Joe Blanton once again pitched a very good (not great) game for the A's, shutting the Tribe down for 6 innings; but Joe tired in the 7th inning, and his mechanics and control began to slip, and the Indians squeezed across 2 runs on a potential double-play grounder muffed by Barton and a bases-loaded walk by Blanton to Garko.
The A's bats, meanwhile, were effectively silenced by Cliff Lee and three Indians relievers. The A's scratched out a run on a Travis Buck sac fly in the 3rd -- but that turned out to be the only inning wherein the A's put more than one man on base.
As I speculated in opening up the game thread, the Blanton-Garko matchup proved to be key. Joe pitched around him in the 1st with a man on; then, in the pivotal 7th, after a (presumably) Geren-ukased IBB of Travis Hafner to load the bases, Joe once again, in effect, pitched around Garko, not willing to throw a pitch anywhere near the middle of the strike zone. The Indians took the lead on the bases-loaded walk, and the A's didn't really threaten again.
Two things are rapidly becoming clear in this young (in both senses of the word) season:
1. The A's, without Cust or Chavez in the lineup, have little to no power.
2. Bob Geren's in-game management of the pitching staff is questionable. Not utterly wrong, but ... questionable.
It's certainly not reasonable to say that Blanton shouldn't have started the 7th today: his pitch count was reasonable after 6, and he'd been keeping the Indians off-balance all day.
But as the 7th wore on, it was clear that Blanton's control was slipping away. And when Joe's control goes, his effectiveness goes. Geren was late getting Casilla warmed up in the pen; a couple batters tardy in pulling Blanton; misguided in walking Hafner to set up a bases-loaded situation for either a starter who was tired and had lost control or a reliever with oft-erratic control coming in after warming up hurriedly; and utterly wrong to let Blanton pitch to Garko in that situation. The A's were probably lucky that the walk actually minimized the potential damage in that plate appearance. Yes, Blanton could have escaped the inning had Barton made a clean transfer and started a 3-6-1 DP -- but just as official scorers are told to never assume the DP in assessing hits/errors/FCs, I'm not 100% sure that the A's necessarily would have turned 2 there. Even if they had, they would have been lucky to escape the inning that way, with as badly as Blanton was starting to miss the plate.
In any event, Cliff Lee and the Cleveland 'pen mooted the entire debate by shutting the A's offense down.
Off-day tomorrow, then Tuesday in Toronto.
Is my title too cerebral?
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Comments
Thoughts
If Barton had in fact turned the DP then we'd all be sitting here saying how well Blanton pitched and not questioning whether he was tired or if he should've been pulled earlier. It's just unfortunate that Barton muffed his transfer and its a tough loss to swallow.
Lee was very lucky to pitch as well as he did today. He missed location badly on numerous occasions where Shoppach would set up on one side of the plate only to have Lee's pitch end up on the other side. I guess you could say Lee was effectively wild.
Buck looked good today in that 1st AB and when he lined out to short later on. The one thing that scares me is that Buck's season (and career thus far) mirror one of AN's favorite whipping boys; Dan Johnson. Both had stellar first seasons in the bigs only to come back and go 0-fer to begin their 2nd season. Both are completely different players obviously and I trust Travis not to end up like DJ but they do have curious parallels.
And finally, Suzuki is sure proving me wrong in that he's had an excellent start to the season not only at the plate but also behind it because our starters and staff as a whole have been pitching exceptionally well against 2 of the tougher lineups in the league.
Quiet hands, head steady, bottom half of his body stays solid.
Buck, on the other hand, looks like the worst elements of Byrnes and Crosby: hands and feet jumpy, head peeking out at the pitcher from within his herky-jerky swing, nervous-tic timing mechanisms.
How on earth do you call for a pitch out of the strike zone when it's going to walk in the go-ahead run? There's probably a less than 50% chance that Garko bites on that. No way does he have a .500 batting average on pitches in the zone. Yes, a hit is more damaging than a walk-- but for crying out loud, it's a tie ballgame!
Ugh. I don't know whether Suzuki called that or the bench, but whoever it was, grow a pair.
This is not what I consider a "should have won" game at all
Lee pitched great, and we only led through the 6th inning - leads change hands, stuff happens. In most one-run games you can look back at a key moment and say "but for that we would have won, could have won, should have won" - but you don't win them all.
I was sitting in the seats right behind the plate,
and what may not have been apparent on the telecast view is that Lee's fastball really had late life - it's why the A's had so many pop fouls. It was a pretty explosive fastball for 91-92 MPH, and while Lee might have been "effectively wild" within the strike zone he also didn't walk anyone for the first 6 innings, which is to his credit as well. He pitched a good game.
the empty seat across from where his cousin and family were and the usher said "Sure" even though he knew it wasn't the kid's assigned seat - I praised the usher for his good judgment, pointing out how annoying it was when I was a kid and wanted to sit in a good empty seat and the ushers got all anal about it even though I wasn't bothering anyone. I'm glad that at least some of the ushers are trying to make the 1/2 empty Coliseum a friendly place.
He didn't seem that pleased to let you sit in the seats that you paid for. That's my only gripe about something like that. The person who paid for the ticket shouldn't have to ask someone to move ...so they can take their seats. The kid should have waited until an inning or two had passed before sitting in an empty seat.
But I do notice that noone even asked me for my ticket today and usually they guard those seats a little from seat snaggers.
He seemed mad at me and my mom for not letting him sit in our seats, like "Oh great, you had to show up!" and he didn't even say thanks to the usher - I was the one who said "hey that was really nice" to the usher.
First of all, I do think Blanton pitched great - as noted already, if Barton starts the DP successfully we're talking about shutting out a very good offense for 7 innings. And when a guy has pitched that well - and is the reason you're in the game because it sure ain't your offense - you give him a chance to finish the inning and get the win. And you don't let Travis Hafner beat you in that spot. So it comes down to Blanton vs. Garko. And yes, you have to challenge him on 3-2 after throwing slop to get there.
I was at the game, and when the ball was hit to Barton my first thought was "come home!" because I thought it was a tough DP on a lefty hitter who has good speed. Of course that scenario would have left Hafner up with the bases loaded and who knows what would have happened from there.
