Wednesday, February 8: We received a Mark Mulder query on the site the other day. No, not Fox Mulder from the show, "The X-Files," but the ill-fated LHP who pitched for the A's and Cards in a career spanning the 2000's. Funny you should ask about Mark Mulder. Pat Burrell retired yesterday and he was drafted one slot ahead of Mulder in the ’98 amateur draft. Mulder was famous for being part of Oakland’s “Big Three” with Tim Hudson and Barry Zito. The trio formed the backbone of one of the best starting rotations of all time. They helped the A’s make the playoffs in four straight seasons, 2000-2003, and helped create the widely popular, yet widely misunderstood “Moneyball” culture in today’s game. I owned Mulder in 2004 in my straight draft  (and no-trade) AL. That season, over the first half of the year, Mulder, then with the Oakland A’s, was 12-2, 3.21 over 116 innings, dropping to 5-6, 6.13 over 94 second half innings, which included an incredible 0-4, 8.79 September. Mulder was a 2X All-Star and was indeed second in the Cy Young voting back in 2001, at the age of 23. He was a 21 game winner that season and went 88-40 from 2001-2005. Over his career, Mulder would go 103-60 in 1314 IP with a 4.18/1.34 ERA/WHIP, 1352 HA, and an 834/412 K/BB. Unfortunately for Mulder, major shoulder surgery ended his career early. Mulder threw his last pitch in the major leagues as a St. Louis Cardinal at age 30. He officially retired from the game in June 2010, 2 months shy of his 33rd birthday. Burrell did go to the Giants and helped them win a championship in 2010. Philly is a tough town to make friends. That's why it's called the "City of Brotherly Love." December 29, 2006 is a date that will live in infamy for me. It's the day the Giants signed Barry Zito to that God-awful 7 yr/$126-mil deal. And it wasn't like his last 3 years in Oakland were anything to elicit streams of balloons for! From '04-'06 Zito pitched 662 1/3 innings with a 4.05/1.33 ERA/WHIP, 612 HA, and a 485/269 K/BB. His time in SF has gone the way of Lindsey Lohen's movie career. He's 43-61 in 821 2/3 IP, 782 HA, a 4.55/1.41 K/BB, and a 587/374 K/BB. I often wonder if Mark Mulder feels any resentment toward his pitching partner with the A's and that gigantic contract. Of course, on January 10, 2007, the Cards signed Mulder to a 2 yr/$13-mil deal. He gave them 4 starts and an 0-3 record with 26 HA in 12 2/3 IP, a 5/9 K/BB, and a 12.08/2.76 ERA/WHIP. So I would say that everything's relative. Mulder got another $1.5-mil when the Cards declined his 2009 option which was probably the right decision. I want this on my tombstone: "I hate long term deals for pitchers!"