Athletics Nation

Easy there...you'll give away your secret identity with talk like that.

Haha!

Cue John Mellenkamp

Sometimes loooove don' feel like it should...

Well,

that sure didn’t!

I don't know...

I think that felt exactly like a strikeout/throw-out double play should….

You're right

That HURT!

Hurt so bad...

Yeah,

definitely NOT in the good way.

There's a good way to hurt so bad?

Perhaps been covered elsewhere

okay, I should try “search”, but…
Why is Tony DeF coaching at 1st base????

You are

pun-o-rific!

That was spackle-tacular.

Ready to paint over

right away.

That pitch was not a strike

If that was "strike" to FT

then the Earth circles Venus and not the Sun

bail bond advertisement on kfrc?

must be getting close to Raider season.

Last words of a man in Utah about to be executed

“Go Raiders!”

Al Davis should get that guy’s picture on a t-shirt, and “wear it”.

Okay, I'm here, the game can start

slacker

hey, I'm STILL without cable

I’ve had the game on the radio every since first pitch….I’ve just been cleaning….

By the way, if anyone left behind a small light purple cooler at AN Day, it’s now clean. If you want it back, email me. But I’m borrowing it this weekend, so you can’t have it back until next week. Thanks.

Haha!

That’s so polite and cute, I’m sure whoever it is won’t mind.

Fill it up with beer and you should have quite a few takers

I myself will pass as alcohol and me don't mix

It took me 15 years of drinking to discover this. Or maybe that was the 30 vicodins per day that didn’t agree with me

Can you erase

Boston’s run?

And give that run to us

sure, I'll get right on it.

WHERE IS EVERYONE?!!!!??!

ready to drink.

you're late

It’s way past 5, even in california

I've been busy.

Richmond, CA

Oh wait, this isn’t roll call?

I'm here Pam!!!

I know!

I think we left part of our train behind.

< raises hand groggily >

Still up to

the challenge?

Of course!

...what was the challenge?

Um . . .

Riding it out?

I always ride it out.

In this case, though, I’m off to an appointment, where hopefully I’ll have a viewing angle on the TV…

I see Duke is getting a lot of "run love" from his offense

he has to be used to it by now

SwishMyNish33 - August 1, 2008 reply

Aargh, KenKo tormenting us

with talk of the 2003 ALDS

Ponson has gone 6 innings with the pin still in the grenade

Wonder how long that will last

Unicorn Power?

Pwease?

Yay Ellie

I am thinking about buying an Ellie 8×10 along with the other three A’s 8×10’s (and one former-A 8×10) I’m buying

I love Heem!

Its been hard to watch him struggle.

alright Ellis

I called it yesterday.. and IT'S STILL ALIVE!

Ellis “57 Game Hitting Streak” to finish the season!!

I'm going on my own hitting streak to end the season

hitting the bottles, hard!

I'm enjoying my second beer of the young evening

I like the way you think

Ellis has another streak that has to be getting pretty long

E-less…?

and... most years without a deserved gold glove

A's July collapse not just offense's fault

Guess which team leads AL in fewest hits, and second fewest runs, at 190 and 87 each, no, not our A’s,but the Rays, the AL East leading Rays. They’ve only scored one more run than the A’s, and had 10 fewer hits, yet they are in 1st place.

quantify that, the numebrs are for July

You know,

when we switched threads, my IE decided I no longer needed to load AN (I’m at work still, or I’d be using Firefox), so I said screw it and downloaded Firefox at work. IE just sucks. And it just seemed to kick me off for no reason. And wouldn’t let me return. Bastards.

I use Firefox for AN at work, too

And Explorer for like, actually working

Hey!

There’s an idea…that way I don’t get them mixed up…

Exactly!

Put your fun stuff in Firefox and your unfun stuff in Explorer

What'd I miss?

(and how lame is my social life that I'm still at work at 9pm on a Friday?)

yeah but your in Florida with all it offers, so what gives?

