Well I havent updated this since late August it looks like. I did go to I think 3 games in Sept, easily setting a record for most A's games I've ever attended in a season. I've tried to count them all and it came to roughly a dozen. Thats like 2 every month. Hope to do the much the same in 2011... Now we're getting somewhere: I'm so excited for this next season!
So far this offseason, the A's have made some pretty sweet moves. We acquired David Dejesus from the Royals; the 30-year-old hit .318 last year! Thats a higher average than anyone on the A's last year! We just welcomed back Rich Harden, who has been with Texas the past 2 years but started his career with Oakland. If he can come back to his old home and get back to his old ways and stay healthy, he could be phenomenal out of our bullpen. His stuff is filthy. It seems he just cant stay healthy or strong enough to pitch an entire season as a starter. I think its the mechanics of his delivery. Call me crazy, but I think he could transition into a terrific set-up man to pitch the 8th inning lights out before Bailey comes in. I'm happy the A's picked up Ellis' option for this year in his contract, I think he'll have another solid year. But I do fear for his departure or retirement after this season... Time to talk about something more positive, quick! On my birthday yesterday the A's signed Hideki Matsui! Godzilla! Power hitter from Japan, and he just came to us from the Angels! Love it when the Angels get weaker and we get stronger at the same time! But I dont think you know what this does! We have a legitimate, solid, veteran, clean up hitter! He's going to provide great production on his own, but it also lifts the "you have to be the man" burden off the shoulders of guys like Kurt Suzuki, Kevin Kouzmanoff, and Daric Barton. When we bat those guys around Matsui, their production, like average and home runs, will go up! They will see better pitches! I guarantee it! Thats just how it works. So what does our lineup look like on Opening Day (this gives me chills!):
1. Coco Crisp - CF
2. David DeJesus - LF
3. Kurt Suzuki - C
4. Hideki Matsui - DH
5. Kevin Kouzmanoff - 3B
6. Daric Barton - 1B
7. Ryan Sweeney - RF
8. Mark Ellis - 2B
9. Cliff Pennington - SS
And obviously this isnt everybody. Chris Carter is gonna be a beast of a hitter when his time comes. It will be interesting to see how much he gets to fill in for DeJesus and Sweeney. Adam Rosales is able to spell any of our infielders for days off and I cant tell you how much I appreciate his hustle every time he gets a chance to play. Landon Powell is another bat I'd like to see get some time in the lineup. His primary role is Suzuki's back up, but I think he should give Matsui a day off once in a great while and if he can play decent first base, back up Barton as well. I would LOVE to see a more consistent lineup this year, but I understand it has to change if someone gets injured and also has to change to prevent injuries a little bit really, and the whole injury issue has been a big deal for the A's the past several year. On that front though, they took my advice! The strength and conditioning head coach has been replaced! Cant say all our injuries were his fault, but maybe time will tell, and I woulda made the same move if I were Billy Beane. Leading the leauge in DL usage 4 years in a row is unacceptable and you have to do SOMETHING! And he did! Thank the Lord! So far, we've lost Jack Cust, which is just fine with the addition of Matsui. I wont miss all those strikeouts with runners on! Sadly, we've also dealt the electric Rajai Davis. He's gone to Toronto. A lot closer to his home in Vermont. I'm sorry Amanda. I would have love to have kept him. I like him more in our lineup AND outfield than Sweeney, but as I look at it, the starting 3 we have, backed up by Chris Carter and Connor Jackson, I think we'll be a-okay.
So the biggest segment I havent really talked about is our starting pitching. And thankfully, not much needs to be said. Our staff is full of young studs. Guys like Cahill, Gio, Anderson, and Braden were lockin it down every damn day. These guys are still very young (I'm not sure if Cahill can even drink yet!), have another year of MLB experience under their belts together, and I think they are gonna light it up. Good chance of being the best rotation in the AL. Certainly the AL West with the Rangers losing out on the Cliff Lee sweepstakes. I was so happy for that! To see he signed with Philly! The Rangers just got a lot weaker and I love it! Wait a minute, we just discussed how the Angels got weaker, the Rangers got weaker, and the A's got better! And I dont think we need to worry about the Mariners--they were horrible last year with a record of 61-101 and havent made any significant moves as far as I can tell. I swear I'm not tryin to count my chickens before they hatch, but I smell playoffs! :)
One more point to consider: Adrian Beltre. Far and away the best positional player on the free market still. He's killed in Boston for a couple years now. He said he still wants to play in Boston, but the Red Sox declined his option (or he declined his option? does he think he's worth more money? Eh, probably, whatevs) for another year and the last real news reported on him on December 3rd was "Amid reports that the Oakland Athletics have made a generous offer to free agent Adrian Beltre, the third baseman maintained on Thursday night that his preference would be to stay with the Boston Red Sox." Okay fine. But I dont see where he fits. The Red Sox signed Adrian Gonzalez which moves Youkilis to 3rd. Youkilis is locked in for there for the Red Sox. He cant bat DH, thats Ortiz's job. Beltre is the odd man out. So hopefully, the A's get Beltre. That would be so HUGE! Kouzmanoff, and I like the guy, can simply take a hike. Beltre is the best offensive 3rd baseman in the game. Evan Longoria of the Rays is a close 2nd. Anyway. If the A's dont get Beltre, for the love of everything good and right in the world, can he please please please not go to the Angels! I would be crushed. Please Beltre, take the A's generous offer. You will love it here and we will love you! I'm telling you, that man, and the success it would bring the organization, and therefore, money, could very well fund a new ballpark! Lets sign Beltre for 7 years (at $150 million, I dont care, he's worth it!) and build a new park in 2 years!
So there you have it. April 1st cant get here soon enough. 106 days to go...
Thanks for reading. :)
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Boom baby! Come on!
