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Open Thread: Game 53 - A's vs. Blue Jays

The A's and Los Kirk with a 1-4 record and a 4.74 ERA go against the Blue Jays and Kevin Towers with a 5-3 record and a 4.14 ERA.

Towers has pitched some great games against the A's over the last couple of years.  And this year, he's 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA.

Toronto is a better team than Tampa, so we'll see if the three-game winning streak can continue.

The A's go with this lineup:

Kotsay
Kendall
Chavez
Hatteberg
Johnson
Crosby
Byrnes
Swisher
Scutaro

Um...didn't we use this lineup for months?  And what did it get us?  A couple of eight game losing streaks and not much else.  Why isn't Kendall leading off again?  Ugh.

The Blue Jays counter with this lineup:

Hudson
Catalanotto
Hill
Hillenbrand
Hinske
Wells
Rios
Adams
Huckaby

LET'S GO A'S!!!!!!!

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Comments

My condolences Dotel...sniffle sniffle
say what?
dotel out for 1 year at least
whoa...link??
there's a diary on it
check out recent diaries
Thanx...
So is street our closer?

Just like that?

Just like that.
Pretty much was anyways
Well...
...at least it took the decision out of Macha's hands. ;)
Let's go OAK-LAND!
It feels SO good to say that!
oh, and KC going for the sweep of the Yanks.
Go Teahan!
That's odd.
If Hell is freezing over I thought for sure I'd feel it... hmmm...
if KC can survive another 3 innings
expect to need some earmuffs.
I'll have to break out my Packers parka.
I've missed it. :(
GAG!
I'll pretend you just didn't type that.
NO ONE MESSES WITH MY BRETT FAVRE AND GETS AWAY WITH IT!!!

GGRRRR!!!

<head spins around>

Did you buy that parka
at a Mississippi flea market?
No.
HSN.

I don't remember ever going to a flea market... or Mississippi.

I cant stand GB....
But LOVE Favre......How do u not?  Dude is the freaking man
Well anyways, looks like you're
gonna need it.
T-Long Homers to pad KC lead 4-2!
And Matt Stairs Homers!
Back to Back former A's hitters! This is gotta be our night
Former A's helping beat NYY
Berroa: 1-4, RBI
Stairs: 1-3, HR
Long: 2-3, HR, 2 R
Teahen: 1-3, RBI
Wood: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 1 K
Noooo!
Doesn't Mach know that you don't mess with the luck? The baseball gods will not approve of Kotsay leading off again.
Wow, I cant believe he changed the lineup.
Yes, the lineup change. Very strange.
Just when Macha starts gaining a little confidence from the ANers he goes and pulls a stunt like this. He better be right or off with his head!
very disappointed that Macha
changed the lineup back to the losing one...
lineup
Kotsay/Kendall vs. Kendall/Kotsay makes no difference. But why is Byrnes playing instead of Kielty, and Scutaro instead of Ellis?
No diff?
Tell that to both guys who went to Macha and wanted the switch...Seems to me if it didnt matter, why waste the effort?  

And you just dont mess with things when you win three in a row.

Lineup
What a joke - The players are going to lose all respect for the skipper very, very soon...

Lineup should be:

Kendall
Kotsay
Kielty
Chavez
Crosby
Hatteberg
Swisher
Johnson
Ellis

Byrnes will not get any hits tonight - Towers owns him, and the A's as a whole.  Sorry AN, but we are Toronto's Bitch (reverse psychology?).

I love listening to Dan Haren talk
He's cute.
I like the name "Huckaby"
Wow...too much wine at the conference I'm at?
I don't know, you tell me.
For sure...
...although drinking alone in my hotel room while everyone else is out is pretty sad...except I'm not here to drink, I'm here to be on athleticsnation. I'm charging the XM radio to take out with me.
Hardcore...
I respect you.
I stand by my earlier comment
10 games behind in early June is not the end of a season.
Shhh!
Don't say that too loud or people might think Billy Beane brainwashed you!
Sounds like my kinda night.
What number are you on? What conference and where?
I'm in Orange County...
Drink #4.
just thought i'd point out...
that Toronto's SP tonight is Josh Towers, not Kevin Towers. it would be weird if the Padres GM was pitching...
lol
ESPNEWS
Did anyone see the A's/Rays hilights on ESPNEWS last night?  Or for any of the three games?
nope
ESPN has minimal A's coverage. always.
NO
I was watching SportsCenter yesterday morning, back to back SC, and NOTHING on the A's. I was pissed off.
Seriously!
What's up with that?  Aargh!
WTF?  
I couldn't find the hilights ANYWHERE on BSPN!  Although the Kotsay catch (Monday's game) was #4 on SC Top 10.
I have waited and waited
and waded through all kinds of other highlights to see the A's come around and it has been pretty skimpy lately.
I just finished watching last night's game...
What is the ball boy's name along the A's bullpen?

Adam what?

something like "Botok"
I love him.
I want his auotgraph.
Did you seem Adam and Huston
messing with each other last night? Adorable.

(Trying to get in as much nonsense as possible before the "ratings" come out.)

