Congrats to Simmerin' Joe (not Smokin' just yet) on finally getting his first major league win. Of course, the best part about the win is that he lasted through the seventh inning.
There is still the concern that he only had three strikeouts, but perhaps this is the start that helps get him on the right road.
And Eric Chavez finally seems to be officially out of his slump. Over the last seven days, he has an OPS over 1.000 and has been stroking the ball to all fields. He's a steaky enough player that I'm not sure he's all the way there, but he hit home runs to left centerfield a couple nights ago and tonight went right centerfield. That's a great sign.
Also, congrats to DJ who had three hits tonight to raise his average all the way up to .267.
Byrnes also had both a nice assist in center tonight which absolutely crushing a Lilly pitch that is still climbing the stairs in left field. Byrnes is like the opposite of Eric Chavez early in his career. He murders lefties repeatedly. It's too bad there aren't more of them out there for him to take down.
Even the most hardened, pessimistic A's fan has to be encouraged over the recent developments over the last six games. Five out of six. Haren goes tomorrow against Gaudin. Let's make it six out of seven.
0 recs | 77 comments
It's amazing
how completely they disrespected Byrnes' arm. If it had been Kotsay, he'd have been out by 15 feet.devo - June 4, 2005
It was really close
I didn't think he was going to get called out. Huge play.Tyler Bleszinski - June 4, 2005
We've disrespected Brynes' arm too
I'm glad to have been proven wrong tonight, it makes the crow tastier.secret ASian man - June 4, 2005
I maintain
that he has a horrible arm - matched by his fundamentals. That ball was way too shallow to to even consider tagging on.devo - June 4, 2005
Yeah, not so fast S.A.M.
That was a glorified pop-up. The fact that they even tried to run on it is an embarrassment. I will say, that HR was a bomb, though. Byrnes really could be a perfect platoon, spark off the bench player type of player if they could get someone really good in front of him. Hopefully, Kielty can get a little more consistent, and keep Byrnsie in that role.Tony - June 4, 2005
In my defense I was listening to the radio
I don't know how deep that ball was hit.secret ASian man - June 4, 2005
I had a feeling
Because you're a smart fan, and I knew you wouldn't have said that if you saw it.Tony - June 4, 2005
Still,
I've seen times where Byrnes would make a wierd ass throw. At least he had the good sense to go for the play at third.secret ASian man - June 4, 2005
As has been said
he threw it all flatfooted and wrong. Intially as I was watching the play I was upset he missed the cutoff man.....Athletics fan and runner - June 5, 2005
The excitement of this play
makes Byrnes look better than he is.Byrnes caught the ball flat-footed, making it much more difficult for him to put velocity on the ball quickly. If Kotsay makes that catch on the move, he'd have the runner easily.
BayAreaAsofOakland - June 4, 2005
Totally agree
Byrnes should have caught it in front of him, with his momentum going forward, so he could take the crow-hop and make a strong throw. Watching him stutter-step for every routine fly ball really makes me nervous.On the flip side, I feel like no matter how far away a ball is hit, that Byrnes has a chance to get there.
bigthree17 - June 5, 2005
this always happens
with Byrnes! In the Giants exhibition game at the Coliseum he overran a bounding ball in left center, then recovered and made a perfect throw to second, and afterwards fell on his butt. I was shaking my head and I heard the guy behind me say "wow, that was a heckuva play".Brian in 317 - June 5, 2005
He's the moden-day Lonnie Smith out there.
DMtShooter - June 5, 2005
If Kotsay were in CF
I don't think the runner even tries it. How many times have you seen Kotsay make a perfect catch and throw and the runner doesn't even bother.salb918 - June 5, 2005
From Someone At the Game
Blanton pitched well after the two early home runs. The game's pace was really quick - about 2 hours and 20 minutes... aside from the home runs, and the A's rally in the 7th, no offense to speak of!And Byrnes' throw to 3rd was very cool.
