by Clive Dahlton
No more than a few weeks away from opening day, no one knows yet who will toe the rubber for the Athletics against the Rangers, however, one thing is absolute, the Athletics have the edge in pitching. When the season kicks off April 1st, and the Athletics, Angels and Mariners clash together to battle for supremacy in the tightly contested American League West, the Athletics depth reigns supreme.
The big three, Barry Zito, Tim Hudson and Mark Mulder headline Oakland's rotation in what is the finest trio to take the hill in recent memory. The team has been shrouded in a cloud of mystery since camp opened. After media day and fans were able to meet and greet the team, the Athletics practice's have been
strictly off limits to only team personnel.
Why the big mystery? No one knows just yet. New manager Eric Graham has been short with the media as well, answering almost all questions about the team with a simple 'yes or no'. No word yet on any cuts from the team, or a finalized roster. The big three are actually the almost
the only certainty on this team as of right now.
Lets take a look deeper into Oakland's
BIG THREE
#75 Barry Zito
Only 24 years old, this southpaw can pound the ball in the strike-zone, however not entirely overpowering. Zito's fasball will hover around 85-90, decent, albeit not strikingly impressive. Zito also has a circle change in his arsenal, along with a 12-6 curve as his strikeout pitch. Zito's success lies heavily upon the 12-6 curve, voted best in a player poll by Major League players.
Texas Rangers shortstop Alex Rodriguez once said "I have never seen anything like Zito's curveball," commenting: "It's such a high one, and it drops three to four feet. You might as well not even look for it because you're not going to hit it."
Zito isn't just known for his buckling curve ball in Oakland either. Nicknamed 'Planet Zito' and 'Captain Quirk', Barry has a bit of an eccentric personality and has become a fan favorite due in part from it.
He carries pink satin pillows on the road, collects stuffed animals, even has a 'good luck' teddy bear, and burns incense to relax. In his free time, Zito jams out to songs he wrote on his guitar, surfs, does yoga and follows zen. Zito has been seen doing yoga poses in the outfield durin batting practice, and meditates before games. Last season, Zito espoused a universal life force that he credited with his midseason turnaround.
If Oakland is serious about winning this division, and making an extended run into October, Zito will need an encore of his 2001 performance, and maybe even more. Oakland's title hopes run through Zito.
AWARDS
1999 – Pac-10 Pitcher of the Year
1999 – First-Team College All-American
1999 – Pac-10 Conference All-Star
2000 – AAA All-Star
#15 Tim Hudson
Oakland's certifiable Ace last season, Tim Hudson finished sixth in Cy Young voting, posting an 18-9 record, with a 3.37 ERA, whiffing 181 bats in the process. Hudson might be in line to take the mound on opening day with his performance last year.
Hudson had to earn his way to the big leagues, almost every scout said he was "undersized" and didn't have a chance in hell,
despite finishing his high school career with a 12–1 record and a 1.78 ERA. He was not drafted after his senior year and was not given a scholarship to a major college.
When Hudson cracked the teams roster three years ago, in his rookie season, Hudson had an 11–2 mark and finished 5th in the AL Rookie of the Year vote. He won 20 games the following year despite posting a dismal 4.14 ERA.
Hudson attended the University of Auburn for two years, posting records that are still alive today. In 1997, he played all 65 games for the Tigers while both pitching and playing outfield. During the season, he hit .396 with 18 bombs and 95 ribbies. As a pitcher, he tallied a record of 15-2 with a 2.97 ERA to earn SEC Player of the year and consensus All-American honors.
That year, Hudson was drafted by Oakland in the 6th round of the 1997 amateur draft, and now, four years past, Hudson is line to have the best year of his career, as an intricate cog in Oakland's rotation.
#20 Mark Mulder
Mark Mulder attended Michigan University before being drafted by Oakland with the second pick in the 1998 Major League draft.
Mulder burst onto the scene in 2001, posting a record of 21-8 with a 3.45 ERA and 153 strikeouts. Mulder finished second in the Cy Young voting that year, narrowly bested by Roger Clemens, and many agree unfairly so. The ONLY knock on Mulder that year was his strikeouts not being as high as Clemens, other than that Mulder actually had better stats, walked fewer batters, had a lower ERA, won more games and actually bested Clemens having six complete games to Clemens zero. Some believe because of the team Clemens played on [New York Yankees] gave him a
slight edge in the voting, perhaps a sympathy vote due in part of what happened to New York last year.
Hudson also led the Major's in wins last year,[21] and now joins Zito and Hudson as three of the best pitchers in the game today, all on the same team. Get your scorecards ready folks- this trio will be striking out batters up and down the board.