I know...

I should be out on the town, enjoying a nice piece of lamb and a 70 year-old…

I am NOT 70

Do you like lamb?

Yes

Nico,

would like to come to Florida and eat lamb with a 70 year-old and me?

Been replacd by a 70 yr. old

Hmmmph!

No, just passing the time.

His name’s Irving. He was a dentist in Cleveland.

I prefer eating adult meat to the youngsters

by process of elimination (the only process I endorse), I guess that makes you a piece of lamb

now

THAT”S A MOTHER EFFING SIGLINE!

really lame, Ray

Right in the lumberyard, Danny.

Don't worry

We’re gonna change that.

Yay!

keep it clean, kids

Um...k?

You

started it!

And we're happy

you did. :-)

What's been going on in my absence?

I feel like I've come

in halfway through this conversation.

just preemptive

I believe you mean "prophylactic"

Damn!

You were fast with that!

...that's what she said...

I can’t believe I just typed that.

Lol!

Now you don’t get to say anything!

mods get a 1-minute head start on the AN clock :)

Is this the part

where Richard Dawson releases Jesse the Body to hunt me down?

Ooh ooh - is this the Feud?

Name a piece of fruit you think of

when you look at Frank Thomas.

Richard Simmons!

A grape.

THINGS MY FATHER BEAT ME WITH!!!

Wrong game

That’s $64,000 Pyramid.

A rake.

Some pudding.

A small chihuahua.

My sister’s shoes.

A turkey baster.

I could make a semen joke here,

but I think I’ll refrain.

Sometimes the best jokes

cannot be shared in this forum.

Dang.

Can I have 20 more seconds on the clock?

Hahaha!

that was 3 days ago

He’s not there yet?

No.

But to be fair, Florida’s a long way’s away and he was wearing all that fake armor.

She just wants us to be

appropriate for the blog, and I agree.

Huston Street is warming up?

changing of the guard? witnessing?

I want trumpets and fanfare.

But enough about you,

what about the changing of the guard?

Iglew!

How’s Howard treating you? How’s the trade working out for you?

I still haven't seen him.

He spends all his time closed up in his room.

The castle is nice, though.

Are there a lot of

kleenex box shoes around?

Street warming up

hmmmmm…................perhaps we’ll see Ziggy try to close if we get a lead?

mrod - August 1, 2008 reply

maybe that's the only way to work him back into the 9th inning

start him off from the 7th

oh well

the A’s offense continues to suck ass…......blah!

mrod - August 1, 2008 reply

It's set up for two out, one on in the 8th for Thomas...

Can Crosby hit the ball further than 250 feet in the air

He used to have a little power once

too high?

operative words: little and once

It's interesting about Street, because

Devine won’t be activated until tomorrow, and Ziggy just pitched 3 innings – and Embree has struggled more than Street. And Casilla…eh.

Casilla subscribes to AT&T internet service?

Hopefully he doesn't have Comcast Cable

Otherwise he may never know what’s going on in this game….

Or they'll try

to fix his cable in Rockland.

Franklin Tipton is warming in the pen ...

Bill Slowsky? Quicker to 1st than a Molina.

It's Street's game to lose

Maybe they are saying to Street “if you are going to blow a close game, do it in 7th inning so we don’t waste someone else’s arm.” I’d like to see them just keep him in there until he figures out how to get people out again.

maybe Gaudin can close... oh wait

Poor Duke

how can he stand this kind of shit?????

mrod - August 1, 2008 reply

sit em down Casilla

The team could use a profanity-laced tirade from Geren

Plus it would be really fun to hear.

Those are usually really helpful

question is can he be consistent and do it day in and day out?

Let's ask Joe Morgan

Joe: Well, I think he can be consistent. He just needs to do it all the time, instead of not doing it a lot. Back when I was playing for the Reds…

Consistency's key.

