UPDATE: TUESDAY, 4:35pm PDT ... Vin Mazzaro will be called up to make his major league debut starting against the White Sox on Tuesday.
Now that all the yahoo readers who happened to put "unicorniness" into their search engine are here, the A's avoided a series sweep today thanks in large part to two HRs by Adam Kennedy, the second of which broke a 4-4 tie in the 9th off of Frank Francisco.
After Ryan Sweeney robbed Ian Kinsler of a HR (he does that a lot) leading off the 1st, Dallas Braden settled down big time and took a 4-0 lead into the bottom of the 7th, thanks to HRs by Kennedy and Giambi, and a couple 7th inning insurance runs. Then Braden's tidy outing was interrupted by the fact that he was bleeding all over the place, courtesy of a blister he had apparently borrowed from Brett Anderson. Braden left the game after the first two hitters reached in the 7th, both of whom scored. Two more scored in the 8th off of Michael Wuertz and Andrew Bailey, who turned 25 today but was charged with a blown save when Marlon Byrd's dribber that wouldn't have hurt one tied the game in the 8th.
Enter Kennedy, exit baseball into the upper deck, 5-4 A's in the 9th. Evidently, Francisco's 0.00 ERA did not impress Kennedy. No chairs were thrown. In the bottom of the 9th, Bailey neutralized a leadoff pinch hit single by Josh Hamilton by getting a 4-6-3 DP from Kinsler (who was supposed to hit it just over the CF wall and into Sweeney's glove, but this was good too). When Michael Young hit a slow comebacker, it made a winner out of the birthday boy.
Finally, let me just say that Dallas Braden plays with exactly the kind of energy and intensity I wish to see from all 25 guys, constantly motivating himself with comments to his glove and the ball between pitches ("Hit your f-ing spots!" "C'mon now, let's go!") and always ready to dive for anything near him. A 1.64 WHIP (.316 BAA) against right-handed hitters will catch up to him soon if he doesn't make some adjustments, but there's a reason Braden is overachieving and his teammates should take their cue from him. Great competitor.
Braden, Kennedy, Bailey. Give me those guys, and Suzuki, and I can win some games.
0 recs | 143 comments
So this is what a victory feels like,eh? I kinda like it.
Bravo Kennedy! Where would the A’s be without A. Kennedy?
mrod - May 31, 2009
I know!
I just can’t stop smiling :)
fruitattack - May 31, 2009
Last place... oh wait...
Helloooo 1st - May 31, 2009
Also, Geren should be fired anyways just because...
mrod - May 31, 2009
Aardsma implodes
Trainman - May 31, 2009
and loses the game
walk, fly out, walk, fly out, bloop double, IBB, single game over
Trainman - May 31, 2009
yes!
mrod - May 31, 2009
Speaking of what's worse then Bob Geren
Our bullpen has been HORRIBLE of late. Was our strong key early this season, but casilla, wertz, zig, Springer, even the overworked Bailey. Too bad Gio walks way to many batters or I would say bring him up and let him turn it lose like the Rays did last year with David Price…..But hey, Dan Meyer and Kiko Calero or doing horrible – not.
ryanmoser - May 31, 2009
really, it's more that the bullpen has been worked to death early on in the season.
other than Anderson’s shellacking yesterday and Martinez sucking on Friday, though, the starters have been doing their jobs, going deeper into games and keeping the A’s in ballgames.
mrod - May 31, 2009
This should have been expected.
We were going into the year with just one veteran pitcher—and he was injury prone. Even 2005, with just Zito and Harden returning had a more stable rotation. Anderson, Braden, Cahill, and Outman are likely all on strict pitchcounts (this being their first full year in the rotation) and the fifth rotation spot is up for grabs.
Threepwood XX - May 31, 2009
Gonzalez
Flashfire - May 31, 2009
There is ZERO reason Bailey should've pitched in a blowout loss yesterday
You do NOT use your best relievers in a blowout. Ever.