GREAT win for us! We needed to win real bad and we got one and we killed 'em! This is the kind of win that needs to be our turning point, our spark that just sets our team on fire for the rest of the season! Tomorrow's game is all that more important now. We win tomorrow and the message is sent--just like Dallas Braden said after the game: WE WANT TO PLAY BASEBALL IN OCTOBER!
We're 8.5 games back tonight, we play the Rangers 5 more times this season, and theres still more than a month left in baseball. Technically, odds are still long, but bigger deficits have been overcome. The A's could get hot and it very well could have started tonight! Oh how I hope it does! Tomorrow's game is huge! We gotta win it to take 2 outta 3, to go up 1 game in this series. Thats the funny thing about the 3-game series I was thinkin about just yesterday: In a 3 game series, you either go up OR down 1 OR 3 games on the team you are playing. You cant go up or down just 2 games and you cant break even. Ya gotta win. Thats what makes sweeps so huge really, especially against division rivals.
This win is huge, but it will only REMAIN huge if we win tomorrow. Thank you, thank you so much Dallas Braden for pitching like a friggin' beast tonight! And all the A's pitchers have really been doing outstanding. What we need is hitting, at least as good as it was tonight. Did you know that in the month of August, if the A's had scored just 4 runs every game (and managed to win it in extras if that created a tie) we'd be on a tear to the tune of 22 wins and 3 losses?? What does that say? It says our pitching staff is lockin it down every damn day and all we need is 4 effin runs! This lineup has some pop in the bats of Barton, Suzuki, Kouz, Coco, and Cust and the best speed in the league (most SBs since the All-Star break) by the likes of Rajai, Pennington, and Coco that we should be able to put up 4 runs almost every night!
Another fun fact: the Rangers are only 22-18 since the All-Star break! Hardly impressive! We can catch these guys!
I'm tellin you, it could start now! And I mean now! Now, as in tonight and tomorrow night and get on a freakin roll and win some ball games! I'm goin to the game against the Angels on Friday the 3rd (we so better win--I hate the Angels more than I can express) and I'm goin to the game on Friday the 24th against none other than the Texas Rangers and that game better mean somethin! If we start winnin some ballgames, that night's gonna feel like playoff baseball right there and I am pumped man!
LETS GO A'S!!!
Thanks for reading.
We're 8.5 games back tonight, we play the Rangers 5 more times this season, and theres still more than a month left in baseball. Technically, odds are still long, but bigger deficits have been overcome. The A's could get hot and it very well could have started tonight! Oh how I hope it does! Tomorrow's game is huge! We gotta win it to take 2 outta 3, to go up 1 game in this series. Thats the funny thing about the 3-game series I was thinkin about just yesterday: In a 3 game series, you either go up OR down 1 OR 3 games on the team you are playing. You cant go up or down just 2 games and you cant break even. Ya gotta win. Thats what makes sweeps so huge really, especially against division rivals.
This win is huge, but it will only REMAIN huge if we win tomorrow. Thank you, thank you so much Dallas Braden for pitching like a friggin' beast tonight! And all the A's pitchers have really been doing outstanding. What we need is hitting, at least as good as it was tonight. Did you know that in the month of August, if the A's had scored just 4 runs every game (and managed to win it in extras if that created a tie) we'd be on a tear to the tune of 22 wins and 3 losses?? What does that say? It says our pitching staff is lockin it down every damn day and all we need is 4 effin runs! This lineup has some pop in the bats of Barton, Suzuki, Kouz, Coco, and Cust and the best speed in the league (most SBs since the All-Star break) by the likes of Rajai, Pennington, and Coco that we should be able to put up 4 runs almost every night!
Another fun fact: the Rangers are only 22-18 since the All-Star break! Hardly impressive! We can catch these guys!
I'm tellin you, it could start now! And I mean now! Now, as in tonight and tomorrow night and get on a freakin roll and win some ball games! I'm goin to the game against the Angels on Friday the 3rd (we so better win--I hate the Angels more than I can express) and I'm goin to the game on Friday the 24th against none other than the Texas Rangers and that game better mean somethin! If we start winnin some ballgames, that night's gonna feel like playoff baseball right there and I am pumped man!
LETS GO A'S!!!
Thanks for reading.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Goal accomplished.
I just realized its been like a month since I wrote in this but I had to put up some ranting I wrote just moments ago. I'm "friends" with the Oakland A's on Facebook and the latest news today is that Rosales is out with a stress fracture in his ankle. Out at least 4 weeks. Probably shut down for the season. Unless he can help the River Cats in any postseason efforts they have, whatevs. But I got into it with a few A's fans on the comments to that news who still think that its just "bad luck" that the A's have led the league in DL usage for the past 4 years. My comments to these other fans went like this:
Sean Thomas @Christopher I honestly think its becuase these last 4 years we've had a group of 1-2 yr guys and players that are way over there hill.
Overall though, despite shitty circumstances like this, the A's have done well. We have climbed back to .500, managed to stay a little above it and we were even ahead of the Angels the other day. May pass em up again too. Kinda cool, but meaningless in the big picture since the Rangers are as good as clinched. That Cliff Lee deal worked out just how they needed it to. Even fantasy baseball has confirmed he's been the most valuable pitcher in the last 30 days. They are as good as clinched. So yeah, a winning season, maybe finish ahead of the Angels, 5 games over .500 and no more injuries would be nice. I'll take that into next year with a smile.
They were talkin in the A's radio pregame show the other day about how amazingly lucky (see: not lucky, Billy Beane's genius at work) to have so many young AND outstanding arms in our starting rotation. Most teams would kill to have the likes of Cahill, Anderson, Gio, Braden, Mazzaro, and even Outman fighting for a spot in the rotation next spring. They're all studs with wicked stuff. If Carter comes around with consistent power like we hope, perhaps Taylor as well, we could have a shot next year. If the A's acquire one nice bat in the offseason (someone like Adrian Gonzalez, Jose Bautista, Joey Votto, Paul Konerko, Carlos Gonzalez, Adrian Beltre, Adam Dunn, or Andre Ethier) I think we could be in contention for playoffs next year.