Always.

I prefer profanity-Velcroed tirades myself

Much easier.

Plus those tirades are easier to remove when they are done

Velcro is legendary.

Casilla looks good - more confident again

doesn't he know Beane traded away all the best players?

No

He thinks some of the guys just changed their names.

andeux - August 1, 2008 reply

he's been drinking.

It helps.

Cust! Nice play!

LOL!

Cust showing some range and a clutch arm! I don’t believe what I just saw, hahahaha

What the heck?

Fuckin Cust with an Athletic little play there plus guns him down!

With a power hitter on deck,

not a good play by Youkilis.

Ryan Sweeney is surprisingly not fast

It goes nicely with his surprising lack of power.

We lost our fastest runner when Harden got traded

I love watching him sprint... he is SO fast

His stride there was so, so awkward

Almost made me think he’s hurt, but maybe he’s just that bad at running
Or he has some kind of special anatomy going on….

If that were the case

wouldn’t he be 1.5 times as fast?

andeux - August 1, 2008 reply

3rd legs are not so helpful for running

He's deceptively average.

I have his deceptiveness+ rating at 105

Which is above average for his position.

I'm surprised how nicely those two things go together in A's baseball

If we still had Hiram

we could have an Okajima/Bocachica matchup.

andeux - August 1, 2008 reply

that would be fun.

I accidently flagged a post. can you un-flag?

Yes. My turn: Can you unkill a cat?

screen jumped just as I was clicking.

Only if Stephen King's involved.

Is the singularity collapsed yet?

Now back it up with a homer Cust

Good call!!!

thank you

OH MY GOD.

A triple for Cust?!

Whoa, wtf??

HOME RUN!

HAHA!

Suck it, Red Sox!

wahoo!!!!!!!!!!

Boston radio announcers think it was a HR.

Definitely was

(Hugs!)

See? Who needs instant replay?

LOl

Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit drinking.

Triple is definitely NOT

one of Cust’s three true outcomes

Jack Cust Is the Man!

Is there anything he can’t do?

louismg - August 1, 2008 reply

Hit .249??

Yayyyy!

Over the big green monster?

I knew he would do that.

holy cow...i missed it

You'll se it on Gameday in a moment

on mlb.com

This game tied!!

Can I be so brazen as to ask Thomas to do the same thing here?

too brazen

he walked. Inning still alive.

Cust is determined to be a highlight tonight for something.

Anyone else think Frank's presence in the lineup

is why Cust got a pitch to drive? Protection DOES matter, IMO.

of course it matters

note to self: save nico's tip to avoid clinic visits.

All hail the power of protection!

Ho!

I love seeing Frank Thomas in an A's uniform

He is the way a big hitter should look like. Time to back up “the look” with “the bomb”.

louismg - August 1, 2008 reply

+1

I think Frank Thomas

is the real Green Monster.

I don't think he's green.

Mocha, maybe, but not green.

green and gold!

Fire Mocha now!

Wait a minute...

Huh.

I stand corrected.

Frankie says WALK

Ra-JAAAAAAAAI

I like this move, just because Thomas shouldn’t be running. Otherwise, I wouldn’t pinch run until the runner got to second.

too soon for rajai?

No, just right.

I think it's more to protect Thomas, which I like.

yeah, can't complain from that standpoint

I have a feeling that if health wasn't a factor,

you’d look at his spot coming up in the 10th and not make the move.

certainly not with two outs

DMOAS - August 1, 2008 reply

And Raj wasn't even running

You could go so far as to say they should have run with someone else and saved Davis.

Possibly

but with Gonzales up and his tendency to hit the alley, he’s the most sure thing to score from first on a gapper.

DMOAS - August 1, 2008 reply

Odds are pretty low compared to the odds of any single

Petit could score on almost any gapper, E. Brown too.

go on the first pitch Rajai

nice spill just now on the X games

It's Ziggy time!!!

wahoooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kick his butt

Ziggy!