I'm not even going to ask you to guess who said it -- shooting fish in a barrel.
I'm encouraged. I feel I made a lot of progress from my last start. It's a shame I had to go out and lose the game, as far as the team goes, but I'm excited to go out there again in five days and implement this stuff.
Meanwhile, back in the clubhouse:
Reliever Keiichi Yabu was doing an arm exercise, pulling a long rubber tube attached to a hook inside his locker, when the tube came loose, snapped back to his face and hit both of his eyes. It happened Saturday, and Yabu's vision remained blurry with corneal abrasions Sunday. The proof came when Yabu was asked if his vision was better and he told a reporter (Henry Schulman), "Yes, you look good."
I was trying to post in Safari, and couldn't. "Preview" and "Post" commands both got me "Page Not Found". CXCXCXCX also was not working, and attempts to insert blockquotes returned me to the top of the page. Firefox seems to be normal.
Rookies CANNOT be in the middle of your order if you want a successful run-producing offense unless your rookie is named Pujols or Braun.
Mike Sweeney is no longer any type of cleanup hitter. He's a solid major league hitter but wouldn't be starting for any team with a dream about making the playoffs this year.
Emil Brown sucks. When you're watching the game and you're telling yourself "yes we have 2 runners on for Brown" you know your offense isn't going anywhere.
With a rookie, a guy past his prime, and a shitty hitter are batting 3,4, and 5... you're not going to get more than 1 run and 4 hits.
It's that simple...
There's no need for any other examination or discussion.
I don't like Barton batting third. I think he's the perfect #2 hitter and should be batting 2nd while...um...Braun or Pujols hits 3rd. Damn. Emil Brown batting 5th? I'm bearish enough on Emil Brown the #7 hitter. I think it's too early to write off Mike Sweeney as a legitimate middle of the order hitter, though - he's a terrific hitter who is only 34 and currently is healthy. So...
1. Buck-if-he-ever-gets-a-hit
2. Barton
3. The great hitter we don't have
4. Sweeney
5. Cust
Why would you bat Cust behind Sweeney, who is worse?
Also, putting your best hitter at #3 is a fallacy. You don't want your best hitter frequently coming up with no one on and two outs. Your #3 hitter should be either your fourth or fifth best hitter depending on the handedness of him and your #5 guy.
Besides the fact that the whole comment was a joke,
if your #3 hitter comes up with two outs and the bases empty a lot, you need better 1-2 hitters since they are supposed to have your higher OBPs! Of course you could be Jim Leyland in which case you're probably leading off with Pudge Rodriguez - as he actually is tonight - and wondering why your team is on its way to starting 0-6. (Failing to catch anything in the field might be another contributor.)
If your #4 hitter comes up with the bases empty and two outs
more often than your #3 hitter, you need to recheck your mathematics.
It's impossible for that situation to arise (unless you've already scored) in the first inning. And after the first inning, it's pretty much random anyway.
Also, it bears noting that even if your first two guys have .400 OBPs, there's still a 36% chance that your #3 guy will be up with none on in the first inning.
The A's aren't looking all that bad...and they are fun to watch as an added bonus. I had nice seats today and I enjoyed watching how well the players treated the young fans. Even though, one kid sitting behind me didn't know what players he had gotten autographs from. I helped him Identify the signatures because i watched as he got his ball signed by 7 different players.
Not the greatest outcome from a home stand, but I think the team is headed in the right direction. We just played the two teams from last year's ALCS. I've seen nothing from any of the other West teams at this point to make me think we are done in the division.
Look at it this way. People could look at this team and say "they don't have the tools", but with a little dumb luck and some execution, we could arguably be 6-1. By comparison, a team that everyone says has the tools, Detroit, is on the verge of going 0-6. Which position would you rather be in? I mean, sure, Detroit will probably turn it around at some point, but nothing is guaranteed? Who's to say they won't end up 20 games under .500? I'm just excited to let the season play out.
We've been right in there ,even when losing. The team has to get better at hitting. Of course, Duke might be more seriously injured than reported and Harden could do his usual get injured early routine...but if those two guys hold up, I see no reason why we couldn't be considered in serious contention.
Blanton is a better bet than Casilla not to walk in a run. If he brings in Casilla and Casilla issues the walk, I think you get more legitimate second-guessing. Second of all, the guy earned the right to try to finish the inning and get the win - after all, following 6 shutout innings the 7th inning jam was created by a bloop single, a ball served into left with a lunging swing, and an intentional walk. I'm not generally a "let him have a chance to get the win" kind of guy, but here it made sense to me - it was Blanton's game.
I disagree with it -- and, fwiw, given the way Blanton kept shaking off Suzuki, and the way he pitched Garko in the 1st and in the 7th, I think Blanton disagreed with your assessment as well. He sure didn't act like he thought he was the best option available to face Garko there.
And, again, as I mentioned somewhere else, it's not that leaving Blanton in to face Garko itself was the worst decision in the world (or even wrong, necessarily), but that Geren made a series of decisions, the cumulative sense of which was lacking.
all things considered, that probably would have been the optimal decision
I think I probably overstated the case for taking Blanton out any time prior to facing Hafner (though there's a case to be made for having Casilla start warming up at the start of the 7th just in case).
Yeah, Blanton got into a little trouble (thanks, Barton), but he still pitched pretty effectively-- with a little help from his friends-- to get out of a bases loaded jam with only 2 runs scored. Geren gave the staff ace a chance to pull himself out of a jam. I think it sends a message to the other guys in the rotation, and if you buy into that sort of thing, then it should give them some confidence.
I'm 50/50 on the low changeup to walk Garko; it's never very swift to walk someone with the bases juiced, but it was a good-looking pitch and a fair gamble-- he'd been throwing it all day, and the Indians had been swinging at it. Give Garko credit for having a good AB and barely checking his swing in time.
I like that Ryan Sweeney is starting to remember how to hit.
Never sit Cust. Ever.
There's no way a lineup like the Tigers' should put up only 1 run after 6 innings.
