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July 24, 2012 6:32 AM
By virtue of their 5-4, 12-inning walk-off victory on Sunday to complete the team's first four-game sweep of the New York Yankees in 40 years, the Oakland Athletics are the hottest team in baseball, and former Santa Barbara Foresters pitchers Ryan Cook and A.J. Griffin are big reasons why.
Despite having the lowest team batting average (.228) in the Major Leagues, the A's hold a 51-44 record, including wins in 14 of their last 16 games (25-9 since June 12) because of pitching. The team's 3.37 ERA is best in the American League, even though four of their five starters (veteran Bartolo Colon is the fifth) have only 63 combined career starts, five of which are Griffin's (2-0, 2.70 ERA).
Their bullpen - led by first-year closer Cook, veteran Grant Balfour and left-handed rookie Sean Doolittle, a former first baseman who began pitching just last August - is third in ERA (2.74) and leads both leagues in batting average against (.201).
Since taking over the closer's role from the now-departed Brian Fuentes on June 13, the right-handed fireballer (4-2, 1.70 ERA) has collected 10 saves and was the club's representative at the All-Star Game earlier this month. In that game, he pitched a perfect seventh inning while striking out Bryce Harper and David Wright in the process.
The right-hander, who employs four pitches - including a mid 90's four-seam fastball and a mid 80's slider - has what Oakland catcher Derek Norris calls "filthy stuff."
"Ryan is the ultimate power pitcher," Norris said.
Cook said that pitching for the Foresters and manager Bill Pintard in their 2008 NBC championship season (he did not play in that World Series as he had already signed a contract) was the catapult that launched him on his way.
"That summer, I was at a point in my career questioning why my fastball velocity had dropped since high school," Cook said. "I got drafted (in the 27th round by Arizona), but people were wondering if I was healthy. I was, but I was thinking about pitching too much and trying to put the ball in one particular spot at USC.
"Then I got to Santa Barbara, and Bill, a no-nonsense old fashioned kind of guy, told me just go out there and throw hard which gave me the confidence to become a power pitcher again."
Pintard was proud of what Cook was able to do after that point.
"Ryan just really blossomed, I mean he went from throwing 89 to 95 by the time he signed with Arizona," Pintard said.
Also further enhancing his professional chances in Santa Barbara was Griffin, a right-hander whose next start is Wednesday in Toronto. After being drafted in the 34th round by Philadelphia, Griffin opted to return to the University of San Diego as well as pitch for the Foresters in 2009. While dropping nearly 30 pounds over the course of the summer, he developed a reputation as a big-game pitcher, including a clutch seven-inning scoreless relief stint in a National Baseball Congress World Series playoff game.
"I was pretty (angry) I got drafted so low, so that fueled my desire to work my butt off," he said.
After a solid season at USD, he was drafted in the 13th round by the A's in 2010. He jumped earlier this season from Double A Midland to Triple A Sacramento, where, after an 0-2 start, he allowed only five earned runs total in five games, posting a 1.32 ERA in 341/3 innings.
When A's starter Brandon McCarthy went on the disabled list on June 24, Griffin was called up.
"When the manager called me in to tell me, yeah, I was pretty excited," Griffin said.
After three solid outings against the Giants, Red Sox and Rangers didn't net him a win, he broke through with a 6-3 win over Minnesota on July 13 for the first victory of his career.
"A.J. has always been a gamer, and that even shows when he doesn't get the W," Pintard said
Last Thursday against the Yankees, he pitched solidly until the sixth when he ran into a spot of trouble by allowing two runs and had two men on base. But he struck out Raul Ibanez on a 65 mph table-dropping curve ball to end the inning to preserve a two-run lead of an eventual 4-3 A's win that Cook closed out.
Oakland manager Bob Melvin was pleased with a pitcher by getting ahead in the count while effectively mixing a low 90's fastball with his swing-wrecking curve.
"His strength is having the confidence to throw the ball where he wants to," Melvin said. "I like how he goes after batters like a power pitcher. He spins it really well and if a hitter thinks they can get it, he takes a little more off of it to keep them off-balance."
"I've learned that you have to attack batters with a purpose with a good idea of what you want to do and where you are going to throw the ball," Griffin said. "If a guy hits a home run off of you, there's not much you can do so you have to get over it but also learn from it. Maybe I'll see something in his stance that will help me the next time."
Norris, who caught Griffin in the minors and has been behind the plate in four of his five starts for the A's.
"He tips the balance in his favor by dictating the tempo and throwing strikes early to get ahead in the count," Norris said.
Both players have said that they're enjoying the experience immensely. Griffin displayed this shortly after he left Thursday's game when he high-fived several fans near his team's dugout.
"People pay their hard-earned money to come out to the ballpark to support us," Griffin said. "With the way the economy is now, it's an escape for them to come out and show their love for us. I love this game and I'm having the time of my life, so I just want to share as much of that experience as I can with them."
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