Athletics Nation

yay strickout

I want Carlos back

your not alone.

Is it too late to take the trade back?

We didn't buy the warranty

Typical.

5-13 in IL play

How did Tulo get to third?

OldhamA - June 28, 2009 reply

Attempted steal, ball thrown into center

Is anyone listening to the radio?

Did KK have any choice words about the Cust/Ellis play?

He said that someone really could’ve gotten hurt.

Something like

“A’s have been facing potential disaster in short right field all season long.”

Season is over...

Can we please trade overrated Holliday and bench the shitty vets and play the kids yet? I mean It cant get worse than it is now.

+1,000,000 to the 1,000th power

Taj Adib - June 28, 2009 reply

Lineup Monday should be

SS Pennington
LF Buck
DH Cust
RF Cunningham
CF Sweeney
C Suzuki
2B Ellis
1B Barton
3B Cardenas

Or something to that effect.

-1 on cardenas

Let’s not rush anybody.

Ok fine.

Everidge.

I like the idea though.

Get the worthless guys out of here (I’m looking at you Nomar)/

I'd rather see what Petit can do at short

Because I know what Pennington brings

Petit has the glove but pennington has better speed and OB skills.

So stick Petit at SS and Pennington at 3rd.

Yeah but I really don't like Pennington

Honestly I don't see either being at or above average in the bigs.

Petit has the glove, but really really cannot hit and I don’t know that I believe in Pennington’s abilities to walk at this level.

Well they just holding spots till Weeks/Green are ready.

Or Cardenas.

Ya

I’d rather see OrCab then them personally. But agreed.

I think Pennington might be the better play.

Both guys can’t really hit the ball all that well, but at least Pennington should be able to provide a modicum of OBP due to his plate discipline. He could also do a little damage on the basepaths. I’d rather roll with him.

Taj Adib - June 28, 2009 reply

i think

that tomorrow morning heads should roll

it’s long past time this team begins to acknowledge the lack of a professional approach to this game pretty much top to bottom, for this the 3rd year running now.

the future can be bright with the youthful arms but you can’t keep torching them (outman is a tragedy) and expect to have any credibility as a franchise, all the more shameful because this one has a glorious, standard-setting and proud history and has been a cornerstone of mlb for over 100 years… oh how the mighty have fallen.

sorry for no caps but i have a bad back injury and just got up from bed to write this and say hi and that i am sorry this franchise has apparently lost so much respect for itself and us the fans…. i hope things change starting with the mgr being cut loose, hopefully right after this game.

emperor nobody - June 28, 2009 reply

Amen

+1

i think no caps are cool

i’m too lazy to use the shift key

hope you did not injure yourself tossing items around the house in a fit.

really, well wishes for recovery.

ak_A - June 28, 2009 reply

Agreed

And get well soon
(you and the A’s)

SwisherThresher - June 28, 2009 reply

We have a lot of drama majors in here?

NO WE DON'T!

DAMN IT!

{sobs}

no, we don’t….

I think we've got almost all 3 acts of Hamlet with all the garment-rending and gnashing of teeth around here

(Hamlet has five acts.)

Shit

Gambled and lost on that one.

's okay. I still love you.

Is that Braveheart or The Princess Bride?

Braveheart

I was going for the line “I love ya. Always have.”

Oh.

Doesn’t she end up getting nailed by the king and the ngets her throat slit?

I call William Wallace, Joey.

Not by the king

But yes.

And I think the garment rending is from the Old Testament, not Shakespeare

Yeah, I know

I was just going for all the angst vibe.

To watch, or not to watch: that is the question:

Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous A’s suckitude,
Or to turn off the TV and go mow the lawn instead.

definitely nobler to go mow the lawn.

More exertion requires, tho.

Nobler for the body, sure,

but nobler in the mind?

yeah, probably that too.

Bring in Holliday/Giambi/Cabrera to help score runs for the young pitchers...

Lawl.

Rec'd

Hope you feel better soon.

reply fail to emp.nobody

rally time?

Meh, I'm thinking a double play.

lol

No, don't fall for it, LB!!

AH!

Stay on target!

I can’t….hold it… together…..AHHHHHH!!!!!

