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Observations from tonight's game

Well, it wasn't pretty, that's for sure.

Zito was awful the first inning, and it could have been worse.  Ichiro popped out on a pitch that was nowhere near the strike zone.  You could even see Z try to steer one in the strike zone, and it wasn't close.  He did, however, straighten up and pitch pretty well the rest of the way.  I was surprised to see him last 114 pitches.

Chavvy is lost at the plate.  He got lucky on his hit, as the pitch he chopped up the middle was about shoulder high.  In the 8th, you could see he wanted to walk, not swing.  The 3-1 pitch was close, a little low even from where I was sitting, but he was begging for that one to be ball four.  And when it wasn't, well, it was pretty easy to figure out what was coming next.

The M's only hit one ball hard off of Street -- Ibanez's single.  He deserved better.  The others were all bloopers or choppers.  Reed's squib up the 3rd base line was a tough play for Chavvy, but we've all seen him make that play before.  Byrnes' play was inexcusable.  He had no shot at catching that ball, but rather than play it on a hop and prevent the second run from scoring, he had to be a superhero and lay out for it.  

I'm done with Byrnes.  He was terrible at the plate as well.  Others have said it before, but he might just be the least fundamentally sound player in the AL.  I was not one to be on the trade Byrnes bandwagon before, but now, I'd rather see the oh-fer boys, Thomas and Kielty, in LF.  The problem is that it may be too late for Billy to get anything of value for Byrnes.  He's falling apart before our eyes.

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Sad to think
That 0-27 combined is better than a player who has hit the ball this season but Byrnes' attempts are getting weaker not stronger.  Chavez is as he alway is, slow starter and don't blame him as he is not a player who will ever drive a team like Tejada or Giambi.

by natsirt on Apr 20, 2005 10:51 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

Not the player who will drive a team?..hmmmmmm
SOMEONE must have thought he WAS a player who would drive the team when they paid him instead of that MVP guy who plays for Baltimore.What's his name again?

by FabulousG on Apr 20, 2005 11:34 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Are you just ignorant on purpose?
THe A's knew what they were getting when they payed for CHavvy. And leadership was not one of them. Leadership does nto get you 10 million bucks does, averaging 30 homers and 100 RBI's and gold glove defense over your career does.
Kielty, rejuvenated by his new genetically created St.Pats Day/Oktoberfest, shows us why Billy and Ohad are geniuses.

by ohad on Apr 21, 2005 3:38 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

ohad, your headline, is, IMO
not very respectful. Sorry, but I always try to stand up against rude posts when I perceive them.

My point to the above posts is to remind that those pining "we should have kept Miggy instead" seem to have forgotten how bad a start to the season he had a couple years ago, pressing and trying too hard--his numbers were just as bad as Chavy's current ones, he looked just as bad, and it lasted more than 2 weeks (and he wound up having an excellent season overall).

But intentional ignorance and a short memory are subtly difference phenomena.

Nico

by Nico on Apr 21, 2005 7:34 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

I'm not giving up
on Chavvy ... he's just not performing right now.  He'll never be confused with the Bonds/Pujols set who go up there with a plan -- he's more of a see it, hit it guy, but he's not putting a good swing on anything.  I know he'll come around, but it's no fun waiting.

by Jeff in Seattle on Apr 20, 2005 10:55 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

I agree totally
with your fielding comment about Byrnes.  It should've been a one run single (that hit had single written all over it).  Instead, it was a 3 run double, which made the difference in the game.
"Put a Milo on him."
-Billy Beane

by kaweahkaweah on Apr 20, 2005 10:56 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

Love your tag
That was my fantasy football team name.

by Jeff in Seattle on Apr 20, 2005 10:57 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Thanks
I loved that section of the book.  I hope your team did well.
"Put a Milo on him."
-Billy Beane

by kaweahkaweah on Apr 20, 2005 11:00 PM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Byrnes.....
Byrnes could make 3 bad decisions like that every week this season..and STILL be better than "ZERO FOR APRIL" (kielty/thomas-as if no one could figure that one out)
 P.S.- I Was tossing wiffle balls to my 6 year old niece earlier today and was AMAZED how similar her swing is to Kielty's.

by FabulousG on Apr 20, 2005 11:37 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

Um no
3 bad decisions every week would equal how many runs scored against? I'm pretty sure in the end he'd be worth negative runs, i.e. he'd cause us to give up more runs than he produces. That's not better than even an 0-for-April.

by OaktownTribesman on Apr 21, 2005 6:45 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

Kielty took a walk
In a key situation. Thats somethingi you can't say about Byrnes.
Kielty, rejuvenated by his new genetically created St.Pats Day/Oktoberfest, shows us why Billy and Ohad are geniuses.

by ohad on Apr 21, 2005 6:50 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

I bet your niece
was a better fielder than Byrnes, too.
"Put a Milo on him."
-Billy Beane

by kaweahkaweah on Apr 21, 2005 7:12 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

almost forgot.....
I meant from the Right side...her swing is alot better than his lefty.

by FabulousG on Apr 20, 2005 11:40 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

Where in seattle?
I am a bay area transplant who has been in seattle for 1.5 years. I love the fact that M's fans will let you talk as much shit as you want.

I was up in the cheap CF seats for a while and there was a good showing of A's fans . . . in CF and all around Safeco. Way to show up.

by Josh on Apr 20, 2005 11:50 PM PDT reply actions   0 recs

West Seattle
Moved up from Alameda a few years ago.  