Well, Duchscherer is off the hook, that is GOOD

A man doesn’t deserve a loss, for giving up one run.

Jack Cust, Gold Glover

I had faith in him all the way. (wince)

louismg - August 1, 2008 reply

damn jack, that one had tilted catch.

Oh Lord!

Silence this Boston crowd with a strike out by Ziggy. Amen.

+1 Jeezie Creezie

SWEET!

Thank you

Lord!

YOU MAAADE ME LOOOVE YOUUU

ZIGGY!

Ziegler at it again

that makes 31, right?

I've lost count

yes, 31

Since we're on a roll getting wishes granted.... how about granting us about 5 more runs in the 9th?

you gotta ask right.

ok. oh great wish granter, please keep in mind that Huston will be pitching soon and we really need a large cushion here.

Please? With a cherry on top?

LS! Base hit in the nineth!!

It's those magical socks

When the do the movie version of Ellis' 57-game streak

they’ll show Joe DiMaggio up in heaven, looking down and fuming,

“That bastard isn’t even a dago bastard!!”

He's a Dako bastard.

That is really ugly bunting form

I can understand sticking with the bunt

given Papelbon’s fastball. But Hannahan’s bunting form sucks too.

Bunting on 3-2 is pretty dumb, but probably the same result

And not sending the runner -

at least if you send the runner, Hannahan can just bunt it back to the mound.

Yeah,

If they’re going to bunt, sending the runner seems like a no brainer…

Ty Van Burkleo

I know Ray loves this guy, but what the hell. We have guys all over the bases – No outs, 1 out and we can never score the runner, advance the runner. Sox get Bay to 3rd and the rookie sends up nice sac fly. I know our hitting isn’t much – but we’d have to be able to score the runner every once in a while just by chance. Maybe Frank being in the lineup will help Cust out. Otherwise they can go back to the Castle AAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!

All of which has nothing to do with Van Burkeleo

Really, it doesn’t.

I blame Van Burkeleo for Hannahan's godawful bunt.

two-strike bunting

now that is major league

I like that the two-strike bunt setup

has shook up Papelbum

Dumbest. Move. Ever.

Have you seen Hannahan try to catch up to a 95 MPH fastball?

If they had sent Ellis on the 3-2 pitch, it would have all worked out great.

I guess it was a series of dumb moves.

Damn!

Way to telegraph, like everything!

Meh

At least Ellie was such the gentleman, politely asking the ump if he was out?

sheesh.

Croz's creepy stare at the pitcher burrows into my soul

Is Pappelbon like F-Rod

with all the celebration after he gets a save?

I would think so

I mean, he’s a douche right? So probably yeah.

Please, God

No.

He line dances

Like some wee-tard.

Thanks!

Boston!

"We decided to let your runner to second anyway"

“We apologize for the delay”

"Your advancement is important to us..."

Let's go, Staplehead!

Bam, Bam

Bam, bam, bam!

C'mon DALE!

Good thing Barton's up.

Good AB at least

Very good

picked his spot better.

f-ing Jason Bay.

Kill him.

Manny wouldn't have gotten that :(

that's what i sad - too bad it wasn't manny

NVAngela - August 1, 2008 reply

ugh,

One of the hits that Fenway hurts.

Along with Crosby's HR turned double

yup

The Cust HR may have been an out in most parks, though.

I don't know

Any other park, they might have played closer to the foul line…”no doubles”.

But obviously, the LFer plays in closer in Fenway.

All that bamming

for nothing.

....

Good call

baby.

Also

for the “Manny is better than Bay” folks, Bay has saved a couple runs this game.

Angels beat Rivera and the Yanks 1-0

i bet on the bob-tail mare.

they made a pact with the devil in the off season. no team should win that many games by 1 run

yes, but, Manny is still better than Bay

there's way more offense in this game

Pitch to Cash, or walk Varitek if he pinch hits

Casey?

