Oakland Athletics Fan Blog

Calm Mortensen pitching for his 2010 fate

SEATTLE — The past few months have been a head-spinning experience for A’s right-hander Clayton Mortensen, but you’d never know it from observing his clubhouse interactions.

A 24-year-old rookie, he is to hyper what former A’s outfielder Eric Byrnes is to calm. There’s an economy of movement about Mortensen, who was acquired in the four-player trade that sent Matt Holliday to St. Louis in July.

“Pretty mellow dude,” A’s catcher Kurt Suzuki said of Mortensen, who’ll make his final start of the season Wednesday in the middle game of a three-game series against the host Mariners at Safeco Field. “All of our young guys are pretty mellow.”

Maybe not all. Lefty Gio Gonzalez is the first to admit there’s a little spaz in him. But Mortensen, who was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento on Sept. 4 for his second stint with the A’s, fits right in with fellow even-keel rookies Trevor Cahill and Brett Anderson.

Whether he’ll fit in among them in the 2010 starting rotation is an issue that won’t be resolved until next spring at the earliest, but he’s been solid since the most recent recall, going 2-2 with a 3.97 ERA.

“Like a number of young guys this year, he’s getting a nice opportunity to show what he can do at this level,” Oakland manager Bob Geren said. “We’ve seen him pitch very well, we’ve seen him struggle a little bit, and that’s what you typically see with rookie pitchers. What’s important is that the talent is there. That’s obvious. The fact that we traded for him tells you what we think of him.

“What’s going to happen next year? Who knows? But every time you take the mound in a Major League game is a chance to put yourself into the picture.”


Click here to read the full article – By Mychael Urban of Mlb.com

Oakland Athletics Mens Apparel
and other Athletics Apparel

Oakland Athletics Authentic Alternate Performance 59Fifty onfield cap

Oakland As MLB Property Of T-shirt

Majestic Athletic Oakland Athletics MLB Reebok RA Polo Shirt

September 30, 2009 Posted by rsanrel | Athletics Apparel, Athletics News, Athletics Stuff, Clayton Mortensen, MLB, Oakland Athletics | Athletics, Athletics Apparel, Athletics baseball, Baseball, clayton, Clayton Mortensen, MLB, mortensen, Oakland, Oakland A's, Oakland Athletics, Oakland Athletics baseball, Oakland Athletics Hats, Oakland Athletics Polo Shirts, Oakland Athletics T-Shirts | No Comments Yet