Wow - two straight hits

Might be a good time for Geren to pinch-hit Norma for the GIDP.

time for the inevitable DP

guy incognito - June 28, 2009 reply

yep

omg..

DP

vooya40 - June 28, 2009 reply

Shocked

Sweeney already had two hits today.

hahahahahaa

SwisherThresher - June 28, 2009 reply

I feel so ashamed having these commercials

that try to make us look good.

I just laugh. Everytime.

is it a bad thing that most of us are gaining a sick satisfaction with

such inept baseball?

2006 feels like eons ago

My hope is the worse the team looks the more probable it is Beane...

…realizes that this is more than just about Geren not having a good team to work with, that it’s got a lot to do with him being the wrong guy for this job because of his personality.

We were incredibly spoiled as fans for about a decade, there

I don’t think now is the time to act like unhappy children, stamping our feet and sticking out our lower lip, just because the team has hit a rough patch. This, too, shall pass. And there’s not much you can do with the rest of this season, anyway.

If it was just a poor season

But it is 3 putrid seasons in a row. Time to stamp feet. I agree – heads should roll tomorrow morning.

bajablue - June 28, 2009 reply

Im just hoping its so bad that they finally change something, anything!

I expect it

The more inept play the more likely heads will roll.

But I have been waiting for the Genius to do something for a long time.

Trainman I have a question for you

you’ve always been opposed to Moneyball, but what do you propose for a low budget team instead of a concept like Moneyball?

I am opposed to putting crap on the field

Beane has money he can spend to improve some key positions.

Teams with low payroll all have better position players than we do for the most part

You have to blame Beane for the failing offense which has been declining 6 years in a row. Each year the Runs, BA and OBP have declined.

And fire the manager and I will be more than happy. That is the first thing that needs to be done.

This is currently a poorly run team from top to bottom and management is accountable for this

I don't think

Anybody saw Giambi, Cabrera, Holliday, and Nomar failing to this degree of epicness

Uhh ok

The A’s have the 4th lowest payroll. The 3 teams below us also suck. Beane might have money to spend, but there is noone worth spending it on.

The offense has declined, but we are in a rebuild, which, IMO is an essential part of a low budget team.

Agreed on Geren sucking.

I agree with this

I will say that the A’s have drafted pretty poorly of late. A large percentage of our prospects were drafted by other teams.

We haven't drafted hitters well

We’ve done pretty good with pitchers

pretty well*

A rebuild is an essential part of a low budget team?

That statement doesn’t make a whole lot of sense or is, at best, an incomplete statement.

A rebuild is an essential part of any losing team (low budget, medium budget, or high budget) that has crappy major league players, coaches, General Manager, team chemistry, fundamentals, philosophies, etc…

The A’s operation as a whole is failing and it starts at the top with the owner and general manager.

If you can’t afford to pay for talent that has matured to free agency, then rebuilding is part of a low-budget team. Unless you’re just knocking it out of the park every draft.

No a rebuild isn't essential to any losing team

Higher budget teams, like the Yankees can just get free agents, a luxury the A’s don’t have.

I don't buy into that small-market, no money myth.

Yes, Yanks have an advantage with player purchases. Lower budget teams have to be shrewder. A rebuild can start with a GM and other organizational people. You gotta spend money (wisely) to make money. The A’s have been second in league attendance before – they can make money. All this owner does is constantly whine about everything without actually trying to improve anything.

I don't get how you can't buy into it.

The A’s have less money to work with. Fact. The A’s do have to be shrewder, but that only goes so far. There aren’t enough undervalued FA’s to put together successful team. The A’s need to rebuild so they can bring these players on their own.

Second in attendance when they were good. The money will come once the team is good. Also, what could the owner really do at this point to improve anything?

There is no argument here that a rebuild is necessary with this team and, indeed, underway (at least the pitching staff).

That is obvious. The argument is not to use small-market as the excuse for the sorry state that the owner and GM has let this team get to. They have no one to blame but themselves.

The owner could put a good product on the field first and foremost and try to sustain at the major league level while constantly re-tooling with a strong minor league system. Put money into keeping some players instead of trading everyone with any talent away every year. Get a GM who values managers and fundamentals more than his own ego. Improve marketing immensely. Respect the fans instead of taking them for granted. Embrace the community of Oakland instead of talking shit about it all the time. Build a new stadium in Oakland and nowhere else. I like that Rickey Henderson brought back up the idea of just building the new stadium in the huge parking lot that is already there. I could go on and on…

We're turning into LL

It bounced off Holliday's head?!