I'm goin to the game a week from today, Friday night game against the Rays. You know I love watchin the Rays and hey, last time I saw them, Braden tossed a perfect game. :)
Thanks for reading.
Christopher Ady The A's have used the DL more times than any team in baseball the last 4 years (I believe--read it when Sheets went down). Huge red flag! We need a revamping of our training and medical staff ASAP!
2 hours ago · ·
Sean Thomas @Christopher I honestly think its becuase these last 4 years we've had a group of 1-2 yr guys and players that are way over there hill.- Christopher AdyReally Sean? Heres the most glaring examples in my mind of ongoing issues. Likely not all of them could be prevented by the best care and treatment possible, but I think many would have been.
Duchsherer: cant stay healthy because they only ...did surgery on one of his hips when the problem was in both.
Anderson: Pitches great, goes to DL, comes back too soon, goes back to DL.
Braden: Lack of detection of injury or rash to his foot and he's out for hella long, then back and has no feeling in his toes. Pitches horribly in pain soon after his perfect game. Finally goes to DL.
Crisp and Suzuki: experience intercostal strains within weeks of each other.
Ellis: Resting pulled hammy, tries to come back to soon, on to the DL. Devine: It shouldnt take this long to rehab him. After Tommy John, tendinitis develops.
Chavvy: no chiropractic work could have helped his neck/back? No expert could set up a successful plan to let his shoulder heal an rehab it correctly?
Connor Jackson: Injured hammy 10 days after we get him.
Your eyebrows arent raised by any of this? Full confidence in our medical and training staff? I didnt even mention Rosales until now--stress fracture to his ankle? Was there any pain or "stress" detected in his ankle that could have been dealt with before it FRACTURED? And you know this is just a fraction of the injuries the A's have dealt with for the past 4 years.See Moreabout an hour ago · · 1 personLoading... · 
Arturo Donovan Gutierrez The medical staff can not prevent injuries from happening on the field.....we will be fine....and be better if Carter realize he is in the big leagues and starts hitting....otherwise its going to be another year at Sacramento.about an hour ago · ·
Christopher AdyI said medical and TRAINING. That means proper conditioning, proper stretching, monitoring the amount of weight lifting, reducing inflammation of sore joints with ice and cortisone or whatever, chiropractic adjustments, massages, etc., doin...g all these things any good trainer at this level should be on top of. These players are being paid millions! No one is ever to blame when the A's miss out out on these investments?? I'm not saying no injuries should happen, but what are the medical and training staffs doing on the clubs that use the DL the least? Why cant we have people like that?
Overall though, despite shitty circumstances like this, the A's have done well. We have climbed back to .500, managed to stay a little above it and we were even ahead of the Angels the other day. May pass em up again too. Kinda cool, but meaningless in the big picture since the Rangers are as good as clinched. That Cliff Lee deal worked out just how they needed it to. Even fantasy baseball has confirmed he's been the most valuable pitcher in the last 30 days. They are as good as clinched. So yeah, a winning season, maybe finish ahead of the Angels, 5 games over .500 and no more injuries would be nice. I'll take that into next year with a smile.
They were talkin in the A's radio pregame show the other day about how amazingly lucky (see: not lucky, Billy Beane's genius at work) to have so many young AND outstanding arms in our starting rotation. Most teams would kill to have the likes of Cahill, Anderson, Gio, Braden, Mazzaro, and even Outman fighting for a spot in the rotation next spring. They're all studs with wicked stuff. If Carter comes around with consistent power like we hope, perhaps Taylor as well, we could have a shot next year. If the A's acquire one nice bat in the offseason (someone like Adrian Gonzalez, Jose Bautista, Joey Votto, Paul Konerko, Carlos Gonzalez, Adrian Beltre, Adam Dunn, or Andre Ethier) I think we could be in contention for playoffs next year.
I'm goin to the game a week from today, Friday night game against the Rays. You know I love watchin the Rays and hey, last time I saw them, Braden tossed a perfect game. :)
Thanks for reading.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Beating the Angels never gets old
Theres no need for this to be long (haha, I say that now...), I just wanted to post something positive for once. The A's had a decent road trip, 4-2 through Baltimore and Cleveland. Then we came home and got swept by the Yankees... AT HOME! BY THE YANKEES! COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE! And now the Rangers have Cliff Lee--thats like the last place the A's needed him to go; they'll have the division locked up by September 1st. Whatever...
I'm posting because the A's got their biggest win of the year tonight! Against the Angels! 15 to 1! Huge nights by a lot of players, none bigger than Rajai Davis with 2 doubles, a single, stolen base, 3 runs scored, 5 RBIS, and oh yeah a GRAND SLAM HOME RUN he absolutely crushed to left field. Scott Kazmir didnt even turn to look if his left fielder had a play on it since he knew it was long gone in about the first .15 seconds of it's flight. And that was his 2nd at bat that inning! Just nuts... I loved it!
Happy with Ben Sheets tonight too. 6 innings, 2 hits, no runs. Wish he coulda pitched another inning or so but I guess 104 pitches was enough for him tonight. It did allow some of our more unreliable relievers to get some work in during a no-risk opportunity really. Ben Sheets may be dealt before the deadline if he keeps this up but hopefully this big win nicely carries into tomorrow and we can go into the break with a series win over the Angels. I still just have the goal right now of being above .500. Something we havent done since 2006 ya know.
Thanks for reading.
I'm posting because the A's got their biggest win of the year tonight! Against the Angels! 15 to 1! Huge nights by a lot of players, none bigger than Rajai Davis with 2 doubles, a single, stolen base, 3 runs scored, 5 RBIS, and oh yeah a GRAND SLAM HOME RUN he absolutely crushed to left field. Scott Kazmir didnt even turn to look if his left fielder had a play on it since he knew it was long gone in about the first .15 seconds of it's flight. And that was his 2nd at bat that inning! Just nuts... I loved it!