A fun, fast, efficient game.
louismg - June 4, 2005
Thanks AN
I just noticed that I don't listen to extra innings anymore.secret ASian man - June 4, 2005
this was huge
finally winning games that we SHOULD win. earlier in the season, it would've been so likely that we would've found a way to lose. instead we found a way to win, and good (or getting better) teams do that.this winning thing, it's fun! woo!
nycfan @ Athletics Nation - June 4, 2005
Also nice to see it against a decent team...
Toronto's no juggernaut, but the Jays aren't cupcakes, either, at least where their lineup is concerned. Nice to see that the A's eventually did get to Ted Lilly and not make him look like a Cy Young candidate like they've done with other mediocre at best pitchers last month.FormerHuntsvilleStar - June 5, 2005
Um
Wow, this game was fast. I woke up at 7:05 (10 minutes earlier than usual) to try and listen to the end of the game, but it was already over!Nice one Blez, Simmerin Joe is great.
ohad - June 4, 2005
It was a 6:05 start
secret ASian man - June 4, 2005
promotion?
And why don't saturday games at the net EVER mean a 1:05 start?ohad - June 4, 2005
Little League Day
I gues with a lot of kids at the ballpark they have to enforce bedtime.secret ASian man - June 4, 2005
Joe Simmer down now
I hear on Baseball Saturday Night with Marty Lurie, Mychael Urban, and Shooty Babbit that Gaudin will be a tough challenge for the green & gold. After Monday's start, it's great that Joe Blanton has simmer down now, and got his MLB win. Also on the A's website, Urban's notes mention that Calero might be ready tomorrow for the late innings.pachydermOAFC - June 4, 2005
re
3 strikeouts is okay, if he only walks one guy. If he strikes out 3 guys per game, but only gives up one walk and one home run, he'll be giving good service.No walks should be his goal every game.
31Boots - June 4, 2005
congrats to Joe, and also the Byrnes play
captured everything good and bad about Byrnes. The fly ball was medium depth. But because he is a lousy tracker of ball paths, he didn't want to back up on the ball to take a running throw (he said this in postgame on TV), so he had to throw flatfooted. It was a great throw, but he was going to third the whole way, when in reality the percentage play was to go to second to keep the double play in order. But he rolled the dice and came up big.Blanton pitched well. The low-walks was huge. I think he was intentionally trying to nibble less. Hence, he got stung with the 2 solo dingers, but he avoided walking batters into huge innings.
Apricot - June 4, 2005
I agree, 'Cotty
Solo homers generally don't beat you; walks do. Schilling, Clemens, and other aces give up a fair number of solo HRs because they throw strikes early and often.1BB in 7IP, and a couple grooved pitches with no one on is a good trade-off, as the results ultimately showed. My only qualifier is that the worst time to give up a solo HR (and the best time to issue a walk if you're gonna) is with 2 out and no one on--make 'em get 3 straight baserunners to score, not a cheapie with one swing of the bat. Small potatoes, though--great effort by Blanton.
Nico - June 4, 2005
Nice
TonyArmas - June 5, 2005
hate to bring up anything negative after a big win
it gets really old when people question the hudson trade every other day here on AN. unfortunately, now they may have even more ammo as davies pitched 7.2 shutout innings for atlanta to lower his era to 0.77. if only another player (byrnes as insurance in case the mondesi experiment failed, which it did) had been included in the hudson deal to get davies instead of meyer...meyer will forever be measured against both hudson and davies, which is pretty unfair.
xbhaskarx - June 4, 2005
Negative post!
Troll! Troll! TROLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!Where's the 1 on my keypad...Aha, there it is...
Ve unly vants positive cumments about our government--I mean, baseball team, ya!