Blicks - May 31, 2009
but this Geren we're talking about here, Blicks.
He just does not get it….at all.
mrod - May 31, 2009
Oh yeah, I know.
He needs to go, period.
If he blows out his arm (he’s very high up there in reliever IP in all MLB, but he was a starter in the minors for some time, if I’m right), its on Geren.
Blicks - May 31, 2009
Actually, pitching Bailey yesterday didn't bother me
He hadn’t pitched for nearly a week and needed an inning to stay sharp. Managers can’t help it when closers are not needed for several days at a time and then suddenly are needed multiple days in a row.
Nico - May 31, 2009
Not necessarily true
There are times when a pitcher needs to get into A game after a long break. Unfortunately it often becomes magnified when that warm-up game happens just before an important appearance. I still can’t believe he through two innings because he’s too damn important for them to treat him like Jay Witasick.
Still I believe Geren should be fired for several reasons.
ohtobe21likehuston - May 31, 2009
threw
ohtobe21likehuston - May 31, 2009
and
its not like he was lights out yesterday
Future Ed - May 31, 2009
"AN to Bob Geren...."
mrod - May 31, 2009
but because of some crazy glitch in the computer
he still keeps receiving a paycheck.
ohtobe21likehuston - May 31, 2009
perfect!
mrod - May 31, 2009
Way to yank out a win, bitches!
lynnzgal - May 31, 2009
better to yank than to wank!
mrod - May 31, 2009
In-deed!
lynnzgal - May 31, 2009
Oh dear.
ElQuesoCapitan - May 31, 2009
"A's avoided a series sweep today"
That will be the game recap of the season.
javaball - May 31, 2009
that should be the headline
if they win the opening game
Future Ed - May 31, 2009
QOTM
Flashfire - May 31, 2009
I dunno, I've got a feeling
that a gal by the name of Jordin Sparks can help the A’s turn this season around.
scromulus - May 31, 2009
or a's give up lead, try to lose, and FAIL
DyeLongJustice - May 31, 2009
YAY WIN!!!
Braden and Outman have been pleasant surprises. And AK is awesome.
His .325 BABIP should also come down, bringing that WHIP and BAA down with it. Silver lining FTW.
Blicks - May 31, 2009
Hey
We’re all gonna get laid!
ohtobe21likehuston - May 31, 2009
Over here!
mrod - May 31, 2009
Oh my gawd.
LMAO.
Blicks - May 31, 2009
awesome
LoneStranger - May 31, 2009
I love this RD joke
“I’m not a sexy guy. I went to a hooker. I dropped my pants. She dropped her price.”
ohtobe21likehuston - May 31, 2009
when i was born my doctor told my mom, "we tried everything...
he pulled through anyway."
AV - May 31, 2009
really???
I don’t remember that being part of the deal….
gigglingone - May 31, 2009
Losses definitely cause pent-up anger
so wins should do the opposite
ohtobe21likehuston - May 31, 2009
Anger explosions?
Helloooo 1st - May 31, 2009
it's not so much that we win, but that we fail to lose this season.
DyeLongJustice - May 31, 2009
Wait, did I just see that right?
Does Bailey seriously have the most Wins of any pitcher on the staff?
Erk. =[
Morgasm - May 31, 2009
pitchers call what Bailey did today a "vulch"
(short for vulture). That’s when a pitcher blows a save but ends up with the win.
OaklandSi - May 31, 2009
I call it being rubbish.
OldhamA - June 1, 2009
Keith Foulke knows all about that.
Somehow he managed to steal like 11 wins from Tim Hudson (and probably the CY award) in 2003.
