Dieter Kurtenbach: Why the A´s poor start in Japan was so concerning
(WorldNews Japan)

The A´s won 97 games last year, but instead of thoughts of World Series contention, there was a precarious feeling around the team heading into this season. After all, last year was a surprise - while some thought the A´s would be good, no one saw 97 wins coming. Alas, they arrived - perhaps a year or two ahead of schedule - and now the 2019 A´s aren´t sneaking up on anyone. But Oakland´s starting rotation doesn´t put a scare in anyone, either. And that´s a big problem, even in his era of bullpenning and openers. The A´s can hit and field as well as any team in the game and their bullpen is elite, but those things won´t matter much if you can´t get solid, reliable starting...