Nico - June 4, 2005
hindsight...
i said i don't think it's a fair comparison.i mean, if beane was psychic we could potentially have a big five right now: harden, haren, bedard (zito), davies (hudson), and bonderman. i'd like our playoff odds even with an anemic offense. oops, i just got drool on my keyboard...
if a's fans are so damn smart, somebody please build us a time machine!
xbhaskarx - June 4, 2005
I Noticed That Too
But was Davies even on the radar last winter? I'm sure he was, but the two Braves pitching prospects we kept hearing about were Meyer and Capellan.Eck - June 4, 2005
Yeah
he got a B+ from Sickels. He loves his all around stuff - especiall his changeup.BP says he has a live arm but poor mechanics and is a significant injury risk.
Baseball America had him at #53 (Meyer #43). They love his change, say he has a good fastball, but add that his curve needs work.
Baseball America and Sickels improved their takes on him from 04 to 05, but BP lowered theirs a bit.
He was a ver good prospect. He was just thought to be a notch below Meyer.
devo - June 4, 2005
Exactly
So, at the time of the trade, getting Meyer was a better move than trying for Davies. Nobody could see the future. The A's traded for the better prospect.Did anyone see any reports of Billy even asking about Davies?
Eck - June 4, 2005
That's not quite true, Eck--
Many bloggers could see the future, now that it's the past.Nico - June 4, 2005
For Example,
I Knew You Were Going To Write ThatEck - June 4, 2005
I heard...
That the Braves refused to part with Davies.bigthree17 - June 5, 2005
Bingo
Kyle Davies was the Braves' TOP pitching prospect. Not Meyer. The Braves refused to let Billy have Davies, and you can see why. It would have taken a Tim Hudson with two or three years remaining on his contract to pry Davies away from Atlanta.OaktownTribesman - June 5, 2005
this was my understanding as well...
xbhaskarx - June 5, 2005
we at AN are a little hard on ourselves.
First, there is very little moaning and gnashing of teeth over the Hudson and Mulder trades. Of course there is some. What kind of baseball fans would we be if we didn't play the what if game? We all know at a good baseball discussion at a bar, what if we had.....is always a good part of the conversation.Second, many of us, including me, have not heard of Davies--so it's great to get an insight from xb's comment about this, and start watching a new guy doing well.
I think we spend a lot more time talking about what the current team and farm system could do to improve the team.
And I have to say, how about DJ, after that 3 for 3 last night. Keep at it DJ!! And what great play by the rookies and sophomore (Crosby) in general. For some of us optimists/realists, we can see the light.
alamedaman - June 5, 2005
Good game all around...
Blanton pitched a very solid game. It wasn't overpowering, but aside from the 2 HRs, it was what I would expect from him this year. A few runs, a few Ks, low BBs, and a chance for the team to win the game.Byrnes had a hell of a game. The throwout at 3rd was big, helped get Blanton out of the inning. Then he came up and hit a 2 run JACK to tie up the game. Didn't screw anything up in CF. Nice to see him have a good game.
DJ...wow, what can I say. This kid is really starting to look comfortable. 3-3 on the night is awesome. That double off the wall was a shot. And his baserunning when he scored was very polished. He took off as soon as he saw the ball get by the first baseman. Very good.
Chavez seems to be turning the corner and heating up like he does later in the season. The HR tonight was nice to see (although it was off a righty and in a non pressure situation). But his walks were key...especially the one before Byrnes' JACK. And his defense is looking to be back to his normal awesome self. Looks like we have our third baseman back!
Street worked the end of the 8th and the 9th for the save. #2 is in the books for the kid, and he did it the easy way tonight, not letting anyone on base.
Overall, I'm very excited to see our young guys playing so well. This is what I had expected to see them do, and its nice to see them starting to make the adjustments to the majors. Of course, we can still expect some ups and downs, but if this is any indication of how we will looks when our guys mature a little more, we should be good! Great game tonight, now lets take the last one and win this series!!! GO A'S!!!
