When
Brett Tomko walked off the mound with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning, the A's had a 6-1 lead, and all signs pointed to his coasting to a calm evening in the dugout while chalking up his third win in as many decisions in Oakland. But the
Angels had other ideas, scoring 10 unanswered runs, largely on the back of a huge 5-5 night from
Kendry Morales, who posted 2 home runs and 2 doubles as part of his 6 RBI night for the Halos.
The bottom of the 7th started off ugly, when
Adam Kennedy made a throwing error to open the inning. And it got worse.
Bobby Abreu was called safe after being tagged, while in the air, by
Craig Breslow, who was beside himself when the umpire, already unloved by the A's dugout, completely missed the play. With Breslow out, Ziggy came in and rapidly the game got away. A 2-run Guerrero single made it 6-5, and after Rivera singled, the aforementioned Morales hit a three-run shot to make it 8-6 Angels. Aybar tripled and Kendrick, up for the second time in inning, singled him in to make it 9-6. All told, it was a 7-run 7th.
While livid over the first base umpire's blatant miss, following his smugness during a previous argument with
Scott Hairston, a single play doesn't usually plate 7 runs. Okay. It never does. The game got away because of sloppy defense that opened the door, and an extremely hittable bullpen, which later included
Jay Marshall and
Santiago Casilla, who both gave up a run, to make the Angels score a solid 11 runs, and spotting them a 5-run lead.
At this point, with Tomko's sharp start long since forgotten, the A's did what they have often done this season - tease us into thinking there might be a chance, scoring one in the 9th to make it 11-7, and bringing the tying run on deck. But that's as close as we would get.
Unlike some other blogs (Rhymes with "Stale-O's Seven"), we won't be doing a Blame of the Game. What's the point? But any time you give up 10 unanswered runs to your division rival, you deserve to lose. Tomko did all he could, showing the A's that he is a legitimate starter, but there was no stopping Morales tonight, and this game is best forgotten as quickly as possible.
Thanks for hanging in there, guys!
louismg - August 28, 2009
Stomper makes me smile
thanks for that
adragon - August 28, 2009
YAY ANtics!
Leopold Bloom - August 28, 2009
Like I said in the last thread, this game sadly and pathetically described my day today.
Rated-R Superstar - August 28, 2009
sorry to hear that
adragon - August 28, 2009
you were gonna go 3-0 and someone thwarted you?
cuppingmaster - August 28, 2009
Blah.
Rated-R Superstar - August 28, 2009
get 'em tomorrow son
(slap on the ass)
cuppingmaster - August 28, 2009
Tomorrow is Saturday.
Rated-R Superstar - August 28, 2009
Makes the slap on the ass just that much more suspect, doesn't it?
Especially coming from someone named “cuppingmaster.”
Nico - August 28, 2009
he can still get 'em tomorrow
cuppingmaster - August 28, 2009
good one Nico
sirbed - August 28, 2009
I thought Kennedy let the ball scoot through his legs
richwol1 - August 28, 2009
he did
and he did not get an error for it
adragon - August 28, 2009
Yahoo! Sports says...
“H. Kendrick safe at first on third baseman A. Kennedy’s throwing error, H. Kendrick to second”
But you guys are probably smarter than they are. I was no doubt putting twins to bed.
louismg - August 28, 2009
Those were two different plays
Kennedy let Figgins’ ground ball get through his legs for error #1 earlier. His throwing error, error #2, started the 7-run uprising.
Nico - August 28, 2009
Understood.
I posted thread 3, put the twins to bed and found runners on the bases. My mistake.
louismg - August 28, 2009
You got it right.
Nico - August 28, 2009
Oh, to have Hannahan instead of a machine gun.
speckops - August 28, 2009
Night all
I am going over to FTF to check out the trade
adragon - August 28, 2009
enjoy.
Leopold Bloom - August 28, 2009
I think in the end if people looked at the final score without knowing any details...
…they’d figure Tomko finally remembered he’s Tomko.
Flashfire - August 28, 2009
Having missed the game
That was certainly what I thought.
DMOAS - August 29, 2009
Awful ump, awful ziggy, awful game.
bonus points for the casilla grill show.
NIGHTY, EVERYONE.
ElQuesoCapitan - August 28, 2009
A couple observations...
As time goes on… it’s evident that Kennedy’s “streak” is looonnnggg over. It was pretty evident from the beginning of the year that Ziggy’s "streaK’ was looonnnggg over. That’s why AN isn’t a GM.
brenarlo - August 28, 2009
I dunno. I think AN has been saying they think Kennedy
is a good utility INF but not a starting 3Bman. And Ziggy had an excellent stretch in June/July. He did, however, suck the proverbial goat balls this fine evening.
Nico - August 28, 2009
Proverbial?