Aw

I thought it was gonna be Canseco-ish. You got my hopes up.

me too.

no television…it was Vince’s fault.

Bounces off his Head

bonk

SwisherThresher - June 28, 2009 reply

classic

nice play, holliday

More stellar Holliday defense

And where the hell was Sweeney running?

chicken shit

Call me when our offense is....

C Suzuki/Donaldson
1B Barton/Doolittle
2B Weeks
SS Green/Cardenas
3B Cardenas/Wallace
LF Buck
CF Brown
RF Cunningham
DH Carter

Sadly it will probably never be that

A man cna dream they all pan out....

I was thinking more along the lines of injuries to half of them

Haha.. Prob.

I agree

Would be awesome if all of those guys work out, but odds are against it.

If even half of those prospects pan out, it will be a miracle

I just noticed Wallace is on there

William?

I wish

I’d watch every inning of every game

Dont ruin my dream!

so why would anyone want to

watch Buancast? I mean, even if we weren’t getting swept by the Rockies?

The other day Korach said,

“Did you ever notice how ever year we get older, but Buan gets younger?

The Picture of Robert Buan?

The feeble Ellis groundout

Oh how I have missed ye

He did pop out in foul territory?

Didnt*

I'm waiting patiently for that one too

Much more entertaining the Hannahan flail and whiff

0 = 0

woo.

we’re good.

"what the heck is going on down there?" kuiper on angels

dear kuip, they got a real major league team, that is what’s goiing on.

ak_A - June 28, 2009 reply

In Glen's defense, I think he was talking about the D-backs coming back from being down 9-2.

Hannahan would've had it.

I was thinking yesterday and just remembered now

If all it took to get Mark Derosa was a relief prospect and a PTBNL…

How could we not match that?

We don't know yet who the PTBNL is.

Some were saying Brett Wallace. I doubt that, but it still could be more than we’d want to pay for a DeRosa rental.

Oh Ziggy...damn those lefties.

They get you all the time.

Walking the unwalkable

we should be better than this shouldn't we?

yes.

Teams with good pitching shouldn't be under .500

do we have "good pitching"?

How about poorly managed good pitching?

I'd say so

yeah i think so, braden's good cahill was good before yesterday's start, outman good, mazzaro decent

Which is better?

hitting or pitching?
I’d say pitching, with a few exceptions.

MobiusKlein - June 28, 2009 reply

on our team? pitching obviously

exactly and plus we have ( at least going into this year) some decent bats

on paper and with our young pitchers being good so far we should have a much better record

Yay, hick music

And awesome graphics

Those A's commercials are top-notch, I tell you whut

Hyuck hyuck

Has Lameday died on anyone else?

I’m just getting flash pinwheels…

the computer's openly mocking you for being an A's fan.

you can’t really blame it.

Durn'it- city slicking iMac!

this sucks I don't get the a's on that stupid cable channel, their radio station is completely fuzzy, and now gameday is lagging more than usual

Adam Kennedy’s batting average has dropped 153 points since May 25th.

Well .430 is rather unsustainable. ;)

AK can suck for another month until I start feeling any where near what I do for the rest of these bums (except Suzuki and half the pitching staff).

I think our token run will come this inning

Guh

W
T
F

Okay, but seriously

Can management just tell Cust to do what he do?

god damn

worst offense ever

woo.

we’re good at baserunning.

Gonzalez owns us.

He and Street have basically stomped on our collective nuts this weekend

The A's traded away one of the very few guys with a chance to be really good

He also has a chance to be really not good, but I still think the A’s will rue the decision to keep Sweeney and give up on Gonzalez.

naw I'd take sweeney simply because he's much more patient

Can't get Holliday without Gonzalez though.

But ya, I think we all regret that decision.

