It’s Always Sonny (Gray) in Oakland

This has been a rather interesting week to live in the Bay Area.

Of course that may be an understatement, depending on whom your speak to. The continuing BART strike, has brought the populace to their knees as intense traffic have left commuters seething and searching for alternative methods of transportation.

Everything is not lost, however. In local sports news, your first place Oakland Athletics have continued their dominance of the NL Central and appear to have reached their stride as the All-Star break beckons. The San Francisco Giants on the hand, have hit the skids with after being ingloriously no-hit by Homer Bailey and now find themselves at the bottom of the NL West. Take a moment to let that sink in.

. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Done? Good. If you’re not overwhelmed yet, than you may find interest in the tidbit that top A’s pitching prospect Sonny Gray was held out of last night’s scheduled start for Triple-A Sacramento. By all accounts, there was no mystery illness or ailment to blame for his unexpected absence from the mound of Raley Field. Nor was his omission from the lineup card, related to the recent revelation that he has been selected to start for the Pacific Coast League in the Triple-A All-Star Game.

Not at all. In fact, it appeared that Gray was held back for one very good reason…to make his Oakland Athletics debut as soon as tomorrow. Proving how quickly things change in baseball, the Athletics revealed that Dan Straily would return to the mound tomorrow against the Cubs and the recuperating Jarrod Parker would be pushed back to Saturday. Shucks, It appears all you newfound Grayniacs will have to wait just a little longer to watch the former Vanderbilt star pitch at the Coliseum.

The 2011 number one draft pick, has been a Sacramento stand-out this season by registering a 3.02 ERA, 2.70 FIP, and striking out 24.8 % of batters faced this season. Though small in stature, Gray dials up his fastball to the high 90’s and comes equipped with a sharp curveball.

Though his number won’t be called this week, Gray is officially on standby to join the club when the time comes. When? Well, that’s as unpredictable as the weather.