Oh, Casey...Hmm..

You won’t double up Ellsbury – pitch to him.

no runs no runs no runs

I thought it was illegal to

name someone Jed, ever since Buddy Ebsen bought up the copyright??

Quick - put Rajai in LF and give up the DH!

It's only an infringement if his full name is Jedediah.

I had a supervisor once, who we called Ms. Hathaway

looked like her, but what sealed the deal was the adult girl scout uniform, shorts, knee sox and all she wore to work before a scouting meeting.

What kind of work do you do?

Yikes!

keep the streak alive Ziegler!

double play time

Yes, please!

DP DP DP

Mama!

Wants!

nice pitch - strike 1

Thank you, Ellis

may a FA contract be your reward…

SHUT UP ABOUT THE GODDAMN STREAK FOSSE

Jesus.

Pitch to Pedroia

Just pitch to him.

The same way,

you always pitch Ziggy!

2 down

Bejeezuz

When he hit it, I thought it would sneak through!!

WHooooooooooooh!

jackcustismyhero32 - August 1, 2008 reply

dont celebrate

just yet

crimony, this is has me on edge

kinda exciting seeing Ziegler in the ninth here

gameday is totally hosed up. who's on where?

2nd and third, two outs, 1 strike, no balls

Casey on 2nd, Drew on 3rd

First pitch was right down the middle

actually well placed on the inside

This at least has me excited. Get him Ziggy!

oh maybe it's fixed now

Ziggy def stressed!!

Who.
would.
NOT.
be???

Shut Em up

Ziggy!

32

Held em!

Wooo!

Fuck you Sox.

32

Now Ziggy pointing to the sky like KF-Rod!

Just kidding, of course

that…
was a signal of relief!!!

But not for the same reason

and I like it!

Eckersley was the best by punching the hitter out with his fist while screaming at him

Well, Eck actually pointed, as in

“bang, I got you!” but he said, it never was directed at the batter as a person, just to himself.

You're right. It sure looked great though.

I never understood why everyone

complains so much about Rodriguez doing that.

Because

it’s like completely annoying and over the top.

thanking god after each save is annoying as all get out. I mean come on.

Would it be annoying if one of our guys did it?

absolutely

How about Swish? Was that annoying?

to me it was

even though i don't think it was over the top

Yes, even though he was pointing towards grandma, not god

Less so, but I can see it could annoy others

a little bit, but he was single A compared to f-rod/papelbon

Yes - I would be embarrassed for our team

You're fuckin a right it would be

yes

It is appalling behavior any way you slice it

OT - Do any of our guys do annoying stuffs? I can't think of any

Except maybe Hanny and his excessive junk touchage

That's because they're our guys

If he were on a rival team, you’d be annoyed by Street sticking out his tongue.

Yeah I know, I mean - anything potentially annoying?

Huston’s tongue counts, ok

iglew, that's really not true

There are plenty of us who don’t like that kind of stuff even if it’s our guys doing it. Fortunately, the A’s don’t do a lot of that. I would HATE it if K-Rod did what he does on the A’s. I’d enjoy the saves, however.

The level of hate is different

Did we hate Kendall when he was a pugnacious jackass? No, we called him “gritty”.

I always like Kendall

I didn't care for it.

And the word I used to describe Kendall wasn’t “gritty” – it did rhyme with gritty, however.

Well, you got me there ...

... he sure was pretty! ;-)

We hated Kendall because he was a horrific hitter.

Why was he a pugnacious jackass?

Frankly

I have more respect for someone who charges the mound over ridiculous things than someone who think every damn save is equivalent (in his eyes) to the resurrection of Christ. Kendall has never been accused of bad sportsmanship, while f-rod is the very definition of bad sportsmanship. He is a cancer on the game.

