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The Oakland Telegraph
21 June 2032
Vasquez joins rotation as Beane attempts to address sluggish rotation
By Hywel Heedoo, prospects anticipation correspondent
It has been a difficult season for the A's rotation so far this season. Possibly the pressure of being a clutch of all-stars has got to them (it hasn't). Perhaps they've over-performed in the past (no way) and simply aren't as good as everyone thinks they are (yes they are). Maybe we're judging them on sample sizes which are far too small (definitely). Maybe this is just a computer game (unarguable). Whatever the reason, Oakland GM Paulie Beane has finally made a move to try and tighten things up. Turning to an untried prospect may not sound like a hugely sensible move in these circumstances, but that's what he's done nonetheless.
MLB official statistics show that the A's have now returned to their traditional position, aided by their ballpark, of having the lowest team ERA in the American League. But it's still not great by their standards at 3.85. The last time they finished a season with an ERA that high was in 2021, the last time the club failed to qualify for the playoffs. They finished 76-86 that season and, while the Oakland lineup looks too powerful to let the team slip to that level this time, a distinctly unimpressed Beane has acted to improve matters.
Last year's draftee reliever Esteban Mendez returns to the minors. In 12 appearances he is 1-0 with a 4.61 ERA, but an unsustainable .212 BABIP has helped him out big-time, and his 4.44 FIP betrays his true performance levels. "Bless him, he's tried hard", said Beane, patronisingly, to reporters yesterday. "He'll be back here before too long." Weak of stamina starter Carl Bates, who, by the way, continues to disappoint all the prospective girlfriends he has liaisons with, reverts to his preferred starter role. BNN's #3 prospect, lefty Anastasio Vasquez, is promoted into the fifth starter role on the roster and will make his major league debut later this week.
Oakland beat divisional rivals Houston 4-2 in Minute Maid Park yesterday, with Luis Trujillo smacking his 17th homer of the year, but lost the three-game series 2-1. That leaves the A's 38-27 on the season, just 2 games clear of the Astros. LA Angels have fallen back to 32-32 but can't be written off, even by a newspaper as cavalier and bonkers in its opinions as this one.
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