Athletics Nation

I saw it coming.

oh. ok.

carry on.

TWSS.

(sorry, it was actually a good one, and it’s Mike’s birthday!)

pam5981 - June 6, 2009 reply

Agreed!

And for mike’s b’day may TWSS be a-plenty! And then tomorrow, shut it down.

Purrrrrrr

The sound of the A’s engine running smoothly on all cylinders.

Also, the sound of my cat when she’s happy.

worldblee - June 5, 2009 reply

wait.

what’s your cat sound like when it’s running on all cylinders?

An awful lot of wailing, frankly

Rather annoying.

Let alone what all the cylinders sound like.

el campysino - June 5, 2009 reply

great win for the A's

braden looked real good tonight

Wreckonized - June 5, 2009 reply

If some folks are watching Braden and wondering how he is so successful

with his stuff, watch how he works the inside corner. He throws some of the most effective inside corner strikes of any pitcher. He works up just above the hands very effectively too. He really impresses me.

biggest difference between this year and last

IMO

cuppingmaster - June 5, 2009 reply

How 'bout them A's?

Hey, I know I haven’t rapped at you guys for a while but, is this great or what? Maybe it’s undue optimism, but there’s nothin’ like a winning streak to make you feel good. This streak has really given me hope for the future. If the starters can keep doing their thing, with just a liiitttle bit of hitting… we’ve got it made. Go Oakland!

IowaA'sFan - June 5, 2009 reply

And it's particularly nice because it's been based on...

…excellent performances by young pitchers.

Bodes well for the future!

GreenNGoldSooner - June 5, 2009 reply

Yay for Braden

and thanks to his post-appearance interview, I have a new sig-line.

doctorK - June 5, 2009 reply

I thought that was a joke

He really said that? Where the hell was I?

probably writing your game summary.

that explains it

its a great thing

that he is having fun with the rest of the guys, the clubhouse have been kinda dead this season……..

Wreckonized - June 5, 2009 reply

I loved the "bloody stump" comment.

Had the TV guys confused. “What did he say about a stump?”

IowaA'sFan - June 5, 2009 reply

That is beautiful.

Best. Interview. Evar.

IowaA'sFan - June 5, 2009 reply

He's doing another one right now.

I think I might love him. Which is not comfortable for me.

Polygamist!

You have Travis

and beanpole, so stop.

What am I, chopped liver?

you're significantly better than chopped liver.

score.

Another best interview ever? How many can there be?

And two from one person. What are the odds?

el campysino - June 5, 2009 reply

Pretty high

if it weren’t for the fact that it was Braden.

Nico interviewed this dude in Arizona. I wish he would have let me sit in for that. I may have never come back home.

If I had known that, I would have let you sit in

Zing!

Ha!

Zing and a half!

walkoff baltimore chop - June 5, 2009 reply

Dallas Braden FTW

This is just craziness

Carl Pavano with a CG SHO

cuppingmaster - June 5, 2009 reply

Yeah but

it was just the White Sox…oh, wait.

He's been pretty good this year.

Plus his deal is incentive based – he gets an extra $5m if he makes 18 starts

OldhamA - June 6, 2009 reply

Dallas Braden

definitely has the double-dominant Eccentric Lefty Gene, I love it.

Was he in the same rotation as Lefty Grove?

I'm so proud of Pepe Braden

He looked like a complete ass a year ago while wearing his cap sideways and having the misbehaving hair. I have fallen in baseball love with this guy and the future is so bright I gotta wear shades.

yes, I didn't like him when he first came up,

but I look forward to watching him everytime now.

jakebmill - June 5, 2009 reply

I mean...holy cow. This cat is a pimp in the good sense of the word.

We may have the new Big 3 and I can’t believe that we’re barely into June. It’s been two completely different seasons and it’s about time Nico wrote a new letter to Billy Beane. Still not high on Geren at all but doubtful that they will look to change that now, if they were ever considering it anyway.

great pitching and good offense...

is making Bob Geren look like a genius!

All work and great play makes Bob a non-dull looking manager

I thought his calling for the 3-run HR was brilliant

Both times.

You gotta pick your spots and he certainly did :-)

Could he have picked April or May?

he didn't learn the 3-run HR sign until June 1st

seems to be working now, though.

I choose to believe that Mike Gallego called the HR's

No, he actually held Cust up at third but

Cust trotted through the stop sign.

