Duke, Kid Kilby and a whole messa dots

OAKLAND, Sept. 23, 2009 -- A couple of things I've written about the pitching staff over the past week or so brought a flood of e-mail and posts, so I figured I'd use this forum to address the two most popular topics.

The first, by far: Why no Justin Duchscherer in the piece about next year's starting rotation?

Simple. He's not under contract next year. He's a free agent this winter, and given the plethora of quality young and inexpensive starters in the organization, I don't like the odds of Duke being asked back.

Harsh given what he's going through, sure. But baseball is a business as much as it is a game, and the business side of it says that Duke is a significant health risk in addition to being the highest-paid pitcher on this year's staff (at $3.9 million). He probably won't get that on the open market, and there's no question he's a tremendous pitcher when he's healthy, but I get the sense that the A's are going to move on without him.

By the way, I've been in contact with Justin recently, and he's doing pretty well. Better, at least, and that's great news. In fact, it's all that really matters right now. Baseball and business can wait.

The second-most popular question was in regard to next year's bullpen: What about Brad Kilby?

Also simple: I spaced. He should have been mentioned along with Craig Breslow and Jerry Blevins among the lefty candidates. Breslow's pretty much a lock, of course. Kilby is obviously opening some eyes with his come-and-get-me approach on the mound, but I must have been half-asleep when I neglected to include him. Muhbad.

And now, time for a few wind sprints around The Coli ...

... My boy Shooty Babitt, a Mets advance scout and CSN Bay Area analyst, thinks Kurt Suzuki is the second-best catcher in the American League, behind Minnesota's Joe Mauer. "Might be AS good, defensively," he says. Can't disagree. Pretty amazing for a guy in his second full year in the bigs. Throw in the fact that he has to baby-sit every night and it's even more impressive.

... Just a thought: If your given name were Mack, why would you let the nickname "Shooty" stick? Especially if you're from Oakland? A Mack from the Biggidy-O? Don't change a thing, playa.

... Rough night for young Clayton Mortensen, but did he really deserve to be booed by the home fans after Hank Blalock's homer made it 4-0? Yikes. Tough crowd on Dollar Wednesday. Bad For Ball.
 
... Quick, who leads the current A's roster in starts in the No. 3 spot in the batting order?

... Quick, who leads the current A's roster in starts in the No. 4 spot in the batting order?

... Answer to both: Jack Cust.

... Cust's new walkup music, by the way, is from "On to the Next One" off Hova's new joint. Never would have pegged Big Jack as a Jigga fan. Would have guessed Big & Rich or White Stripes, something along those lines.

... Keeping with the rap theme, new nickname for Rajai Davis: "LL" Why? Because he plays with the kind of joy, verve and nerve you see all the time on Little League diamonds. Sadly, you don't see it in the bigs very often. Check out the McCutchen kid in Pittsburgh, though. He's got it. Kung Fu Panda across the Bay has it, too.

... Mark Ellis got hosed by the official scorer in the fifth inning. Dude tagged him with an error on a throw to the plate after a double. The throw was fine, but it got there at the same time as the runner, and it got past Suzuki. The "error," according to the scorer, allowed the cat who hit the double to go to third. But the guy would have taken third anyway. Oh well, at least it saved Kilby from being charged with an earnie. Can something be Good AND Bad For Ball? Yes it can.

... Apropos of nothing: Baseball finally is bagging the ridiculous coin toss to determine home-field advantage in the event of a one-game playoff, opting for the no-brainer that is giving the hammer to the team with the better head-to-head record.

... Time to get cranking on my game story now. It's one of those typical Rangers-A's games at this point, 9-7 in the sixth with no shape or rhythm to the proceedings whatsoever. Wish me luck.

That's all for now, folks. Peace, black beans over white rice with a dollop of green sauce, and "Shattered" by the Stones to all ...
            
--Mychael Urban