It was a gutsy, bold, put-yourself-out-there move.
A struggling Orlando Cabrera--he of the .233 BA and .278 OBP and the ‘bat me 1 or 2 in the lineup’ clause in his contract--held a meeting to fire up the lackluster offense before the game. The phrase ‘lead by example’ comes to mind; if you call the meeting, you had better show up during the game.
His first at-bat was frustrating; Cabrera swung at the very first pitch--against the no-doubt nervous Hochevar making his first major league appearance of the year; lights out at AAA, but has struggled mightily in the big leagues--and grounded out weakly to shortstop. Pretty much the exact opposite of what you want your leadoff hitter to do, especially against a young pitcher. But that would be the last time anyone would complain about Cabrera tonight.
Trevor Cahill started the game in bad-Cahill fashion; he allowed a leadoff single to Crisp, and with two outs; walked two to load the bases. He escaped that jam, and was rewarded immediately in the bottom of the inning. After Cabrera’s groundout, Suzuki continued his torrid hitting streak with a single. Giambi came up and drilled a double to score the run, and just like that; the A’s had the lead.
Cahill allowed two more hits in the second, but got out of that jam as well. From that moment on, he only had to make it through five innings for the win; the A’s took care of the game in the second inning. Let me ‘splain. No, is too much. Let me sum up: Sweeney, ground out, Kennedy, walk, Buck, single, Hannahan, double, Cabrera, 2-RBI single, Suzuki, force-out, Giambi, walk, Holliday, single, Cust, homerun! Seven runs later, the A’s held an 8-0 lead.
Cahill was not especially sharp tonight; he allowed two homeruns later in the game for his only runs, racked up two strikeouts to even out his two walks, and threw 99 pitches through six innings, but the A’s gave him an easy win, and it evened his record at 2.
The A’s added two more on in the third (sac fly by Giambi, single by Holliday - who would get on base 4 times) and two more in the fourth (double by Cabrera, making him 3-5 on the night with 4 RBI’s), and the combination of Giese, Cameron and Blevins (who is now throwing 1, 2, 3 innings in blowouts) closed the door on the Royals for the night.
It was a great win.
Side note: Dallas Braden is awesome. He not only is one tough pitcher (see: Sunday’s game), but he is articulate, well-spoken, knowledgeable, and it’s a shame that the A’s offense is wasting him so far this year.
Same time, same place tomorrow night. Yes, same moderator (blame LB).
And lastly, here’s a note from the AN personals (otherwise known as tonight’s game thread), brought to you by Mini Sirloin Burgers: If you’re reading this, Lexi, Raj wants to hang out with you. And Lexi, baseballgirl thinks you should become an A’s fan. You’re good luck already!
1 recs | 112 comments
This is the best recap ever!
Rated-R Superstar - May 12, 2009
Haha...you got your shoutout.
You have to tell Lexi now! :-)
baseballgirl - May 12, 2009
Yay for Rated R!!! : )
wacchampions - May 12, 2009
Pepe VERY happy with tonight's game!
Flashfire - May 12, 2009
+∞
ElQuesoCapitan - May 12, 2009
Meeting ... 12 runs ...
it’s about friggin’ time!!!
Vacafan - May 12, 2009
x a billion
baseballgirl - May 12, 2009
Please match this tomorrow!
oaklandSMASH - May 12, 2009
Rivercats update
Cuninghan – HR and double
Cardenas – another multi hit game and another double
Mazzaro – 8IP, 1H, 0 ER
Casilla – started the game and pitched one inning
stm72 - May 12, 2009
Nice!
baseballgirl - May 12, 2009
wow, sorry for the butcher job on Cunningham
stm72 - May 12, 2009
Could have been worse.
67MARQUEZ - May 12, 2009
Mazzaro is coming
If I were Gallagher I’d be worried.
jasonthea - May 12, 2009
for a guy featuring the sinker and doesn't strike many guys out...
he gives up too many flyballs (tonight, 11 Ground outs vs 7 Flyouts). that being said, i agree
stm72 - May 12, 2009
His sinker isn't sinking.
It’s very strange because that’s supposed to be his plus-plus pitch, but he’s been leaving it up or flat quite a bit.
mikev - May 12, 2009
Whilst the starting pitching has not been stellar, thus far
I don’t think you bring someone up unless you’re absolutely sure they’re going to be a real improvement. And I’m not talking about a one run per six innings type improvement, either. Unless, of course, you’re going to send Cahill or Anderson down to give them some more time, etc, because you don’t want them pitching a million innings this season. Seems like there’d be no point in bring up a guy like Mazzaro at the moment, when he still has some stuff to work on.
