DETROIT -- At this point it is the worst kept secret in baseball. Brett Anderson is going to be taking the mound in Game Three of the American League Division Series in Oakland. After leaving his last start with a strained right oblique 21 days ago in Detroit, Anderson is on the mend. "Brett feels good," A's manager Bob Melvin said. "I think he the better he feels the day to day, hour to hour, we'd like to be able to pitch him in three. So we still hold that out to potentially be the case." Anderson is the most experienced active pitcher the A's have. He is also one of the most talented pitchers on Oakland's roster. Getting him back would be a big boost to the starting rotation, but they don't want to rush him and risk putting the team or Anderson in a bad situation."It's mostly how he feels," Melvin said. "We want to try to get him into a game as soon as we can. And that's regardless." The A's have overcome a lot of adversity in the starting rotation. Brandon McCarthy was lost for the remainder of the regular season after taking a line drive off his head and undergoing brain surgery. Bartolo Colon was suspended 50 games for violating Major League Baseball's performance-enhancing drug policy. Anderson's strained oblique left the rotation depleted. For him to come back to pitch Tuesday would be a remarkable accomplishment. "That would be just another awesome ending to an adverse chapter," Jonny Gomes said. "It took a lot of rehab to get and a lot of work and our training staff to get him back." The A's haven't officially announced that Anderson will start Game 3 in Oakland. At this point it is a fair assumption that he will be on the mound unless there is an unforeseen setback. Anderson is 4-2 this season with a 2.57 ERA in six starts this season.
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