If you live in Southern California, please come out to a A's/Dodgers and/or Padres game! We still need a few more tickets sold to have a group!
Major League debuts don't come much better than this one. When all was said and done tonight, Vin Mazzaro picked up his first major league win in what was a great start. Mazzaro tossed six and a third innings, allowing only three hits (he walked four and strike out one) and zero runs. He started off a little bit shaky in the first; allowing a 3-2 single to Podsednik, who promptly stole second. With one out, Mazzaro picked him off second base before allowing a single to Dye. He walked Thome, but got out of the inning without a run scoring, and never looked back.
The A's, meanwhile, backed him up with a leadoff double to start the game (few and far between from our leadoff hitter), and a sac fly by Cust, who clearly wanted to help the kid tonight; he would hit a homerun in the fourth to increase the A's slim lead to 2.
The A's cushioned the lead in the fifth on a bases-clearing double by Matt Holliday, and the five runs were more than enough tonight. Breslow finished the seventh for Mazzaro, and seldom-seen Brad Ziegler easily closed the door in the eighth and ninth, looking like himself from earlier in the year. He certainly looked better than most of the relievers we've seen lately.
A very solid win for the A's, and it's only one start, but Mazzaro lived up to his billing tonight. I look forward to more.
0 recs | 110 comments
first win for Vin
emperor nobody - June 2, 2009
no waiting around for this one!
jakebmill - June 2, 2009
congratulations to Vin
it can’t be underestimated that the A’s offense actually gave him some breathing room. I’m glad that Geren let him at least start the seventh inning.
Breslow has been pitching just about every day, hasn’t he?
OaklandSi - June 2, 2009
I hope Breslow won’t be the next one to break down.
TBRMKane - June 2, 2009
Breslow has been pitching often.
But this wouldn’t be the 2009 A’s if he wasn’t
jakebmill - June 2, 2009
When will Kilby get a shot?
TBRMKane - June 2, 2009
nice pitching from vin
i know i keep saying it
but lets hope this is gonna get something started for the A’s…….
Wreckonized - June 2, 2009
Vinny
Lots of movement on the fastball. now we have the final piece of the A’s next great 5 starters. Just need some hitters.
Arcman - June 2, 2009
I saw the first 3 innings and then was in and out with the music downstairs
but I think I caught most of the key parts (Cust’s smoked jack and Holliday’s near-granny, Mazzaro’s working loose from the jams and then settling in like an old pro)…. what most impressed me was the pickoff to Kennedy, who called that? I felt in the moment like it was AK, talk about helping a kid out, that was just what the doctor ordered and may have been the play that cast the die of this game — if it doesn’t happen or he’s jittery and throws it into center we might be having a different conversation about the recap right now.
What is this dippy pitch that has all this down movement? He got it working real nice, he was throwing it from the outset but it took til the 2nd time through the order and then for some reason — maybe he was able to elevate it just a little bit so they no longer could resist — he started buzzing through them with it. They are hackers too, Konerko, Dye, Thome (I think he’s a shoo-in HoFer at this point. no?), it’s not like VM was shutting down some scrub offense. I joked to my pals here that he had such great stuff & movement that if he had been making his debut for the White Sox, he’d have no-hit us!
Anyway, the play that ended the game really makes it seem like Kennedy and Cabrera are making a champion effort at The Most Ridiculous Put-out Ever Made At Second Base, maybe they should be called the Keystone Kops but at least this “roll it” play makes for highlight reel entertainment, which we’ll take from this team which often shows its potential as the best cure for insomnia out there. Something I noticed at the start was that when Mazzaro came back in the dugout after warming up, they were all over him, just patting him on the head and yakking at him and really actively energy-engaged… that was a good sign and I really really hope it’s a sign of things to come in general.