But encouraging he’s getting it better, nonetheless. Maybe when the A’s reach the PLAYOFFS he’ll be up there pitching?
alea iacta est - May 12, 2009
Well, if Gallagher doesn't get better
and Outman is better suited for the pen, then even with Duke they will need a 5th starter.
jasonthea - May 12, 2009
and that persons name starts with a "g" and ends
with “onzales”
Future Ed - May 13, 2009
Nope
It starts with a “G” and ends with “onzalez.”
Flashfire - May 13, 2009
do you guys actually attend these minor league games, or are they broadcast somewhere?
i see a lot of in-depth analysis on our farm system and i would like to be able to see the same things.
jlanning17 - May 13, 2009
www.milb.com – I think you can watch games via the web.
But I believe that 90% of Minor League Analysis (AN Analysis) is attained through professional websites like: www.minorleagueball.com , www.firstinning.com , www.baseballprospectus.com , www.thebaseballcube.com , etc… As well as from professional scouts throughout baseball.
Colorado Fan - May 13, 2009
each of the a's affiliates have websites with all the boxscores and YTD data
milb.com and milbsplits.com are two very good sites.
baseball reference also has a minors portion of their site
stm72 - May 13, 2009
So Mazzaro was the ending pitcher, and Casilla was the opener?
They do things backwards in AAA.
iglew - May 13, 2009
yes
stm72 - May 13, 2009
I approve of this recap.
Yay.
pam5981 - May 12, 2009
Hahaha...yay!
Do you have any messages for AN personals? We need one for tomorrow’s recap.
baseballgirl - May 12, 2009
AN personals??
cuppingmaster - May 12, 2009
Yeah really
AN Personals?
is this some new long walks on the beach and candlelit dinner shit that AN is providing?
mikev - May 12, 2009
Likes: Long walks to first, deep shots, shagging fly balls
alea iacta est - May 12, 2009
there are so many things i could say about that...
cuppingmaster - May 12, 2009
DANGER! DANGER!
pam5981 - May 12, 2009
That's a weird personal.
mikev - May 12, 2009
Yeah, I'm weird.
pam5981 - May 12, 2009
Join the club.
mikev - May 12, 2009
Two A-mazing stats from tonight
1. I think you give Cahill a bit of a bum rap— he struggled but got out of trouble in the first 2 innings. Then he had a huge lead and pitched to the score. A-mazing Stat #1— Cahill did not walk any of the last 21 batters he faced today— and did not go to a 3 ball count once after the 2nd inning. Now the Royals undoubtedly helped matters but wanting the rout to end, but still— who cares that he gave up a couple of bombs in the 5th and 6th inning? He’s supposed to throw strikes in that situation and he did.
2. Other A-mazing stat is that the A’s had 15 PAs with RISP in the first 4 innings. There have been more than a couple games this year where I don’t think they had 15PAs period in the first 4 innings.
jasonthea - May 12, 2009
#1 is impressive
stm72 - May 12, 2009
I do agree with that....I was basing the start off when the game was close.
One inch and that ball down the line would have been a bases-clearing double, and he was hit hard early. But settled down nicely.
baseballgirl - May 12, 2009
Re: #1
It definitely seems like when Cahill is aggressive and pounds the strike zone he’s a bit prone to giving up the HR, and I don’t doubt some of these two-out mini-meltdowns where he refuses to throw strikes and loads up the bases are the result of being afraid to leave something over the plate when there are men on base. Like any pitcher, he’s gonna pitch differently when there are men on base, or when the game is close, but its really night and day with him.
I think back to the ’06 season when Haren went through a stretch where he issuing a ton of HRs (his HR9 for the season, btw, was 1.3 – not necessarily anything terrible, but hardly indicative of a front-line starter). Since then he has been dominant and his HR9 has improved.
I think being more aggressive in the strike zone will help Cahill learn what works and what doesn’t a lot more than if he continues to try and fool (or for whatever reason, pitch around) hitters who are a lot better than the ones he’s probably used to. He’s gonna get hit hard sometimes, but that’s part of the process. I’m not saying he should throw a fastball down the middle with runners on 1st and 3rd, but that if there’s a runner on 1st with two outs, he should have faith in his stuff and work in the zone (as opposed to throwing wild fastballs until the bases are loaded and he is forced to be aggresive).
