SB Nation - Login for mobile commenting

Athletics Nation

Open Thread: Game 84 - A's vs. Tigers

Baseball is a funny game sometimes. For instance, if someone had asked any of us on Sunday how the A's would do against the team with the best record in the MLB after seeing the sweep by Arizona, I think the answer is 'not very well'. But that's why the games are played on the field, and not on paper.

But on the field, Kenny Rogers has been amazing facing the A's, and especially at the Coliseum. And Saarloos was shaky at best during his last outing. Which, on opposite day, means that the A's have a great chance of getting the win today, and the series sweep.

Make no mistake about it; to win a series against the Tigers is a great acomplishment, which we've already done. But I think I speak for all of us when I say that we're looking for a little icing. And a really great pounding couldn't happen against a nicer pitcher.

Lineups:

Granderson
Polanco
Rodriguez
Thames
Guillen
Monroe
Gomez
Shelton
Inge

Ellis
Kendall
Crosby
Thomas
Payton
Swisher
Kotsay
Kielty
Scutaro

0 recs  |  284 comments

Comments

for once I was right
I had actually expressed here Monday that I thought the A's matched up well against the Tigers and that I thought they could take the series...which they have done.

I would love it for them to sweep, especially since Kenny Rogers is pitching today. But no predictions for today!! ;-)

Let's Go Oakland!!

I agree with all that.
I admit i picked us to lose the series but we can SWEEP it now!
Anybody know
what Polanco is batting against the A's in his career?  It has to be over .500 / When I settled in to me seat at the game yesterday, I was STOKED he got the day off, nto so lucky today...
Over the last 3 years (2003/4/5)
in 36 AB against us he's hitting 0.472 / 0.500 / 0.722 / 1.222 !
And this year
in 17 AB, 0.471 / 0.500 / 0.529 / 1.029 so at least we're holding his slugging down a bit !
whoa
Thanks for looking that up.  That's really crazy.
Hey we wouldn't need to
pound the Tigers to make it sweet! A one run win would be just fine !
i just saw that manny will not be playing in the
all star game. any chance swisher takes his place?
No.
I think the White Sox have a bat-boy who is free.

(ps - not a dis of Swisher, but of Ozzie)

Why is it taking so long
to make an official announcement?
My guess
I would think they would wait until after the "32nd man" voting, and take someone who didn't win that to replace Manny.
Its Magglio
I read somewhere that Ozzie is going to take Magglio Ordonez for Manny's spot.  Travis Hafner would probably be next in line, then Schilling, Mussina.  Swish is getting screwed
I think
Ozzie is taking Dusty Baker's son as a bat boy so he can order Jim Thome to run over him, cos that's playing the game right.
man
it looks like the game isnt on TV again.
BOOOOOOOO
I've wondered
Why every team doesn't have their pitchers wear Kenny Rogers masks when they pitch against the A's. Or put Kenny's picture up on the scoreboard for the entire game. The guy just gets in our players' heads. (Granted he is good.)

That said, Let's Do It.

Randomly,
I was thinking...isn't there a case that Haren should be more deserving of the All-Star game than Zito?  

I haven't checked any stats yet, but gut-feeling wise...

OT: France leads Portugal 1-0
33rd Minute, Zidane on a PK after Carvalho tripped Henry in the box.
ESPN Insider
Haven't gone through all the diaries posted today but I was just checking ESPN's Insider trade rumors and they have a picture of Greg Maddux and the three teams they list as interested are the A's, Dodgers, and Padres.  I wonder if we're really interested or if ESPN is just stirring things up?
Swish scratched...
food poisoning...
How do players
always manage to get so much food poisoning?
they never cook...
and always eat out.

More chances to get sick I guess...

I'm willing to cook for them.
post game spread?
Poorly refrigerated.

Or is it the liquid kind of food poisoning?

I bet he woke up next to a shaved goat.
(And I don't mean any AN girls.)
I am glad that you clarified that ,Jennifer.
I was just about to ask for names.
anyone else trying mlb.tv...
and finding it to be a mess of an A's noisemeter and Detroit Tigers trading cards with occasional Fosse voiceovers?
sounds like my dream last night
Did
Eddie Gaedel tell you who killed Jim Palmer?
That
is well thought-out and very funny. Hip hip, hooray!
no, but ...
... Jim was in his underwear.

