In a surprising move both for timing (mid-season) and "no one really saw it coming," the A’s have fired — technically "relieved of his duties" — pitching coach Curt Young. As Susan Slusser notes, between his time pitching for the A’s and serving as pitching coach for Oakland, Curt Young was the longest serving in-uniform employee in Oakland A's history.
Young is replaced, at least for now, by bullpen coach Scott Emerson with Gil Patterson (the cutter guru) coming in for the weekend to act as bullpen coach. It is not clear why the A’s felt the need to make this move right now, which adds intrigue to the decision to cut ties abruptly with such an organizational fixture.