Just curious - how close was the 3-2 pitch to being a strike
I actually thought it was a strike (because from my vantage point in sec 117 you can't really see over the plate below the knees unless you have x-ray vision in which case you'd see Fielden Culbreth's colon too). Personally, as much as Garko was leaning over the outside corner I thought they would/should go fastball in. But how close was the changeup to being a strike?
It wasn't a ball in the dirt by any means but it wasn't close enough for me to yell in the direction of the umpire. Really it's all about pitch choice; why not throw that pitch at 1-2 or 2-2 and not 3-2? In that situation you're not trying to fool a batter on 3-2, you're just trying to make a good pitch with your straight stuff.
I mean Garko's good but he's Ryan Garko good, not Manny Ramirez good. And if you throw a strike, even if he rips it he might line it right at somebody. "I can't throw a strike to Ryan Garko"? Gak.
... but you could tell Garko wanted it. I'll grant that that's more of a 1-2 or 2-1 pitch, but like I said, Joe had been ripping with that pitch and that location throughout most of the game. A fastball is nice and all, but we're still talking about a Joe Blanton fastball. He's a finesse guy. I'm not trying to say it was the best idea ever, I'm just saying I can see the thought process.
The interesting part is that Blanton and Suzuki had a quick mound conference before he threw that change. For the first time I'd seen during the game, Blanton was shaking off the signs like crazy. I'd like to know who wanted to throw what.
the pitches preceding it were all off-speed. It was off-speed, won't chase...off-speed, won't chase...that got the count to 3-2. Not only was Garko leaning out over the plate more and more (which is why I thought they'd try to bust him inside) but you can't just keep changing up off changeups, so to speak. The best pitch in baseball is still the fastball - everything works off of it. The fact that Blanton throws 90 MPH and not 95 MPH doesn't change that.
Beane didn't trade for Carlos Quentin during the offseason. Right handed bat, Tommy John surgery, torn labrum... injury risk with high upside. Seems like a true Athletic to me.
"mild bicept tendonitis" were the words used, at the time of the injury...
Which struck me as odd, from the very beginning because tendinistis is a chronic (repetitive) injury, even though somebody disputed that. But, I was right... it wasn't tendinitis. From what I can glean... strain is worse... pull is even worser.... tear is the worsest, so to speak. But, as I understand these things, they're all just different degrees of the same thing. Except for tendonitis, which it isn't, anyway.
Stain, pull, tear... they're just different degrees of muscle fiber tearing.
Blanton was pitching great and if you can't leave your number one in to clean up his own gaff then who can you leave in. It was Blanton's game to win or lose as someone else said earlier and he lost. Meh. You win some you lose some, but in no way is this on Geren or was that a poor managing decision.
We will lose many many games like today. Good pitching, no hitting.
I think it was the right move to let Blanton finish the 7th. He was very close to getting out of it.
Can somebody explain why you lead off with Cust in the 8th against a lefty when it was pretty obvious that Borowski was going to pitch the ninth if Cleveland had the lead?
If you start Sweeney against Lee, it means you think he can hit lefties. So either keep him in there or use one of your other guys on the bench (Denorfia or Bowen would have worked in that situation). Save Cust for one of two things: guys on base in the 8th or against Borowski in the 9th. I was dying when Sweeney walked in the 9th only to have E-Mail come up to bat. Yeah, he gave one a ride, but I would have been significantly more confident with Cust at the plate then. If nothing else, he's more likely to get on base if not end the game. Then you have runners on 1st and 2nd, one out, so Crosby could hit into a game ending double play instead of just a game ending force out!
1. You need to avoid the hit there with the game tied and runners on 2-3. Garko had a higher BA by about 20 points than Hafner last year, and likely will this year. That IBB seemed largely based on "Hafner is famous for being an awesome hitter and Garko is not."
2. Obviously it lets a BB beat you, as happened.
3. Blanton could have pitched carefully to Hafner (as he did to Garko) without fear of the BB, thus reducing even more Hafner's chances of getting a hit relative to Garko. League wide guys generally hit about .010 points higher with the bases loaded than with 2nd and 3rd for that reason. The pitches Blanton actually threw to Garko would have been great with a base open.
I would NOT bring in Casilla to face Garko. But I would trust Blanton to throw strikes and if he preferred to pitch to Garko over Hafner, I'd let him. But this outcome is why I generally do not like IBBs to load the bases: too little room for error for the pitcher - why back him into that corner when you don't have to?
Poster is spot on that Blanton should not have been in that situation. Nonetheless, the A's bats looked really lifeless today. I was particularly impressed by the number of times Hannahan was late on 91 mph fastballs. He looked completely overmatched much of the time. A lot of the A's just looked sleepy up there. Cust comes up as a pinch hitter, and the tying run, and he takes a called strike 3? Weird.
As a die hard halos fan, who plans to attend beer fest this season, one quick question to my NorCal friends, where's the best seat at the coliseum? You'll know me when you see me, I'll be wearing my G.A. jersey and my world series cap, and drunk off my a_s !! Any info would help.
I have noticed over the past two years that some pitchers have lost a few MPH on their fastball and some power hitters are now gap hitters. It is appearing to me that scores are now more like 1986 than 1999.
Does anyone else feel that the game is now in the post steroid era?
I would like to see E. Brown dumped he isn’t the answer to any question. Send Denorfia to AAA to regain bat speed. Put Cust in LF, Mike Sweeney at First and DH Barton. I would next like to see a trade of DJ and Street for a proven player. We already have a few pitchers who can close and Huston seems to have lost something. I would scour the dumpsters for a Dave Stewart type pitcher. That is the missing piece.
quotes a mean-spirited (as opposed to friendly) snark at another user's expense, and the snarked-at user is offended by it, he has every right to ask the guy to change it. The comment was obnoxious enough once, or funny enough once if you liked it. But just because most of us would choose to simply "wear it" when an insult shows up repeatedly in a sigline doesn't mean there's an obligation to do so.