Huston was hugging Adam.
I was like, "Awww.. That's so cute!" Then again, anything to do with Huston is cute.

(Nonsense is what makes you Jennifer. Oh well. :D)

Thank you.
That's the event I was talking about. So cute.
I have one thing to tell Byrnes
TWO HANDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Are the A's wearin green tops?
Yes
Thanks
I knew they would.
yes
at least macha didn't somehow f*ck that up, too.
I got my black A's cap on...
Let's roll.
Does that bring good luck?
If so, then don't you dare take it off!
I've been wearing it since Monday
Today is the first day
in a couple I haven't had to do something... odd.

I'll take the blame if we don't win. :)

Shouldn't mess with a good thing Macha
Well, maybe there are other forces at work but Sarloos just walked the opening batter. Oy vey!
no the opening batter
flew out to byrnes
This Canadian TV feed...
Is in widescreen. Awesome.
Inning over
OK, Let's go A's.
Sarloos scares me
as a starter.  He really has 1 effective pitch.  He would be best in the pen.
who doesn't scare you as a starter?
that's not named Harden? or Zito in the last few games?
But we really dont have another choice
Yabu might be a little better the Saarloos though
People blame macha for the line up
But we all know Beane pulls the striings on his manager.  Maybe he wants kotsay leading off.  One of the few problem I have with Beane is he does not take inot account the human element of baseball.  It is not ALL about the numbers.
um didnt' that other lineup work?
I think Duke
would be a better starter.  I remember him coming up and being an ok starter.  When Harden was called up Duke started for him in the Fuuture's game or the minor league all star game.
holy crap
that "strike" on kotsay was a foot and a half off the plate!
Harren does not scare me
Blanton is struggling but niether does he.  It is simply because Sarloos has 1 pitch.
Towers stats are unimpressive
58.2 IP
70 Hits
27 ER
37 SO
Towers last two starts:
10.1 IP, 21 Hits, 1 BB, 5K, 10 ER!!!
Blue Jays announcers
pretty much convincing their fans they are gonna gain some ground this week by playing the A's as if it is going to be no problemo.
C'mon A's, prove those jerks wrong!
why why why macha
chavez hitting third. why??

please eric, prove me wrong.

Why is Hatteberg batting cleanup?
Because Macha is trying to
find anything that makes A's fans miserable.
Well
Chavvy drew a walk and didn't strike out.  Good enough?
i hate it
when people make comments like that... as if i WANT him to do badly?
29 homeruns
sigh, that really IS atrocious.
As bad as he is pplaying
If Beane trades Chavez I will flip out.  I like and trust beane, BUT not if he does that.
here we go again
this will be like johnson 10th time leadin off an inning
Josh Towers,
last year and this year, is basically "Blanton at his worst" and "Blanton at his best"...
Josh Towers tonight:
1 IP, 0 Hits, 1 BB, 0 runs
another 4 pitch walk
Spankees are 3 outs away
from being swept in KC.  <EVIL SMILE>
When they beat up on the A's and Seattle during their "hot streak", it was all over BSPN.  What now?
why is he up in the zone so much?
this is a problem. he needs to keep the ball doooown. DOWN kirk.
If he stays up
it will not be 4 in a row
the last 4 pitches were to the same place
......................;(
They should put a mic on Adam.
I would love that.
Gustavo Chacin (sp?)
isn't scheduled to pitch against the A's, right?
You know, that rookie who made the A's look silly earlier in the season.  
making almost everyone look silly
for once we actually lost to a SICK pitcher.
The Royals won against Randy Johnson, right?
And we lost against Gustavo Chacin?

Sometimes I don't like baseball.

Yeah
It was a CG loss for RJ.
chacin has been better
than johnson this year, i would argue.
Wells should be out
Saarloos/DJ did a great job.
Dave Bush got sent to AAA
does anyone know who takes his place?
is it me or
does DJ look like an old irish guy in his yahoo picture
Woo
C'mon, DJ. He's hit-hungry.
okay, let's score here please
I think his injury
made him a batter player, not sure how, but it seems he may have figured some things out in his time off.
he's way more patient at the plate now
i don't really understand how or why...
He said...
He worked on it over the offseason and in ST, because that was the obvious glaring flaw in his play last year.
He drank Chavy's Kool-Aid.
He found whatever mojo Chavy found when he was out with the broken hand last year. Magic injury mojo?
Mojjo Croz and the DJ get hitz c'mon!!!!!!!!!
opps, better
NICE!!!
Rivercats Ball!!!
runner on 3rd less than 2 outs
They have us right were they want us.
Woo!
Bobby Crosby, you steal my heart. Well. The parts that Street, Scoot, and Kotsay don't have.

MAN, it's nice to have him back.

Okay, Byrnes. You can do this.

