607#comment-449199 I agree we should probably be cautious with expectations, but the Verducci effect isn’t ironclad. It didn’t affect Cahill or Gio.

]]> http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/02/28/as-pick-brett-anderson-as-opening-day-starter/comment-page-1/#comment-449123 Thu, 28 Feb 2013 17:25:54 +0000 http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/?p=300607#comment-449123 Brett Anderson is a cautionary tale for those who believe that the A’s young pitchers will automatically progress from last year’s workload increases. Anderson, just 25 a few weeks ago, had his highest IP total as a rookie 4 years ago, at 175. Since then the decline in IP has been precipitous: 112, 83, 35 last year, a pattern consistent with classic Verducci effect workload increase leading to injury. Now fully recovered, he hopes that Parker, Griffin, and Milone will escape the pattern this year, or if not, that Beane has enough in the way of reserves to fill in behind those guys. Despite last year’s 94 wins, another playoff run seems unlikely for the A’s, though I’d love to see it happen.

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