OK, I gotta go back to the studio & then after that I think we are gonna make a “roll it” play of our own on some of this MK Sour Diesel ;-]
emperor nobody - June 2, 2009
Sorry, I'm gonna need you to repost this and not be so coherent.
mikev - June 2, 2009
Yeah,
Why not get medicated before going to the studio?
scromulus - June 2, 2009
I was for some reason playing the synthesizers tonight
and I’m n-o-t a keyboard player, so if I were to get overly medicated before playing it might sound even more wretched than nature intends…
emperor nobody - June 2, 2009
Thome deserves to be in the Hall simply on the strength of his AIM conversations
The fact that all he does is hit massive jacks might help too
yo - June 2, 2009
Please don't say that word while Mazzaro is still looking for a nickname.
iglew - June 2, 2009
You don't like "Massive Jacks"?
Nico - June 2, 2009
Well, now that you mention it,
it is a pet peeve of mine when anyone uses “massive” to describe something that has no mass. But that battle was lost long ago, alas.
iglew - June 2, 2009
rest assured, Leopold Bloom is massive.
Leopold Bloom - June 2, 2009
I think he meant the D word
my initial nickname instinct for Mazzaro says Vincebus Eruptum, but then I am on drugs right now and I’ve always dug Blue Cheer.
emperor nobody - June 2, 2009
A box score you can stick on the fridge -
And if Maz can be effective, it means the A’s could give a few of the young pitchers some much needed rest whenever they don’t need a 5th starter. As much as I enjoy watching them all right now, I really don’t want to see them overworked this year.
scromulus - June 2, 2009
Nice game by Vin
On a side note why send down Kameron down when Cassilla and Rajai both suck. We should keep our good players in the bigs and send the crap, (sorry Santi but you are pitching like crap right now) down.
adragon - June 2, 2009
both Casilla and Davis are out of options
OaklandSi - June 2, 2009
That's for sure.
(Yes, I know what you mean.)
el campysino - June 2, 2009
And I'm fresh out of patience.
So what’s the problem?
alox - June 2, 2009
what's the problem with "sending down"
two players who are out of options?
OaklandSi - June 2, 2009
They have to be put on waivers first
and some other team might take them.
Again, I don’t see how this is a problem.
mikev - June 2, 2009
The A's will not get rid of Rajai
until they have another centerfielder. I might have expected them to DFA him if they had been playing Cunningham at centerfield in Sacramento, but that didn’t seem to happen.
Casilla was overworked, including before he was put on the DL with the leg problem, which he had had since the beginning of the season. You can bet that he would be snatched up immediately if the A’s decide to DFA him. I think it’s more likely that — assuming Geren uses him more judiciously and allows him to begin to have some success again — they would package him in a trade to fill some needs. Simply DFA’ing someone is likely to reduce his value.
OaklandSi - June 2, 2009
We can dream though, can't we?
Leopold Bloom - June 2, 2009
If we can't DFA him,
can we just deport him?
Gaijin_Suketto - June 2, 2009
to Connecticutt?
OaklandSi - June 3, 2009
Better yet....
Boston.
alox - June 3, 2009
Dreaming is always allowed
OaklandSi - June 3, 2009
not a problem for davis
i would keep casilla
Future Ed - June 2, 2009
Other teams can grab them from you for nothing
Nick - June 2, 2009
Not exactly.
it costs them 50K I think. So do you think anyone is willing to pony up that kind of cash for Rajai?
alox - June 2, 2009
Still, $50K is nearly nothing to a major league team
and as OaklandSi says, Casilla would definitely be claimed by someone. He’s hurt, but he’s a good pitcher when he’s healthy.
Nick - June 2, 2009
Casilla would be. Not sure Rajai would be,
and I’m sure I wouldn’t care if he were claimed.
Nico - June 2, 2009
Agreed on Rajai
He might well slip through, and I wouldn’t miss him much if he ended up somewhere else.
Nick - June 2, 2009
I mean, fricking Crosby wasn't claimed
and he actually played well for a month once.
Nico - June 2, 2009
If Crosby were getting paid what Rajai is getting, I think someone would have claimed him
Nick - June 2, 2009
If Rajai were getting paid what Crosby's getting paid,
several people would have already been fired, perhaps killed.