ZeroIndulgence - June 4, 2005
Dan Johnson
he also did some fine pickin' at first base. Good game for DJ!gojohn10 - June 4, 2005
DJ
Good Call. DJ has been playing stellar defense. Those couple picks at 1st Base were no joke! I kept hearing that his defense was poor (From AN'ers)...quite the contrary.Colorado Fan - June 5, 2005
More Praise For Chavez ...
He worked a walk after being down, what, 0-2? 1-2? That preceded the two-run shot.floyd - June 4, 2005
Hey RUMORS says that Zito is going to padres
why? and who would WE geT?gWiLiKeRzZz - June 4, 2005
ignore
i still think he'll be gone by the end of the year, but that particular rumor is bogus.xbhaskarx - June 4, 2005
Post expressing pleasure
Analysis putting today's game in context, attempt at witty rejoinder----oh crap! Sorry, guys: the cat walked on my keyboard and set the computer to "generic" again. I hate it when that happens.
Nico - June 4, 2005
weird idea about Chavy
Every off-season he basically seems to forget how to hit, right? It takes him until June or July to start smashing the ball. What if he played winter ball to stay sharp?(I see that oaktownmario actually came up with this idea on AN before, and no one came up with a good counter... <http://www.athleticsnation.com/story/2005/4/26/0330/61640>)
My wife: if I were his wife, I wouldn't let him go. They don't get enough time together as it is.
Me: but his career isn't going to last forever. If this puts him over the top, he should do it.
And unlike in real life, I get the last word in this comment. :)
Apricot - June 4, 2005
If I were Chavy's wife,
I'd let him go, and I'd start flirting with Adam-the-ballboy.Nico - June 4, 2005
egad, if this keeps up
we'll have to rename the site Adam-the-ballboy Nation, and replace the logo with a shot of his butt.Apricot - June 4, 2005
I hope you won't
invite me to the grand opening.Nico - June 4, 2005
You kill me
I almost died laughing at this comment. Alex and Adam would make a cute couple.Melody - June 4, 2005
Not to mention
it'll make Chavvy single again :) That's ALWAYS a good thing.ChavysGrl3 - June 5, 2005
congrats country joe
Blanton finally gets his much deserved first win!!It was so much more relaxing watching are rookie closer in the ninth.You know somehow the tying run would have made it to the plate with Dotel in there. Bye the way good luck with the amputation Octavio.
KCAs - June 4, 2005
Amputation
That's funny. But, that's exactly what he's doing. I have tendinitis in all my ligaments, but the doctor (and my workplace) would never let me take two years off to get them replaced.What a Sham. (Shame?).
Colorado Fan - June 5, 2005
my bad
....are rookie closer??? should have had my third grader proof read for me. shame on me.KCAs - June 4, 2005
Nico
If you were chavy's ball boy....Oh never mind!KCAs - June 4, 2005
the best part for me
(aside from huston of course) was seeing crosby, johnson, and swisher come through. these three have been doing really well in the back end of the lineup and i'm loving it!!nycfan @ Athletics Nation - June 5, 2005
Throwing Cold water
Hate to post something negative, but I just read on Yahoo that the reason Byrnes started in center was that Kotsay was on the bench with "tightness in his back." That doesn't sound career-threatening, but with the lousy luck we've had injury-wise this year, anything makes me jump. Anyone heard if Kotsay will be back in the line-up tomorrow?Awesome win tonight. I knew Joe had it in him. I'm glad our offense, defense, and pen were there, too, tonight.
Now -- to gain ground on the Halo's.
atomopawn - June 5, 2005
Trainer Larry Davis
Said he might be back for todays game, but back spasms are always unpredictable. They will hae to see how he feels when he gets up.ohad - June 5, 2005
I actually hope
they sit Kotsay today, because Monday's off-day would give him 2 more days off for the price of one. Consider it an opportunity to sneak CT into the lineup and let Kotsay concentrate on his Pilates the next 48 hours.Nico - June 5, 2005
"Jelly Bean" Blanton
Hurrah!The way the A's are playing lately, I might be forced to start another "Optimist's" thread.