His own, that is, not Eddie Gaedel's.

Yeah
its wierd.

Sound isn't working almost at all. Its just wierd.

*sigh*
yeah, i'm gettin' the same problem here too
is swisher still sick?
Sick.
Swisher's always awesomely SICK.  
Go Kendall!!
yay!
thats a beauty Kendall
walk to the hurt
lets go jaypay!!!
Here we go JP
How about another 3-run jack?
<kicks ground>
WHEN was the last time Payton came through?!?!
I blame Macha
I know...
I think it was right after the last time Bobby Crosby came through (by hitting an actual baseball, not a player).
and.... maybe next time
is MLBtv acting up on anyone?
yeah, it has been screwy...
after a couple resets it seems to be working (for now)
Online play-by-play
If people don't have a video of a game ( local tv broadcast, MLB subscription, ESPN, or what may be ) or radio coverage, they can follow a game by different online 'windows': ESPN, Sportsline, and MLB each have one.  The MLB one also has chat rooms.

Just throwing this out in case some people don't know.

hmm-
limit the damage here kirk!
Damn Kirk
It was supposed to be a double play.
STRIKEOUT!! yessssss
nice on kirk!
right as i accidently restarted mlb.tv! (maybe I should do that more often)
Kirk couldn't
have timed his strikeout for this game at a better time.
BAH!
Ouch..
That could be game...
We can only hope.
<sobs>
It's okay.
It's not like Kenny Rogers is in danger of starting the ASG or something.
What was the deal with infield hit?
?
Guillen hit a soft chopper to Saarloos
and it went into his glove and poppsed straight out and behind him. By the time he realized it wasn't in his glove, he was safe.
Damnit, if Saarloos had fielded that ball
and got Guillen out like he was supposed to, it'd still be scoreless.
well
bit of bad luck on the flare there by shelton.  we worked well against kenny in the first, lets keep it up with the good abs and see if we can come back here.
at one point this season saarloos was actually
doing a good job.
Yeah.
Like like in the first inning of this game.
Yes, he gave up 2 whole runs...
Cut him
Come on! We're due to beat up on
grumpy Kenny! Let's go boys! Rally around Kirk! Let's beat these Tigers!
Did anyone hear Fosse
make the "hang in there" comment about the twins winning 11 straight but still being 9 back?

Hilarious!

1B = Kielty!!
woo-hoo!

Ole!

Memories..memories...
I'm pretty confident
that the A's will knock Rogers around today. Just a feeling. Just the timing of everything. Day game. Offense breaking out. He's not that good. We're due to kick his ass. Etc.

That's my call. No quality start for Rogers today.

boy I hope you're right...
and I hope that Kirk doesn't get hit around even more.
Dad!
Happy 50th Birthday!

(My dad, not Hatte.)

Does he read AN?
Happy Birthday, Jennifer's dad!
No. :(
But it's the thought that counts. I haven't had the chance to tell him that today.
what is this, JDN?
Yes.
Bitch.

<throws birthday cake at monkeyball>

woo-hoo! more cake for me!
well at least macha moved kotsay down in the
lineup. unfortunately he still sucks.
Wow..
go on gameday and compare the Tigers averages compared to all our averages. Embaressing.
yet the A's are the ones who have taken 2 out of 3
with the chance of a sweep.
Yup, wierd.
yeah
wierd and embaressing. bizzare too!
Argh! Stop it!
We Don't Like Rogers. Stop praising him incessantly! He said he hated it here!
I agree
and now they are talking about the LAAAAngels winning 4 in a row.
Macha and Perry pissed?
Macha
see's perry screaming and he doesn't understand what he is doing but he wants to be as cool as Perry so he copies him.
Is VinCo sick?
don't think so...
he's on the air right now.
He sounds weird..
Really quiet.
Maybe he has "food poisoning" too?
I think there's a lot of it going around today.
I think Kirk Ssaarrllooss has food poisoning.
yikes!
Spelling it that way makes Kirk sound like a Sleestak.
I don't know.
damn
another extra base hit.  not good.
I blame Rich Harden (or the lack thereof)
i hope someone is warming up in the bullpen.
and
another double.  3-0 tigers.
sheez, 3-0 after quick perusal of the thread.
gad, i hope i can tune in later when things have slowed down here at the office.  
Saarloos isn't fooling the Tigres
get Halsey warmed up.
pheeew
2 outs lets go a's
oh no
4-0
you have got to be kidding
well two out of three is nice.
The sky is falling!!!!!!!
AHHHH!!!!!!!!!!
ah well, with The Camera Man on the mound
we had no chance anyways...
kendall
come on let the guy steal
wooooo
6-0 im glad i was at yesterdays game not todays
We Need a New 5th Starter
Captain Kirk has hit his wall--

I say Halsey.