At least Giambi is above the Mendoza line

I was wrong

i think last year's offense was worse

2008 season, AL, bottom 10 batting average

(among those who qualify)

1. .218 Hannahan (Oakland A)
2. .219 Swisher (former A)
3. .226 Barton (Oakland A)
4. .231 Cust (Oakland A)
5. .233 Ellis (Oakland A)
6. .234 Millar
7. .237 Crosby (Oakland A)
8. .240 Konerko
9. .245 Thome
10. .247 Giambi (future A)

HAHA

We’re going to have more than five people this time.

Ellis doesn't qualify

yet.

bajablue - June 28, 2009 reply

Graybeard trying to stretch out a single?

what do the a's after this game?

Ice cream for everyone!!!!!

I like ice cream.

Nothing

DFA's

all of them

MobiusKlein - June 28, 2009 reply

Play MLB 2K9

Giambi is so mashing in that game right now.

Can we replace the real G with the video game version?

CG for the win!

just like reality....

…oh, wait…I’ve made myself sad.

At least Vin is showing serious potential

Our pitching is set for years to come

we just need about 9 hitters

Wow

So, uh, that Gonzalez kid has an arm, huh?

F Matt Holliday.

Way to stink it up in a contract year you Coors Field product you.

You don't say? You'd think the A's might be aware of that. {heavey sarcasm}

Why is Bailey in the game?

He’ll never need to close again.

we knew that from last year

need to get him so work

FAIL

Be positive

On the bright side – Cust almost got another walk today.

Smoky - June 28, 2009 reply

haha nice play

This is pathetic

the really bright spot here is that a bunch of these veteran players will be gone because Billy signed them to one year contracts

15K on little league day?!

Perfect

Cabrera makes me want Crosby back.

at least he plays hard

OrCa? Plays hard?

LOL

no crosby

Reading comprehension FAIL on my part

And I completely agree – OrCa is a goof-off. Crosby isn’t good but at gives it his all (and his defense is better, too).

Another chance for Geren to rip into his team that he won't take

Stupid ass rule that a ball that goes untouched but should be caught isn't an error.

how is that not an error?

stupid baseball rules

Really, guys? Really. I say 2 hours of pop up/fly ball practice after the game.

You've got

to be (expletive) kidding what a bunch of (cruel sarcasm)

I think we can blame that on Cust, too.

Ellis is scared. Doesn’t want to get plowed into twice.

We A's fans have been getting plowed almost nightly watching this team, lol

These players need a beating

OK everybody just for sh_ts and giggles -

Howz about a 4 run bottom of the ninth!

what the hell does Luigi have ot do with it?

Uh - he makes me smile and he's er, green?

okay.

nice save.

He's green and has an inferiority complex

Sounds like an Athletic to me.

Better get

Helen warmed up

Who wants that job? LB?

I'll warm her up.

Relax guys, its our hunter bryce strategy

Let go Nats!

they are closing in on us

Fact

time for the daily tease!

but I bet they go 1-2-3 because they’re so disheartened.

i think i'd rather have the 1-2-3

damn you, kurt

One thing I cant decide is if I should root for the M's or not?

They are cool, but Aardsma is not that good, come on!

Andrew Bailey as an SP, thoughts?

It's how he started out...

I like him

where’s he at.

No

He’s been an excellent reliever, he wasn’t good last year as an AA starter, and the A’s already have lots of starting prospects.

I like him where he is at too

However, I bet he would dominate as a starter. Its clearly a mental thing and now he must be over it.

I don't think it's necessarily a mental thing

He probably can’t sustain the same velocity over 7 innings that he can over one or two.

And even if it is mental, being able to pitching one inning mentally doesn’t mean he can handle starting mentally.

Tease underway

lol

okay , we've gone the "tease" route.

it'll look

like a line drive in the box score

Pretty sure it'll just look like a hit in the box score.

It was a line drive!

OK, it's rally time now.

Yeah, it's the 9th - let's get this thing started!

Sweeney, Zook, and OrCa for 5 hits today, that's like a whole games worth!

when can we start talking about next season?

Im looking forward to callups

I'm not too excited for callups this year

Probably the most exciting prospect that will be called up is Cunningham

And Barton

This guy looks familiar, kinda like that CF.

I'm sure if they were still with the A's they'd be having horrible seasons

They'd be on the DL more like it.

Let's go Cabrera

rawr.

rally.