Leopold Bloom - June 2, 2009
Did someone say they needed to hide a body?
A'sfaninNC - June 3, 2009
You rang?
mikev - June 3, 2009
Strange, I just heard the most interesting song about such a topic.
Leopold Bloom - June 3, 2009
What?
are you me?
mikev - June 3, 2009
Where?
i think you are me. are you?
A'sfaninNC - June 4, 2009
It wasnt from Hed PE was it?
A'sfaninNC - June 4, 2009
You'd think, but I faxed the other 29 teams
and offered to pay $5million of Crosby’s contract if they’d just take him, but still no go.
Nico - June 2, 2009
Concur with Nico.
We only needed one spot. Bye Bye Rajai. Casilla needs his annual stint on the DL extended.
alox - June 2, 2009
agreed about Willie C.
think he needs to be used a bit more judiciously.
mrod - June 3, 2009
How badly was Mazzaro being squeezed?
Gameday has like 5 of the 16 balls from Vince’s walks in the zone. Especially the last one to Podsednik.
vignette17 - June 2, 2009
Pretty badly.
mikev - June 2, 2009
I thought he was squeezed pretty well
Nico - June 2, 2009
TWSS
mikev - June 2, 2009
Please tell me this isn't going to be another story about Bobby Crosby...
Nico - June 2, 2009
Bobby Crosby one time wuz
caught jacking it in the broom closet of my elementary school. The janitor said he had a small peepee!
Leopold Bloom - June 2, 2009
No way!!!!
Way?? OMG!!!!!!!1111
Nico - June 2, 2009
just spit my morning coffee all over the computer screen!
;)
mrod - June 3, 2009
I heard it looked like a stack of dimes
cityplANner - June 3, 2009
Just got back from the game.
Mazzaro looked good, esp. after he got past the opening jitters. Sox hitters were very patient, looking to wait him and but he hung tough and made pitches when he needed to. I thought he was getting squeezed too. A few thoughts not in the game wrap.
Ziggy looked good in his 2 innings. Maybe he’s getting past the virus; he’s locating well and throwing strikes.
Posednik looked like he was leaning on the pickoff, and Mazzaro caught him. Good play.
Solid defense all around. Holiday made 2 fine catches and Hannahan played some quality D.
I like how the whole infield came over to congratulate Mazzaro when Geren took him out. They looked like a team tonight. I haven’t seen that happen much this season.
Davis ripped the ball in BP, which shows you how much of a barometer that is.
Watching Giambi stretch is worth the ticket price. It superhuman effort to flex the legs and torso to prep him to play. Think Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz.
Quite a few A’s fans there tonight. And the Sox fans were cool. I didn’t have any problems wearing my green & gold, even at the end. That has not always been my experience there.
JJ Martin - June 2, 2009
I think a big part of that
depends upon how good or bad the Sox are, how good or bad the A’s are, how much beer’s been consumed by the majority of the crowd, the weather, and how good the Cubs are playing at that moment.
Leopold Bloom - June 2, 2009
The Cubs were taken care of
Thanks to Kevin Gregg, Aaron Heilman, and Larry.
Blicks - June 3, 2009
LoL
Sox fans are cool when they lose, it seems. I got heckled quite a bit in the green & gold after an A’s defeat. :( Naturally, I guess.
bluelightrain84 - June 2, 2009
My take on Mazzaro goes back to spring training:
The ball jumps out of his hand and is on the hitter quickly, which is an important part of a fastball that you don’t see on the radar gun. His slider was actually quite good at times, his command so-so (totally expected for a debut). Overall I was impressed.
I see Anderson being the best of the bunch, now and later, Mazzaro coming along next, and Cahill being the roughest (he really has mechanical / release point / repeat delivery issues to work out). Cahill should be better in the long run than Mazzaro, but I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see Mazzaro outperform Cahill overall for a while. His mechanics are just smoother and he usually knows where the ball is going.
