Athletics - Justin Duchscherer -P

		Athletics     Justin Duchscherer -P
		Mar 13, 2012  8:45 pm EST

Manager Bob Geren said that Justin Duchscherer's simulated/intrasquad game has been shifted from Tuesday to Wednesday, strictly to keep him on what will be his regular four days' rest during the season. There's no need for alarm, despite Duchscherer's injury history. I spoke to Duchscherer this morning, and he told me this is the best he's ever felt the day after a first spring outing throwing to hitters. (He threw a 30-pitch batting practice yesterday.) Geren said he really could have gone either day, but pitching coach Curt Young had suggested keeping him on his normal rest. If things stay that way, that means Duchscherer most likely could be in line to be the No. 3 or 4 starter, either the first week of the regular season or, if he needs one extra start in the minors to get ready (an idea he's not big on), the second week. Opening Night starter Ben Sheets is working Monday, Dallas Braden is throwing a simulated/intrasquad game at Papago Park on Tuesday, and then Brett Anderson is scheduled for Wednesday against the Giants while Duchscherer has his intrasquad game that day. It gets complicated from there because Anderson would be looking at a March 22 start after that and there's an off day the 23rd if the team wants to get Duchscherer more non-Cactus League action. (Though if he's to be ready the first week, you'd have to think game action would be preferable at that point.) There's an extra day built in for rest for most of the A's starters, so Duchscherer probably could be slotted there in front of Anderson, giving Anderson and then all the subsequent rotation guys a breather. If they did that - and this is sheer speculation - then Duchscherer's first Cactus League start would be March 22. Again, it's nothing that has even been discussed with the media; the team is in outing-to-outing mode with Duchscherer because they need to make sure he comes out of everything fine. I'm just doing the math, and assuming full health and taking into account that Geren said that Young wants Duchscherer to stay on four days' rest. Plus, that extra day off for starters had been built in at the start of the spring. Really, it's just fun to guess. But it seems as if most years, things change so much the final three weeks of spring training, it's kind of silly to speculate. Oh, well, too late. The A's beat the Giants 8-7 here in Scottsdale; Gio Gonzalez's spiffed-up changeup looks good - good enough to send a couple of Giants' bats flying out of their hands. He allowed two hits and a walk in three innings and struck out three. Mark Ellis had three hits, including a double, and drove in two runs, and Daric Barton had two more hits after a three-hit day yesterday. In the A's other game, at Phoenix Muni vs. San Diego, Oakland won 10-9 in 10 innings. Rajai Davis had three hits, including a triple, and Travis Buck hit his second homer of the spring and Dallas McPherson his first.

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