I keep upgrading my rating of Braden

I have to go from “strong #3” to “weak #2” in my assessment of him going forward. He seems about where Blanton and Jered Weaver were the previous 3 seasons or so, in terms of what you can expect in innings, consistency, how often he’ll “give you a chance to win,” and so on. And that’s a lot better than I would have predicted 2 years ago.

He's a #3 at this point at it's not even close

I bagged on him more than anyone last year and I love the “all you can eat” crow.

He's beyond Blanton, Nico. Blanton never showed this much promise.

Actually, second half of 2005 he did

Remember that Blanton got deep into games and had several seasons where if you gave him 4 runs he’d give you a win. The A’s just didn’t have a good enough offense a lot of the time to take advantage of his pitching. Yet he still averaged 14 wins/year, which is pretty darn solid.

Yeah. I should apologize for saying that but I can't.

Blanton was a great competitor and showed promise at times. However he just never gave me a soothing feeling when he was on the mound. He surely had a knack for pitching well against the Angels and I would bet he had worse luck while pitching great than he had against any other team.

I think you mean Mariners.

Mariners are the team Blanton pitched flukishly well against, not Angels.

iglew - June 5, 2009 reply

Yeah Blanton owned the Mariners's like Rogers own s the A's.

OldhamA - June 6, 2009 reply

His ERA is Timbuk 3.63

Nick - June 5, 2009 reply

See this what I love about AN

We all knew this was coming. None of us ever panicked.

throttle mathius - June 5, 2009 reply

I'm just proud of how I never lost faith in Beane or Geren,

and always knew Outman and Braden would be among the league’s ERA leaders.

that's why you're the BlogMaster...

prescience!

Don't you only get those at Chrishmash?

Outman

I knew Braden was going to be good but Outman is a surprise. I thought of him as a 5th starter type.

Arcman - June 5, 2009 reply

I'm surprised by Outman, too...

I was ready to throw him on the scrapheap. What do all these rooks have in common. Four hard-throwing, md-90’s fastballs when they want it. Have the A’s ever had that many starters who could just blow it by a batter, if they had to?

I don’t think so.

I love the pitching staff of 1989

Good times.

Even springer pitched well

What happened tonight? Davis gets a RBI. Hannahan a hit. Springer pitches a inning without a run. Did Geren go to church last night and brought back some good luck?

Arcman - June 5, 2009 reply

the orioles and chisox are horrible. that's what happened

OK you can't sit with us at lunch anymore.

Much mindless screaming.

Accompanied by intense giggling and laughter….most likely at my expense. But I don’t care, the A’s won!

Plus I got to embarass a daughter and a niece and ran two boys off in a heartlessly cruel manner! My night is complete.

alox - June 5, 2009 reply

Awesome. Sounds like fun.

iglew - June 5, 2009 reply

SWEET!

Daughter and a niece embarrassed in 1 evening… impressive.

grover - June 6, 2009 reply

Wow, we're actually good...

Look like AL West winners to me, just as I predicted! ;-)

someday

Dallas may be featured in that highest of honors that can be bestowed upon a southpaw with a screw loose: an Eccentric Lefty Joke, the kind that usually begin with Bill the Spaceman Lee and Rube Waddell on the bus with Barry Zito.

dammit why can't I reply to the right comments?

that was for Nico above but I must have smoked crack again because it ended up here.

In moderation

crack is still not understandable :-0

I dunno....

He doesn’t fit the mold. Kind of violent.

alox - June 5, 2009 reply

that was great!

blinky just spoke on air without knowing it on postgame show. Said 50% of people don’t care about the concert tomorrow and 50% do… only 2 people voted.

jakebmill - June 5, 2009 reply

Stright Outa Stockton SOS!!

Hell of an outing by Dallas. hes pich great and A’s are playing good ball. Holliday’s stock just went up with that 3 run bomb. first 4 game win streak all year, its all good in Town to night. GO A’s!!!

Tambo45 - June 5, 2009 reply

Holliday's ball

was headed for the BART station when it ran into Mt. Davis there.

Braden just said on the radio that Holliday broke one of the suite windows in center field during BP today, dunno if he was serious but he sounded like he was.

Crazy muthaf***a named Braden.

Sing it ~~NWA~~ Nina Gordon….

GreenNGoldSooner - June 5, 2009 reply

Good win

Now time to get in line to get a Palm Pre

j/k

cuppingmaster - June 5, 2009 reply

if the blogs are right, there's going to be a lot of disappointed people in the bay area...something well than 100 in the bay area

Hey Jack

You’re a lousy fucking softball player but seem to do okay when hitting a baseball.