Sadly, agree.
Saars would be more valuable as our groundball specialist in the 'pen.

Why isn't he as successful?  Kirk relies on groundballs to succeed, and this year his GB/FB is 1.73 as opposed to 2.34 last year.  He always allowed baserunners - lots of singles and walks - but they would always be erased on DPs and stranded on groundouts.

But this year, Kirk has allowed 12 - check, 13 - homers already, compared to 11 all of last year.  Ball's not staying on the ground, and once it gets in the air, bad things can happen.

but why would ...
... his GB/FB ratio increase by being sent to the 'pen?

I think Nico made a great, great point over the weekend (too lazy to find link) that Kirk, because he's a sinker pitcher, needs to be "overused" to be effective -- which basically means starting him (on regular-to-short rest). If we try to make him Chadford (RTOGY) or Yabu (NMUGY), his pitches may be even worse.

Because a 1.73 GB/FB
rate is still good.  Quite good, and more than adequate for your RTOGY.  Just not what you need from a starter who walks more guys than he strikes out.
yes, but ...
... are you therefore disagreeing with the Nico Hypothesis? Because I think the NH would indicate that Kirk's GB/FB ratio would decrease even further with such usage.
I'd need a minute to look
such things up, but...

...my recollection is that Saars records the groundballs quickly and effectively in the early innings of games.   Using him out of the bully would get him work on fewer days of rest, not more -- so the NH would indicate that Saars's sinker will sink more if used out of the 'pen, and this dovetails well with my (unsubstantiated) observation that Saars has his sinker working early in the game.

sounds reasonable
I mean ... <charges mound>
The best I can come up with
for now is that on pitches 1-15, Saars holds opponents to an ISO<.100.  This rises quickly to an unacceptable .200 on pitches 16-30.  Not ironclad proof of my hypothesis, but still...
feh ...
... pitches 1-15 will usually be to the first 2-3 guys in the lineup, who are usually medium-to-high-OBP/low-SLG guys; pitches 16-30 are usually against the #3-5 guys in the lineup, who are typically your high-SLG guys. I'd guess that nearly every pitcher in the league sees a jump in ISO @ 15 pitches.
Agree (sort of)
Generally, the first 2-3 hitters are some of the best in the lineup -- particularly the three.  But you are right in that nearly every pitchers sees a jump in ISO @ 15; I think, however, that coupled with 'loos's groundball tendencies, it makes him a strong bully candidate.
But
he did so well last year.

<barf>

"well" = "lucky"
... with the caveat that extreme GB pitchers may be among the small subsets of pitchers that can actually negatively affect BABIP.

But, as Sal pointed out, Kirk this year isn't an extreme GB pitcher.

I was being sarcastic.
well, la-di-da
</Diane Keaton>
well that went downhill fast
Call up Windsor
PLEASE!
halsey needs to take saarloos' spot in the
rotation.
are you guys all bad luck?
I just got here and am sure not happy with what I've found.  A sweep would be so nice.
we're all not clutch
been hangin' with Chavvy again?
ALL of the posts in this thread are by Chavvy
... which also explains the tendinitis in the arms ...
Today Sarloos reminding us how much we miss
Harden.
Just today?
<sobs>
saarloos hasn't been good for awhile. halsey needs
to take his spot in the rotation.
is it too early
to take out the pitcher?
what's the point now. that game is already lost
might as well keep him in and save the bullpen.
yeah
keep him in the tigers need batting practice
Too late!
Get the time machine warmed up, tell Macha in the 2nd.
a's troll doll
found it at flea market. we lost games to arizona so i put him in other room. better bring him back out
I say we call up Windsor.
I mean we should call someone up that will be in the rotation next year because won't it be better to have him start now so next year he won't have to start as a rookie?
Wow - That was quick...
Just checked in... and it looks like the Tigers remembered that they were team with the best record in baseball...