Happy with Ben Sheets tonight too. 6 innings, 2 hits, no runs. Wish he coulda pitched another inning or so but I guess 104 pitches was enough for him tonight. It did allow some of our more unreliable relievers to get some work in during a no-risk opportunity really. Ben Sheets may be dealt before the deadline if he keeps this up but hopefully this big win nicely carries into tomorrow and we can go into the break with a series win over the Angels. I still just have the goal right now of being above .500. Something we havent done since 2006 ya know.
Thanks for reading.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
I'm pumped!
The A's finished the sweep of the Pirates today (yeah, the Pirates, I dont care, they're a major league ball club and wins are wins!), Gio was solid, Suzuki came up with the big clutch homer to give us the winning run we needed! Amanda and Stephen said they had a good time and they quickly made it a point to go to one more game with Sandi and I before they move to Colorado. And in minutes I tell you, I had tickets for the 4 of us for Friday night, July 23rd against the White Sox! Very competitive ball club, dont remember the last time I saw em but they have exciting players like Alex Rios (he has a fantastic arm and I would kill to see his arm vs. Rajai's wheels!), Paul Konerko--blasting home runs left and right this year, the hot rookie Gordon Beckham, their own fantastic base stealer in Juan Pierre, A.J. Pierzynalphabet--the player everyone loves to hate, and of course, their manager Ozzie Guillen--pretty much the best "character" in baseball and I would love it so much (guarantee you I'd lose my voice) if he got tossed in a screaming match with an umpire (yes, English teachers, that was one complete sentence).
Tangent: my English teachers used to always get on me, like since first grade, for "run-on sentences." And I would call bullshit. My sentence structure has always just been advanced for my age. :)
Digression: So yeah, very excited about the night that will be. But that's a ways off and the A's need to enjoy their day off and flight to Baltimore. Its time to get on a roll guys. The Orioles suck and will continue to. We're rested, confident, coming off a sweep, and it's time to get hot. Literally best time of the year to get on a roll for the A's. You can question me on that at the end of the year folks. It's time to show we still got it and can compete for the division. If we dont do that now, Beane will give up on this year, start selling, and playing more young guys. I'm all for preparing for the future but our team is GOOD--RIGHT NOW! After Baltimore, we go to Cleveland. At 27-47, they might as well be just as bad. Let's roll.
Concern: 2 days off in a row for Rajai Davis. He needs the playing time. He is the spark to our offense. He's hitting well. I dont care if we just got Connor Jackson. Make him a back-up. Play Rajai, Coco, and Sweeney in the outfield. Like everyday almost. Yes, I will eat my words if Jackson plays and hits over .300. :)
Thanks for reading.
Tangent: my English teachers used to always get on me, like since first grade, for "run-on sentences." And I would call bullshit. My sentence structure has always just been advanced for my age. :)
Digression: So yeah, very excited about the night that will be. But that's a ways off and the A's need to enjoy their day off and flight to Baltimore. Its time to get on a roll guys. The Orioles suck and will continue to. We're rested, confident, coming off a sweep, and it's time to get hot. Literally best time of the year to get on a roll for the A's. You can question me on that at the end of the year folks. It's time to show we still got it and can compete for the division. If we dont do that now, Beane will give up on this year, start selling, and playing more young guys. I'm all for preparing for the future but our team is GOOD--RIGHT NOW! After Baltimore, we go to Cleveland. At 27-47, they might as well be just as bad. Let's roll.
Concern: 2 days off in a row for Rajai Davis. He needs the playing time. He is the spark to our offense. He's hitting well. I dont care if we just got Connor Jackson. Make him a back-up. Play Rajai, Coco, and Sweeney in the outfield. Like everyday almost. Yes, I will eat my words if Jackson plays and hits over .300. :)
Thanks for reading.
Friday, June 25, 2010
we got one! a big one!
So it's been another long while between posts. And its because the A's are doing terrible (and the Rangers and Angels are doing great) and I dont wanna talk about it. We may as well take it one step at a time, one game at a time, and call our goal for now getting back to .500. Then we'll look at the standings and make another goal from there. But tonight was good, a beautiful step in the right direction. The A's killed the Pirates 14-4! Most runs we've scored all year I believe. The bats came alive, we fought through the first part of the game when it was real close, real happy to see the clutch hits there tonight, and then we just kept adding on and adding on. The only downside to this game is Sheets still needs to be a little better. I dont think he's even credited with a "quality start". Let me see... yeah, 6 innings, 4 runs on 8 hits=not great. Lets cut those hits and runs in half and pitch one more inning okay? Thanks. He did record 9 K's and didnt walk anyone so that was good, I'll give him that. Crisp almost hit for the cycle though! That was kinda exciting to see him hitting and running well! He was doing it in order too--first the single, then the double, then he legged out a triple! Had 2 chances for a home run, didnt happen, but he did ice his cake, if you will, with a walk.
So yeah, one real good game, made for a nice evening, I even enjoyed it with lasagna, garlic bread, and some Blue Moon out of my brand new BJ's Father's Day beer glass. :) ... But its just one game and I'm still upset about how we've played since that first game in Chicago a week and a half ago. Getting swept by the Reds may have seriously ended our season, no joke. I understand a tough interleague road trip (kinda), but then we get swept--by the Reds! At home! While Texas is now on an 11-game winning streak! It just... fries me. But the Rangers and Angels did lose tonight...