You said it brother

Tongue Sticking Out

NOBODY can even touch Ronnie Belliard (sp?) on that subject

David Wright?

DWright has his tongue sticking out in almost every picture I've taken of him

even when he is standing there doing nothing

That means he likes you.

(things I learned in grade school)

it still seems to be true

20 years later.

Your avatar likes me!

as if there is any connection..

god is too busy setting up the next tsunami, FRod…he doesn’t notice you.

And, didn’t do a thing for you.

yes! have not been this involved in a while!

Ziggy's almost passed Lidle!

Frigging AWESOME. how many times has Ziggy had a runner at 3rd?

totally nervewracking

not that many times, actually

I remember bases loaded two out vs. Seattle at home

that's what I figured. I'm not usually this nervous when he pitches

Good job, let's win a damn game tonight

Amen

Ziggy is a God

C’mon Swoonzey

LET'S GO SWOONEY!

Huston warming up.

we need runs before Street come on. many many runs

It's a Fight!

I love eet!

It's like the season has come full circle

back to Opening Night.

Yep!

Those were the days.

oh those were the days

full of hope, dreams (takes out scrap book of AN thread printout of game)

If this is AN

somebody’s got to post

“DFA Ziegler!!!!!”

as soon as he gives up a run!

Why wait. DFA Ziegler for being TOO good! Gosh

justarebelheart - August 1, 2008 reply

yeah! keep him underneath the eligibility for arbitration...

so the A’s don’t have to pay him too much later.

Oaktownflav - August 1, 2008 reply

Again Boston Defense,

I thank you.

Boston Defense?

oxymoron.

or maybe just moronic.

Do it again

Jack!

I hate the Boston 3rd baseman

you go back, Jack

Do it again.

steel yourself

Wheels turning

Round and round

Like a Record

Right round round round

Oh! The Song Girl

Days.

DP right here!

Oaktownflav - August 1, 2008 reply

"Pappelbon blows Jack Cust away!"

This guy just has no clue, does he?

Email sighting?

delete

Hard to believe our stellar

bench super sub didn’t get a hit.

Texas has come all the way back from down 6-0

Shockingly, Josh Hamilton has a HR.

It's meaning less to us this year,

but if he starts that shit again next year, I say we spike his oatmeal with heroin.

surely you jest

Go Go

‘Roid Rage Rangers!

Geren doesn't trust Huston either.

Keeping Ziggy in until we get some damn runs.

once again, gameday makes me look like a buffoon

gameday is a mirror?

He threw 3 innings Wednesday.

isn't huston pitching now?

Yes

yeah, i had to look at the screen (watchin Zulu)

And it looks like "good Huston" has shown up

2 tough hitters - 2 outs

well, it is past the trade deadline

NVAngela - August 1, 2008 reply

laughs

Street starts off good

Tough!

Good job Hanny.

Wouldn't you know - Jason Bay

Yeah,

Perfect!

does papelbon ever pitch more than 2 innings? he used to be a starter, right?

He doesn't - rarely pitches two

All the BMX big air guys are crashing at the X games right now. It's morbidly fun to watch

that peaked my son's interest in watching them

Those just suck you in.

Huston?

Street?

Where have you

gone?

Joe DiMaggio

... we have a problem?

DRew at bat - ug-oh

Ball 4 - nice

Street seems snake bit this year

Should have had a 1-2-3 inning, bad luck infield hit, and then he falls apart a bit. Which isn’t snake bit so much as sucka bit.

Can you suck the venom out

when they’re sucka bit?

Sucka da Venom Out

uggh. street makes the nerves pull from the flask

greendatitiz - August 1, 2008 reply

Huston Street just gets less and less attractive to me with every crappy outing

at this point he's pretty fug

he obviously hasn't been studying AAAAA rent a space!

greendatitiz - August 1, 2008 reply

failing of bbeane? not trading street at high point?

greendatitiz - August 1, 2008 reply

and not trading harden at high point