Tyson Ross Gets Promoted
Maybe I am right?
The other day when discussing the flipping of Dallas Braden and Brandon McCarthy in the rotation I was suspicious. I leaned towards it being a political move but I added this comment at the end where I wrote,
“Now if it is true that Braden does in fact need an extra (extra extra) day of rest, that is a bit disconcerting – why on April 5 are you not ready to pitch when you last pitched March 30th six days ago?”
Clearly I was a bit skeptical. Something seemed a bit off by this last minute change in the rotation. Today Susan Slusser on the A’s Drumbeat broke this news on us:
“I’ve just had it comfirmed: Tyson Ross is getting called up to join the A’s tonight in Toronto…
…It’s not clear, though, if Ross will start. I’m told that tonight’s scheduled starter, Dallas Braden, is fine. But I’m not sure what that means, precisely.
The only other issue I’m aware of with the pitching staff is in the bullpen, where Brian Fuentes has been unavailable for a few days with a blister on his left middle finger. He played catch yesterday and said it went well. He could be backdated on the DL only to Saturday, and that would be an awfully long time to be out with a blister, so I think that seems a little unlikely. Maybe there’s a mystery ailment somewhere, or maybe the A’s just want a fresh arm on the staff.
Braden was the logical assumption after his initially scheduled start was pushed back from last night to tonight, initially without any explanation, which seemed unusual. Braden told us yesterday that he was asked if he’d like an extra day to work on things and he jumped at it because he wanted to refine his slider, which he ditched in favor of a curveball briefly during the spring.”
However reports are still saying Braden is fine. Buster Olney just tweeted:
“Dallas Braden is starting for the Athletics today…”
To me there must be an injury somewhere. Brian Fuentes‘ blister does seem an unlikely candidate for a DL stint. Craig Breslow has not been hot, and perhaps there is a reason Brad Ziegler and Michael Wuertz have not gotten the call often in this first week. We will know soon exactly what is going on, but it is a bit of an earlier debut for Ross this season that I had anticipated and/or hoped for…
The Todd Van Poppel Rookie Card Retirement Plan 
Wasnt Ziegler warming up around the 6th or 7tth yesterday but Garen decided to keep Mccarthy in? Would Ross, given his power, be a candidate to become the closer?
If Ziegler was warming that somehow eluded my notice but if he were I wonder of Wuertz perhaps isn’t up to snuff?
I wouldn’t want to put Ross in as closer. He certainly has the stuff to excel in the role but I think he could be a very good starter and seldom does a team go with five starters all year long. If this isn’t an injury situation (and I’d be VERY surprised if it wasn’t) I’d rather have Ross with the River Cats starting. Thanks for commenting stop by again!