Huston thinks he's pitching to Crosby

Let's see some of those 2-seamers over the middle of the plate

Remember those, Huston?

no, keep throwing balls

we dont do well with strikes

Crap he's not even blowing saves anymore...

18- 19

he no longer plays for us.

way to piss off the ump, o'cab

This is all a tease.

do not doubt the power of the Helen.

Time for the triple play

obviously

Offense

I thought the offense was supposed to better? But when you have guys hitting 227, 214, 230, in your lineup everyday and they’re supposed to be your best hitters, no wonder

tdog1168 - June 28, 2009 reply

GIDP coming right up

Yes, O Cab, nice hit. No outs!

I'm calling a triple play where the runners forget they're supposed to move on a grounder

Well, Nomar is on deck...

And Crosby to PH?

then

maybe Crosby will be hurt warming up

Sweet.

He’s good for at least two outs.

maybe

he’ll get hurt warming up

noooooo, please god, no

does it even matter if we win?

I mean if we win we still 10 games under….

It always matters

it matters not.

dignity

not to mention progression, it matters

Sure it does

Most Rox fans are also Donkeys fans.

Donkeys?

Broncos.

oh. them.

67M says I’ve got to become a Raiders fan now, so I hate the Broncos…right?

got it

Ryan "Slapchop" Sweeney steps in

I'm gonna love his nuts.

our collective nuts?

LET'S GO ROCKIES!!!! (Reverse psychology)

Honestly, I'm torn (ironically) when Nomar bats

I want the A’s to win, which means I want him to get a hit. But it makes no sense at all for him to be taking up a roster spot on this team, and I want them to want to get rid of him (or for him to want to retire) ASAP.

They won't get rid of him...

They can’t.

Why, because Mia will kick Billy's ass if he waives her husband?

That would keep me from DFAing him.

Way to swing at ball 3

was a strike

Beter than a DP.

Same pitch as ball 2

A hit! A very palpable hit!

Is this the face that launched

four runs in the ninth last night?

(and by “face” I mean, well, you know….)

so why didn't you post helen pics earlier?? hmmmm??

Geez, do I have to do all the work?

...I posted....

Yes, and I appreciate it.

Don't fear,

Nomar is here to ruin it!

woot!

Helen rally!

we avert the shutout at least

Sweeney comes through! Run in. Still no outs. Runners at the corners.

good day for sweeney

3 whole bases!

Anybody who can get a hit on this team is welcomed by me.

in play (runs) ??!!!

our man

reverse ramon cannot fail, right?

If Norma gets a hit here I'll stop calling him Norma

I still want him the be DFA’d tomorrow.

Powell has more power

cool Geren

Oddly, FWIW

this year RH have been hitting Street better than LH.

The guys has almost 1000 rbi's.

Yeah, and Mike Schmidt has over 500 HRs

but I wouldn’t expect him to get a hit off Huston Street today.

Street

I remember this the last two years, Keep him in there

tdog1168 - June 28, 2009 reply

I hit a grand slam with Nomar Garciaparra last night.

While eating at Denny's?

No, I was playing MLB ’09: The Show online last night. I am 5-16, but I have won two out of my last three games.

there's a Denny's about four blocks from my house.

I just thought you should know.

Oh, yeah, just rub it in our faces, Mr. Bloom.

I can walk to a grand slam.

TWTS

t?

they

“faces” plural

“They” could be the word. That’s my guess.

Trannies?

That was one of the uglier swings I've seen Sweeney take

I’ll take it.

I thought it was a DP for sure.

UGLY

Fark you, Norma

Enjoy your retirement

he's married to Mia.

He will.

Hey, non-inning-ending strikeout by Nomar.

That’s better than usual.

Okay, that outcome fulfills both of my demands

Nomar fails, but creates only 1 out.

The Old fucks are killing this team...

bah.

"these guys can hit"

Omg...lol

well

I guess reverse ramon can fail

Come on Huston

You owe Ellis and you know it

Oh pls Unicorn 9th inning blast-

Happened a coupla times last year!

I'm just gonna give a little preemptive FUCK

FUCK

me too

FUCK

That only makes sense if you expect them to succeed.

Why hit for Powell?

with a righty.

And an old righty, to boot.