I just read all of Proverbs, and can’t find that reference?
louismg - August 28, 2009
It's right between
“A watched lamb never boils” and “An ostrich in time saves nine.”
Nico - August 28, 2009
Search query: "Biblical scripture" + "goat testicles"
Computing……
See: Sinai Mountain Oysters
Search: Complete
Kallus - August 28, 2009
It's in Aesop, not Proverbs.
Lots of goats in Aesop. (I guess that makes it “fabulous”, not “proverbial”.)
iglew - August 28, 2009
You may be right about Kennedy...
but there were a lot of ANers who thought Ziggy was closer material ya know… clearly he is not.
brenarlo - August 28, 2009
No, I'm pretty sure most of AN wanted Devine as closer
With Ziggy as the “super important situation where we need a grounder” guy.
mikev - August 28, 2009
As much as I'm a fan of him, I didn't want Ziggy as the closer either
Flashfire - August 28, 2009
Exactly -- yes, AN might have overrated Ziggy a bit,
but only Geren, not AN, seemed to see Ziggy as a 9th inning guy.
Nico - August 28, 2009
that was last year, with no regular closer
MobiusKlein - August 29, 2009
It was also going to be the start of this year,
with Ziggy and Devine named “co-closers” when AN pretty unanimously agreed it made more sense for Ziggy to be strictly a 7th/8th guy.
Nico - August 29, 2009
Of course not.
Had us been GM, the coli would have burned down by now.
ElQuesoCapitan - August 28, 2009
AN as GM
I think we could do better then Dayton Moore of the Royals of course so could a room full of monkeys.
sirbed - August 28, 2009
did the A's get Tomko'd?
Future Ed - August 28, 2009
no, we got kendry'ed
Tomko did just fine
cuppingmaster - August 28, 2009
You're a kendry'ed spirit.
Nico - August 28, 2009
that's brutal and yet I laughed
sirbed - August 28, 2009
awesome
iglew - August 28, 2009
Just got back from the game
What an fucking joke in the 7th inning.
Zero runs should have been allowed.
Kennedy committing his 234,000th error. Ziegler pitching like absolute garbage.
I turned to my slegnA friend and said, “I bet you Morales clubs one right here”
Sure enough he did. Ziggy couldn’t buy himself an out to save himself.
A feeble and pathetic, disgusting effort after Tomko left.
The first time in my life I have left a game early with the A’s down. I left right before the A’s batted in the 9th. I weighed up the thought of getting stuck in traffic and the A’s coming back and said, “No fucking way they come back, let’s get outta here”
At least the slegnA friends I was with were clasy enough not to rub it in. One of them even said, The Angels got a gift there tonight.
Trainman - August 28, 2009
So you had a good time then
sirbed - August 28, 2009
other than that mrs. lincoln, how was the game?
ak_A - August 28, 2009
Actually
got home and the roomy is asleep.
Thank God, His Yankees had a walk off as well.
Trainman - August 28, 2009
Well, he wasn't home with his roomies so...yeah, probably above average.
Nico - August 28, 2009
I knew a tolerable Slegna fan once...
course, he was a deaf mute. But very tolerable!
Kallus - August 28, 2009
I find it amazing that you have evidently not yet triggered the "relentless negativity" clause of the community guidelines
Flagged.
PaulThomas - August 28, 2009
So you found what the A's did in that inning positive did you?
I make one posty about how disgusted I am at tonight’s game.
The inning was a joke. Is that negative? No, it’s a fact!!
Ziggy did pitch like garbage
My comments are nothing worse than the game thread when it was all happening.
Trainman - August 28, 2009
Trainman is special.
It’s like Graham being mean.
iglew - August 28, 2009
Agreed. Love the passion, laugh at the bluntness.
Trainman says what we’re thinking but are too civilized to say.
Nico - August 29, 2009
Speak for yourself.
mikev - August 29, 2009
Good point --
I should clarify that mikev is not civilized!
Nico - August 29, 2009
No, see
Graham does things like “invent major advances in pitching statistics.”
This comparison isn’t doing what you want it to be doing.
PaulThomas - August 29, 2009
I'm surprised
I figured you got into a fight and got arrested or something.
Flashfire - August 28, 2009
No
I do not get confrontational at games. I just laughed and left early with my freinds
Trainman - August 28, 2009
Kennedy is playing out of position
the A’s need a real third baseman for next year.
OaklandSi - August 28, 2009
Exactly. Scutaro's often beloved on AN, but I remember
being at the game when he made 4 errors at 3B. This is why you don’t just “make Buck a 3Bman” or “put Cust at 1B.” It generally helps to play the position you…actually play.
Nico - August 28, 2009
How about Cust at 3B?
that would be something to watch
sirbed - August 28, 2009
Specifically, Cust watching, ball rolling into the bullpen.