Huddy was 16-7 that year (yeah, I know) with a 2.70 ERA. Imagine if he had been, oh, 24-7, 2.70?
mikev - June 1, 2009
Love the photo!
day-to-day - May 31, 2009
Trade Adam Kennedy
To Milwaukee. Strike while the iron is hot. He’s killing our chance for the number 1 draft pick in 2010.
sprtsnwyn - May 31, 2009
it'd be like finding a $20
Future Ed - May 31, 2009
we should pick up all F.A.T.s (free available talent)
through ’em against the wall, and see which ones stick. Them sell them off to the highest bidder.
DyeLongJustice - May 31, 2009
Nah he can try all he wants, but his efforts will be in vain.
OldhamA - June 1, 2009
So wait
Everyone is a fan again?
hero66 - May 31, 2009
when did people stop becoming fans? i read the emotion as the opposite - proof of their fandom, not the opposite.
stm72 - May 31, 2009
hero66, as badly as the A's have played this season,
and as poorly as they’ve been run on the field, off the field, TV, radio, you name it, my fear would have been that AN would be a ghost-town right about now. Instead, here you see lots and lots of people still with enough passion to vent on a daily basis – more passion than I’ve seen on the field most days.
Coming here and venting is being a fan; it shows you care.
Nico - May 31, 2009
It was a joke
Making fun of the recent uproar here.
hero66 - May 31, 2009
Ah, sorry.
Nico - May 31, 2009
got it. sorry
stm72 - May 31, 2009
our constant bitching = ♥
pam5981 - May 31, 2009
Wait, are you talking about the A's or the AN Personals?
Nick - May 31, 2009
There's a difference?
Nico - May 31, 2009
What Nico said.
pam5981 - May 31, 2009
nah....we're just on the 1 game bandwagon.
mrod - May 31, 2009
You know what's worse than being an A's fan this season?
Being an Ohio State University baseball fan today.
Ugh.
Nick - May 31, 2009
I always wondered where Mike Oquist ended up.
Nico - May 31, 2009
He came in when Jeff Kaiser got worn out
Nick - May 31, 2009
So then he wasn't so permanente after all.
Nico - May 31, 2009
wow....just, wow....
gigglingone - May 31, 2009
Braden
Braden’s being a great competitor has nothing to do with him overachieving. It just happens sometimes.
Razr - May 31, 2009
I tend to agree with this.
Pucking Insane - June 1, 2009
I wonder if it's one of those things where
you really have to have played or been part of professional sports to understand why it is in fact true. I think it would be difficult to explain, yet easy to know if you’ve been there.
Nico - June 1, 2009
btw, it's not a blister that knocked Braden out of the game
Just a cut.
gigglingone - May 31, 2009
What a great medical staff!
Even their equipment does more harm than good.
Nico - May 31, 2009
QOTM
doctorK - May 31, 2009
Oh, irony of ironies.
pam5981 - May 31, 2009
"Wait...Did I leave the irony on?"
{rushes home}
Nico - May 31, 2009
please tell me your making this up
so the training staff’s equipment is now openly and brazenly attacking the players?
Someone better tell these guys not to turn their backs on the Stairmaster in the clubhouse.
emperor nobody - May 31, 2009
Maybe the medical case is where he keeps his moustache wax
Nick - May 31, 2009
Just when I thought
this team’s injuries couldn’t get any more ridiculous…
day-to-day - May 31, 2009
Does this mean Braden's ability to hitchhike is currently "mile to mile"?
Nico - May 31, 2009
Billy Beane should seriously consider giving OSHA a call.
scromulus - May 31, 2009
That is just perfect. Wow.
whiteshoes40 - May 31, 2009
Yea they said he was trying to get some electrolytes that was in the first aid kit
Athletix Man - May 31, 2009
Is Ellis expected back this season?
When he does, if Kennedy is hitting anything close to what it is now, what happens then? Stopgap 3B?
rightbackin - May 31, 2009
DH Kennedy?
Kind of an abuse of the concept of a DH, but at the moment it would pay off.