And Why can't the A's touch Rogers... I really hate that guy...

2 out of 3 is good... I just hope that the A's show some life on offense today, and not tuck tail against the Gambler...

23-1
lifetime for Rogers at the Coliseum after today

pretty amazing stuff

touch
as in like touching camera guy
does anybody have the ability...
to see how many times this year the A's have been able to score over 6 runs?
16 times
or roughly 20%.

I'd say the odds of doing it against kenny Rogers after being shut out the first three innings are more like 5%.

are you
saying that sarcastically-sp
i woke up with
a hangover for this?... ugh....
Swish?
hahaha
didnt you hear
it was food poisoning
did someone spike
his food
might as well be swish....
i have "flu like symptoms"
if I ignore our poor offense ...
... by sticking my head in the ground, would I be exhibiting "emu-like symptoms"?
Kenny Rogers = Satan
There is no way that someone can be THIS dominant in one park.  Mr. Rogers MUST pay the fiddler with the PITCHfork and that right soon.
The tigers should bring
Doyle Alexander out of retirement and then trade him for John Smoltz.
saarloos is just worthless.
France leads Portugal 1-0
It's a pretty sad state of affairs when your baseball team is being outscored by France's soccer team.

Yet another reason to hate the French!

Loos, we know last year was a fluke.
You don't have to prove it to us.
<sends BBG's pony to the glue factory>
was laughing
at how bad yankees got beat. i shouldnt have
Now that this game is pretty much over,
Can Jason Kendall charge the mound and nail the camera hater, err, I mean Kenny Rogers?
Small victory
P. Polanco 2B     0-3
I dunno
The fact that he's had 3 AB in the first 4 innings makes it somewhat Pyrrhic.
Blanton
I hear a lot of complaining about Blanton but having Saarloos pitch really demonstrates how good of a pitcher he really is.  If Blanton is a #5 starter than Saarloos is about a #8.
agreed
I actually think Blanton is pretty solid.  With a little more run support he'd have a lot more wins under his belt.
blanton just needs to be more consistent. saarloos
just needs to find another team.
Loos is still a usefull pitcher.
Liar.
This team sucks and blows.
Lier and a bad speler.
I hate myself.
What is your definition of "useful?"
Only kidding.  He has thrown some good games when we really needed them.  It's just tough to rely on a guy who is not really supposed to be a legit starter.
Blanton's more gelatinous than solid
Anybody know a persistent cameraman?
Preferably an A's fan?
frank thomas
guy had to reach and catch his hit
All CBSsportsline says...
Was Flied out to Deep left...Explain
jumped
and grabbed the ball. radio people said it was good catch
what was
the thing with macha coming out of dugout
kielty
got double. CLOWN POWER
woo Kotsay!
no shutout!
WOO HOO
rbi hit by kotsay,burger king hit of the game
Kotsay finally did something!!!!
even better!
MARCO!!
HOMERUN KARKO KUTERO!!!!!!
and Fosse does a pretty good Scooby Doo
heard that
that was funny and then marco hit the home run
woo hoo
who ever bad mouthed marco those other thread. na na na. home run 7-3
SCUTARO!!!!
MAAAAAAAAAAARCOOOOOO
If he were clutch,
he would have hit it in the ninth.
No way.
Every hit Scoot has is clutch.
If he was clutch...
he would have hit 7 run homer.
Mr. Heatmizer lives
Keep running Kielty out there!  The guy is on a hot streak <as opposed to hawt> and Scutaro is re-marco-ble.
send kenny home now
cool
all these on 2 outs. go dj way to wait and get walked
MLBTV keeps pausing
stalls.....buffers....comes back...stalls.  Never had this problem..I doubt its my connection
its not...
mine is about as consistent as Captain Kirk's pitching as well
yeah I kind of figured it wasnt the connection
because the audio is right on. So even though the image freezes, the audio runs smoothly
ellis
come on lets go
Dammit
That was one of those 2-out rbi's we really could have used.  A gapper, triple or HR would have qualified.
argh another double
Holy cow, Loos.
why is Saarloos still out there?
A 4 run deficit is not that bad.

Macha waited too long-- as usual

<waits for more of IT>
you want seconds?
You want more?
Yeah.
I love it. IT makes me feel better about my life.

I've been using the photo you sent me as a dart board. Therapy.

