Open (pre) Game Thread: Game 159 - A's vs. Mariners

by notsellingjeans on Sep 26, 2008 4:16 PM PDT

The A's open their final series of the 2008 season tonight at 7:10 in Seattle, as each team sends a promising right-handed flame thrower to the hill.

The A's, who can match last season's win total of 76 with their next victory, will throw Sean Gallagher, who has allowed only 8 hits and four earned runs in 17.2 innings since returning from the disabled list. Gallagher can truly feel he ended the season on a high note by wrapping up a four consecutive successful start tonight.

The M's will counter with Brandon Morrow, the fifth overall pick in the 2006 draft, who will be making his fifth career big-league start. After he compiled a sparkling 1.47 ERA in 40 relief appearances earlier this season, the Mariners inserted Morrow into the rotation in September, and he has continued to impress, albeit not as much as he did in relief.

Morrow's last start came against the A's on September 21, where the A's patient approach led to five walks in 6.1 innings against him. But Morrow held Oakland to just 2 hits.

Morrow's conversion back to starting pitching is a much-needed exciting development for Mariners fans, who have seen their team and organization fall into a state of disarray:

With 101 losses, the Mariners recently became the first 100 million payroll team in history to lose 100 games or more.
Today rumors surfaced that an anonymous Mariner player wants to "knock Ichiro out" for being selfish and playing only for his own stats.
The team faces a no-win situation with injury-prone Erik Bedard in his final year of arbitration this offseason: Cut bait and acknowledge that last offseason's blockbuster trade was a colossal bust, or risk a $10 million arbitration award and a career-ending injury from him in '09?
The Seattle Times recently reported that Kenji Johjima's puzzling 3 year, 24-million dollar extension - which was heavily criticized in sabermetric circles - was mandated by Japanese ownership. When up-and-coming GM candidates know that M's ownership will meddle in very important personnel decisions, It's hard to imagine the team's offseason GM search will yield a taker that's any less incompentent than the recently fired Bill Bavasi.

Conversely, I'm finding myself more and more excited about the 2009 A's. Travis Buck has a pair of homers in the past week and back-to-back multi-hit games. I find myself dreaming about a Cust-Sweeney-Buck outfield in '09, with Giambi at DH and Chavy and first, and the damage that could be done against right-handed pitching.

I'm also heartened by the September success of Cliff Pennington, who is making a strong claim for the '09 second base job. Cliff has played 17 games and has 58 at-bats in September, and he's gone .298/.406/.333, good for a .739 OPS. He's also an outstanding baserunner and he has a great throwing arm.

The other benefit to starting Pennington at second base is that he can also be the backup/emergency shortstop, reducing the need to carry a 6th infielder. That frees the team to carry a "true" DH (like Giambi or Frank Thomas) and yet still have 12 pitchers on the roster, which might be necessary due to the '09 starters' inconsistency.

If everyone's healthy (ha!) I could see the '09 A's opening the year with Hannahan and Donnie Murphy platooning at third, Pennington at second, Chavez at first, and Rajai Davis and Denorfia (both RHBs) backing up the all-lefty starting outfield and pinch-running for Cust and Giambi/Thomas/DHman.

The nice thing about that set of backups is that the team wouldn't be worried about stunting the development of any of them if they didn't get regular at-bats, and they provide nice complements for the left-handed-heavy starting lineup. Hannahan's numbers vs. righties (.676 OPS) are not good, but easier to swallow than his overall line. He can also back up Chavez as first and play good defense at either corner.

That group of 13 hitters would also mean optioning down a ton of studs and creating perhaps the best AAA lineup in a long time: Powell (C), CarGon (CF), Cunningham (RF), Murton (LF), Baisley (3b), Petit (SS), Patterson (2b), Barton (1b). It would probably be a bit easier for each of them to swalllow their pride about being in Sacramento when they look around the diamond and see a future big leaguer at literally every position. How many AAA teams in history have been able to boast that?

On a sad note, the A's will definitely the year second to last in home attendance, ahead of only this disgusting disgrace.

Let's go Oakland!

Lineup

Oakland Athletics @ Seattle Mariners

09/26/08 7:10 PM PDT

Oakland Athletics	Seattle Mariners
Travis Buck - LF	Ichiro Suzuki - RF
Cliff Pennington - 2B	Yuniesky Betancourt - SS
Ryan Sweeney - RF	Raul Ibanez - LF
Jack Cust - DH	Jose Lopez - 1B
Kurt Suzuki - C	Jeremy Reed - CF
Carlos Gonzalez - CF	Tug Hulett - DH
Bobby Crosby - SS	Miguel Cairo - 3B
Daric Barton - 1B	Luis Valbuena - 2B
Jeff Baisley - 3B	Rob Johnson - C

0 recs | 317 comments

Comments

Please, No

Another Opening Day Lineup w/ Jack Hannahan will really be bad for my Cholesterol Levels. I would much rather see Baisley over there… Preferably Chavvy. But please no Jack Hannahan. Good Guy. Bad hitter of baseballs.