Crosby
HERO. GOD. IDOL. KING. Or something. Nah, but he's the man. He's looked so good since his comeback, and at the beginning of the year he was one of my bigger concerns (sophmore slump etc.). But his attitude and his skill are shining through. It's ridiculous what a HUGE player for us this kid already is.
harden and crosby
will be the face of the team in afew years
Stop the presses
byrnes is taking outside pitches
first byrnes, now crosby
what if durazo lays off them when he comes off the dl?
thank god for crosby...
i just love watching him play...
that was a strike
byrnes was just trying to be like
kotsay and chavez
Yeah.
Can't blame Byrnes for wanting to be like all the Cool Kids.
3 doubles on the year for Crosby already.
come on byrnes
you cant just take that.
Swishers got our back!
LET'S GO A'S!!!
I do not like seeing guys take off before
the pitch is called.   As a former pitcher is pisses u off and in a sense showing up the umpire.  
See, Byrnes
THAT's how it's done.
Yay! 1-0!
Can we do the RBI dance? Oh yes. Yes we can.
Sure
But I've been really spoiled after the last two games, so I'm not that thrilled with just ONE run.  I wanted more... :)
Ruben "Big Baby" Sierra grounds to short
with the bases loaded to complete the sweep.
Haha!
<EVIL LAUGH>
I wonder what John Kruk has to say about this
LOL
you crack me up. Can't wait to rub it into Yanks Fan Mom's face.

Yesssssss.............
</Napoleon Dynamite>

How did your mom become a Yankee fan?
I thought she didn't like baseball?
They just showed Vernon Wells
throw the ball into the stands.  I rarely see visting players do that, or am I wrong?
drays did it every time
Line-up
When I saw it, my biggest problem was "oh no! Byrnes is breaking up the trio of superkids!". God I love that trio of superkids. I am now christening them...

The Triumvirate.

Long may the reign (without stupid Byrnes in their way).

The Trifecta?
I like that one more I think.
Ooh! Ooh!
The TRIFORCE!

Zelda nerds unite!

chavvy
D
love it
gotta play great fundamentals like that.
If they all turn out
I guess you could use that, but a little to early for the christening
Great play by Chavy!
Just saved a double.
Gold glove, baby
That was like a Bazooka commercial type play.
That play will be on ESPN's top ten
Gotta be.

Papi's Walk-off will be ahead of it though

will we ever win like that again?
* sigh *

that seems like a fun way to celebrate.

It's been a while...
Crosby was the last right?

He'll do it again soon.

Yeah, that was the last walk off HR
But when will we have one where we're trailing bottom 9th and hit a HR to win?  That's even more fun!  <SIGH>
DJ
Shout-out to Nebraska!
The jays announcers...
Seem to think Johnson is "an accomplished defensive first-baseman"

-where'd they get that idea?

lol
well, he's been doing better since wash got a hold of him... maybe he'll become pretty good, chavez had bad d before wash knocked some sense into him...
Does anyone else LOVE watching...
Crosby play shortstop?

Maybe all the stupid Chavvy-Miggy-Complaint diaries will end once everyone gets used to Croz again.

me me me!!
* waves hands wildly in the air *
i hope so
crosby plays SS with the effort of byrnes and the glove of chavez... well, nearly, he's still got soem time...
Have the A's hit back to back HR
in an inning this year?  Or even two HR in an inning?
or even
how many games have we even had two homers in a single game?
Err...
Well Swisher homered twice in that one game...
Yeah, but it wasn't in the same inning
Dude...
I'm trying to remember two HR in the same game, at this point.
Hehe... I'm not a dude
If I were assigning
responsibility on the DJ throw, I'd hang the blame on Crosby--his positioning forced DJ to throw over the runner (whom DJ mistook for Manute Bol). Crosby needs to give him a target to the left or right side of the runner.

Everything I've seen from DJ, spring training and this season, bw, suggests he is an average defensive 1Bman at worst.

Captain Kotsay!
Captain Kirk?
oh, wait, that's something completely different...
Gotta love Kotsay.
Aw, crap!
At least the A's are trying to make something happen.
and THAT ladies and gents
is perhaps why beane doesnt appreciate the hit and run.
Why, nycfan,
because he strongly believes DPs should be grounded into? Like, "Ah wuz brought up to bahlieve that a double-play shud be defahned as a marriage between a ground ball out and anuther ground ball out."
Aggghhhhh
oh dear
wtf was that?
Great call on the hit-and-run, IMO
Kendall + Towers = perfect opportunity. I hope the occasional "backfiring" doesn't make the A's gun-shy; it will pay off far more often than not.
a's should hit and run with kendall more often
LOL...
"Dangerous part of the A's Line-up coming up"

-wow, the BJ's announcers are giving us a lot of credit

Or
Maybe they just got served some nice LSD on the plane?
Chavvy K's to end the inning.... :(
oh my god chavez
at this rate he's actually going to swing at a pitch that hits him in the helmet.
Shhh... Korach!
Don't jinx Saarloos!
Aww, that's cool.
I like the bit of the Byrnes article posted, that's pretty cool.

Aww. Croz.

Hey!
Whatever happened to Menechino "The Circus Midget"?
he looks like a mini byrnes
am i the only one who thinks so?
Crosby is red hot!
He sits on the bench
Man...
I need Crosby for all my fantasy teams.
HOLY CRAP, ERIC CHAVEZ!
Tears of JOY, we got a GRAND FREAKIN' SALAMI! TAKIN' A TRIP TO DENNY'S FOR OAKLAND! NICE!!

This is beautiful!

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