Nico - June 2, 2009
Actually, I think it comes down to a matter of style
Anderson has the smoothest delivery, so it looks easy. Great control.
Mazzaro has the best looking stuff and his delivery is also pretty smooth. Should have decent control with decent k/bb ratio.
Cahill has the most awkward looking delivery but his sinker is devastating. The control is his biggest enemy.
But remember that the oldest of these 3 is Vinny and there is sooooo much time for all of them to develop. One thing that is undeniable is Mazzaro had the most impressive debut among the new Triple Crown Trio. Go A’s!
In my mind, let’s give all of them some
mrod - June 3, 2009
I found video of Vin getting the shaving cream pie in the face!
link
walkoff baltimore chop - June 2, 2009
oh the poor kid!
Leopold Bloom - June 2, 2009
I'm waiting for the inevitable injury report...
that will put Maz on the DL for a month or longer as a result of the injury he suffered from the pie in the eye.
FoolshGame22 - June 2, 2009
Just think if it had been Dan Johnson
Nico - June 2, 2009
That probably could've ended his career.
walkoff baltimore chop - June 2, 2009
Instead, the breaking ball did.
Nico - June 2, 2009
+1
Benjamin Light - June 2, 2009
QOTM
baseballgirl - June 2, 2009
The funny thing is if anything ends Mazzaro's career it will be an inability to develop his breaking pitches.
designatedforassignment - June 3, 2009
His slider looked pretty damn good a few times tonight
mikev - June 3, 2009
Good to know... Didn't get a chance to watch it myself
designatedforassignment - June 3, 2009
"My contacts are killing me!"
Englishmajor - June 2, 2009
Did we ever find the video of yesterday's
upper deck couple? That’s the one I want to see.
iglew - June 2, 2009
I found it on On Demand
but they usually only keep it for 24 hours, so it’s probably gone now.
gigglingone - June 2, 2009
Priceless
ElQuesoCapitan - June 2, 2009
Who did it?
Random guess: Cahill.
muffinpryde - June 2, 2009
Dallas Braden, and it was a mugging
emperor nobody - June 2, 2009
the only way it could of been better is if he had his finger moustache up and in place
and jumped infront of the camera with it up before running off
A'sfaninNC - June 3, 2009
I really hope he grows a real one someday.
LoneStranger - June 3, 2009
Pepe.
mikev - June 2, 2009
"I am not a shrimp! I am a king prawn!"
LoneStranger - June 3, 2009
Definitely Pepe.
walkoff baltimore chop - June 2, 2009
definitely a lefty
OaklandSi - June 3, 2009
Dick move
Funny nonetheless. Worth it for the “bluuuuu-OWWWWWWW” noise coming out of Braden.
Joey C. - June 2, 2009
God that's hilarious.
pam5981 - June 2, 2009
got him in the contact lenses
OaklandSi - June 3, 2009
Holliday explains his expectations
http://oakland.athletics.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090602&content_id=5107422&vkey=news_oak&fext=.jsp&c_id=oak
Sorry if this has already been posted
Trainman - June 2, 2009
Eat that Obama...
i also heard a rumor Obama was throwing out the first pitch of a Giants game
rhymeswithelephant - June 2, 2009
Great Win by Mazzaro- the Young Starting Pitchers will keep the rest of 2009 interesting
it would be fantastic if the team was able to stick with the nearly all-rookie rotation for the rest of the year (no injuries and no guys falling apart).
It will be sad though to see many of their good performances wasted by the sorry bull-pen.
Actually, the sorry bullpen is bad in part due to horrendous management.
Why exactly was Ziegler in for 2 innings in a game where the team had a nice lead and not in yesterday’s close contest instead of Casilla?
Does our manager just pick names out of a hat to see who goes into the game as a reliever? (I know I am exaggerating but overall the lack of an identity/role for many relievers could be effecting their performance.)
Even in the win their are mental blunders (Cunningham not scoring on Kennedy’s fly) Also, isn’t there a 3B coach to remind young players what to do? The team is just overall poorly managed.