Thoughts
If Barton had in fact turned the DP then we'd all be sitting here saying how well Blanton pitched and not questioning whether he was tired or if he should've been pulled earlier. It's just unfortunate that Barton muffed his transfer and its a tough loss to swallow.
Lee was very lucky to pitch as well as he did today. He missed location badly on numerous occasions where Shoppach would set up on one side of the plate only to have Lee's pitch end up on the other side. I guess you could say Lee was effectively wild.
Buck looked good today in that 1st AB and when he lined out to short later on. The one thing that scares me is that Buck's season (and career thus far) mirror one of AN's favorite whipping boys; Dan Johnson. Both had stellar first seasons in the bigs only to come back and go 0-fer to begin their 2nd season. Both are completely different players obviously and I trust Travis not to end up like DJ but they do have curious parallels.
And finally, Suzuki is sure proving me wrong in that he's had an excellent start to the season not only at the plate but also behind it because our starters and staff as a whole have been pitching exceptionally well against 2 of the tougher lineups in the league.
Helloooo 1st - April 6, 2008
DJ, even now, doesn't look bad at the plate
Quiet hands, head steady, bottom half of his body stays solid.
Buck, on the other hand, looks like the worst elements of Byrnes and Crosby: hands and feet jumpy, head peeking out at the pitcher from within his herky-jerky swing, nervous-tic timing mechanisms.
monkeyball - April 6, 2008
DJ is neither mentally nor physically unsound
He just isn't very good at hitting.
PaulThomas - April 6, 2008
Totally agree with you
butler19 - April 6, 2008
OK
That pitch to Garko was flat-out inexcusable.
How on earth do you call for a pitch out of the strike zone when it's going to walk in the go-ahead run? There's probably a less than 50% chance that Garko bites on that. No way does he have a .500 batting average on pitches in the zone. Yes, a hit is more damaging than a walk-- but for crying out loud, it's a tie ballgame!
Ugh. I don't know whether Suzuki called that or the bench, but whoever it was, grow a pair.
PaulThomas - April 6, 2008
Well, where's that fanpost keeping count...
of the games they should have won. This is #2 by my count. The A's should be 5-2 and leading the AL West.
Cust's bat must be in the lineup everyday, even against lefties. If you want Brown in there against a lefty, put him in CF.
Score runs or lose games we should have won. Simple as that.
FoolshGame22 - April 6, 2008
This is not what I consider a "should have won" game at all
Lee pitched great, and we only led through the 6th inning - leads change hands, stuff happens. In most one-run games you can look back at a key moment and say "but for that we would have won, could have won, should have won" - but you don't win them all.
Nico - April 6, 2008
you count it your way...
I'll count it mine. lol
FoolshGame22 - April 6, 2008
lee pitched
greatagainst the a'sxbhaskarx - April 6, 2008
I was sitting in the seats right behind the plate,
and what may not have been apparent on the telecast view is that Lee's fastball really had late life - it's why the A's had so many pop fouls. It was a pretty explosive fastball for 91-92 MPH, and while Lee might have been "effectively wild" within the strike zone he also didn't walk anyone for the first 6 innings, which is to his credit as well. He pitched a good game.
Nico - April 6, 2008
The A's lost a close one.
I don't see how we "should have won" that game.
IM4Oakgal - April 6, 2008
that's why the fanpost is pretty impossible
to back up with anything. whether a team "should have won" is largely an opinion.
flipgatey3 - April 6, 2008
Well I think they should have won -
I mean I wanted them to and everything. :-(
Nico - April 6, 2008
LOL
I enjoyed meeting you today...you certainly had enough chow hee hee.
IM4Oakgal - April 6, 2008
Likewise - your beard is scruffier than I had imagined
Nico - April 6, 2008
Your goat was cuter than his pic.
IM4Oakgal - April 6, 2008
That was my MOTHER
{storms off to sulk}
Nico - April 6, 2008
Your Mom was impressive.
Handling all of those stairs with a sore hip was pretty awesome. Oh and I noticed that kid came back and sat by you guys.
IM4Oakgal - April 6, 2008
a kid?
OaklandSi - April 6, 2008
Well not THAT
kind of kid.
IM4Oakgal - April 6, 2008
Naaaaaaah
Nico - April 6, 2008
He came back and asked if he could sit in
the empty seat across from where his cousin and family were and the usher said "Sure" even though he knew it wasn't the kid's assigned seat - I praised the usher for his good judgment, pointing out how annoying it was when I was a kid and wanted to sit in a good empty seat and the ushers got all anal about it even though I wasn't bothering anyone. I'm glad that at least some of the ushers are trying to make the 1/2 empty Coliseum a friendly place.
Nico - April 6, 2008
It was nice that he asked.
He didn't seem that pleased to let you sit in the seats that you paid for. That's my only gripe about something like that. The person who paid for the ticket shouldn't have to ask someone to move ...so they can take their seats. The kid should have waited until an inning or two had passed before sitting in an empty seat.
But I do notice that noone even asked me for my ticket today and usually they guard those seats a little from seat snaggers.
IM4Oakgal - April 6, 2008
He was actually kind of a jerky kid
He seemed mad at me and my mom for not letting him sit in our seats, like "Oh great, you had to show up!" and he didn't even say thanks to the usher - I was the one who said "hey that was really nice" to the usher.
Nico - April 6, 2008
Mmmm, jerky kid
The Jamaicans really know how to cook children.
monkeyball - April 6, 2008
Sux fan in training?
OaklandSi - April 7, 2008
Those are words a son rarely wants to hear.
Especially from the troops.
The Dogfather - April 7, 2008
I'm not seeing the criticism of Geren here
First of all, I do think Blanton pitched great - as noted already, if Barton starts the DP successfully we're talking about shutting out a very good offense for 7 innings. And when a guy has pitched that well - and is the reason you're in the game because it sure ain't your offense - you give him a chance to finish the inning and get the win. And you don't let Travis Hafner beat you in that spot. So it comes down to Blanton vs. Garko. And yes, you have to challenge him on 3-2 after throwing slop to get there.