Nico - August 28, 2009
Dire Straits could make a whole video out of Cust at third moments
sirbed - August 28, 2009
Cust could certainly be "walk of life"
Nico - August 28, 2009
“Money for nothing.”
speckops - August 29, 2009
Bobby Crosby?
iglew - August 29, 2009
He sucks at 2B too
he is not a good defender at any position any more. He should only be used as a back up MI/UTL player who can play 3+ positions, (3B, 2B, corner OF). He should have about six more errors than he has now, (that I can think of off the top of my head).
adragon - August 29, 2009
perhaps?
the ump was still upset at hairston :( and decided to screw the inning over
sPaNiArD440 - August 28, 2009
Umps Don't Lose Games, People Choose Umps Who Cause Losses
I don’t think umps have ever won or lost a game for a team, a good team on a good night can get past a bad call or two. But I do wonder about the stats…
The official scorekeeper is allowed to give an error on a play a certain defensive player “should have made.” Upon this allowance, the official scorekeeper has the right to fantasize about how the inning would have worked out if the error had not been committed, thus disallowing certain runs that might otherwise be called, “earned.”
So my question then, if a umps call is obviously wrong, why can’t the official scorekeeper be allowed to give an error on a call the ump “should have made?”
It was obvious Breslow tagged dude before he hit the bag, no one is arguing that. That would have been out number two. Zeeg then gets the first hitter he faces, barely, and Oakland is still in the lead. With the Ump error, the inning is over, no more earned runs are allowed, yet Zeegs gives up 4 earned runs because the inning continued.
And no, I don’t have Zeegs on my fantasy team.
Thefirstletterofthealphabet - August 28, 2009
Ziegler's runs
were earned because he came in after the two errors.
The was one out, he got one more then gave up five hits in a row. those hits are independent from the Breslows.
Scoring of baseball games is stupid anyway.
Future Ed - August 28, 2009
You obviously missed my point about the “ump error” which would have been the second out had it been called correctly, then Zeegs first out would have been the third, meaning all of the runs he gave up after would not be earned. I guess if you have to explain yourself, it is already lost.
Thefirstletterofthealphabet - August 29, 2009
well, assume those hits would occur the next inning
a home run should always count as earned runs for some pitcher.
MobiusKlein - August 29, 2009
It makes no difference
because the “ump error” came with breslow. Ziegler’s runs had nothing to do with the error, they were independent. I think, but don’t know, that ziegler’s runs are NOT earned for the team,
The point is pitcher’s don;t get obsoved of guilt because of errors that happened before they entered the game.
The whole concept of earned runs and scoring games is not well developed because it hasn’t evolved since it began.
Future Ed - August 29, 2009
agr'd
all 7 runs should have been unearned
adragon - August 29, 2009
Daric Barton...
Should have fielded the easy grounder, and started the 3-6-1 inning ending double play. Game – Set – Match.
Colorado Fan - August 29, 2009
RYAN SWEENEY BEST HITTER FOR THE A'S
Easily our best hitter and fielder for the A’s this year. Check the stats. Superstar in the making. GO SWEENEY!
mgmmansion - August 28, 2009
Hey there, OakFoSho
Flashfire - August 28, 2009
Actually, I think DaPorts! is OakFoSho
Of course, maybe he has more than one alias.
doctorK - August 29, 2009
it's all good
This edition of those Pasadena Angels of Chicofresno is mighty explosive indeed.
It’s all good tho because Tomko looks like we have yet another quality pitcher in the mix, can it be? Someone talk me down.
emperor nobody - August 29, 2009
In Zigs defense
he’d have been out of the inning with that out. if the ump didn’t make a HORRIBLE call. It kills me that there are such fickle fans out there. He also got the ground ball that came straight off the plate….He’d have been out of the inning then too. He also hasn’t pitched for a week….that’s GEREN’s fault. EVERYBODY knows that a pitcher has to pitch every 4 or so days….and he is TERRIBLE about using his full bullpen. He panics at the drop of a hat. Up until this point Ziegler had an ERA under 3 and has worked his butt off trying to get it back down from over 4 after Geren kept pitching him with the flu way back.
StrikeThree - August 29, 2009
So let me see if I'm following:
You’re saying that pitching 1 inning total in the last 3 weeks doesn’t portend great success for Edgar Gonzalez on Tuesday?
Nico - August 29, 2009
the words edgar gonzalez and success ought not to be used in the same sentence
meaning, we’re going to be edgar’ed on Tuesday
cuppingmaster - August 29, 2009
Kind of like how we all thought we'd be Tom-KOed?
But yeah, things are going to get ugly. But at least rosters expand.
DMOAS - August 29, 2009
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