Tonight's game better lead to some semblance of a bounce back. Tomorrow is the A's "Turn Back the Clock" game that they've been pimping so hard for weeks now and Cahill is taking the mound so we better win that one (really wish I could go, I have a previous commitment, but shhh, its a surprise!) and then on Sunday my best friends Stephen and Amanda are goin so we better just finish out the sweep I say. We gotta be in good shape to do this with the Pirates bullpen obliterated tonight and like I said, Trevor Cahill taking the mound tomorrow and then Gio "I'm money at home" Gonzalez pitching Sunday.
Then we get a day off and go to Baltimore. And Baltimore is garbage, we should AT LEAST take 2 outta 3 there and then 3 games in Cleveland before we come home. They suck too right?... Yeah, "the dirty savages" as my wife calls them are 26-46 so we should AT LEAST take 2 outta 3 there as well. Then we're right back home and hopefully on a nice enough roll at that point to take on the Yankees. With as far under my expectations as we have been playing, I dont really wanna think about them and the Angels' series that follows, so I'll just go back to my point that we just need to take it one series, really one game, at a time, and win ballgames.
And if the A's continue to disappoint, thank God I have World Cup soccer right now! Exciting matches every day and I taught my son how to say "Goal!" :)
Thanks for reading.
So yeah, one real good game, made for a nice evening, I even enjoyed it with lasagna, garlic bread, and some Blue Moon out of my brand new BJ's Father's Day beer glass. :) ... But its just one game and I'm still upset about how we've played since that first game in Chicago a week and a half ago. Getting swept by the Reds may have seriously ended our season, no joke. I understand a tough interleague road trip (kinda), but then we get swept--by the Reds! At home! While Texas is now on an 11-game winning streak! It just... fries me. But the Rangers and Angels did lose tonight...
Tonight's game better lead to some semblance of a bounce back. Tomorrow is the A's "Turn Back the Clock" game that they've been pimping so hard for weeks now and Cahill is taking the mound so we better win that one (really wish I could go, I have a previous commitment, but shhh, its a surprise!) and then on Sunday my best friends Stephen and Amanda are goin so we better just finish out the sweep I say. We gotta be in good shape to do this with the Pirates bullpen obliterated tonight and like I said, Trevor Cahill taking the mound tomorrow and then Gio "I'm money at home" Gonzalez pitching Sunday.
Then we get a day off and go to Baltimore. And Baltimore is garbage, we should AT LEAST take 2 outta 3 there and then 3 games in Cleveland before we come home. They suck too right?... Yeah, "the dirty savages" as my wife calls them are 26-46 so we should AT LEAST take 2 outta 3 there as well. Then we're right back home and hopefully on a nice enough roll at that point to take on the Yankees. With as far under my expectations as we have been playing, I dont really wanna think about them and the Angels' series that follows, so I'll just go back to my point that we just need to take it one series, really one game, at a time, and win ballgames.
And if the A's continue to disappoint, thank God I have World Cup soccer right now! Exciting matches every day and I taught my son how to say "Goal!" :)
Thanks for reading.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Not a great road trip
Last time I posted was the last time the A's won. And that was a while ago. We really shoulda been able to take 2 of 3 from the Cubs, but I was real glad we won today against the Cardinals. Holliday is on a ridiculous hot streak, its not easy to win in St. Louis, and I knew we were facing Carpenter and Wainwright the first 2 games so getting the 1 there, avoiding the sweep, and just going home with a win is nice. There's something about ending a road trip with a win and I know its not just me. I've heard the players like getting out a town with a win as they look forward to opening the new home stand too. Just "a more enjoyable flight back to Oakland" is always the phrase I hear. We play 6 games in the next 7 days, all at home, against the Reds and Pirates. The Reds are pretty good really, but the A's play well at home and the Pirates are garbage. I wanna see us take 2 of 3 from the Reds and sweep the Pirates. Those aren't high expectations yall, its what the A's are completely capable of and a home stand like that may just thrust us back into the divisional race, who knows.
Cahill, once again, is the man today. I love (or hate?) that he's the one guy in our rotation who I have full faith in right now to end a losing streak. This isnt the first time he's done it and its not the last. Brett Anderson has this capability too really and I cant wait til he's healthy and back with the team (Please Lord, heal Brett Anderson quickly and keep him healthy, Amen). Gio Gonzalez pitches tomorrow and this is great news because Gio is a completely different pitcher at home vs. on the road. His numbers: 5.44 ERA and 1.67 WHIP on the road, 2.90 ERA and 1.02 WHIP at home. Glaring problem for him on the road to be addressed, yes, but tomorrow night he's at home and he should also be on schedule to pitch on Sunday against the Pirates, also at home.
The sad news to add on to a tough road trip for the A's is how bad the timing of it is as the Rangers and Angels kept winning. We've fallen a ways out of the race, 8 games back of the Rangers, 4.5 games back of the Angels. Maybe things will improve, or maybe the end of the season will look a bit like this. Thats okay though, but if it does, I wanna see changes, starting with the medical and training staff. (Secondly, news on a new park.) And even if we dont make the playoffs this year, I still wanna be a winning team. It'd be a nice, legitimate improvement over our last two seasons where we finished 75-87 both times.
Back to good news: Kouzmanoff is on a wicked tear! Hitting .386 over his last 15 games, OPS of .828. Rajai Davis even better with an average of .410 over his last 15! Cust at .343! Pennington and Sweeney are at .295--we should be winning games! I think the wins will come and soon, very soon!
Today was a good day for me, as it should be this day every year, being Father's Day and all. I did have to work, but hearing the A's won put me in a better mood and I was looking forward to seeing my wife and son so much all day and our dinner at BJ's was great. Got my free Father's Day beer glass again! :) I need more beer though :( ... But among my fantastic gifts, the one definitely worth mentioning here, is my $25 A's gift card! Now I just need to find a game to get to. A Friday night game would work best I think. There's no cool giveaways on the calender for Fridays really, so I kinda just wanna see an interesting team. Looks like I have the Pirates (yeah, may go this Friday who knows, but Sheets is scheduled to pitch and I have seen him once this year already), White Sox, Rangers, and Rays on tap. I'm leaning Rangers or Rays.