I was at the game, and when the ball was hit to Barton my first thought was "come home!" because I thought it was a tough DP on a lefty hitter who has good speed. Of course that scenario would have left Hafner up with the bases loaded and who knows what would have happened from there.
Nico - April 6, 2008
Today In Schadenfreude
I'm not even going to ask you to guess who said it -- shooting fish in a barrel.
Meanwhile, back in the clubhouse:
Englishmajor - April 6, 2008
For the first quote, I took a few nibbles at it
and couldn't figure it out - then realized after it was too late that I should have been more aggressive about guessing.
Nico - April 6, 2008
Never mind
In five days you'll have another chance.
Englishmajor - April 6, 2008
nico you're a hoot
flipgatey3 - April 6, 2008
your guess was a good 3-4 minutes slower than when you were any good
monkeyball - April 6, 2008
OT
But I thought that I saw you on the BART bridge. I was too shy to shout out "English Major!" but were you wearing a blue skirt , jersey and tights?
IM4Oakgal - April 6, 2008
Denim skirt, gray jersey, orange polka-dot socks
I was looking through my binoculars at MVP 119 trying to see someone who looked like you!
Englishmajor - April 6, 2008
It was you
I said...to my daughter I bet she's wearing those crazy socks to look Hawt for the bleacher folks. :-)Next time I am going to shout out to you.
IM4Oakgal - April 6, 2008
this a's offense
i wouldn't even hire it to run errands
(why the hell can we still not embed video in comments??)
xbhaskarx - April 6, 2008
would you ask it to run across a busy freeway?
Awesome!
monkeyball - April 6, 2008
Attn Clockwerks
I was trying to post in Safari, and couldn't. "Preview" and "Post" commands both got me "Page Not Found". CXCXCXCX also was not working, and attempts to insert blockquotes returned me to the top of the page. Firefox seems to be normal.
Englishmajor - April 6, 2008
I'm not surprised at the offensive offense
Rookies CANNOT be in the middle of your order if you want a successful run-producing offense unless your rookie is named Pujols or Braun.
Mike Sweeney is no longer any type of cleanup hitter. He's a solid major league hitter but wouldn't be starting for any team with a dream about making the playoffs this year.
Emil Brown sucks. When you're watching the game and you're telling yourself "yes we have 2 runners on for Brown" you know your offense isn't going anywhere.
With a rookie, a guy past his prime, and a shitty hitter are batting 3,4, and 5... you're not going to get more than 1 run and 4 hits.
It's that simple...
There's no need for any other examination or discussion.
brenarlo - April 6, 2008
so...
you're saying that something shouldn't happen, unless it does and it works? huh.
sweeney is fine.
brown is fine.
we're seven games into the season.
flipgatey3 - April 6, 2008
Yes and no...
I don't like Barton batting third. I think he's the perfect #2 hitter and should be batting 2nd while...um...Braun or Pujols hits 3rd. Damn. Emil Brown batting 5th? I'm bearish enough on Emil Brown the #7 hitter. I think it's too early to write off Mike Sweeney as a legitimate middle of the order hitter, though - he's a terrific hitter who is only 34 and currently is healthy. So...
1. Buck-if-he-ever-gets-a-hit
2. Barton
3. The great hitter we don't have
4. Sweeney
5. Cust
Yeah.
Nico - April 6, 2008
Where would you bat Ellis?
IM4Oakgal - April 6, 2008
Probably Toronto, since that's where the team's heading
Against LHP I like him higher in the order (1-2) but against RHP I think he's a 6-7 guy on a team with any offense.
Nico - April 6, 2008
Why would you bat Cust behind Sweeney, who is worse?
Also, putting your best hitter at #3 is a fallacy. You don't want your best hitter frequently coming up with no one on and two outs. Your #3 hitter should be either your fourth or fifth best hitter depending on the handedness of him and your #5 guy.
PaulThomas - April 6, 2008
Besides the fact that the whole comment was a joke,
if your #3 hitter comes up with two outs and the bases empty a lot, you need better 1-2 hitters since they are supposed to have your higher OBPs! Of course you could be Jim Leyland in which case you're probably leading off with Pudge Rodriguez - as he actually is tonight - and wondering why your team is on its way to starting 0-6. (Failing to catch anything in the field might be another contributor.)
Nico - April 6, 2008
If your #4 hitter comes up with the bases empty and two outs
more often than your #3 hitter, you need to recheck your mathematics.
It's impossible for that situation to arise (unless you've already scored) in the first inning. And after the first inning, it's pretty much random anyway.
Also, it bears noting that even if your first two guys have .400 OBPs, there's still a 36% chance that your #3 guy will be up with none on in the first inning.
PaulThomas - April 6, 2008
I am heartened by what I have seen.
The A's aren't looking all that bad...and they are fun to watch as an added bonus. I had nice seats today and I enjoyed watching how well the players treated the young fans. Even though, one kid sitting behind me didn't know what players he had gotten autographs from. I helped him Identify the signatures because i watched as he got his ball signed by 7 different players.
IM4Oakgal - April 6, 2008
{snerk} "ball" has so many meanings.
Nico - April 6, 2008
It does?
List them , please.
IM4Oakgal - April 6, 2008
OK...
1. pitch outside the strike zone
2. testicle
3. formal dance
4. other testicle
Nico - April 6, 2008
You forgot...
5. round object
6; having fun
IM4Oakgal - April 6, 2008
Also...
7. Good Morning Little School Girl
FoolshGame22 - April 6, 2008
8. other testicle
What, not everyone has three?
Nico - April 6, 2008
oooos...
7. Good Morning Little School Girl (Unless, that's what you meant by "having fun.")
FoolshGame22 - April 6, 2008
You sure had that video ready fast.
{Looks suspiciously at Dan}
IM4Oakgal - April 6, 2008
the miracle of high-speed internet...
and a search function (that works) on YouTube.
FoolshGame22 - April 6, 2008
not to mention...
a memory that goes further back than the late 60's, early 70's.
FoolshGame22 - April 6, 2008
I'm encouraged so far
Not the greatest outcome from a home stand, but I think the team is headed in the right direction. We just played the two teams from last year's ALCS. I've seen nothing from any of the other West teams at this point to make me think we are done in the division.
sprtsnwyn - April 6, 2008
That's how I am feeling too Sprtsnwyn.
