To Rook or Not to Rook (the 2009 Oakland A's)
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By the time my man, your man, the San-Man was done taping incredulous caps and **!?!?$** marks onto his parcel-post delivery, "Is Z *really* THAT aggressive?!?" ... Dr D's roman candle was pleasantly lit.
Wanna get serious, mate? :- ) Step up.
Ya, we know. South'n man hopes Dr D will remember, South'n man don' need him aroun' anyhow.
He remembers, he remembers. But west of the Mississippi, it iss Heil der Bazeball-Reference kommissar. Go for your (stats) luger, Freunde sind.
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::WWII stand-tall, straight-arm sight-fire::
If you are looking for specific examples of major league GM's stuffing rookies into the same rotation together, you don't have to look far. At SSI, we live to serve.
The 2009 Oakland A's handed the ball, out of spring training, to a couple of 21-year-old pure rookies. These pitchers debut'ed together in the majors in Opening Week of 2009. Those being Brett Anderson and Trevor Cahill.
That same 2009 A's team put Gio Gonzalez into the rotation, one month later, on May 3. In arb-clock terms, this would be analogous* to the Mariners bringing Taijuan Walker up after a single month in AAA.
The 2009 A's also gave 17 starts to pure rookie Vin Mazzaro, also, starting on June 2.
In other words, Billy Beane handed the ball to his Hultzen and Paxton out of spring training, and then brought his (very poor) versions of Taijuan and Jose Campos up in May and June. Just enough of a delay to stiff-arm their free agency clocks.
In none of these cases was Beane concerned about dues, about pecking orders, about demonstrated work ethic. Beane simply grokked that Brett Anderson (James Paxton) was a better pitcher than Dana Eveland (Blake Beavan), so Anderson was in there.
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The outcome? The next year, 2010, Geoff Baker interviewed Bill James about the AL West. Remember, the M's were coming off a surprise season.
You like the M's, Bill? "Actually, if the A's young pitchers are going to come through like I think they are, they're more of a problem than the Mariners..."
If, in 2012, Jack Zduriencik shoved all of his young pitching into the rotation, then the 2009-Oakland echo might be merely to sharpen the M's canines for some serious chewing in 2013.
More examples of rookie-bloated rotations later...