Colorado Fan - September 26, 2008 reply

No more Hannahan

It hurts seeing Hannahan’s name in tha srating lineup and knowing that is he goes 1-4 it will actually RAISE his battering average. Start Pennington even if Ellis doesn’t gets resigned and have Patterson at second. I know that Patterson isn’t that good defensively, but I would rather see some kind of offense come from our infield. He’s still young, maybe he can improve like Chavez or Tejada defensively and surprise some people. Of course, we don’t have Wash around anymore….

green_and_gold - September 26, 2008 reply

Do you realize that Patterson is a worse hitter than Hannahan?

I think most people yearn to see fresh faces. The reality is, several of the fresh faces frankly aren’t better hitters than Hannahan yet.

notsellingjeans - September 26, 2008 reply

Baisley?

Hannahan – 218/305/342 (.647 OPS) - Long Swing. Slow Bat. There has got to be a better option.

Colorado Fan - September 26, 2008 reply

I'm hopeful for Baisley too.

I certainly couldn’t justify starting Hannahan against lefties next year, not once. I agree with ya there. Platooning with Baisley or Murphy? That’s possibly justifiable, since Hanny hits righties better, and he’s a very good defender, which the team is obviously prioritizing.

notsellingjeans - September 26, 2008 reply

That's unfair - Hannahan is NOT a "bad hitter of baseballs"

He very rarely hits them.

Nico - September 26, 2008 reply

cholesterol levels?

Hannahan makes you suck eggs?

monkeyball - September 26, 2008 reply

or david wells, i hear he's full of the saturated fats

DyeLongJustice - September 26, 2008 reply

HDL & LDL levels are pretty decent right now, but hannahan makes me want to eat lots of pizza and drink lots of beer.

Colorado Fan - September 28, 2008 reply

That's funny...

I’ve been dreaming about the outfield too, although mine has RyRy-Carlos-Travis, and involves their rookie hazing costumes…

whiteshoes40 - September 26, 2008 reply

wow, that photo can't be real.

was it taken during a regular season game? if so, what was the attendance?

xbhaskarx - September 26, 2008 reply

300

notsellingjeans - September 26, 2008 reply

it's happened a few times the last few years...

regular season games during the afternoon on getaway travel days (Thursday 12:35 start times). No one comes partially because it’s like 105 degrees.

notsellingjeans - September 26, 2008 reply

Given Ichiro's theory of hitting, I'd want to knock him out too

PaulThomas - September 26, 2008 reply

8 straight years of 200+ hits AND 100 runs

Yeah, his theory sucks.

Masaryk - September 26, 2008 reply

I'd rather see Cust at DH and not sign Giambi

He’s not in the long term plans, so why take away ABs from someone else who will be around after Giambi is gone? Cust should only be at DH. we’ve all seen what he does with the leather.

I would rather see Sweeney/CarGon/Buck than watch Cust butcher defense in left field.

green_and_gold - September 26, 2008 reply

"why take away ABs"

My counter-argument would be that none of the promising guys for the future have earned a spot yet.

I like all of them, but CarGon/Barton/Cunningham all have things to prove in AAA.

notsellingjeans - September 26, 2008 reply

Can't you just shoot them from a plane

when they’re trapped in the snow? It’s, like, easier.

Nico - September 26, 2008 reply

ya but its less Davy Crockett like

and lets face it, any pitcher would be scared to throw inside if you wrastled some moose, or maybe even a polar bear.

DyeLongJustice - September 26, 2008 reply

At what point does ownership say...

“Maybe we should throw a bone to the Fanbase… We’re not going to compete next year (probably), so let’s give the youth more time to mature in the minors and bring in a name for people to enjoy”.

Colorado Fan - September 26, 2008 reply

+1

If he spends 2-3 good years in an A’s uniform, think Giambi’s number could be posted on an outfield wall in Fremont someday?

notsellingjeans - September 26, 2008 reply

Tough call

Granted Jason put up monster numbers with the A’s the first go-around. But considering the only guys with retired numbers are in Cooperstown, it could be tough for him to get one.

67MARQUEZ - September 26, 2008 reply

-1

that will not happen.

xbhaskarx - September 26, 2008 reply

I don't think the A's are as far from being competitive in 2009 as all that

You can improve a team quickly by bringing in a couple key additions. The A’s OF is fine. The rotation is going to be good and only getting better over time. The bullpen is fine. The infield needs a 50% overhaul but may get half of that in a recovered Chavez and if not the A’s have the payroll flexibility and trade chips to improve their infield for 2009 – be it by adding Giambi, Dunn, Furcal, or trading for a Hardy, etc.

The current team is not going to compete in 2009 – but the current team may not take the field in 2009. A reason to add Giambi (or whomever) is to actively change whether or not the A’s can compete in 2009.

Nico - September 26, 2008 reply

I see Giambi as redundant with Cust and this newly recovered Chavez person

WaddellCanseco - September 26, 2008 reply

If you mean three guys who actually make an offense better, yes!

If they occupy three different spots on the field, I see the problem not.