It could be something else completely. Vince has mentioned a couple times that Cahill is working on finding consistency with his release point. Either way, establishing consistency in his approach is obviously key moving forward, and the A’s seem to have identified some ways to help in this area – I think he knows what he needs to do, but just needs more practice doing it. Its nice to see some positive signs after he looked so messy earlier in the year. He’s a smart kid – coulda gone to Harvard.
scromulus - May 12, 2009
Dartmouth
Good Analysis. Cahill is still understanding the art of Pitching. He was a shortstop for most of his baseball life (IIRC). He started pitching his senior year in High School. He’s probably only pitched 350 – 400 Innings of baseball his entire life. I’ve probably pitched more innings of baseball than Trevor Cahill – Ages 7-18.
The Sinker is definitely something he needs to master. It’s a tough pitch at the MLB Level. There is a fine line… MLB Hitters know to layoff pitches that look thigh-high or lower.
Colorado Fan - May 13, 2009
maybe said a different way...
his ability to repeat his delivery is affected by pitching out of the stretch.
stm72 - May 13, 2009
Yay A's!
So I hope you guys all have fun at AN Day because Pam hates me and doesn’t want me there.
:cry:
mikev - May 12, 2009
Oh, stop it.
pam5981 - May 12, 2009
You're the one insisting on the day I can't go.
{sobs in the corner}
mikev - May 12, 2009
And the slegnA LOSE
All kinds of good news.
doctorK - May 12, 2009
papelbon made it interesting as usual
but i’ll take it
cuppingmaster - May 12, 2009
That always makes me feel good
seeing them lose
Trainman - May 12, 2009
Cahill with good win, Shields with fat loss!
If not for the Nats failing to the Gnats it would be a superawesome night!
I’ll settle for an awesome night!
oaklandSMASH - May 12, 2009
shields sucking is not news
but now arredondo is getting lit up. hah!
stm72 - May 12, 2009
Shields being this bad is news, actually
Flashfire - May 12, 2009
SlegnA Pen is 1-9
Keep it up guys, You suck
Trainman - May 12, 2009
my recollection was wrong...he had a mediocre 2007 and a good 2008
but if arredondo is hurt or is getting figured out, then that’s a big problem for the slegnA
stm72 - May 12, 2009
His 2007 was still solid and above average for most
Just not up to his usual standards.
He’s absolutely dismal this year with his BB/9 way up and SO/9 down. Terrible ratios.
Flashfire - May 12, 2009
sorry, but i'm fascinated by arredondo stinking it up
stm72 - May 12, 2009
I think I'm ok with the Giants winning games
ultimately, they’re not going to do anything stupid like win the world series, so, yknow. It’s nice to have at least one team over .500.
plus, I’m going to see Barry pitch tomorrow
alea iacta est - May 12, 2009
ouch. Zito is the new Matt Cain. the Giants will get shut out. that's my prediction
Kallus - May 12, 2009
against the Nationals?
Nah, I’m going to see two wins tomorrow; first Barry and his band of Merry men, and the A’s. woo!
alea iacta est - May 12, 2009
yes, AIE, to the Nationals. Zito will pitch beautifully, and SF will not score
hold me to it.
Kallus - May 12, 2009
This is not a future I want to live in
It’s boring enough watching the Giants when they do win
alea iacta est - May 12, 2009
well I hope you're right about the A's at least
but then again, they scored 12 runs tonight. There are shutouts and 1 run games in our near future.
Kallus - May 12, 2009
so does anyone want to recant their diatribe against this A's season?
as “the almighty” BB said, “it’s the first 1/3rd of the season” to assess what you have. Sure, there’s L/R splits, but that’ll pronounce itself thru sample sizing, not mere luck.
I think Holliday’s figured out this whole “Ah, so this is the NL” thing…. And Cahill (as with Anderson) is on the learning curve for a new league/difficulty. Honestly, I didn’t think they’d start producing (if at all) until the last 1/3rd of the season. So we’re a little early into the season to see them yield benefits.
In concert with this thesis, though, it will be interesting to watch Suzuki. Is he a statistical abberation, or is he really that good? I think another 1/3rd of a season (against more RH pitchers) will out him.
rollierollieOxenfree - May 12, 2009
Because of 1 game against Hochevar, Ponson, and HoRam?
mikev - May 12, 2009
+1 MikeV
Trainman - May 12, 2009
No?
Last I checked, this is one game. A few weeks of over .500 ball would help a bit more.
