A's Gearing Up For 2003

A's Rotation Looks To Keep Team In Contention

The A's enter the 2003 season with a rotation full of healthy arms. Led by Jason Schmidt and Tim Hudson. The A's look to have a rotation that will keep them in games during the season. New additions include two young studs in Carlos Zambrano and first round draft pick Brandon Webb. Carlos Zambrano came over from the Twins in exchange for Carlos Lee. Carlos Lee would have been a free agent after the 2003 season and the small market A's would have had a tough time signing the star outfielder. Randy Wolf looks to have lost his spot in the rotation after the acquisition of Carlos Zambrano. Look for the A's to try and move Wolf before the start of the season. Wolf went 5-13 with a 4.55 ERA last season. Last season, only Schmidt had a winning record. Expectations are high this season for the rotation since the offense will not be the strength it has been in past seasons.

A's hope new bullpen creates late inning success.

The A's are excited about their new revamped bullpen. Last year batters hit .270 against the A's relievers. Many believe that the bullpen was over worked after the long innings they compiled due to the poor performance of their starters. With the addition of Ayala, Linebrink, and Bradford, the A's now have 3 relievers to help protect Isringhausen. The A's also added lefty specialists Shouse and Hitchcock who they hope will be an improvement over last years Groom and Fassero combination.