IM4Oakgal - April 6, 2008
Well thanks IM4Oakgal
Look at it this way. People could look at this team and say "they don't have the tools", but with a little dumb luck and some execution, we could arguably be 6-1. By comparison, a team that everyone says has the tools, Detroit, is on the verge of going 0-6. Which position would you rather be in? I mean, sure, Detroit will probably turn it around at some point, but nothing is guaranteed? Who's to say they won't end up 20 games under .500? I'm just excited to let the season play out.
sprtsnwyn - April 6, 2008
You're right.
We've been right in there ,even when losing. The team has to get better at hitting. Of course, Duke might be more seriously injured than reported and Harden could do his usual get injured early routine...but if those two guys hold up, I see no reason why we couldn't be considered in serious contention.
IM4Oakgal - April 6, 2008
by the way
the wheels are coming off the Tigers in their game against the White Sox. Lots of booing in Comerica Park.
OaklandSi - April 6, 2008
I'm watching.
The Detroit fans are not happy.
IM4Oakgal - April 6, 2008
It's unbelievable how bad they look
They look like a team that doesn't know how to hit, field, throw, or catch. It must be burning Leyland a hole in his old school gut.
Nico - April 6, 2008
Why not pull Blanton before the Garko at-bat?
The Dogfather - April 6, 2008
First of all, with the bases loaded
Blanton is a better bet than Casilla not to walk in a run. If he brings in Casilla and Casilla issues the walk, I think you get more legitimate second-guessing. Second of all, the guy earned the right to try to finish the inning and get the win - after all, following 6 shutout innings the 7th inning jam was created by a bloop single, a ball served into left with a lunging swing, and an intentional walk. I'm not generally a "let him have a chance to get the win" kind of guy, but here it made sense to me - it was Blanton's game.
Nico - April 6, 2008
I see your point,,
but obviously Joe was starting to struggle. Sometimes it's better to take a pitcher out in that situation.
IM4Oakgal - April 6, 2008
I'm not sure I agree he was starting to struggle
There really wasn't a hard-hit ball in the inning. The 0-2 hit by Shoppach irked me but it was hit like Bjorn Borg lobbing one over a McEnroe volley.
Nico - April 6, 2008
Well it was Joe's game to win or lose.
and now he has the L. ::shrugs::
IM4Oakgal - April 6, 2008
Scoring three runs would have made Geren a whole lot smarter
Pitching wasn't the problem, nor was managing, IMO.
Nico - April 6, 2008
Well I agree on that.
Joe pitched well enough to win...and if we hired a certain assholio we might just win more of the close ones. Just sayin'
IM4Oakgal - April 6, 2008
Blanton in innings 1-5 this year:
15 IP, 1 ER. That's giving your team a chance to win every time out.
Nico - April 6, 2008
3-2 for our starters (and, Blanton is the 2)
But, our starters lead the league in ERA. They've all pitched well enough to win every game.
Team W L ERA
1. Oakland Athletics 3 2 2.18
2. Seattle Mariners 1 2 2.19
3. Texas Rangers 2 3 2.31
FoolshGame22 - April 6, 2008
what site gives you team era just for starting pitchers?
xbhaskarx - April 6, 2008
ESPN
FoolshGame22 - April 7, 2008
MLB.com...
does too, but, it seems to be kinda quirky, right now. It keeps giving me error messages when I try to check team OPS.
FoolshGame22 - April 7, 2008
Must be run by Joe Morgan.
OldhamA - April 7, 2008
"earned the right"
I think that's utter claptrap. Either the current pitcher on the mound is the best option to face the upcoming batter(s) or he's not.
monkeyball - April 6, 2008
Yup.
The Dogfather - April 6, 2008
Well, he was.
Nico - April 7, 2008
that I can accept
I disagree with it -- and, fwiw, given the way Blanton kept shaking off Suzuki, and the way he pitched Garko in the 1st and in the 7th, I think Blanton disagreed with your assessment as well. He sure didn't act like he thought he was the best option available to face Garko there.
And, again, as I mentioned somewhere else, it's not that leaving Blanton in to face Garko itself was the worst decision in the world (or even wrong, necessarily), but that Geren made a series of decisions, the cumulative sense of which was lacking.
monkeyball - April 7, 2008
Probably just should have had Blanton pitch to Hafner
Ah well.
Nico - April 7, 2008
all things considered, that probably would have been the optimal decision
I think I probably overstated the case for taking Blanton out any time prior to facing Hafner (though there's a case to be made for having Casilla start warming up at the start of the 7th just in case).
monkeyball - April 7, 2008
I liked the way Geren handled the pitching
Yeah, Blanton got into a little trouble (thanks, Barton), but he still pitched pretty effectively-- with a little help from his friends-- to get out of a bases loaded jam with only 2 runs scored. Geren gave the staff ace a chance to pull himself out of a jam. I think it sends a message to the other guys in the rotation, and if you buy into that sort of thing, then it should give them some confidence.
I'm 50/50 on the low changeup to walk Garko; it's never very swift to walk someone with the bases juiced, but it was a good-looking pitch and a fair gamble-- he'd been throwing it all day, and the Indians had been swinging at it. Give Garko credit for having a good AB and barely checking his swing in time.
I like that Ryan Sweeney is starting to remember how to hit.
Never sit Cust. Ever.
There's no way a lineup like the Tigers' should put up only 1 run after 6 innings.
Joey C. - April 6, 2008
Just curious - how close was the 3-2 pitch to being a strike
I actually thought it was a strike (because from my vantage point in sec 117 you can't really see over the plate below the knees unless you have x-ray vision in which case you'd see Fielden Culbreth's colon too). Personally, as much as Garko was leaning over the outside corner I thought they would/should go fastball in. But how close was the changeup to being a strike?
Nico - April 6, 2008
Not all that close.