Flashfire - May 12, 2009
I'll say one thing for them....
they don’t blow 10+ run leads at home against the Royals. We had one team that couldn’t do that (LOL)
jasonthea - May 12, 2009
hatteberg walk off for #20!!!
stm72 - May 12, 2009
Trevor Cahill is good...
and, is only going to get better.
That is all.
FoolshGame22 - May 12, 2009
I want to see more of his curve working
it excites me
alea iacta est - May 12, 2009
Mmm I love curves!
Also, I’m a big fan of breaking pitches.
mikev - May 12, 2009
Ah, the humour lies in defeating expectations
excellent work
alea iacta est - May 12, 2009
he has the walks under control, which is good. that'll help him get through more innings.
but 6 ground outs vs 10 flyouts for a contact/groundball pitcher is less than good.
that’s okay, he’s shown vast improvement already and plenty of upside
stm72 - May 12, 2009
his last 2 starts are wins and both are against good teams...enough said
stm72 - May 12, 2009
No. Not nearly "enough said"
mikev - May 12, 2009
fine, wins suck as a measure of pitching and he's gotten a bit lucky...
but i’m choosing to emphasize the positive
stm72 - May 12, 2009
He's been better. He's walking less batters.
He’s gonna have to start missing more bats and getting the sinker working.
mikev - May 12, 2009
good pitchers make their own "luck"
the kid is 21 and shows more composure than vets with 10 years in MLB.
He rocks and he’s gonna rock harder!
FoolshGame22 - May 12, 2009
all the naysayers to the contrary...
hmmm… where did they go? Oh… Free Kraut, I guess. ;-)
FoolshGame22 - May 12, 2009
Shhhh!
iglew - May 13, 2009
Okay guy!
mikev - May 12, 2009
this is the sort of qualitative, non quantitative positive comment that i'm
choosing to emphasize
stm72 - May 12, 2009
Celebrate good times!
direct link
SwisherThresher - May 12, 2009
just back from the game
“Good timing, Orlando”, for your little pep talk before facing a very hittable rookie (I wonder if he it would have been so effective if delivered before facing Greinke rather than Hochevar- cynical me).
Anyway it was a fun game to watch for a while; blowouts like this one aren’t really that much fun no matter who wins- NOT THAT I"M COMPLAINING.
Most remarkable thing about the game: the less than 3000 in attendance. BOOOOOO LEW!
Brian in 317 - May 12, 2009
gonna be a t least two tomorrow!
alea iacta est - May 12, 2009
yeah
$2 tix bring out the true faithful
Brian in 317 - May 13, 2009
Just back from the game also
(good popcorn, Brian!)
That was the smallest crowd i’ve seen at an A’s game. (The AAA’s “crowds” of the late 70’s were before my time.)
This blowout was well needed…
OaklandSi - May 12, 2009
What was attendance last night?
It looked very sparse on the mlb.tv highlights they let me see (since apparently everything from Saskatoon to Houston is in the Royals blackout zone).
I do remember the “AAA ‘crowds’ of the late 70s” (heck I was part of the AAA crowds of the late 70s), about which I feel moved to note:
1) Calling them “AAA ‘crowds’” is unfair….to AAA.
2) They really are a pretty low bar to limbo under. But since Lew Wolff seems not to have any marketing/crowd goals*, perhaps he could modestly promise to stay above those attendance figures?
___________________________________
*2009 A’s Business Plan (in toto):
1. Locate new stadium.
2. ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
3. Profit!
GreenNGoldSooner - May 13, 2009
the official attendance was between 10,000-11,000
but it seemed to me that it was the smallest crowd I’d seen at the coliseum.
By the way, that’s not an unusual figure this season in quite a few ballparks.
The Oakland A’s in 1979 were often referred to as the “Triple A’s”. That’s not actually a reference to attendance,
I’ll be there tonight!
OaklandSi - May 13, 2009
I like how only a month into the season we are already seeing Cahill grow.
If he can keep the walks under control, the ground balls and strike outs will come, he has the pitches for them. He’s really improving in the most important area.
It took Danny Haren two seasons of averageness before he became an ace, and I think Cahill is on the same path. The important thing is we continue to see him improve.
Now if only two of Mazzaro, Simmons, Gallagher, Gonzalez, Eveland, or Outman would step it up and claim the last two starter spots.
Threepwood XX - May 12, 2009
Haren was a bit better than averageness...