Brian in 317 - June 5, 2005
Did anyone see Baseball Tonight
In discussing the NL East race (all 5 teams are within 2 games of 1st), they mentioned Byrnes, Hatteberg and then Rincon as "needs" of one of the NL East teams to make a run.They like Byrnes because he can hit at the top of the order. I didn't hear why they liked Hattie. They like Rincon cuz he's a lefty reliever who can pitch to lefties and righties.
TonyArmas - June 5, 2005
They won't trade Rincon
I can see the other two going, but Rincon is too valuable as a lefty for the A's to let him go.I personally would pack Hatteburg's luggage for him and although Byrnes teases us A's fans with brief glimpses of greatness, I would not miss the guy.
eastbayrules - June 5, 2005
Rincon
This team is 11 games under .500 through 1/3rd of the season. Rincon is not untouchable. Besides, he's gone after this season. Too much money (3 Million +) for what he does.He's pitching well, though.
Colorado Fan - June 5, 2005
rincon is NOT too valuable
i say this as somebody who sticks up for rincon in the game threads when others bash him...if any NL east team's needs are byrnes, hatte, and rincon, send them away ASAP!!
xbhaskarx - June 5, 2005
It sucks being on the east coast
I'll be in Boston for a couple months. I've been watching ESPN and ESPN2 for the past hour for the A's highlights and NADA. It looks like this was filmed last night before the A's game was over and now they're just replaying it over and over again.It sucks being an A's fan in the Eastern time zone. Half the time, not even the box scores are in the paper.
TonyArmas - June 5, 2005
Macha
What does he offer?I really don't see him as difference maker, just an average manager.
Ron Washington, has stated that he likes the running game. I wish Billy would embrace it too, and move Wash' into the manager seat!
GrewUpAtTheColiseum - June 5, 2005
A's now at the .400 mark!
Woo Woo -11 more wins and we're at .500
1.5 games behind Seattle - and climbing.
MobiusKlein - June 5, 2005
that's
keeping it in perspective ... still, I think it's true that, watching the last six games, it's impossible not to admit:Hey, they're not that bad!
rubin sierra - June 5, 2005
At some point,
are the naysayers going to admit that injuries, not Beane's retooling strategy, are what chopped .100 points off the winning percentage of a team trying to play .500 ball the first two months, then hoping to gel, take off, and contend?Probably not. Too busy racing to the thesaurus to look up synonyms for "head in the sand."
Nico - June 5, 2005
You know,
It's probably a little early to start gloatingrubin sierra - June 5, 2005
Okay,
It's 8-0 ... resume gloatingrubin sierra - June 5, 2005
Mulder blasted in first inning
I love to see the incredible shrinking pitcher give up 5 in the first inning today along with two jacks!The way that guy collapsed in the stretch last year makes me wish for nothing but failure from him.
eastbayrules - June 5, 2005
that's a little harsh
but i will say that i drafted mulder in one of my fantasy leagues with the idea of trading him as soon as he had an ERA around 3, pretty much expecting another late season collapse or injury.i got vlad for mulder and pat burrell. and then vlad got injured a few days later! oh well, it was still a good plan...
xbhaskarx - June 5, 2005
I knew it was mechanical!!!
I bet that someone, Huston Street, or even Blanton himself read my breakdown on his mechanics, because he sure looked a heckuva lot better yesterday than he had in the past. :)I am stoked for our team!!!
the chemistry that we have been talking about came out in Blanton's quotes in the paper today. he talked about how it was cool to come up with and compete with these guys!!!
I can feel it...I like these young guns.
saint @ Athletics Nation - June 5, 2005
Which newspaper are you referring to?
Checkswing HR - June 6, 2005
The Chron
saint @ Athletics Nation - June 6, 2005
You must Login with your SB Nation account and be a member of Athletics Nation to post a comment.