Athletics Nation

she should move to Sacramento

He was going to be the only way I could get her to come with us to see a Rivercat's game.

But now that’s shot for the time being.

Or 2B until Ellis returns.

OldhamA - May 7, 2009 reply

I wish Petit would just learn to hit MLB pitching

Dare i say

That I am starting to be okay with him as 2B

A'sfaninNC - May 8, 2009 reply

Actually, I kinda like using Bobby as the primary 2Bman until Ellis is healed

And when I say “healed”, I mean truly ready to play. No half-ass healed for Ellie. All the way. I expect that to be a month or so away. I saw let Bobby play out 2B that whole time and spell Ellis liberally once the Unicorn comes back.

Use a Nomar/Hannahan 3B combo with Crosby thrown in the mix once Ellis is back. Ride Crosby’s hot-hand mercilessly until it all falls apart for him again.

I would be on board with that approach as well

dtownmbrown - May 8, 2009 reply

I'm no expert, but his plate appearances look different to me.

Looks like is is just trying to get hits, not necessarily hit home runs.

Justin Kase - May 7, 2009 reply

Well he's succeeding with the latter!

it would actually be so cool if Boby resurrected himself at this point.

I wonder if they've considered leading him off since he's been hot.

SFBAsportsfan - May 7, 2009 reply

he has always been hot, its just he's not good at baseball

Future Ed - May 7, 2009 reply

Interesting development

He’s actually hitting better than Cabrera, luckily the A’s infield will never be healthy enough to force a decision there.

OkayJay81 - May 7, 2009 reply

Nowhere near as good a fielder though.

OldhamA - May 7, 2009 reply

Cabrera has played every game this year, right?

If Crosby is going to be a non-black-hole hitter, then he could give Cabrera a day off occasionally.

I think the optimism about Croz' hitting

might suffer a little from “small samplitis,” in that yes he had a great game today but coming into today’s game his line was .220/.344/.320 for a .664 OPS – actually a bit down from his career OPS of .686. Giving him a bit of a flier for inconsistent playing time, you could bump his “true 2009 OPS” up to, say…maybe, .686? In other words, Croz is Croz. Love the bases clearing triples, though!

Yeah I pretty much agree with this

Crosby will have his days, and it’s that glimmer of hope and potential that we saw in his rookie year that keeps bringing us back. But he’s still pretty much just Bob Crosby, an expensive backup that swings at low, outside sliders and makes throwing errors on the third out.

NateHST - May 7, 2009 reply

do you mind posting this sort of thing tomorrow?

this is no time for realism. I have five days of not winning to make up for, thanks

alea iacta est - May 7, 2009 reply

Yeah Nico, Stop polluting this hot tub water with your facts :)

Although as of right now, the #2 guy in OBP on the A's

is Bobby Crosby (.369).

Yes, he’s getting on base more frequently than Suzuki (.368), Giambi (.347), or Sweeney (.316).

GAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!

{explodes}

Scanners gif

Stat!

Joey C. - May 7, 2009 reply

I think Holliday has also played every game

Nope, I went to the second game of the season (in Anaheim), and Holliday had the flu...

this I agree with Nick

no reason for Crosby not to ever get to start at SS. If you ask me, OC looks like he could use a day off. Nice to see Bobby having a little recent success.

mrod - May 8, 2009 reply

The only reason I can think of,

and it’s not a great reason, would be that he needs all the experience he can get at other positions.

LoneStranger - May 9, 2009 reply

I never did lose my faith in...

…Geren.

Or the tooth fairy and the Easter bunny!

GreenNGoldSooner - May 7, 2009 reply

good for you!

as for me, I’m 0 for 3!

awesome awesome awesome

drmmerchk - May 7, 2009 reply

You make me feel brand new

ohtobe21likehuston - May 7, 2009 reply

you make me feel like a natural woman.

wow, even your plastic surgeon can't make you feel that way

Great day for the A's

I managed to tune in just in time to see Cust hit the grand slam which was awesome.

OkayJay81 - May 7, 2009 reply

Glad you "managed" because Geren doesn't seem capable

ohtobe21likehuston - May 7, 2009 reply

There was atually a decent crowd today (relatively speaking)

Most people were up on the 2nd deck though so might not have looked that way on TV

GusanoQuemador - May 7, 2009 reply

Lots and lots of kids there today.