Thanks for reading.
Cahill, once again, is the man today. I love (or hate?) that he's the one guy in our rotation who I have full faith in right now to end a losing streak. This isnt the first time he's done it and its not the last. Brett Anderson has this capability too really and I cant wait til he's healthy and back with the team (Please Lord, heal Brett Anderson quickly and keep him healthy, Amen). Gio Gonzalez pitches tomorrow and this is great news because Gio is a completely different pitcher at home vs. on the road. His numbers: 5.44 ERA and 1.67 WHIP on the road, 2.90 ERA and 1.02 WHIP at home. Glaring problem for him on the road to be addressed, yes, but tomorrow night he's at home and he should also be on schedule to pitch on Sunday against the Pirates, also at home.
The sad news to add on to a tough road trip for the A's is how bad the timing of it is as the Rangers and Angels kept winning. We've fallen a ways out of the race, 8 games back of the Rangers, 4.5 games back of the Angels. Maybe things will improve, or maybe the end of the season will look a bit like this. Thats okay though, but if it does, I wanna see changes, starting with the medical and training staff. (Secondly, news on a new park.) And even if we dont make the playoffs this year, I still wanna be a winning team. It'd be a nice, legitimate improvement over our last two seasons where we finished 75-87 both times.
Back to good news: Kouzmanoff is on a wicked tear! Hitting .386 over his last 15 games, OPS of .828. Rajai Davis even better with an average of .410 over his last 15! Cust at .343! Pennington and Sweeney are at .295--we should be winning games! I think the wins will come and soon, very soon!
Today was a good day for me, as it should be this day every year, being Father's Day and all. I did have to work, but hearing the A's won put me in a better mood and I was looking forward to seeing my wife and son so much all day and our dinner at BJ's was great. Got my free Father's Day beer glass again! :) I need more beer though :( ... But among my fantastic gifts, the one definitely worth mentioning here, is my $25 A's gift card! Now I just need to find a game to get to. A Friday night game would work best I think. There's no cool giveaways on the calender for Fridays really, so I kinda just wanna see an interesting team. Looks like I have the Pirates (yeah, may go this Friday who knows, but Sheets is scheduled to pitch and I have seen him once this year already), White Sox, Rangers, and Rays on tap. I'm leaning Rangers or Rays.
Thanks for reading.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
The Confines are very Friendly!
Tough weekend of baseball for the A's obviously. And no game on Monday just lets that sweep sit with me longer. But tonight was a different story! A's win 9 to 5! Cahill on the mound, did a nice job! We basically won due to the Cubs 4 errors tonight but a win is a win and I'll take it. Every wrapup article on this game is gonna point to that as the only reason. But I watched closer. The A's hustled. Examples: Ellis got into a run-down between 1st and 2nd with Koooouuuzmanoff on 3rd when they made the out at first and because it took 4(!) throws to get Ellis out, Kouz had plenty of time to score before the final out was recorded; Rajai got 3 hits and 2 RBIs. Ellis and Pennington each went 2 for 5 with and RBI, Kouz went 3 for 4 with 2 runs and a walk; Pennington hit a triple (and he was bookin it! woulda been a double for a lot of guys) and then runs home on the overthrow to 3rd! Fosse called it the "little league home run". :) Playing like this forces errors. Or at least makes them more likely. Ya gotta do everything you can to keep the opposing pitcher and defense uncomfortable and I saw a lot of that outta the A's tonight and I LOVED it! This is how to play the game. This is the "Green Collar" baseball the A's try to personify. And it was nice to have Suzuki back with the team. He went 1 for 4 with a walk and a run.
And the Angels lost. Always a good thing. We gotta take advantage and not fall out of the race to catch Texas.
What I just wrote in the fantasy baseball league blast kinda fits in here tonight I think:
"I got the earful I deserved. Thanks A's. Thanks for droppin every damn game to the Giants last weekend. I just wanted one. One game, one win, and we woulda won 4 (to their 2 wins) outta the 6 times the A's play the Giants this year. But no, the Giants showed up to play and the A's couldnt keep up, couldnt come up with the clutch hits when they had plenty of opportunities. Frustrating isn't a strong enough word. So, of course, I hear it from all my Giants fan friends who know I love the A's. Aight, I hear ya'll, good job Giants, real good baseball played lately by you guys.
Tomorrow, Sandi and I are goin to the Giants game. And I'm kinda pullin for em. Lincecum is pitching and I'm pumped for that. I wanna see that majestic delivery. I wanna see the ball fall off the table. I wanna see a ton of K's that just make the Orioles hitters look silly (Tyson Ross should watch and take notes--ya feel me on that right? anybody?). So yeah, should be fun, I've never been to AT&T Park, but I've heard so many great things about it and it looks great on TV, I know I'm gonna leave totally jealous. I've heard the view is good, the food is great, the place is fun, and there's some good eats behind section 310. I want the A's to have their own new park so bad. I'm gonna visit all the children's hospitals in northern California and tell the kids to make that their Make-A-Wish. "
Sandi and I are taking the day to celebrate our anniversary. Maybe we'll find a good spot around dinner time to catch a chunk of the A's game. Maybe some place Pier 39. Maybe On The Border in Dublin. Maybe Buffalo Wild Wings. :)
And the Angels lost. Always a good thing. We gotta take advantage and not fall out of the race to catch Texas.
What I just wrote in the fantasy baseball league blast kinda fits in here tonight I think:
"I got the earful I deserved. Thanks A's. Thanks for droppin every damn game to the Giants last weekend. I just wanted one. One game, one win, and we woulda won 4 (to their 2 wins) outta the 6 times the A's play the Giants this year. But no, the Giants showed up to play and the A's couldnt keep up, couldnt come up with the clutch hits when they had plenty of opportunities. Frustrating isn't a strong enough word. So, of course, I hear it from all my Giants fan friends who know I love the A's. Aight, I hear ya'll, good job Giants, real good baseball played lately by you guys.