It wasn't a ball in the dirt by any means but it wasn't close enough for me to yell in the direction of the umpire. Really it's all about pitch choice; why not throw that pitch at 1-2 or 2-2 and not 3-2? In that situation you're not trying to fool a batter on 3-2, you're just trying to make a good pitch with your straight stuff.
Helloooo 1st - April 6, 2008
It was clearly not a pitch that was aimed at the zone
He was trying to get him to chase.
Hence my irritation, above.
PaulThomas - April 6, 2008
Seems really odd -
I mean Garko's good but he's Ryan Garko good, not Manny Ramirez good. And if you throw a strike, even if he rips it he might line it right at somebody. "I can't throw a strike to Ryan Garko"? Gak.
Nico - April 6, 2008
It was clearly a ball...
... but you could tell Garko wanted it. I'll grant that that's more of a 1-2 or 2-1 pitch, but like I said, Joe had been ripping with that pitch and that location throughout most of the game. A fastball is nice and all, but we're still talking about a Joe Blanton fastball. He's a finesse guy. I'm not trying to say it was the best idea ever, I'm just saying I can see the thought process.
The interesting part is that Blanton and Suzuki had a quick mound conference before he threw that change. For the first time I'd seen during the game, Blanton was shaking off the signs like crazy. I'd like to know who wanted to throw what.
Joey C. - April 6, 2008
I guess my biggest objection is that
the pitches preceding it were all off-speed. It was off-speed, won't chase...off-speed, won't chase...that got the count to 3-2. Not only was Garko leaning out over the plate more and more (which is why I thought they'd try to bust him inside) but you can't just keep changing up off changeups, so to speak. The best pitch in baseball is still the fastball - everything works off of it. The fact that Blanton throws 90 MPH and not 95 MPH doesn't change that.
Nico - April 6, 2008
I was watching on TV
I saw Blanton shake off pitches quite a few times...much more than in his first two starts this season.
OaklandSi - April 7, 2008
I was there today and
I've seen more offense at an MLS event than at this A's game.
Everyone was swinging for the fences and not even getting that far.
Hit4TheCycle - April 6, 2008
Just wondering why...
Beane didn't trade for Carlos Quentin during the offseason. Right handed bat, Tommy John surgery, torn labrum... injury risk with high upside. Seems like a true Athletic to me.
FoolshGame22 - April 6, 2008
okay, maybe it's his defense...
nice catch, Carlos.
FoolshGame22 - April 6, 2008
Was the title too cerebral? Hardly.
Get it? Hard -Lee? . . .
Ray of Lite - April 6, 2008
So it was on the lee side of cerebral?
The Dogfather - April 7, 2008
Duke did indeed
strain his biceps;
BWH - April 6, 2008
is that good or bad
i forget if strain was the word used at the time of the injury or the word used afterwards...
xbhaskarx - April 6, 2008
"mild bicept tendonitis" were the words used, at the time of the injury...
Which struck me as odd, from the very beginning because tendinistis is a chronic (repetitive) injury, even though somebody disputed that. But, I was right... it wasn't tendinitis. From what I can glean... strain is worse... pull is even worser.... tear is the worsest, so to speak. But, as I understand these things, they're all just different degrees of the same thing. Except for tendonitis, which it isn't, anyway.
Stain, pull, tear... they're just different degrees of muscle fiber tearing.
FoolshGame22 - April 7, 2008
Tendinitis simply means an inflammation of the tendon
just as bursitis mean an inflammation of the bursa.
Calling Duke's injury biceps tendinitis does make sense, until you have further information.
They really should start using the actual terms, ie grade 1, grade 2, grade 3, tears, instead of general and ambiguous terms like "strain".
rfloh - April 7, 2008
but, it wasn't an inflammation of the tendon...
so, it didn't make sense calling it that.
FoolshGame22 - April 7, 2008
Err, just because it's mildly torn does not mean it's not
inflamed too.
But, regardless, unless you have further info, such as an MRI showing a slight tear, it makes sense to call it tendinitis.
rfloh - April 7, 2008
disagree all the way around monkeyball
Blanton was pitching great and if you can't leave your number one in to clean up his own gaff then who can you leave in. It was Blanton's game to win or lose as someone else said earlier and he lost. Meh. You win some you lose some, but in no way is this on Geren or was that a poor managing decision.
marco magic - April 6, 2008
blanton was pitching great
not so great for blanton, maybe for zito...
xbhaskarx - April 6, 2008
I have a feeling.
We will lose many many games like today. Good pitching, no hitting.
I think it was the right move to let Blanton finish the 7th. He was very close to getting out of it.
fansince1980 - April 6, 2008
Geren
Can somebody explain why you lead off with Cust in the 8th against a lefty when it was pretty obvious that Borowski was going to pitch the ninth if Cleveland had the lead?
If you start Sweeney against Lee, it means you think he can hit lefties. So either keep him in there or use one of your other guys on the bench (Denorfia or Bowen would have worked in that situation). Save Cust for one of two things: guys on base in the 8th or against Borowski in the 9th. I was dying when Sweeney walked in the 9th only to have E-Mail come up to bat. Yeah, he gave one a ride, but I would have been significantly more confident with Cust at the plate then. If nothing else, he's more likely to get on base if not end the game. Then you have runners on 1st and 2nd, one out, so Crosby could hit into a game ending double play instead of just a game ending force out!
thejd44 - April 6, 2008
I was thinking the exact same thing.
Perez just flipped offspeed pitches to Cust the whole AB. Had to see that coming.
Seemed like Geren willfully handicapped his biggest weapon off the bench.
BWH - April 6, 2008
Seemed odd to me too, but there are some explanations,
offered in increasing order of worthiness:
1. High OBP = good leadoff choice
2. Cust HRed off Perez last year
3 Geren might have concluded this was the last time he intended to pinch hit so good time to spend Cust.
Wonder which one, or none of the above, it actually was.
Nico - April 6, 2008
also a bit odd
Cust into LF as a late game defensive replacement.
Yeah, I know it was probably to keep his bat in the game in case it went into extra innings, but still...