Ken Macha
"Manager of the Year"
Whoops
"Wrigley's Manager of the Year!"
Scutaro isn't clutch
He just pads his stats with HRs when the score is lopsided.
flores
hope better than yesterday
nice defense by Crosby
Anyone going to the game this sunday?
I understand its free Huston Street Jersey day. (first 10,000). By the way, how early do you guys think I should get there to make sure i get a jersey?
I want a Huston Street Jersey-
but I live all the way in SoCal. Boooo!
give aways
if really popular they get there at 9am that morning and then dont go to game i guess
I just bought a Frank Thomas SGA jersey on ebay...
for $15.
yep
anything from game can be bought on e-bay. laugh when they want to charge so much for shipping
What does SGA mean?
Is it like CGV but only different?
I think its Special GiveAway
thanks
I really didn't understand what McFood was talking about but I'm off to ebay...
Ebay
That's how I got most of my Bobble Village, plus a few other things.
like glitter!
There are some good deals for A's knick-knacks and I have an office full of them.
SGA = stadium give-away
thanks to you as well...
Jay Pay
Keep swingin' that sizzlin' bat.
not sure why I posted here
oh no
8-3
Yikes
I just woke up to this. Anyone else for Brad Halsey or Chad Gaudin in the rotation? Not they're guarantees to be huge upgrades or anything, but it's worth a shot.
Mark Kotsay
That would guarantee that Kielty and Payton were both in the lineup.
Kotsay looks like he could master a knuckle
I'm for it!
<snerk>
"master a knuckle"
Brandon Inge...
looks familiar... like a puppet.
<sigh>
"Plus he(Byrnes) looks like a big muppet." -Dad

You need to watch the fanfest video.

Inge looks like this old grandpa puppet...
from a television show. Anyone? This puppet was cantankerous and had some crazy eyebrow action.
Nice K by Flores
Siddown Tiger bitches!
stop the bledding please
radio
reminding us last game we played angels was when kendall got in fight
I wish that
we weren't starting the Angels series with Loaiza as the first pitcher up.
loaiza
might actaully be a good matchup for the free swinging angels.  if his ball is moving he could get lots of groundouts and flyouts.  of course, if he's piping those sweet 84 mph heaters of his, well, thats not a good matchup against anyone.
also in 1996
a's 16 angels 8
Hey hey Crosby
Now has a hit in 9 of his last 10 games. Not really doing anything for his batting average, as it features a lot of 1 fers, but with this offense, it's nice to see nonetheless.
crosbys hit
almost caught.hes on 2nd and frank at bat
kenny
hit frank. jay pay up. come hit a homer
If JayPay goes yard here
we'll win this game
take him down
frank.

the big hurt don't take that mess...

damn
not our day.
Rogers is damn lucky.
well that looked good...
for about a second.
I'd settle for Payton
Simply not making an out right here. An out would be a big rally killer.
My rally cap is in the on position.
Happy day after the 4th.
never got my troll doll
didnt go get doll and bring in room. kendall blew it
might
as well get it all out today here boys.  can't play like this against the angels.  i have a feeling this upcoming 4 games is going to turn out to be a huge series.  we either get it together and take 3 of 4, and they stay in the cellar for the rest of the year, or they take 3 of 4 and go into the break only a couple back and ready to fight it out till the end.
I've never had
a worse feeling about a series. I hope i'm wrong but i think we get swept and they take over the division.
2-2
That is all I'm hoping for and that might keep us in 1st place up to the All-Star break.  
Gee, that's just not like you.
Oh, I've had a worse feeling about a series ...
ALF. Man, that series sucked.
i don't know ...
seeing how the A's are playing right now with their lack of offense is really frustrating.
I so wish that they will somehow find a way
to wake up from this nightmare :(
oh no
sauerbeck may be coming in
Anyone sold on Flores now?
I can't believe how much he and Go-Dan walk guys.  Give yourself a chance by throwing strikes.
Sweet DP
But now it's 10-3.
bases loaded
announcer said air was sucked out. 10-3 but double play. whoppee
Sauerbeck illustrates
That they have finally given up on this one.
NEW THREAD MOJO!
ok
time for one of our patented 7 runs innings that we haven't had any of this year.  swing them sticks boys.  they were made specifically for hitting baseball - use them!
New thread, go go!

You must Login with your SB Nation account and be a member of Athletics Nation to post a comment.