Tomorrow, Sandi and I are goin to the Giants game. And I'm kinda pullin for em. Lincecum is pitching and I'm pumped for that. I wanna see that majestic delivery. I wanna see the ball fall off the table. I wanna see a ton of K's that just make the Orioles hitters look silly (Tyson Ross should watch and take notes--ya feel me on that right? anybody?). So yeah, should be fun, I've never been to AT&T Park, but I've heard so many great things about it and it looks great on TV, I know I'm gonna leave totally jealous. I've heard the view is good, the food is great, the place is fun, and there's some good eats behind section 310. I want the A's to have their own new park so bad. I'm gonna visit all the children's hospitals in northern California and tell the kids to make that their Make-A-Wish. "
Sandi and I are taking the day to celebrate our anniversary. Maybe we'll find a good spot around dinner time to catch a chunk of the A's game. Maybe some place Pier 39. Maybe On The Border in Dublin. Maybe Buffalo Wild Wings. :)
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Dropped another one! UGH!
We lost today, 5-4. Almost came back, needed just one clutch hit and we had a few chances. Didnt even need to be in that situation with 2 costly errors earlier in the game though. Guess we gotta try to get em tomorrow. I really dont wanna get swept by the Giants. I really think we're the better team.
I didnt get to watch a lot of the game due to leaving for house shopping, but I listened to more of it on the radio when we were driving house to house. After every A's game, theres the A's postgame show called A's Talk with Chris Townsend. He's a great host, runs a great show, really lets the smart fans make their points. Tonight though what I thought was especially interesting was him essentially bashing Geren, without naming him as far as I heard, about the lineup he wrote tonight. He's just constantly movin guys around and we have no rhythm and it messes with the players mentally, not knowing where they are in the lineup or if they're in the lineup at all when they get to the park that day. Townsend was right when he said Ellis shouldnt be leading off one day, batting 8th the next day, and batting third the next day! He was right when he said Rosales should be in the lineup. The man is all hustle and he's swingin a great bat. He needed to take the spot of Pennington or Matt Carson tonight. And you know there's a problem when our hot-hitting power hitter Kooooouuuzmanoff finds himself leading off innings , what was it, like 5 out of his last 7 at bats. Somehow he shouldnt be leading off, he should be driving in runs! I understand a little shift in the lineup this series with Kurt Suzuki on bereavement leave (his grandfather passed away so Kurt is in Hawaii with his family this weekend) is necessary, but come on. Powell should have been catching tonight instead of Fox too.
Geren better get things back the way they should be tomorrow. There have been A's fans for a little while now calling for Geren's head, but I havent been one of them (I'd like a revamp of our training and medical staff--leading the league 3 years in a row in DL usage is completely unacceptable and something is wrong there, anyways...) but I'm starting to question Geren a little more now. If you're constantly rearranging your lineup, it tells me you dont know your hitters. If you know what your hitters can and should be doing, put them where they belong and keep the shuffling to a minimum. I understand things happen--injuries, bereavement leave, needing to give guys a day off, etc.--but by and large, if you dont keep a consistent lineup, it looks like you dont know your hitters. Get it together on this Geren. I know what the lineup should look like for tomorrows game:
1. Rajai Davis CF
2. Ryan Sweeney RF
3. Daric Barton 1B
4. Kevin Kooooouuuzmanoff 3B
5. Jack Cust LF
6. Landon Powell C
7. Mark Ellis 2B
8. Adam Rosales SS
9. Vin Mazzaro P
Lets see if Geren gets it right.
Thanks for reading.
I didnt get to watch a lot of the game due to leaving for house shopping, but I listened to more of it on the radio when we were driving house to house. After every A's game, theres the A's postgame show called A's Talk with Chris Townsend. He's a great host, runs a great show, really lets the smart fans make their points. Tonight though what I thought was especially interesting was him essentially bashing Geren, without naming him as far as I heard, about the lineup he wrote tonight. He's just constantly movin guys around and we have no rhythm and it messes with the players mentally, not knowing where they are in the lineup or if they're in the lineup at all when they get to the park that day. Townsend was right when he said Ellis shouldnt be leading off one day, batting 8th the next day, and batting third the next day! He was right when he said Rosales should be in the lineup. The man is all hustle and he's swingin a great bat. He needed to take the spot of Pennington or Matt Carson tonight. And you know there's a problem when our hot-hitting power hitter Kooooouuuzmanoff finds himself leading off innings , what was it, like 5 out of his last 7 at bats. Somehow he shouldnt be leading off, he should be driving in runs! I understand a little shift in the lineup this series with Kurt Suzuki on bereavement leave (his grandfather passed away so Kurt is in Hawaii with his family this weekend) is necessary, but come on. Powell should have been catching tonight instead of Fox too.
Geren better get things back the way they should be tomorrow. There have been A's fans for a little while now calling for Geren's head, but I havent been one of them (I'd like a revamp of our training and medical staff--leading the league 3 years in a row in DL usage is completely unacceptable and something is wrong there, anyways...) but I'm starting to question Geren a little more now. If you're constantly rearranging your lineup, it tells me you dont know your hitters. If you know what your hitters can and should be doing, put them where they belong and keep the shuffling to a minimum. I understand things happen--injuries, bereavement leave, needing to give guys a day off, etc.--but by and large, if you dont keep a consistent lineup, it looks like you dont know your hitters. Get it together on this Geren. I know what the lineup should look like for tomorrows game:
1. Rajai Davis CF
2. Ryan Sweeney RF
3. Daric Barton 1B
4. Kevin Kooooouuuzmanoff 3B
5. Jack Cust LF
6. Landon Powell C
7. Mark Ellis 2B
8. Adam Rosales SS
9. Vin Mazzaro P
Lets see if Geren gets it right.
