A's vs. Mariners April 5th - April 8th

[Providence A's]

Sheets vs. King Felix on opening night in Oakland.

Braden vs. Snell on Tuesday
Duke vs. Rowland-Smith on Wednesday
Anderson vs. Fister on Thursday

Gio Gonzalez is the A's 5th starter.

[DirtyKash]

Brett Anderson is the #4?!

[MarinersFan87]

Looks like Fister will be the M's 4th starter to begin the season.

[Providence A's]

Brett Anderson is the #4?!

I guess. He'll be a #1 in the future obviously. but they must want the more veteran players ahead of him. He'll probably get a lot of favorable match-ups at least and that would increase his fantasy value IMHO...if you care about that stuff.

Looks like Fister will be the M's 4th starter to begin the season.

I haven't heard of him. Is he any good? I know Lee is starting the season on the DL, but outside of Lee and King Feliz the M's rotation doesn't look very strong. Are they really expecting a lot out of Snell and hyphenated named guy? I'm not being sarcastic, but asking for your assessment.

[missionhockey21]

Prov, did Cahill make the pen or is he being sent down to AAA?

[DirtyKash]

Cahill was placed on the disabled list yesterday because of a bum shoulder.

[Kingdom]

I'm taking the odds that Snell gets blasted.

[Porter]

I haven't heard of him. Is he any good? I know Lee is starting the season on the DL, but outside of Lee and King Feliz the M's rotation doesn't look very strong. Are they really expect a lot out of Snell and hyphenated named guy? I'm not being sarcastic, but asking for your assessment.

Fister is a play to contact type pitcher works fast and throws a ton of strikes (had a .9 BB/9 in Tacoma and it was something around 1.5 in the ML). Rowland-Smith is a really solid pitcher that is coming into his own and is an ideal #3 pitcher. Snell reminds me of Piniero pre-Duncan way too much. Bedard comes back in July and could potentially be a solid pitcher. Vargas has potential as a back half or the rotation starter but is too inconsistent.

[Kingdom]

Snell couldn't hack on the pirates in the junior league, what's the likelihood that he performs reasonably well in the AL? The defense is about the only thing working in his favor.

[Porter]

His problems are more mental than anything. His stuff is decent. But hes not a #2 starter. Not on any team. Id pefer RRS over Snell.

[MarinersFan87]

Yeah, Snell is a high upside 4/5 guy. He was never going to suceed in Pittsburgh, he openly admitted he was contemplating suicide as a Pirate, then told them not to call him up when he was with their AAA club. He needed a change of scenery and pretty much got put in the ideal situation coming to Seattle, where there is little to no media pressure. If he doesn't work out the M's have plenty of back of the rotation arms.

[realmofotalk]

Snell needed a change of scenery and pretty much got put in the ideal situation coming to Seattle, where there is little to no media pressure.

You must be confusing Seattle with Pittsburgh as the city with little to no baseball media pressure. The last time I checked, Brad Lincoln has yet to be run out of town for not measuring up to Tim Lincecum.

[Providence A's]

A's lost 5 - 3 behind 4 errors. They only gave up 2 earned runs and had rallied back from 3 down to tie the game.

[MarinersFan87]

You must be confusing Seattle with Pittsburgh as the city with little to no baseball media pressure. The last time I checked, Brad Lincoln has yet to be run out of town for not measuring up to Tim Lincecum.

I think Snell's early success plagued him with unreal expectations of being some sort of rotation savior. He was not that type of pitcher and obviously doesn't have the mental stability to turn in solid outings every 5 nights. Media pressure might have not been the best phrase, there was probably more pressure from the fans.

[Porter]

Props to Dallas Braden with his stellar performance tonight.

7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 10 Ks