Game 76: Worst fears for Porcello realized, Anderson delivers for A's

-Well, I feared this start was going to come for Porcello. I am by no means suggesting that I expect Porcello to continue to have a 4.1 IP, 9 H, 2 BB, 0 K, 5 ER stat line. But, I do expect his ERA to continue to rise into the 4's, and it is time for Leyland to get him some rest. We have a favorable schedule coming up with some off days and the All Star break worked in, and I think it will be extremely beneficial for the young guy to skip a start or two over this stretch. Considering how he has pitched recently, I think it is the best thing for our team both in the short term and long term. All of his peripheral numbers suggest that he is basically a 4.5 ERA-type pitcher this season. Sit him for a start, let him clear his head and rest that golden arm before the second half of the season, and let's see if he can turn those numbers around into his favor. His month of April was rough, and he turned it around with a 1.50 ERA for the month of May. Similarily, he can turn this poor end in the month of June to a good month of July.

- Too early still to judge Ni. He gave up a home run to Sweeney but it was not a bad pitch. I would have preferred it to be down and away rather than down and into Sweeney's sweet spot but sometimes you have to give the hitter credit. He threw 27 pitches and got 21 strikes. His curveball needs work. But, he is better than Nate Robertson.

-Freddy Nolsi went two innings without allowing an earned run. He threw strikes in 20 of his 30 pitches and in 4.2 innings up here, he has only had 1 BB. If he keeps that up, he has a shot to stick here for awhile. Of course, stick him in a tight game and everything might change. Like Ni, it is too early to make an assessment on Dolsi's stay up here this year.

-I didn't think Brett Anderson was overwhelming, but the kid does have good stuff. A little wild? Sure. And we helped him out a few times swinging at fast balls out of the zone (they must have watched Pudge do that too much in the Houston series). But, whenever you face a top prospect like he was or someone with the natural "stuff" that he brings, sometimes you are the team on the other end of a good pitching performance. Anderson is a potential #1 ace in the future.

-With that said, we were not as patient as we should have been tonight and we did help the kid out more than we should have. Everett was the only guy with 2 hits, and even he missed out on a big opportunity in the 6th inning to get us within 2 runs. And, 14 SO's is unacceptable. Tip your cap to the A's? A little bit. But, I didn't see Randy Johnson on that mound. Way, way too many K's. That stops tomorrow.

-I mentioned in my pre game post that Anderson was worst against left handed batters. Yet, we only had one left handed batter in the lineup and Granderson always struggles against lefties. Sometimes going against the stats work. Sometimes it doesn't. Today, it didn't work.

-So, about that terrible offense for Oakland... ouch. Galaragga will be good tomorrow and those bats will show their true colors. I think.

-And, completely OT, Tim Lincecum is amazing. 3 CG in his last 4 starts, and he has an ERA of 2.37 that is as legit as it gets. Verlander, are you taking notes? That can be you.

-I'll be back tomorrow with a preview of the A's starter tomorrow, Gio Gonzaelez. To be brief, he is a young lefty who has been terrible ths season and has the stuff to be better. Sound familar? I also could disect the A's batters to see how Galaragga might attack them tomorrow if there is interest in a highly analytical analysis.

-Finally, here is the minor league recap, courtesy of Detroit Tigers Weblog. Quick recap: every team in our organization lost tonight. As they say, it was just one of those nights.