RLangford - June 28, 2009 reply

Cause our manager sucks?

see, bad luck

unlike that shot down the line from the rockies last night that was fair

Well that was fun

What happened to Ellis?

K

we may

need a naked picture of Helen to win this one

no naked here plz

kthxbai

MORE RUNS, please.

Not even the cougar hotness of Ms Mirren can overcome the A's suckitude

Kee-ripes

So close to a double.

Meh

Wooooooo Shocker!

Was there a runner on third with 0 outs there?

Genious

1st and 3rd no outs

not that the 2nd run mattered

well that sucked

OaklandSi - June 28, 2009 reply

frustrating weekend, kuiper?

more like a frustrating season

Question of the day

How has this sorry bunch won 31 games?

tease.

I fall for it every time.

THat Nomar K was the damn RAlly Killer there.

It is good that we fell short...

For if we had won, it would have represented false hope. This outcome is accurate.

louismg - June 28, 2009 reply

But Geren will get some Falso Hope with this 9th inning though.

Hey, don't knock false hope

It got me through the past two years.

good now fire Geren

Well, that could have gone better

Ah, well. ’Nother day, ’nother game.

Last night, I dreamt Geren was fired

I hope we lose every game the rest of the season so everyone gets fired.

I’m so sick of the A’s as an organization. The past three years have been a joke. Ever since the Bradley DFA—or whatever it was—we have been awful.

RLangford - June 28, 2009 reply

Freaking A's gave me blue balls again- and I'm not even a guy.

That's kinda hot.

You tease.

Yes, indeed, I do.

So you're on the A's. Figures.

Can you give them back?

were they yours?

One of them was.

After the game for the A's brass

1. Fire Geren.
2. Fire Skaaaaaaaaaaaalen for farking up Cust.
3. Give Norma his outright release.
4. Ask Giambi to retire (if he won’t do it, have him join Norma).
5. Trade Holliday to the Cardinals, Mets, or any other team that will have him who is not in the AL West.
6. DFA OrCa.
7. DL Cust to let his back rest, and get him back to his Three True Outcomes philosophy.
8. Call up Pennington, Buck, Cunningham, and Barton. Start Buck in LF, Barton at 1B, Pennington or Crosby at SS.
9. Admit this season is a big FAIL, and start over by allowing the kids to have a chance to suck, instead of making us watch veterans suck.

Why rule out the AL West for a Holliday trade?

If one of them makes a good offer, I see no reason not to take it.

Totally, I agree.

I will say though...

I’m really encouraged by our pitchers… I’m just super shocked about this offense.
It’s too soon to say the Holliday trade was bad, just gotta wait to see what we get for him… but so far the trade is looking horrendous.

11 hits = 1 Run yay!!!!

Hmm, let me compare listening to this loss with my day

My wife got got her leg slashed open by a fall ceramic dish that broke, and it’s like 106 degrees here. Bandaged her up and she’s OK. All in all, I think my time spent tending her was more entertaining than watching another A’s fail.

But I’ll be back for the next game.

worldblee - June 28, 2009 reply

Glad she's okay. 106 degrees? You guys live in the Chico area?

Yes indeed

Been here for one year now. Almost used to the heat.

And thanks for the wishes for my wife. :-)

worldblee - June 28, 2009 reply

I live in the relatively cool Magalia (around 99 degrees)- but my home is made of metal.

No metal home jokes? We ARE bummed. (or don't make fun of the poor!) I'll try. Ahem, have you tried cash4gold? bada bing!

Or... 'have your tried taking your house to the recycling center? I hear they pay top dollar now!'

So my kid comes out to me while I'm cleaning the pool this morning

and tells me Willy Mays has died, “it’s all over the news Dad”. I go in and check the MLB and ESPN sites – nothing. I go to Google – nothing. Then I notice a yahoo headline that Billy Mays – I guess a TV pitchman passed away. No idea why I felt compelled to share this but it made me laugh. Though I’m sure Billy was a fine man.

bajablue - June 28, 2009 reply

GAME RECAP IS UP

Here

Fail

Sorry.

Here.

What happened was that I looked at Blez to do the link, Blez looked at me…Then just as I was clicking on the link, baseballgirl crashed into me.

DFA NICO NOW!