Boy did they get a treat! Us too!

HAPPY

EllisFanatic - May 7, 2009 reply

Boy me too...

baseballgirl - May 7, 2009 reply

I'm glad the A's won

now no one can blame my rally fox pic for a loss.

micdog2001 - May 7, 2009 reply

ElQuesoCapitan - May 7, 2009 reply

micdog2001 - May 7, 2009 reply

I think it was the NSFW rally Anna Benson pic

It went up right before Holliday’s bomb.

It only means one thing:

we need more gratuitous Anna Benson pics in gamethreads

{And for Kris to pitch as much as humanly possible}

Yay!

That is all.

day-to-day - May 7, 2009 reply

Well stated.

agrd.

Cahill can only pitch at home

he sucks on the road unfortunately.

Oaktownflav - May 7, 2009 reply

And you have... six starts to make this statement?

Do you remember that one game in Seattle when he took a no-no into the 7th?

NateHST - May 7, 2009 reply

That was in Oakland.

Right on.

I was deceived by Fangraphs. Either way, the first statement is still applicable. And…

4/7 @ LAA: 5 IP, 2 ER
4/18 @ TOR: 5.1, 2 ER
5/2 @ SEA: 6 IP, 1 ER

While dancing through trouble in pretty much all but the near no-no start.

NateHST - May 7, 2009 reply

I don't disagree

with where you were headed; was just offering a map.

who are these nice folks

and why are they forcing me into the novelty-sized cauldron?

Yeah!

someone of your ilk deserves a full size cauldron!

I had to leave my radio to walk to a meeting

so I took my time walking, and used my little $20 Radio Shack portable radio (that I bring to games), so I got to hear Cust’s grand slam!

I did clap when I heard it but was careful not to yell!

Nice win!

That's good.

They might lock you up for that, you know.

Like this?

or like this

ElQuesoCapitan - May 7, 2009 reply

yeah, that's why I was careful

where do you people live?

i sing in the streets and nobody dares to bother me!

Oh Cap'n, my Cap'n

what would I do without your voluminous library of appropriate pics?

Doesn't mean much until the As show they can win a close game

anybody can win a blowout. But nice to see the bats wake up, maybe the hitting will carry over. And great for Cahill to pitch well and get his first win.

Miata71 - May 7, 2009 reply

So, you are saying that if the A's had not put up the 4 spot in the 5th

then that would have somehow been a better win (5-4)? I think I will take the extra runs and figure that more offense means more chances to end up on the good side of some of those 1 run games in the future.

AsFanInLA - May 7, 2009 reply

Actually, anybody can win a close game

A hit here, a weird bounce there, a line drive at someone instead of into the gap, and the outcome is different. Good teams are the ones that win lots of 9-4 and 7-2 games, because they’re so much better than other teams.

Case in point: Last night. Suzuki's drive was going to end the game;

the question was which team was going to be ahead. If he hits that same drive today, the A’s likely win 4-3. Same with Suzuki’s nubber on April 8th, except that one worked out well for Oakland.

Exactly

As Bill James wrote 20-something years ago, in a comment that’s obviously stuck in my head, saying that the great teams are the ones that win the close games is like saying the great teams are the ones that win the tight pennant races.

No. The great teams are the ones that win their divisions by 12 games, not 1 game. And the great teams are the ones that blow the other team out much more frequently than the reverse.

Great teams might lean positive in close games, but often they are only so-so in such situations – on the other hand they always win many more games than they lose. Close games and close seasons are not entirely matters of luck, but they’re closer to the luck end than the skill end of the spectrum.

Faust - May 7, 2009 reply

Great teams probably lean positive in close games

because when they start tied in the 7th, they’re still more likely to outscore you 7-2 the rest of the way than be outscored 7-2, more likely to outscore you 3-0 than be outscored 3-0, and so on. Having a great bullpen also helps.

The As "pythagorean" numbers have been negative for at least 2 years

Which (in theory) shows that they lose more than their share of close games.

In any case, this current As team is not going to blow out the opposition and run away with the division, so they have to learn to win some of the close games.

Miata71 - May 8, 2009 reply

In short

this current team is far from great. Agreed.

67MARQUEZ - May 8, 2009 reply

it's taken until May 7 for the A's

to get into double digits in the win column.