Aside from the griping some questions.
I see that the team kept E. Gonzalez (report stated that he can pitch multiple innings) is there any chance that the A’s will try and convert Eveland or Gallagher into a reliever. They tried with Gio.
Also, if by miracle of miracles Duch. is able to pitch later this year. I vote for bringing him back as a reliever. We have 5 young starters might as well see what they can do. Also, the bull-pen has been awful at times. Duke. could help greatly. Might be easier for his health as well.
Yellowhorse - June 2, 2009
The bullpen is terrible?
Um…what? Methinks you’re having a selective memory. Every pen will give up its share of leads. The A’s probably have one of the top 5-10 bullpens in the majors.
vignette17 - June 3, 2009
At the moment the bullpen is very shaky.
At the start of the season it was lights out. It’s the nature of relief pitching.
OldhamA - June 3, 2009
I actually really wonder about this
baseballgirl - June 3, 2009
He needed work?
It was preferable at the end of a not-close game to save Wuertz and Bailey for the next couple of games?
OaklandSi - June 3, 2009
I liked what I saw, even with the somewhat unnerving K/BB ratio
Good, smooth delivery, and a decent idea of where the pitch was going to end up. In these times of dire straits, I’m pretty pleased with that. I’m also pleased with a solid W, and a shutout at that.
I’m not completely comfortable going all that in-depth because I was distracted by trying to dispose of a rat living in my house using the following tools: fingerless gloves, plastic bags covering the fingerless gloves, sunglasses, a handkerchief covering my mouth, and pepper spray.
Results thus far are inconclusive.
Great win, though.
Joey C. - June 2, 2009
a shutout at that...
Korach mentioned in about the 8th inning that this would be the A’s 1st shutout of the season. I didn’t believe him, but I just went back and checked it. This was the first shutout of the season.
FoolshGame22 - June 3, 2009
A bit of unsolicited advice concerning rats and pepper spray.
Don’t bother. It has no effect whatsoever. Trust me, I know this from first hand experience. Which makes sense since they live in sewers.
alox - June 3, 2009
It does make sense.
although it’s not something most people would think of.
Leopold Bloom - June 3, 2009
Unless you had a reason to wonder.
It’s a mammal right? You would think a direct shot of pepper spray in the eyes would affect it the same as any other mammal. I sprayed one in a tree once. It was perched at eye level staring directly at me and menacingly acted as though it intended on jumping out of the tree and onto my face. I soaked its little rat head with pepper spray, which merely caused it to rub its little rat face with his dirty little rat hands for a couple of seconds and then immediately went back to staring at me. The little bastard apparently knew what a baton was as it scampered away when I pulled it out.
alox - June 3, 2009
o_O
fruitattack - June 3, 2009
Curses!
You win this round, Templeton.
Joey C. - June 3, 2009
I was impressed
Was he dominant? No. Was he steady? After the first inning, yeah, pretty much.
Did he show guts and a level head when being squeezed in the strike zone and when in a tight spot? Oh yeah!!! That’s what impressed me the most.
UncleLeo - June 3, 2009
#20! Can we reach #60?
Much needed… like every other win
fruitattack - June 3, 2009
First post. Snoogans.
Saying win with a German accent sounds like Vin. I’ll take that. Anyone down to go 70-42 over the next 112 games? If not, and we have to compete with the Natinals for worst in the Bigs, please don’t register www.athleticsnatin.com. I don’t think anyone would enjoy that.
Hyphy C - June 3, 2009
Snootchie bootchies
Joey C. - June 3, 2009
Thank you, Vinny!
It’s been a while since we’ve seen some very encouraging developments from this rebuilding plan! We all know that the rebuilding is going to be painful but these kinds of games remind us of the big picture. I don’t mind if we dump away this season, as long as our rookies and prospects can display this kind of promise. Mazzaro really settled in and looked good!
ATLDuck - June 3, 2009
great news
ak_A - June 3, 2009
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