I ♥ this baseball team..... :)

gigglingone - June 5, 2009 reply

Shall we keep them?

yes please. :)

gigglingone - June 7, 2009 reply

please DL springer

call up Hrod, who’s control is improved and doing well in AAA. who doesnt want to see 100mph fastballs

Asfan4ever723 - June 5, 2009 reply

tonight...2.2 IP, 5Ks...wowzers

I want to see 100 mph fastballs...

the rookies are already competing against each other. Think what they’d do if they had to compete with 100 mph fastballs. No team would hit us!!!

Don't agree

When H-Rod, Demel, Banacka, Carignan, Gray, whoever…can throw 30 IP at Sacramento while walking less than 2/9, they can come up to Oakland. Until then, they can learn control…and we can get by with Springer, Reineke, Cameron, whoever…

In other news, Suzuki's hitting streak for the M's is over.

Went 0-4 with a walk against the Twinkies tonight.

doctorK - June 5, 2009 reply

how 'bout Miggy's hitting streak?

Still intact? One of Beane’s worst calls ever, by the way.

I wanted them to bring Miggy back this year

Houston was trying to unload him as a salary dump and I think he would have been a great addition, both for his right-handed hitting on the left side of the infield and for his energy and spirit – something the team sorely lacked for two months.

yeah, one might think that was kind of a no-brainer...

I have no inside knowledge to prove it, but I still think Beane has his “biases.” Once he dumps a player, he knows he’s right about it and there is no looking back.

Miggy would have been a MUCH better addition to this team this year than Nomar, but… Beane just couldn’t look beyond his own… ego?

I think some of it had to do with potential legal troubles

that the A’s might have thought could impact this season. That’s my recollection, anyway.

I don''t think so

his trouble with the law always looked very minor.

My guess is the price was too high.

Future Ed - June 6, 2009 reply

I would bet the house

That Miggy despite legal troubles would play more games than Nomar and Chavez combined.
I’d have made that bet in the spring.

connie mack - June 6, 2009 reply

I think

it had more to do with the $13 million Tejada is due this year along with the prospects it would have taken to acquire him. Nomar for a million bucks is a relatively low risk gamble. Tejada for $13 million and someone like Josh Donaldson? I’ll pass.

nothinlikethetown - June 6, 2009 reply

How about Crosby and his $5.25million

for Tejada and his $13million? The Astros were just trying to dump his contact and needed a SS if they traded him.

If that's all it would've taken I doubt Miggy would still be an Astro

Helloooo 1st - June 6, 2009 reply

So i think Longworth is an upgrade over Sire

much better interviews.

Asfan4ever723 - June 5, 2009 reply

Sire would be perfect if we were selling jeans

Helloooo 1st - June 6, 2009 reply

I just got back from the game

A couple of eyeball notes from sitting in the yard:

-Braden was fearless. He challenged every single hitter and didn’t junkball anybody. His changeup was devastating and made the O’s look positively silly on some of their swings. Luke Scott’s HR was the only mistake – that was a no doubter.
-Cust’s HR might have gone higher in the air at its height than it went for distance out of the yard. Everybody at the stadium stood up as soon as it was off the bat and had to wait and wait and wait and wait for it to come back down. Adam Jones was able to get ready and wait for it at the wall. Amazing moonshot
-I’ve never seen a ball hit so hard as the one Holliday took out. It hit about 10 feet below the windows in the CF suites, and it might have still been going up.
-Rajai Davis’ shuffle-run in CF reminds me of Dan Johnson’s crab walk.

cityplANner - June 5, 2009 reply

Good stuff

Always enjoy in-person recaps.

"Fearlessness" actually is a pitching quality

Braden challenges in the strike zone early and often, Eveland doesn’t. Braden isn’t daunted by someone hitting him hard; Eveland is. Braden pitches to succeed; Eveland pitches not to fail.

eveland pitches like he eats...meatballs

I knew it was going to be that type of game when he struck out Adam Jones in the first on a 91 mph fastball

A less ballsy pitcher would have gotten 2 strikes on Jones and then started throwing junk hoping for a swing out of the zone. Braden came right at him and blew him away.

His K of Huff to end the 1st was an absolutely obscene changeup. It absolutely disappeared.

cityplANner - June 5, 2009 reply

Braden is hardcore...

I’ve liked him ever since I learned he threw the scroogie back in his minor league days. He’s definitely got a scroogie loose. Great interview. Radinich will be fawning all over him, if his masters at KNBR ever allow him an on-air interview.