I don’t care how they did it — i’m just glad they did.

Happy to see Holliday starting to warm up...

Though I WAS kinda hoping you’d give him back if he didn’t start hitting….

Squeaky - May 7, 2009 reply

lets play 2!

Future Ed - May 7, 2009 reply

Whilst I was at the park today

the longing for a double header came over me. It was such a beautiful day!

I are envious

walkoff baltimore chop - May 7, 2009 reply

I stopped watching the game around the 2nd to get some lunch and when I came back, I find out that Jack Cust had hit a grand slam. So I left again. And they won. I think I made a good choice there.

PLAYOFFS!!!1111

I have an ice cold gin and tonic, the sun is shining, and the A’s have ten wins.

It’s officially summer

alea iacta est - May 7, 2009 reply

oh, and

I’m having some of this

alea iacta est - May 7, 2009 reply

Ooooooh!

Men in kilts! Me likey!

it amazes me that this song came out 13 years ago

when I was, yknow, 17. It still gives me the hair on the back of the neck standing up treatment, to this day

alea iacta est - May 7, 2009 reply

rubs eyes in wonderment happy thoughts?

we held the sluggos from fort worth to 7 in 2 games 4 without the zig meltdown in the 9th that is young pitching i can subscribe to sunny day happy place i admit it crosby’s plate approach and general offense have not been the issue compared to o-cab he’s tearing the cover off the ball hold hands sing songs of forgiveness and redemption we should all write in the custjacker for the hr derby cuz it’s on the ballot and if he’s in it methinks he wins it be a great feelgood story too dancing in the streets with total strangers to that ridiculous tower of power jam the oakland stroke boy letting kendall go sure was the right decision wasn’t it zooks is the best hitter on the team by far and really the best all around player we have if you think about both sides of the ball remixes improv jams we recorded the other night that sound great and make me even happier about life watches holliday hr replay likes swing thinks maybe it’ll all work out if we give him timeslack grin joy smiley smiles after all this we are all of four games out that’s right count em one two three four who wouldn’t take that with all that’s happened in six weeks of mayhem allows self moment of sincere & considered optimism about our chances at least in the al west or is it the al worst hope positive vibrations healing energy to our dl’d stars uh oh here come two more loaded first place teams keep hoping keep hoping keep hoping grind grind grind it out

emperor nobody - May 7, 2009 reply

I was wondering

if you had one of these up your sleeve.

wow. one of us is drunk

alea iacta est - May 7, 2009 reply

Am I?

actually, I think it's me

that paragraph made my brain spazz out.

drunk like a fox!

alea iacta est - May 7, 2009 reply

I was really hoping it was me.

But I am happy for you, really I am.

hey, it's not a mutually exclusive arrangement

I believe that you and I, not being captains aboard the same ship, are permitted to be inebriated at the same time

alea iacta est - May 7, 2009 reply

I've never been

referred to as captain, but I must agree with your assessment.

Do I get a cap?

Ten!

Aye aye

Me three!

I'm watching parts of the game on Comcast On Demand right now.

It’s awesome. I’m fast-forwarding through most of it (which, by the way, is highly entertaining — they’re all spastic and twitchy) except, of course, for the 4th and 5th innings. I thought I saw Holliday smiling in the dugout, which shouldn’t be possible, so I rewinded to double-check — and, yes! he smiled! repeatedly! Happy happy joy joy!

I like this game. Let’s do this again tomorrow.

Oh! Picture!

whiteshoes40 - May 7, 2009 reply

yeah, it was definitely a smile

something like a ‘well, I’m happy I hit one, but I’m still a little sheepish and know I should be pulling my fierce determination face but the relief is too much’ type smile

alea iacta est - May 7, 2009 reply

Impressive

You saw all that in one little smile? Man, you are drunk.

no, I just read him like a book

a pop up book.

actuallly, I’m happy with that joke

alea iacta est - May 7, 2009 reply

It pleased me as well.

Probably in ways it shouldn’t have.

hey, there's no shame

I’m a professional

alea iacta est - May 7, 2009 reply

Do I have to pay you?

I’m a little short. (Carlin would be all over that if he were, you know, alive).

nah

that one was pro bono

alea iacta est - May 7, 2009 reply

It really is a good day.

