With only a week left in Spring Training, it’s time to start taking a hard look at the Oakland Athletics’ actual results. So far, the front office and coaching staff doesn’t particularly like what they see from their rotation. A’s pitchers collectively have the 26th best ERA in Major League Baseball, and the only American League team to throw the ball worse has been the Baltimore Orioles.
Partly, this can be attributed to a defense that leads the league in errors, as well as a general lack of experience on the part of minor league players. Many of the big league starters are also working on certain pitches, so they may not be concentrating on getting outs as much as they are on adjusting their slider to make it more effective in the regular season.