Only 7 games under .500!

(This countdown thing appears to be working just as I had planned.)

1. That was a fun game. I’m still not quite sure what I witnessed in the bottom of the 1st… I believe it was a massacre of sorts, but I’ll need to review the tape to be sure.
2. I would have preferred a shutout, but hey, a girl can’t have everything.
3. I want to see Dallas’s postgame interview. That guy is awesome.
4. Did we know Holliday has an official blog?
5. Okay, I think that’s all for now. G’night.

whiteshoes40 - June 5, 2009 reply

There goes my comment

But Holliday’s blog must be new? And of course, it’s filled with the same old dribble most of these so called blogs have. I wish Dallas Braden had a blog.

DyeLongJustice - June 6, 2009 reply

Second that last sentence.

now if we only knew somebody that ran a blog and could offer them a once a week column...hmmm...lemme think.

stm72 - June 6, 2009 reply

I'm drawing a blank on that one.

But it’ll come to me eventually. Wait! It’s on the tip of my tongue.

Never mind, it was just a Cheeze-It crumb.

Billy Koch?

DyeLongJustice - June 6, 2009 reply

GYMNASTICS!!!!

Sorry, had a soccer game.

(we lost.)

(I scored 3 goals in 6 minutes)

and, you still lost?

9-4.

It wasn’t pretty

why did you only play 6 minutes?

That's....I mean....well....

That doesn’t sound like a soccer game. Are you sure it wasn’t kickball? I don’t know if I’ve ever heard of such a high-powered offense in a soccer game.

Either way, I’m sorry to hear it.

Wes7 - June 5, 2009 reply

indoor

I think Guthrie was hiding an injury coming into today's game

I was in section 107 and got to see him warm-up up close. He never looked comfortable, loose or fluid. I figured it was just my imagination, but the results certainly suggest it’s possible.

cityplANner - June 5, 2009 reply

Only thing is, he was throwing hard

Could be mechanical, and that as a result he has lost the sinking movement he relies on so heavily.

Braden interview

The word fearless is said alot about way he pitches but the way he handles the interview is like a 10 year vet. The way he handles himself off the field is not like any 26 year old pitcher. He looks like a leader for the pitching staff. Kind of how Dave Stewart was in the 80’s.

Arcman - June 5, 2009 reply

It's been awhile since I've had as much fun at a game

I can’t recall any game that I’ve been to, in recent years or deeper in the past, that’s been as blissfully stress-free as this one was. Granted, I only became a RAF in July of 2007, but it still seems as if when I’m in attendance, the A’s eek out 6-4 wins. Tonight was an exception. A wonderful, and often wondrous, exception. I’m glad that it was.

Some stray thoughts….

- Like CityplANer above, I was incredibly impressed with Braden’s lack of fear out there. It was such a thrill to watch him challenge the Orioles bats and while part of me was worried that the O’s would put a few more runs on the board, I still loved to see him going right after the hitters.

- I may be late to the party with this one, but can we give it up for Curt Young? I was one of Peterson’s biggest fans back in the early part of the decade (he was, after all, the source of my sig line), but I’ve truly grown to appreciate Curt these past few years. His ability to work with Suzuki and the pitchers in formulating game plans is paying some pretty nice dividends these days. And let’s not forget that last year, when we did have Eveland for a full year (to say nothing of Smith), the guys still had the fifth best ERA in the American League. All told, I’m inclined to give Curt a lot of credit for these past few days.

- CityPlANer was also quite right about Cust’s homer. That ball hung up forever, but man was it fun to watch it fly. It was classic Cust (if a guy in his third season of regular playing time can have classic attached to any of his feats).

- Does anyone else think that while Rajai looks wretched coming in on balls, that he’s damn smooth going from side to side? I don’t have Comcast so my impressions are admittedly limited to what I see in person. Nevertheless, I never worried about him at all when the ball was smoked to his left or his right tonight. I did, however, groan when he seemed to misplay Roberts’s single in the first.

- LongTimeFan and SkiGurl are good company. To say nothing of Gigglingone. But you all probably knew that already.

All told, it was a great night. Here’s to many more over the next few months.

Wes7 - June 5, 2009 reply

didn't Luke Scott's homer look preposterously effortless, though?

I mean, Holliday heaved his a long way, but Scott’s was just a flick of the wrists.