And sister #3 just invited me to have steak.

yep

and now i’m going downtown to get free wine. in exchange for my soul.

fair deal, I’d say

alea iacta est - May 7, 2009 reply

Indeed.

You realize Holliday's back is to you, right?

I mean clearly his ass is smiling, but whose isn’t?

Mine usually is.

Except Wednesdays.

Mine's closed Wednesdays.

so you fast on Tuesdays?

in that picture, perhaps, but blah blah later blah

i’m quite tired, and cannot come up with a ripost

alea iacta est - May 8, 2009 reply

An A's win heals all wounds.

...except the On Demand thing just cut me off in the middle of Holliday's post-game interview!

How rude.

Oh well, I suppose I can forgive them just this one time, seeing as WE WON! and all.

whiteshoes40 - May 7, 2009 reply

Yeah

Let’s not let a little glitch ruin our day. And by ours, I mean the A’s, of course.

Aawwww

Don't buy the cold weather comment...

the other teams have been playing in it too.

brenarlo - May 7, 2009 reply

I agree

No kidding. That's as lame as excuses get

“I think the main problem is that when we hit it’s about 53 degrees but when they hit it’s around 72.”

You're right -- we haven't played in the Metrodome yet

I've done an exhaustive google search,

and I still can’t figure out how Cust’s granny helped the A’s win today. Is she even still alive?

Mabye BBG meant to say that Swisher's granny helped Cust

[sniff]

OK,

I wanted to bring this up earlier. Just more useless stuff that stays in my head. Was watching SportsCenter many years back. Dan Patrick was behind the desk, doing highlights of the Yankees-White Sox. Clemens was on the mound for NY, and for some reason his mom was in attendance. They showed her in the stands. Later Big Hurt comes up to face the Rocket with the bags loaded.

Patrick: “Earlier we showed you Clemens’ mom. Here’s Frank Thomas’ granny. Gone.”

Yeah, that’s my life. Deal with it.

Jeez,

Dan Patrick’s an a-hole.

What's weird

is that I was in Florida when I saw the highlights of that game. Later that week, I saw this, and was saddened that Dan Patrick was not around for the call.

67MARQUEZ - May 8, 2009 reply

Maybe she baked special brownies for the team.

Extra special brownies.

that's awesome

i’ve always been partial to “gone” as a home run call. how often does espn show a long fly ball caught as an out. the whole “back, back, back, back…” this is anticlimactic when we already have an inkling that the highlight shows a bomb.

it’s just more practical.

stm72 - May 7, 2009 reply

"back back back back"

suck suck suck sucks!

"You can put it on the booooaaaard.......YES!"

Worst call ever – though “Can of corn” Mariners man is pretty annoying too.

I dont get it

what’s a grand slam?

DyeLongJustice - May 7, 2009 reply

Well, it's when you load the bases - the A's do that all the time -

then I’m not sure.

In my head (and I know I'm not alone there)

I was saying to my self “Self…Jack might could put 4 on the board right here”.

So you really expect me to believe you weren't also thinking,

“Cust could strike out and then a double-play gets us nothing”?

I was totally thinking great- bases loaded, no outs- they'll totally f- this up somehow... then BLAM!

I looked for you Lynnzgal but I couldn’t find ya…

brian.only - May 7, 2009 reply

Yep

I was thinking, “What ridiculous, excruciating way will they find not to score this time?” But I was pleasantly surprised.

day-to-day - May 7, 2009 reply

I pretty much lost it and started jumping around after Hollidays HR- great game.

brian.only - May 7, 2009 reply

OK so I'm not the only one

who takes an exciting moment and immediately begins conjuring up creative ways that I might be thoroughly depressed in about three minutes.

Such is life as an A's fan

day-to-day - May 7, 2009 reply

even a broken clock is right twice a day

DyeLongJustice - May 7, 2009 reply

Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn,

but those things don’t take skill.

Even Mayor Dellums make the right decision sometimes.

Aw!

Too bad, it would have been fun to celebrate together! Next time…

Honestly?

I really was looking for the opposite of true outcome. I’m a glass is half full kind of girl.

You can get them at Denny's.

Not the best food, but it’s a cheap breakfast.

Crawford and Longoria go back-to-back off of Mariano Rivera

Rays now up 8-6 in the 9th.

