PHOENIX -- Sean Gallagher, also known as The Best Player the A's Got For Rich Harden, is not going to be in the rotation. Manager Bob Geren announced the rotation after today's game and he said Gallagher is now "competing for a bullpen spot."Gallagher was penciled in as the No. 2 starter when spring training began. He has top-of-the-rotation stuff, good velocity and movement, but clearly something is missing.
"What I was looking for from him this spring was to attack the strike zone a little better," Geren said. "I was looking for his stuff to be a little crisper."
Gallagher had a 5.40 ERA this spring, which certainly isn't terrible, but the A's brass was suspicious that he pitched poorly against major leaguers and racked up good numbers against minor leaguers. His best outing was a relief performance against the Royals after they'd already scored eight runs.
So Josh Outman gets the No. 5 slot. Outman -- the guy who gave up those first eight runs against the Royals, ironically -- said even he was a little surprised to get the job because all spring he had been considered by the media as a darkhorse. Memo to Outman: Don't believe what you read.
"During the spring I was reading some of the articles and I wasn't seeing my name very much, so I wondered what I was competing for," said Outman, who came from the Phillies in the Joe Blanton trade.
So here is the A's rotation, in the order they will pitch: Dallas Braden, Trevor Cahill, Dana Eveland, Brett Anderson and Josh Outman. They have combined for 63 major league starts (59 of them for Braden and Eveland).
So now you know why the Angels aren't panicking with their injury-riddled rotation.