Also, pretty impressed by the Orioles SS Andino

bobnothing - June 5, 2009 reply

it looked griffey jr. easy

walkoff baltimore chop - June 5, 2009 reply

Yes, it was a damn pretty swing

It didn’t look like he manhandled the ball. It looked like he squared it up perfectly and let the ball do the work for him. He just got all of that pitch, 100% of it.

cityplANner - June 6, 2009 reply

Mazzaro World: where the A's are awesome

That sounds like an AIM nick for The Dugout.

walkoff baltimore chop - June 6, 2009 reply

Just read Holliday's blog

He seems like exactly the kind of guy you’d want to sign an extension for. Probably won’t happen though.

I’d say this rotation is as exciting as any I’ve ever seen with the A’s from front to back. Some more positional players and this could be a consistent playoff team again.

niallmack - June 6, 2009 reply

...Holliday has a blog?

probably?

Unless we win the WS I’d say the chances sit at zero percent.

yo - June 6, 2009 reply

agreed...

if Beane were able to sign Holliday, I would give his boy (Geren) another chance to do his thing and wipe the slate clean!

I would not tolerate re-signing Crosby.

MMunoz33 - June 6, 2009 reply

I wouldn't brake if I saw Geren crossing the street,

let alone wipe his slate clean…

This club is winning in spite of Geren, not because of him…

Gaijin_Suketto - June 6, 2009 reply

Braden looks like a true #3 ;

lets hope he keeps improving…

Do we dare send Anderson and Cahill down to gain another year of control with their contracts? I don’t really understand how their contracts work.

If anyone can explain to me how the A’s control their prospects contract, I would greatly appreciate it.

MMunoz33 - June 6, 2009 reply

not 100% positive

But even if you send them down now, you won’t save any amount of control on their contracts. We started their clocks when they broke with us to start opening day, I believe…

No, I think the issue is the number of days on the 25-man roster

If each of them were to spend a month or so in the minors this year I think he’d lose a year of arbi eligibility.

Nick - June 6, 2009 reply

Curt Young

Give the guy his due. Last year he took spare parts Smith and Eveland and made them into OK pitchers this year he is given raw talent and building them into starters. Face it Braden was never considered more than a 5th starter but is now a solid #3.

Arcman - June 6, 2009 reply

Agree

And I think we also owe some credit to the A’s organization philosophy regarding young SPs. I know a lot complain on here when a guy like Outman is taken out after 6 great innings and 95 pitches, but I think we really do a good job of giving guys positives to build on and keeping them out of real high pressure situations.

It’s just a little confusing that we can’t get Gallagher going…and with Mazzaro up, I’m wondering if Gallagher and Gio ever get another significant chance.

Solid points all around...

You have to wonder about the futures of Gio, Gallagher, and Eveland?

MMunoz33 - June 6, 2009 reply

Trade Bait

Colorado Fan - June 6, 2009 reply

He's a solid 3 through 1/3 of the season....

let’s not get too excited yet.

brenarlo - June 6, 2009 reply

No, he's a solid #2 through 1/3 of the season

In what way hasn’t he at least been that?

To me

There isn’t much difference between 2 and 3. Neither guy is your ace, but both a 2 and a 3 are expected to give the team a chance to win every game out, and be able to flat out win a game for you once in awhile.

I feel like as pitchers go, you’ve got your #1s, then 2/3’s, then 4/5s…

Yes, I'll agree with you on that...

he’s been a solid #2 so far.

My point isn’t that he’s going to fall off the face of the earth or anything. BUT… I am saying that it would be pretty remarkable and pretty lucky for him to be a #2 for a whole year.

brenarlo - June 6, 2009 reply

I agree that he won't sustain the ERA, but

if he continues to get deep into games, consistently going 6-7 IP, often allowing 2-3 ER and rarely allowing more than 4 ER, it’s not a stretch to think he could be considered a #2.

He's a number two on grit alone. Not to mention scrappiness.

DyeLongJustice - June 6, 2009 reply

And he has Pepe.

Inherent advantage there.

pam5981 - June 6, 2009 reply

I can't argue with that...

he looks like he’s actually pitching with a purpose. He’s obviously focused. He has a plan. Right now he’s executing. He’s been much more than anyone thought.

If he has become a legitimate 3.75-4.00 ERA type of guy, the A’s will be much more successful in the near future.

brenarlo - June 6, 2009 reply

4? FOUR!?!?!

pam5981 - June 6, 2009 reply

We're all a little scared.

Giddy, but scared.