What a Great turn around

Cust, Holliday, Crosby, Cahill——Great Job!! GL against Toronto….Go A’s!!!

SFBAsportsfan - May 7, 2009 reply

Beane should immediately start rescheduling...

all Day Games from here on out.

FoolshGame22 - May 7, 2009 reply

Yeah, not only would we win, but we would save on the light bill!

wacchampions - May 7, 2009 reply

fits right in with the Green Energy thingie...

you’re all into.

FoolshGame22 - May 7, 2009 reply

Ludacris would approve.

LoneStranger - May 8, 2009 reply

I'm watching the game now on Comcast On Demand

Lew is sitting in the back row of Diamond level with, I think, Mychael Urban. Billy just showed up and sat down next to them. Based on his gestures, I think he was excited about the scoring.

“See, it works!”

For about a half second I thought I bumped my head....

I just got home and turned on the TV and I saw Todd Walker ground out to Andy Petite stranding Chavez at 2nd base in front of a sold out crowd in Oakland…..Going to the 7th and Giambi is on deck for the Yankees with the A’s ahead 2-0…..I did not know that comcast would be showing A’s Instant classics this year…very cool!!

wacchampions - May 7, 2009 reply

Oh yeah and Larry Davis just came out to check on the starting pitcher Rich Harden as he may be injured...LOL

wacchampions - May 7, 2009 reply

too bad

I still heart Harden.

Just watched the MLB.TV archive

Kinda made my day. Also, I realize this is lame-ish, but the I really liked all the dugout shots the camera crew was getting. I’m a sucker for the whole “bonding as a team” schtick. Somebody cracking up Holliday after his 3-run shot… Jack Cust with his ridiculous Dirty Jerz blowout hair listening to a Chavvy story and guffawing… fun stuff.

What can I say? Action, drama, pathos. A beat you can dance to. I give it a 9.7.

Joey C. - May 7, 2009 reply

WOW!

Holliday AND Cust CAN hit!!

slkierley - May 8, 2009 reply

Yes, but can they do the Can-Can?

LoneStranger - May 8, 2009 reply

It's all about the hitting

Amazing that the announcers could say that the young pitching staff – you know, the one with the second lowest runs allowed in the AL – is costing them games. No, the young pitching staff is the reason why they’re only 4 games out, as opposed to about 8.

I would expect from this point forward that the offense would go from horrible to just below average, with a chance to be average if people get / stay healthy (ha ha ha).

The Holliday of the past couple weeks is what we’re likely to see going forward. If Giambi continues to “deliver” at a Mendozaesque clip, someone else will be found who can do a little better. Those two improvements in the middle of the order will make a difference, even if we never see Nomar and Chavez again.

If that happens, the A’s look like contenders in the AL West. If not, Holliday will be in a different uniform by the deadline.

eastcoasta'sfan - May 8, 2009 reply

I assume that pitching staff includes the bull pen, the one that's quite

veterany and saving our arse.

I will be very pleased

if Jack Cust makes the all star team. right now I would think he would be the A’s rep

I would be very happy if Nick Swisher made the team too

closetasfan - May 8, 2009 reply

What about Zooks?

A'sfaninNC - May 8, 2009 reply

My vote goes to Crosby...

Bailey.

fans don't get to vote for pitchers

OaklandSi - May 8, 2009 reply

I hope Geren lets Buck get

some regular playing time and isn’t on the short leash because I think he’s just about to turn the corner and really find his groove…

I wonder if Geren will give some of Buck's ABs to Copeland

I mean, why else have him on the team?

I guess he could spell Swooney occasionally, but isn’t that what Rajai is for?

Hasn't Copeland been with the team for a few days now?

I’ve yet to see him.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/154551-a-memo-to-billy-beane-fire-bob-geren-now

I saw him on the railing yesteday with Rajai and Powell

Not sure what he brings though

DCinWC - May 8, 2009 reply

Fire Bob Geren now!!!!!!

actually, that was...

Fire Bob Geren a month ago!!!!!!

I wonder what the guy would write now

having seen another month of Geren’s managing?

Trainman - May 8, 2009 reply

I feel like Beane sees himself like the papacy;

on matters of faith and morals the holy chair is infallible!!!

Please admit your mistake on the extension of Geren…