Baseball News - Big 3 down to 1; Mulder now a Card



Baseball's winter meetings in Anaheim keep getting very interesting, and very surprising. As expected, most of us knew Tim Hudson was on the A's' trading block due to Oakland's financial troubles, but nobody, and I mean nobody, saw Mark Mulder, the team's second best pitcher, getting traded. However, that day has come.

On Saturday, he was sent to the St. Louis Cardinals. Though the deal has not been finalized by the commissoner, it is expected the A's will receive pitchers Danny Haren, said to be a better prospect than the Dodgers Edwin Jackson, as well as reliever Kiko Calero, and catching prospect Daric Barton, one of St. Louis' best prospects. Mulder got off to a very quick start in 2004 with a 3.13 ERA, but it dropped in the second half of the season to a mediocre 4.43. He was the runner-up in 2001 AL Cy Young voting to Roger Clemens. With both Hudson and Mulder gone, the A's rotation is left with Barry Zito and Rich Harden, as well as 3 youngsters. Kiko Calero has had two great seasons thus far in the Majors, posting a 2.82 ERA in 2003 and a 2.78 ERA this past year. Calero will bolster the front end of the Athletics' bullpen greatly. In Haren, Oakland gets a hard-throwing 24-year old who went 4-4 in '04 with a 4.50 ERA. However, he only gave up 2 runs in 8 1/3 IP in the postseason. Daric Barton is said to be St. Louis' best position prospect, and could start the season with the Vancouver Canadians, Oakland's Single-A affiliate. In Mulder, the Cards get a proven ace, though inconsistent, who went 17-8 in 2004 with a 4.43 ERA. Over his career, he's compiled a 3.92 ERA with a 81-42 record.

As Oakland's Big 3 continues to be dismantled, here's hoping for A's fans that a new one will form with 2002 AL Cy Young winner Barry Zito, young stud Rich Harden, and highly-touted prospect Joe Blanton. It is not written in stone, but the future of the Oakland Athletics looks very bright, believe it or not. As for the Cardinals, they have finally found the ace pitcher they have been looking for ever since Matt Morris fell of the face of the Earth. Let's not forget this Cards team got to the World Series, only to be swept by the Boston Red Sox, simply due to their lack of pitching. Will that be a priority this time around? We shall see.




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