How Does the A's Pitching Staff Deal With the Loss of Brandon McCarthy?

First and foremost all of our thoughts are with Brandon McCarthy and his family. Based on a statement released by Billy Beane and the Athletics, it appears McCarthy is in stable condition.

In the past thirty days the A's have lost their two most veteran pitchers on the staff. After losing Bartolo Colon, it was easy to say things were okay as Brett Anderson stepped up and took on the role as the ace of the staff. Now that McCarthy appears to be out as well, the big question is who will step up and provide the depth that McCarthy added to our staff?

The current staff looks like this:

- Brett Anderson
- Jarrod Parker
- Tommy Milone
- AJ Griffin

The easy choice is to convert Travis Blackley back to a starter and have him make four starts in September. Based on the current schedule, he is likely to face the Angels, Orioles, Yankees and Rangers, respectively.

While he's pitched well this year, I'm not thrilled on throwing him out against teams with extremely potent offenses.

One other possibility to fill the void is the "king of strikeouts", Dan Straily. People are clamoring over the fact they want to see him pitch, but we must realize that he is a rookie pitcher that will exceed his innings pitched in a season. The Dan Straily from three months ago might not be the Dan Straily of September.

In short, while the pitching staff has fallen on hard times there's enough viable replacements to make 4 starts in September and help carry the Oakland Athletics back to the playoffs.

Posted in: A.J. Griffin,Brandon McCarthy,Dan Straily,jarrod parker,Oakland Athletics,Tommy Milone