Thanks for reading.
Friday, June 11, 2010
First one
Well, here is the place. The place where I can talk about the A's all I want. I can get all my thoughts, musings, excitement, frustration, analysis and whatever else out right here. And no one has to read it. I'm on facebook and if you're reading this, you're probably already my friend on there and see that almost half my status updates are about the A's; which is a lot, especially for the probably 200+ friends I have that could care less. Thing is, I'd probably go on about the A's EVEN MORE if it werent for me trying to consider the things they'd like to see on their news feed. Hence, this blog. A place where I can get everything out concerning Oakland A's baseball without bothering anyone, theoretically. So yeah, that's it. I'm ready to talk now. :)
Yesterday, I got out to the A's game with my best friend Stephen and my son Jack. It was a beautiful day, we got seats in the shade (very good for me and my fair-skinned son) on the field level deck. This was game 4 of a 4 game set with the Angels and we had already lost games 1 and 3 of the series. So, needless to say, I REALLY wanted to win this one. We needed a series split to stay in legitimate contention right now with them and the Rangers in the AL West. I knew we had a good chance with Cahill taking the mound, such a great groundball pitcher and he's done well in his past 5 starts or so. They had Ervin Santana though, who has feasted on A's hitters in most of his efforts. To start the game, he looked good too, retiring the first 9 batters I believe. Cahill hung with him though, getting through his innings, turning double plays, also not allowing a run. Then, 2nd time though the order, the A's jump on him. Score 2 runs in the 4th and 3 more in the 5th. Scioscia shoulda pulled him when he was at 105 pitches and had allowed his 2nd run in the 5th, but he left him in, we hit him for another run and he was done and I knew that's all we needed. Cahill allowed 1 run throwing 8 innings, Bailey closed it out and there were actually 6 different A's hitters coming up with 1 rbi each in our 6-1 victory. Just a beautiful team win by the book. I was hopin to see a home run from someone like Cust, Koooouuz, or Suzuki, but that woulda just been icing on the cake. We didnt need it, and just 6 days prior I did see the long ball from Kouzmanoff and Rajai Davis, they lost that game to the Twins but whatev.
So tonight, I just got done watching the A's lose to the Giants but they did have Tim Lincecum tonight. You'll probably find I'm not as likely to talk much or post at all when the A's lose. Its okay though, the A's swept the Giants when they came to Oakland so if we only win 1 game this series I'll be happy since that guarantees us winning 4 outta 6 games against them for the year. Much better than least year, even already, when we only won 1 outta 6. Gio started tonight and he wasnt getting his curveball called for strikes when even the Giants broadcaster thought it was in the zone, but whatever. It wasnt a bad call that sent Pat Burrell's home run ball to deep left.
Tomorrow we got Sheets vs. Zito. This is the game I'd like to make. Sheets has been doing well lately and although I'm impressed by Zito's comeback year he's having (almost happy for him), we destroyed him on Oakland a few weeks ago, just like we always have since he's gone to the Giants. I'm off at 5:55 and the game starts at 6:05. Perfect. Wish I wasnt outta beer, but I did have to buy a ticket to yesterdays game when I was pretty tight on money. It was worth it. :)
I do welcome all questions, comments, and debates. Thanks for reading.
Yesterday, I got out to the A's game with my best friend Stephen and my son Jack. It was a beautiful day, we got seats in the shade (very good for me and my fair-skinned son) on the field level deck. This was game 4 of a 4 game set with the Angels and we had already lost games 1 and 3 of the series. So, needless to say, I REALLY wanted to win this one. We needed a series split to stay in legitimate contention right now with them and the Rangers in the AL West. I knew we had a good chance with Cahill taking the mound, such a great groundball pitcher and he's done well in his past 5 starts or so. They had Ervin Santana though, who has feasted on A's hitters in most of his efforts. To start the game, he looked good too, retiring the first 9 batters I believe. Cahill hung with him though, getting through his innings, turning double plays, also not allowing a run. Then, 2nd time though the order, the A's jump on him. Score 2 runs in the 4th and 3 more in the 5th. Scioscia shoulda pulled him when he was at 105 pitches and had allowed his 2nd run in the 5th, but he left him in, we hit him for another run and he was done and I knew that's all we needed. Cahill allowed 1 run throwing 8 innings, Bailey closed it out and there were actually 6 different A's hitters coming up with 1 rbi each in our 6-1 victory. Just a beautiful team win by the book. I was hopin to see a home run from someone like Cust, Koooouuz, or Suzuki, but that woulda just been icing on the cake. We didnt need it, and just 6 days prior I did see the long ball from Kouzmanoff and Rajai Davis, they lost that game to the Twins but whatev.
So tonight, I just got done watching the A's lose to the Giants but they did have Tim Lincecum tonight. You'll probably find I'm not as likely to talk much or post at all when the A's lose. Its okay though, the A's swept the Giants when they came to Oakland so if we only win 1 game this series I'll be happy since that guarantees us winning 4 outta 6 games against them for the year. Much better than least year, even already, when we only won 1 outta 6. Gio started tonight and he wasnt getting his curveball called for strikes when even the Giants broadcaster thought it was in the zone, but whatever. It wasnt a bad call that sent Pat Burrell's home run ball to deep left.
Tomorrow we got Sheets vs. Zito. This is the game I'd like to make. Sheets has been doing well lately and although I'm impressed by Zito's comeback year he's having (almost happy for him), we destroyed him on Oakland a few weeks ago, just like we always have since he's gone to the Giants. I'm off at 5:55 and the game starts at 6:05. Perfect. Wish I wasnt outta beer, but I did have to buy a ticket to yesterdays game when I was pretty tight on money. It was worth it. :)
I do welcome all questions, comments, and debates. Thanks for reading.
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