The Dawn Of a New Era; Buster in the Bigs

...I should have titled this "The Dawn Of an Inflated WHIP," because Buster "But I Hardly Know Her" Posey begins his Major League pitcher-destroying career. Buster, for those who aren't aware, is the Giants top prospect, and being a catcher makes him the best home-grown position prospect since Williams and Clark. After hitting .349/.442/.552 in 172 at-bats so far in AAA Fresno with 6 home runs and 32 RBIs, he will add a much needed offensive weapon that the Giants lineup lacks. Sources say Bochey plans on starting him 5 nights a week, but at the same time is committed to starting Bengie Molina to catch a majority of those games. Here are a few scenarios:

Perfect Outing from Braden, Sparks Media Nation-Wide

With 9 innings pitched, 0 opponents allowed on base, 6 punch outs and a Mother's day where everything went right, Dallas Braden pitched his one and only perfect game. Only the 19th time in Major League history this achievement has been attained and it is even more impressive to see it happen against a deadly lineup such as the Rays. This game has brought attention from all corners of the nation, proving that there is something special brewing here in the bay area. With an already dominating pitcher across the bay (Tim Lincecum), the A's have been in the shadows of the San Francisco Giants terrific pitching lineup.

As of today, the tides may have turned.

The A's, like I mentioned earlier, have a good set of young, unproven pitching. Now they have proven one thing, and one thing only: they are dangerous. They pitch through lineups like a hot knife cuts through butter. Their team ERA is above average (3.90), but they can compete against some of the biggest bats in the majors. Take this series for instance, Braden threw against a fast team averaging 5.63 runs a game (most in majors) as well as putting up the fourth best stolen base numbers (29) and a team with the fifth most walks (126). To compare, the A's put up 17th, 16th, and 24th in those same categories. The Rays are an overall lights out team with the best record in baseball, putting up a 22-9 record (now second best to the Yankees 21-8). The A's "green" team has made an example of themselves to all American League teams. The message they are trying to send: we can beat any of you.

The A's are only a game behind the Rangers for the Division lead, but if they can play like they have this weekend, they may just see themselves going to the playoffs for the first time since 2006. I don't know if this inexperienced team can hang on and produce for the rest of the season, but the perfect game finally has the media on their side.

Look out baseball, there's a new team in town. They are the Oakland Athletics, and they will beat you.

Youth in the Bay-Pitching

Well, it's baseball season, and most of you out there are enjoying every minute of it. I thought I'd make a fan post on some of the young talent currently playing for the Giants or A's, or some upcoming talent that we will see in the bigs very soon.

Well obviously for the Giants, they possess some of the best young pitching in the game. Let's start off with with a two-time Cy Young winner in his first two full seasons, two time all-star Tim Lincecum. There isn't much to say about this young man, at 25 he has put together a reputation that no batter wants to face. Drafted out of the University of Washington as 10th overall by the Giants, he would begin his amazing career as a starting big league pitcher. He has a 2-seamer that cracks mid 90's, a deadly slider, an amazing curveball and he owns the best, most effective pitch in baseball: his changeup. He is a strikeout pitcher, breaking the franchise record of single season strikeouts his first full season (265 to lead the majors), and putting up 261 to lead the majors the following year. He has done it all, being compared to Randy Johnson, Nolan Ryan, and Roy Oswalt, he has a very bright future with the Giants.

Another top pitching guy goes by the name of Matt Cain. Much like Lincecum, this dude can pitch lights out and put together a very impressive outing whenever he steps on the mound. He throws a hard fastball, curveball, slider and a changeup. With his career in the shadows of an electric Lincecum, Cain has been in the background and has sometimes been overlooked. In 2009 he attended his first All-Star game, where he joined Lincecum as the only Giants representatives. Cain could be any other team's ace, but is the Giants #3 guy, showing how much talent the Giants pitching staff has.

On the other side of the bay, there is a handful of solid, young pitchers in Oakland. One standout for the Athletics is a 24-year-old Gio Gonzalez. He is putting together a good year so far and leading the team with a 3-1 record and 27 strikeouts. This is his third season and is showing great improvement on the mound against a tough AL West division. He, along with Brett Anderson put some solid arms in the starting rotation.

Some of the top  pitching prospects in the bay area are on the verge of making it to the bigs. Guys known as Madison Bumgarner, and Tyson Ross are the two organizations biggest arms on the fence between AAA and the big leagues. Madison is a smart pitcher who has yet to turn 21. He pitched very well in A San Jose last year and earned himself a promotion to AA Connecticut where, collectively he posted a 12-2 record with a 1.85 era. He was invited to the Future Stars game last season and also was voted to be on the EAS Mid-Season All-Star team. He is now in AAA Fresno and he hopes to get the nod sometime later this season.

Tyson Ross is a young relief pitcher who throws hard consistent strikes over the plate. He comes in posting an era between 2-3, but he still takes a lot of pressure off the defense with his ability to strike out any batter in front of him. He was named the A's 6th best prospect by Baseball America, and is was recently promoted to the A's bullpen.

So there is a quick insight on the bay areas finest, young pitching talent. The giants have a great few guys in their starting five now, while the A's have a very strong and extremely young set of arms on the mound, Eventually, all of these pitchers will be playing on the same field against each other in a bay-bridge series (that is if Billy Beane doesn't trade them all away for more prospects)

Be sure to comment on any other pitching prospect you feel will become a vital part of bay area pitching below.

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The blog about bay area sports teams and sports news! We mainly cover the San Francisco Giants, Oakland A's, San Jose Sharks, San Fransisco Forty Niners and the Oakland Raiders. Feel free to become a member so you can enjoy all that this site can provide in your interest in sports talk.

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-Rusty
Lead Blog Editor