OaklandSi - April 7, 2008
Cust hit for RSweeney and stayed in, Emil moved from LF to CF
I thought the move after having Cust PH made sense -- rather than burning Cust for the 1 AB and bringing Denorfia in.
monkeyball - April 7, 2008
I think the move wasn't to keep Cust's bat in the lineup
so much as to keep Denorfia available to pinch run if someone like Mike Sweeney reached base.
Nico - April 7, 2008
really?
But didn't Murphy run for someone very much like Mike Sweeney the very next inning?
monkeyball - April 7, 2008
No that was for Mike Sweeney himself
Try to pay attention.
Nico - April 7, 2008
Cool
monkeyball - April 7, 2008
Think of it this way
It wasn't as gratuitously stupid as expending Rafael Betancourt on one right-handed batter when there was nobody on base.
Indians fans would be quite justified in wanting Wedge's head on a pike for that one.
PaulThomas - April 7, 2008
Breaking News!
Cust is Bobblehead #4
fansince1980 - April 6, 2008
Ice Cream actually broke that news a few days ago in a fAnShOt,
but thank you for breaking it some more.
Stay away from our pitching staff... ;)
Poppy - April 6, 2008
I'm so, so, so not impressed with E. Brown's defense.
I don't want to see him in CF very often. Okay, ever (again).
Poppy - April 6, 2008
I want to see him in CF again, but only
if all the balls are hit to LF.
Nico - April 6, 2008
We had a loud Cleveland fan in the left field bleachers
who was ragging Brown until he moved from LF to CF. The loud fan's style was pretty obnoxious but I couldn't really argue with his content.
Englishmajor - April 6, 2008
I wouldn't mind seeing him in CF
In Pittsburgh.
or Houston.
or Stockton.
5Aces - April 7, 2008
That IBB was bad, just like in Game 1
1. You need to avoid the hit there with the game tied and runners on 2-3. Garko had a higher BA by about 20 points than Hafner last year, and likely will this year. That IBB seemed largely based on "Hafner is famous for being an awesome hitter and Garko is not."
2. Obviously it lets a BB beat you, as happened.
3. Blanton could have pitched carefully to Hafner (as he did to Garko) without fear of the BB, thus reducing even more Hafner's chances of getting a hit relative to Garko. League wide guys generally hit about .010 points higher with the bases loaded than with 2nd and 3rd for that reason. The pitches Blanton actually threw to Garko would have been great with a base open.
Don't walk guys just because you can! It's dumb!
mikeA - April 6, 2008
In general, I agree, and it's why
I would NOT bring in Casilla to face Garko. But I would trust Blanton to throw strikes and if he preferred to pitch to Garko over Hafner, I'd let him. But this outcome is why I generally do not like IBBs to load the bases: too little room for error for the pitcher - why back him into that corner when you don't have to?
Nico - April 6, 2008
I can live with one or two of Geren's decisions ...
... but the cumulative effect, and the inability to change course with a negative outcome from preceding decisions, that I don't like.
monkeyball - April 6, 2008
Geren, Hannahan
Poster is spot on that Blanton should not have been in that situation. Nonetheless, the A's bats looked really lifeless today. I was particularly impressed by the number of times Hannahan was late on 91 mph fastballs. He looked completely overmatched much of the time. A lot of the A's just looked sleepy up there. Cust comes up as a pinch hitter, and the tying run, and he takes a called strike 3? Weird.
solotar - April 6, 2008
that was a heck of a curveball to Cust
Hard not to give up on the pitch when it's coming at your chin/elbows, and drops over the inside corner.
monkeyball - April 6, 2008
hannahan's strikeout
in the fifth inning was just embarrassing.
he looked like buck did a few days ago, but against cliff lee instead of matsuzaka.
xbhaskarx - April 6, 2008
Beerfest '08
As a die hard halos fan, who plans to attend beer fest this season, one quick question to my NorCal friends, where's the best seat at the coliseum? You'll know me when you see me, I'll be wearing my G.A. jersey and my world series cap, and drunk off my a_s !! Any info would help.
halofolife - April 7, 2008
There's this bridge to the stadium, hafo. Try underneath it.
It'll be just like home.
The Dogfather - April 7, 2008
It's an old news now. I've seen some details before at myinterracialmatch.c o m There also has some hot stars profile with their photoes and blogs.
millersbn - April 7, 2008
best seat?
3rd deck, centerfield. They're great. I'll look for you there.
FoolshGame22 - April 7, 2008
Post Steriod Era?
I have noticed over the past two years that some pitchers have lost a few MPH on their fastball and some power hitters are now gap hitters. It is appearing to me that scores are now more like 1986 than 1999.
Does anyone else feel that the game is now in the post steroid era?
Crapper Jon - April 7, 2008
Or it might be due to players getting old.
It's not as if you do not have fireballers out there throwing hard like Felix, Beckett, Verlander, Wang.
You are assuming that player only started using steroids beginning 1999.
rfloh - April 7, 2008
DFA
I would like to see E. Brown dumped he isn’t the answer to any question. Send Denorfia to AAA to regain bat speed. Put Cust in LF, Mike Sweeney at First and DH Barton. I would next like to see a trade of DJ and Street for a proven player. We already have a few pitchers who can close and Huston seems to have lost something. I would scour the dumpsters for a Dave Stewart type pitcher. That is the missing piece.
Crapper Jon - April 7, 2008
I'm going to ask politely once
Please change your signature.
PaulThomas - April 7, 2008
The Dogfather - April 7, 2008
If someone's sigline...
quotes a mean-spirited (as opposed to friendly) snark at another user's expense, and the snarked-at user is offended by it, he has every right to ask the guy to change it. The comment was obnoxious enough once, or funny enough once if you liked it. But just because most of us would choose to simply "wear it" when an insult shows up repeatedly in a sigline doesn't mean there's an obligation to do so.
Poppy - April 7, 2008
IF a change is really what's sought,
... then a private email request to the sig-liner would suffice, and have a substantially higher probability of success.
The Dogfather - April 7, 2008
I'm gonna need to see a fan graph to substantiate that claim
Nico - April 7, 2008
Apparently it all worked out, as requested more temperately in another thread.
The Dogfather - April 7, 2008
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