Nico - May 31, 2009
That would look something like
Cabrera – SS (Not my idea, I just know that’s where he’ll hit)
Kennedy – DH
Cust – RF
Holliday – LF
Giambi – 1B
Suzuki – C
Sweeney – CF
Ellis – 2B
Crosahan – 3B
Now THAT…is a mediocre offense AND a mediocre defense!
Nico - May 31, 2009
When is Ellis eligible to come off the 60 day?
pam5981 - May 31, 2009
End of June - the 28th?
Nico - May 31, 2009
sounds about right
He was officially DL’d April 29th
gigglingone - May 31, 2009
The only reason I ask about expected back this season is that 60 day DL for the A's
is the pre-obituary of the season-that-could-have-been list. Then the followup autopsy report by a member of AN later.
rightbackin - May 31, 2009
I know Ellis isn't supposed to throw that far because of his bad shoulder,
and I’m pretty sure Kennedy has never played 3B – probably because he doesn’t have the arm for it either. Given our current 3B options, its probably worth trying anyway.
scromulus - May 31, 2009
We could just put the shift on for every hitter,
and if they hit it to the right of SS, well, so be it.
Nico - May 31, 2009
We could go with two outfielders, or no catchers.
Really though, I figure if you stick one those guys at 3B and they blow out a labrum or two, its not like either of them are really signed for that long.
scromulus - May 31, 2009
pull the goalie
Future Ed - May 31, 2009
Trade him to Tampa Bay, ha
Athletix Man - May 31, 2009
unlike the rest of you guys this was the first game ive seen live all season I was stuck in China. But AK is playing like a stud, Giambi hit a bomb, Braden pitched an amazing game and its still early. Sure we probably wont win a pennant but rooting on my boys and watching competitive games is all i really want.
david630 - May 31, 2009
I'm not superstitious, but...
could you watch every game live for a while?
Nico - May 31, 2009
will do!
david630 - May 31, 2009
No Beijing Mojo
I live in Beijing and have watched or listened to most games live this season on mlb.tv (at the bizarre hours you’d expect with a 12-15 hour time difference). So watching live from China doesn’t seem to help much. :-( Glad it worked for you on your return home David630.
Maybe if I start watching games on delay a few hours after they’re over, I can create some Cosmic Wormhole Mojo and that’ll help us win more games.
Jackson23 - June 1, 2009
does anyone know
why the Rangers fans throw the A’s homerun balls back? Is this normal?
Chilango - May 31, 2009
I think this started as a bleacher-bum tradition in Chicago
Now, fans do it all over the country, and not just to the A’s.
doctorK - May 31, 2009
Ha!
To think how much I wanted to catch a ball when I was a kid. I don’t think I would have had the self-discipline to throw it back. It’s good to see they’re raisin’ their kids right over Texas way…
Chilango - May 31, 2009
i would never throw one back
i would leave first
Future Ed - May 31, 2009
I remember them doing it at Wrigley in '81, '82...
Leopold Bloom - May 31, 2009
it happens at the coliseum too
you catch HR by opponents, crowd chants at you “throw it back” till you think it’s the right thing to do, you throw it back, and security pounces on you immediately to kick you out of the game. saw it happen, RF bleachers, just last wednesday.
AV - June 1, 2009
So if they want to throw it out, give it to them to throw out
let them get the boot
MobiusKlein - June 1, 2009
Yes, my friends, I say yes!
Gooo Oakland! I will be at A’s vs. Sox tomorrow, in Chi-town, and I will bring back pics. Go A’s!
IowaA'sFan - May 31, 2009
He's obviously delusional:
“Standings-wise, it was a big win,” manager Bob Geren said.
Leopold Bloom - May 31, 2009
Obv.
Because being 10 games back instead of 11 games back means a world of difference.
pam5981 - May 31, 2009
Is he picking cliched, positive, lame quotes out of a jockstrap or what?
Flashfire - May 31, 2009
Must be the gold thong hanging in G's locker.
mrod - May 31, 2009
He fills out a page in a Mad Libs book before the game
and uses all the nice cliched, positive, lame adjectives that he came up with during the post-game interview.