I was down the RF line last night and will be in the CF bleachers tonight with my AN tee on!

by Jeff in Seattle on Apr 21, 2005 9:41 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

I came up from Olympia...
...to see tonight's game (and proudly wore my AN ringer T-shirt over along the third-base side) and while much of the game was disappointing, there were still several positives I took from the evening.  I'll start with the negatives, though:
  • Chavvy does indeed look to be disoriented out there, both on defense (he's made the play on balls similar to Reed's grounder in the seventh more times than I can count.  Why he didn't this time is a mystery) and on offense (there's really nothing I can add about his woeful at-bat in the eighth, although I do think the ump hosed us on Villone's 3-1 pitch).  I can't say how to help the guy, as it could just be an early season malaise or something more entrenched, but we definitely need him to come around.
  • I was probably fifteen feet from Byrnes on Dobbs' liner in the seventh and yes, it was absolutely baffling for him to dive at that ball.  The Mariners fans sitting behind me kept chortling about how Byrnes was trying to emulate Superman and distressingly, I had to agree.  I couldn't help but think about how critical the two extra runs proved to be when we mounted our two-run response in the eighth and ninth.
  • Zito.  Really, what can I say?  When the guy was on (which was at least some of the time tonight) his curve was snapping, he was keeping the hitters off-balance, and he got the job done.  But when he was off, sheesh it was like a repeat of 2004.  I could see the right side of the strikezone pretty nicely from my seats and Zito was up far more than he should have been on far too many of the hitters.  He showed a nice knack for getting out of jams (save for Boone's grand slam in the first - my God did that deflate me pretty quickly), but all of those jams were ones that he himself put the team in.  I think the guy can have a decent season, but asking for excellence (or, if you prefer, ace work) seems a bit much.  And I say that at the same time that I say Zito's my favorite player.
As for the positives, well there were some nice ones:
  • Kotsay remains an absolute stud.  Watching the guy knock the ball around the park all night was a thrill all its own.  I have to agree with Blez's words from earlier in the week, that as much as I loved Ramon, this guy almost makes me ask "Ramon who?"  He's just an amazing player and it was great to watch him do his thing in person.
  • Huston did indeed lose the game, but I walked away more struck by his promise than disheartened by his performance.  When he was on, he was absolutely filthy, particularly his strikeout of Sexson.  The hits off of him were indeed nothing but little bloops that fell in, with nary a hard knock among them.  I still want us to progress slowly with the kid, but for those of you who haven't seen him in person, rest assured he's got the goods.
  • Finally, a more personal note.  I know this isn't directly related to the game, but I still thought AN would like to hear it.  Even if our guys can be maddening on the field, they're absolutely some of the nicest, most pleasant players I've come across.  I was hanging out around the A's dugout an hour before the game and made chit-chat with several of them and was struck by their own good spirits.  Eventually, Huston and Rich Harden came down from a small workout in left field and proceeded to sign for everyone in the immediate vicinity.  I myself now have a ball bearing Huston's autograph underneath the lower stitching with Rich's above the top.  Both guys were incredibly cool, with Rich smiling and thanking me when I told him what a thrill it was to watch him deal last Saturday against the Camarillo Angels.  Something tells me he'll be just as good tomorrow night.  I certainly hope so, at any rate (as I have tickets for that game too).
My apologies if this seems like an excessively long comment, I just wanted to get it out there, without starting a new diary.
In God We Trust... All Others Must Show Data

by Wes7 on Apr 21, 2005 1:21 AM PDT reply actions   0 recs

Really good post, IMO
Thanks for contributing.
Nico

by Nico on Apr 21, 2005 7:36 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

so far, no surprises:
  1. this team is a .500 team, maybe 3-4 games above, but not by much. over the past 4-5 years i'd wakeup and go straight to the tv for the a's score. if they won i'd have a great day, if the a's lost don't speak to me for at least the morning. not this year though-i just expect a very inconsistent year that will offer some excitment, some surprises, some maturing by the rookies plus about 79-82 losses. i can live with that in '05. funny enough, a .500 year MIGHT win the ALW in '05!
  2. eric's performance isn't surprising- he  always starts out slow. moving him somewhere else than the three hole is not acceptable in my eyes. god, some people on the blog were argueing chavy be in the clean up spot! just like eric doesn't belong in the 4th spot, he also doesn't belong in the 5-6 slots either. just leave eric in the third hole and the a's will need to live with him there. afterall, when a team pays a hitter 11 mil, that player BETTER be the stud! like it or not, eric is that guy on the a's.
  3. zito is being zito. inconsistent and neurotic is the best way to discribe zito. hopefully he starts to pitch better because beane will need to trade him by august. there is no way the a's will pick up his 8.5 mil '06 option. this is zito's last year in a a's uni, i can wait it out.
  4. byrnes is being byrnes. it was very unfortunate that beane over played his hand on this guy. he had teams in dec-feb looking to trade for this guy and beane tried to squeeze every last drop out of byrnes to get a better prospect/player. this was a mistake. now, byrnes is back to his more natural pre '04 form of offering very little offensively and a defensive nightmare. again, byrnes will-maybe-be traded
(i think this more difficult now). i can out wait byrnes being an athletic better than he can go opposite field on a slide away.      
"Hey Ho Let's Go!"- The 2005 A's, kickin' some ass.

by bigelephant on Apr 21, 2005 6:03 AM PDT reply actions   0 recs

If Money wasn't an issue
Would you want Zito to stay?
Kielty, rejuvenated by his new genetically created St.Pats Day/Oktoberfest, shows us why Billy and Ohad are geniuses.

by ohad on Apr 21, 2005 6:50 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

trade offs
That's a pretty tough question, isn't it? If Zito were free, and the roster was infinite, I'd keep him in a heartbeat. If Zito were free but we still had only a 25-man roster, than I would only keep him if I had no one better to replace him. If he costs less but still something, one has to determine whether there is anything better available for similar or less money.

by el generico on Apr 21, 2005 8:03 AM PDT up reply actions   0 recs

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