Nico - September 26, 2008 reply

If Cust and Giambi are both in the field, they definitely make the defense worse.

Cust – Sweeney – Cunningham/Buck is a really bad defensive OF. Also I’m not sure Giambi’s as cheap as is being portrayed here. Angels are very likely to be interested if they don’t get Teixeira. Rays too. Maybe even Dodgers and Mariners. Giving 2/$24M for an upgrade from Buck/Cunningham with the resulting downgrade in LF defense doesn’t sound all that exciting.

WaddellCanseco - September 26, 2008 reply

CarGon

Why does everyone think that Sweeney > Cargon in 2009? Sweeney is a slap hitting RF. I’d go with Cunningham/Cust – CarGon – Buck/Sweeney. And I’d try to trade Ryan Sweeney w/ Mazzaro + Street to bring in a bat this offseason.

Colorado Fan - September 28, 2008 reply

i agree

i think that our team could be competitive NEXT year, assuming our SP’s are good. I think that if we could just add a few offensive pieces, we could be a playoff team.

DyeLongJustice - September 26, 2008 reply

in other words, precisely what Mariners ownership did w/Johjima?

No, thanks.

I’m in favor of signing Giambi, but only because/if he can still OPS well.

monkeyball - September 26, 2008 reply

Wasn't that because he's Japanese, along with their owners?

OldhamA - September 26, 2008 reply

well, their ethnicity doesn't have anything to do with it per se

They “thr[e]w a bone to the Fanbase… and [extended] a name for people to enjoy.”

It was a marketing decision. Which is their right and privilege, but not how I want to see the A’s build their roster/

monkeyball - September 26, 2008 reply

Not quite

Colorado Fan - September 28, 2008 reply

Attendance is misleading

Attendance is not an indicator profits or even revenues. Arguably you can make more money with less depending on PRICE and costs. The A’s have probably the lowest stadium costs (other than payroll) in baseball, as well as a great revenue package for parking and food.

You could just give seats away free and break attendance records, so what??

The owners are shrewd businessmen who want you and the players to feel guilty about attendance but they WON’T EVER show you or the players their books. Wonder why????

cautiousoptimist - September 26, 2008 reply

No private company needs to show its books to its employees.

WaddellCanseco - September 26, 2008 reply

false

depends on how many shareholders the private company has. even private companies with more than 800 shareholders (i think it’s 800) have to show their books to employees. its why a lot of start ups and private companies come public.

stm72 - September 26, 2008 reply

Really? Is this part of labour law?

WaddellCanseco - September 26, 2008 reply

Also, if you have 800 shareholders are you really "private"?

WaddellCanseco - September 26, 2008 reply

well played...

“private” (none of your business) – no

private (as in, not publicly traded) – yes

this rule is why google ultimately came public. they were on the verge of having to disclosure their financials, which would inevitably be leaked to the market. so instead they came public.

stm72 - September 26, 2008 reply

Securities and Exchange Commission rule

stm72 - September 26, 2008 reply

The combination of attendance and TV ratings

is a pretty good indication of the level of the community’s interest in the team.

In a report I saw which covered the first half of the season, the average A’s telecast on CSN Bay Area was seen in 51,000 households. That ranked 23rd among the 29 U.S.-based teams. You could probably guess the top 5; they were Yankees, Red Sox, Mets, Cubs, Phillies. To me, the surprise was the Twins’ 7th-place ranking; the “disappointments” would have been the Angels (13th) and the White Sox (16th).

I’ll keep an eye out for some numbers that cover the entire season.

Soaker - September 26, 2008 reply

Where were the Giants?

WaddellCanseco - September 26, 2008 reply

17th at 61,000 households

Which represented a decent drop from 2007, apparently a side effect of the departure of Barry Bonds.

Soaker - September 26, 2008 reply

Hmm...I just googled "Bonds + side effects"

and your comment wasn’t in the first 10 hits.

Nico - September 26, 2008 reply

So even if the A's get on CSN West as the big enchilada, their ceiling is likely around

#10? I’m imagining points for having a better team, and more penetration into the Central Valley, and maybe Nevada. I’m also imagining a much stronger radio network than they now have. That’s really bad in a market with the third or fourth largest GMP in North America.

WaddellCanseco - September 26, 2008 reply

Say what you want against Ichiro, but to me

what’s disgusting is the cowardice involved in dissing a colleague but staying anonymous. If you’re going to trash someone, at least have the integrity to say who the hell you are.

Nico - September 26, 2008 reply

And further, he should be saying to Ichiro, not to outside people

WaddellCanseco - September 26, 2008 reply

Maybe he tried, but Ichiro didn't understand. ;-)

OldhamA - September 26, 2008 reply

If I can understand Gojira without subtitles, Ichiro can understand a clenched fist and smoking ears.

WaddellCanseco - September 26, 2008 reply

+100000000000000000

Blicks - September 26, 2008 reply

i agree whoever it is..should have said whatever he had to say to ichiro..I would tell ichiro i want to smack him..cause I do. But I wouldn’t go about that by staying anonymous

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