News
Anderson's debut to kick off home slate
Oakland (2-1) vs. Seattle (1-2), Friday, 7:05 p.m. PT
Brett Anderson is ranked by Baseball American as the No. 7 prospect in the game. (AP)
By Mychael Urban / MLB.com
04/09/09 9:00 PM ET
In an effort to illustrate just how polished a pitcher Brett Anderson is for his age, A's pitching coach Curt Young told a story about a recent bullpen session with his prized 21-year-old lefty. They were discussing a specific hitter that Anderson soon would be facing, and Young explained exactly where the A's like to attack the hitter. In this case, it was with inside fastballs, a little higher than the knees. "So, Brett nods his head, get back on the mound and throws four pitches in a row, right where we talked about," Young said. "Then he looks at me and says, 'Like that?'" Will Anderson be able to hit his spots with such ease in his big league debut? That answer comes on Friday, when he squares off against lefty Ryan Rowland-Smith of the visiting Mariners in Oakland's home opener. Anderson was scheduled to debut on Thursday in the finale of a four-game series at Angel Stadium, but the game was postponed in the wake of Halos pitcher Nick Adenhart's death early Thursday morning. Adenhart, who threw six shutout innings against the A's on Wednesday night, was a passenger in a car that was struck by an allegedly drunk driver who fled the scene on foot. The Angels faced Anderson twice during the spring. On Feb. 26, in his first career Cactus League outing, Anderson came on in relief and gave up two runs on three hits and two walks in one inning. On March 15, Anderson all but sewed up a spot in the starting rotation with four shutout innings, holding the Halos to three hits without a walk. "That guy looked good," Angels outfielder Gary Matthews Jr. said. "He pitched high in the zone, had a good slider. You can see he's got good velocity and an idea how to pitch. He's impressive for a young guy." No need for "young guy" qualifiers, Young suggests. Anderson is impressive, period. "Aside from how we like to work guys on the other team and some approach stuff, there's not a whole lot I can tell him about pitching," Young explained. "His dad's a college coach [at Oklahoma State University] who knows a lot about pitching, and you can tell Brett's been around the game a long time. He just has a feel for it. There's guys who've been in the big leagues for years who probably don't have the kind of feel he does. "You hate to put a ton of pressure on the kid, but he's got a chance to be pretty special." Anderson, who relies heavily on a four-seam fastball that he can spot all over the strike zone but also throws a curveball, slider and changeup, went 3-1 with a 2.83 ERA in eight games this spring, including six starts. A's manager Bob Geren raves about Anderson's poise, as does catcher Kurt Suzuki, but Anderson doesn't seem the type to believe his own hype. His expression rarely changes, suggesting that he might actually find the whole big league experience a little underwhelming. "Obviously it's going to be exciting, making my debut," Anderson said. "But I try not to get caught up what people are saying about me, one way or another. I just go out and throw when they tell me to throw. "It's gotten me this far, so I figure I'll stick with it." Pitching matchupOAK: LHP Brett Anderson (Major League debut)
Anderson, ranked by Baseball America as the top prospect in the A's organization and No. 7 in all of baseball, earned a spot in Oakland's rotation in his first trip to big league Spring Training. Anderson was a busy young man in 2008; he split the regular season at Class A Stockton and Double-A Midland, pitched in the All-Star Futures Game at Yankee Stadium, played for Team USA in the Beijing Olympics, and finished the year on Triple-A Sacramento's playoff roster. A second-round pick of the D-backs in the 2006 First-Year Player Draft, he was acquired by Oakland in the December 2007 trade that sent Dan Haren to Arizona. SEA: LHP Ryan Rowland-Smith (6-3, 3.55 ERA in 2008)
The reliever-turned-starter begins the '09 season exactly where he ended the '08 season -- as a member of the five-man rotation. The 26-year-old from Australia hopes to pick up where he left off. He was the Mariners' most effective starter the final six weeks of last season, reeling off eight consecutive quality starts during August and September. Rowland-Smith must keep the ball down and change speeds to be effective. He had a 1-1 record and 3.94 ERA in four appearances against the Athletics last season. Dribblers ...
Geren wasn't ready to announce how Thursday's postponement will affect lefty Josh Outman, who was scheduled to start on Friday, but he suggested that the rotation might be juggled. ... Righty Justin Duchscherer, who underwent elbow surgery on March 31, told MLB.com on Wednesday that he's "doing well" but likely won't start a throwing program for three weeks. ... Utility man Bobby Crosby and catcher Landon Powell were the only two position players who didn't see any action in the first two games of the season. Before Wednesday's game, Geren said he didn't know when he'd be able to work Crosby, who pinch-ran and played an inning in right field on Wednesday, into the starting lineup. "I don't have an exact date," said the skipper. "We'll see how it goes. Same with Landon." ... Third baseman Eric Chavez was scheduled to get a day off Thursday, with Nomar Garciaparra set to start in his place. Thursday's postponement changed the plan; Chavez will be at the hot corner in the home opener. ... A pregame ceremony in honor of the four Oakland Police Department officers recently killed in the line of duty will start at 6:30 p.m. The A's will wear "OPD" patches on the sleeves of their home white this season to further honor the officers' memories. Tickets
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• KTRB 860, KDIA 1640 (Español) Up next
• Saturday: Athletics (Dallas Braden, 0-1, 4.50) vs. Mariners (Felix Hernandez, 1-0, 1.13), 1:05 p.m. PT
• Sunday: Athletics (Trevor Cahill, 0-0, 3.60) vs. Mariners (Erik Bedard, 0-0, 5.40), 1:05 p.m. PT
• Monday: Athletics (Dana Eveland, 0-0, 4.50) vs. Red Sox (Jon Lester, 0-1, 9.00), 7:05 p.m. PT
Mychael Urban is a national writer for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
