The start of something BIG.

Tempered by a pressure-filled 2000, young A's Tim Hudson, Barry Zito and Mark Mulder give Oakland its most premising rotation in years

Barry Zito strolled into the A's clubhouse last July, not long after receiving word he was needed in Oakland. A week earlier, he had been a Class AAA prospect and pitched an inning in the Futures Game at All-Star weekend. Well, the future arrived quicker than expected, and now Zito was setting up his locker, trying to conceal his excitement. He did not want to lose his cool in front of his new teammates.

"But inside, there is a part of you going, `Hey, I am pitching for the Oakland A's,'" Zito says. "Dude. Awesome."

It is an awesome time to be an Oakland A's pitcher--not something that could be said very often in recent years. Remember 1997, when the A's trotted out a rotation of Ariel Prieto, Willie Adams, Steve Karsay, Mike Mohler and Dave Telgehder? Those five combined for a 17-41 record and a 5.92 ERA. Alter Prieto was knocked around in a 9-7 opening day loss to Cleveland, manager Art Howe observed, "It's going to get better. It can't get worse."

Oakland had a lineup that featured Mark McGwire, Jose Canseco, Tony Batista (leading off, no less) and Jason Giambi. "But we could not get anybody out," Howe says. "That has changed."

It has changed thanks to three guys who were still in college on opening day 1997, guys whose pitching is as diverse as their backgrounds. Tim Hudson, from a working-class town in Alabama, was an All-Southeastern Conference pitcher/outfielder at Auburn at the time. Mark Mulder was a lanky 19-year-old from Chicago, pitching at Michigan State. Zito was a freshman at the University of California-Santa Barbara, a Southern California beachcomber all the way. Each one is under 26.

The A's still have a killer lineup. They ranked fourth in the majors in runs last year and third in home runs and have added the game's best leadoff man, Johnny Damon, in an effort to better their first-round playoff exit. But the team will be relying on three pitchers barely old enough to rent a car, guys who can throw around the word "dude" without being self-conscious.