2005: 217 Innings, 3.73 ERA, 163K/53BB
2006: 223 Innings, 4.12 ERA, 176K/45BB
…he was just slightly more prone to giving up hits/homers, but he was well above average.
ChadGod - May 13, 2009
3rd back from the game
Really really disappointing to see the small crowd. At least the bleachers were into the game as usual! Go A’s!
Synx - May 12, 2009
Kind of funny that
Dallas “G is the tha gangsta look I be wearin’” Braden looks like home slice wannabe in all his pics, but is described as articulate. Wish I would have heard the interview.
chuckcheeze - May 12, 2009
From the Stockton Record
A nice profile piece, that provides a bit of background on Braden – for those who may not be familiar with his story. He’s come a long way.
SwisherThresher - May 12, 2009
Dallas still reminds me of B Real from Cypress Hill
I think he’s articulate also.
oaklandSMASH - May 12, 2009
Very glad I decided
to watch the game instead of going to bed.
day-to-day - May 12, 2009
Good game tonight
Big test tomorrow, I feel. Good pitcher going for KC in Bannister and the offense needs to make sure this isn’t just a one game outburst and come out and make a show of it tomorrow as well. At least Bannister’s not left-handed…
Helloooo 1st - May 12, 2009
Good to win a laugher
There’s not much to say about the game. The Royals tossed out a mediocre starter and the A’s took advantage, which is a nice change. Cahill was his usual self. He isn’t going to be so fortunate most of the time, either in terms of offensive support or the failure of the opposition to take advantage of his early struggles.
bear88 - May 12, 2009
you're right
I noticed also that most of Cahill’s outs were pop flies. I haven’t seen him get many ground ball outs, which is interesting since he’s supposed to be the type of pitcher who gets a lot of ground balls.
I enjoyed the blowout but I have no illusions about the pitching that the Royals threw out there. Tonight they face Bannister, who is a good pitcher, so we’ll see…
OaklandSi - May 13, 2009
I've missed the last three wins, I'm starting to think I'm a jinx.
OldhamA - May 13, 2009
10,000 people at a Monday night game?!
What a joke!
This team is never gonna get any respect.
Oaktownflav - May 13, 2009
that would be a great but silly turnout
since the A’s were off on Monday
OaklandSi - May 13, 2009
One uninteresting team playing another uninteresting team
Royals games tend to get low attendance figures anyway.
richwol1 - May 13, 2009
interestingly, Oakland has only drawn a bit fewer
to home games than has Toronto, one of 2009 hottest teams. So far Oakland’s home attendance is a bit under 11% less than last year’s while Toronto’s are about 30% less than last year.
OaklandSi - May 13, 2009
very interesting
thanks for the data.
These numbers, though, are based on the ‘roided-up figures released as official attendance and not necessarily as what we see in the stands. But if they are consistent across the board, we should take heart. The A’s are right there with most other teams. Low end, to be sure, but above other crappy teams like the Pirates, Indians and Orioles. And without a new ballpark to bring people in.
Schadenfreude moment: looking at the fall-off in attendance at the new Yankee Stadium.
richwol1 - May 13, 2009
I'm encouraged by the rapidly dropping ticket prices.
The Freaking Yanks are doing to the fans what they’ve already done to the other owners. I’m hoping it continues to bite them squarely on the ass.
alox - May 13, 2009
Their attendance on Monday night was a big fat zero.
Flashfire - May 13, 2009
BBG if we win tonight
You will have to do all the game threads…
BBG= Good luck for the A’s!
adragon - May 13, 2009
(It’s actually the “Lexi mojo” that’s doing it!)
Rated-R Superstar - May 13, 2009
Just got around to reading this hilarious recap now. I approve
1) of the Indigo Montoya reference
and
2) Dallas Braden is hilarious. He said he didn’t want Alejo telling Geren any “Falsies” about his condition after getting hit with the line drive. Never heard that word before but I like it.
GusanoQuemador - May 13, 2009
(Horn, not Alejo)
Flashfire - May 13, 2009
You're the only one who noticed #1!
Thanks!
baseballgirl - May 13, 2009
I'm a child of the 80's, what can I say
GusanoQuemador - May 14, 2009
Figures!
I take a trip up the CA coast to Ashland on vacation and the A’s pull a blowout win. I bet they’re going to sweep the Royals just to spite me. If the A’s keep winning all week … does that mean I shouldn’t come back to CA?
cityplANner - May 13, 2009
You should stay in Ashland
Not because of luck but because it’s a nice town and I think they even have an A’s station.
worldblee - May 13, 2009
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