Jackson23 - June 1, 2009
So I wasn't too excited about the prospect of seeing Adam Kennedy on the A's at first,
but I’d say by now he’s officially won me over. I’ve almost forgotten he was on that other team that I really don’t like at all. Almost.
whiteshoes40 - May 31, 2009
I recall you being less than thrilled.
Of course I can’t say that any of us were in a rush to buy his jersey.
67MARQUEZ - May 31, 2009
I was.
Leopold Bloom - May 31, 2009
You would.
whiteshoes40 - May 31, 2009
...and why's that?
Leopold Bloom - May 31, 2009
Because you like the Angels, of course.
whiteshoes40 - May 31, 2009
ick.
Leopold Bloom - May 31, 2009
Well at least she didn't say slegnA
67MARQUEZ - May 31, 2009
I'd say they're pretty firmly entrenched in my top five teams of despise.
A little less now that F-Rod’s gone. Still, they have Stay Puft, whom I despise, and Chone, who’s my nemesis.
Leopold Bloom - May 31, 2009
easily one of my top 5
67MARQUEZ - May 31, 2009
It depends, year to year,
but they’re always top five.
Leopold Bloom - May 31, 2009
agrd.
67MARQUEZ - May 31, 2009
Random question: Is that jersey/player shirt jinx still in effect?
As in, you buy one and then, sometime that season, the player leaves?
I don’t think I know what I’m talking about anymore.
walkoff baltimore chop - May 31, 2009
For 67M?
Almost a certainty.
Leopold Bloom - May 31, 2009
Absolutely.
I don’t know what he’s talking about anymore either.
67MARQUEZ - May 31, 2009
I just nod and agree to anything negative about you.
I’m a good friend.
Leopold Bloom - May 31, 2009
In-deed you are.
And it’s totally cool, ‘cause I have a detailed list of every negative comment about me. It’s actually a pretty long list.
67MARQUEZ - May 31, 2009
You're going to kill me while wearing a dress, aren't you?
Leopold Bloom - May 31, 2009
I'd answer that
But that would make it easier for them to trace me.
67MARQUEZ - May 31, 2009
at least you care enough about me to stalk.
I’ve felt alone all day.
Leopold Bloom - May 31, 2009
Who's "alone"? And how did "alone" react to a day of being felt?
We want details.
el campysino - May 31, 2009
Alone was cool with it.
She’s used to me wrestling with her for days.
Leopold Bloom - May 31, 2009
Keep wrestling Alone.
Alone is followed by Disconsolate, and I don’t want to tell you what comes next.
el campysino - June 1, 2009
hanging myself in the closet?
Leopold Bloom - June 1, 2009
Morbid frivolity is all well and good, I guess ...
but your response scares me, Leopold.
el campysino - June 1, 2009
..well, then, my egocentric ass is appeased.
I’m too in love with myself to harm myself.
Plus, I don’t think the closet rod would support my weight.
Leopold Bloom - June 1, 2009
A worrisome response. But still,
vastly better than no response at all.
Time to get some sleep, LB.
el campysino - June 1, 2009
I love how greive the rangers color man says after sweeney’s catch “It really an easy paly when it comes down to it.” What a blow hard. I hate anyone from texas.
P.s. your son sucked
Swell - June 1, 2009
Easy if you're 8 feet tall.
Jackson23 - June 1, 2009
The headline I want to see is...
A’s fire Geren. If that happens, this season will be a success, no matter what the won-loss record is.
Keystone State - June 1, 2009
OT, but Rob Neyer mentions Nico's blog entry on Geren
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/sweetspot/0-3-0/Monday-Mendozas.html
kaweahkaweah - June 1, 2009
more importantly
(sorry nico)
follow the rickey link
Future Ed - June 1, 2009
Good story about Rickey
Billy Martin, on the other hand…
kaweahkaweah - June 1, 2009
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