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The Oakland Telegraph
1 May 2027
Dickson's fine form rewarded, but rest of A's pitching looks frail
By Luke Ingdodgy, shaky pitching correspondent
Karl Dickson said he was over the moon as he today received the coveted American League pitcher of the month award for April from MLB commissioner Rob Manfred-Mann. The 25-year-old youngster pitched like a rotation ace should, as he shut down opposition pitchers to earn a 4-0 mark with a superb 0.89 ERA from 30.1 innings.
Dickson's fine form contributed to a month of contrasting fortunes for A's pitching coach Ace Onballs. The imaginary Onballs has earned rave reviews for his patient and diligent work developing Dickson over the last few years, but has simultaneously come under fire for the sub-standard performance of Oakland's other hurlers so far this season. Several of them seem to be taking part in a closely-contested game of "who can underperform by most compared to last year". Current leader in that game is lefty Rodney Stewart, whose 0-3 record and 4.76 ERA from three starts is well down on his 16-5, 3.41 displays of last year. Bill Williams and his dirty 10.13 ERA get a special commendation for unstinting awfulness.
Beane needs Onballs to find the answers to these pitching problems, fast. After a nice opening week, the A's have slumped, and have now staggered to a 9-9 record, which puts them in the unusual surroundings of third place in the AL West. Their overall team ERA is 3.18, which is best in the American League, but most of the credit for that goes to Dickson. The other pitchers need to step up to the plate, er, mound, if the team is to challenge for a "five-peat".
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