ANtics - Episode VI: The Burst to First
With "The Byrnes Curse" lifted, the up again, down again Oakland A's have catapulted their way into first place, thanks to solid pitching, power hitting, and strategic bribes to individual Devil Rays players (unfounded rumor!). In today's game, we saw home runs, not from Chavez and Crosby, but from less likely heroes, Hatteberg, Scutaro and Ellis. Which brings up a good question - who's been spiking Mark's Wheaties?
Are these the real 2005 Oakland A's? Or was the April/May team more on par with expectations? The national media, and often, even those of us on AN, can sway to and fro with each game. A quick snapshot below, in this week's ANtics!
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After all...
Great job, as usual!
Thanks
3.60
360, isnt that a fitting number for what our pitching has gone through dating back to last season? right back to where it started, dominating the American League :)
by Snuffaluffagus on Aug 28, 2005 4:17 PM PDT reply actions
Thanks!
by BobbyCrosbysGirl on Aug 28, 2005 5:31 PM PDT reply actions
You're Absolutely Welcome
I am happy to borrow from you and jlaff, and the rest of the talented crew here at AN. (With your permission)
No Problem!
by BobbyCrosbysGirl on Aug 28, 2005 5:42 PM PDT up reply actions
ESPN should give Louis a check for...
So If I've Used Morgan Twice In the ANtics...
Things like this are why I love AN
oh and:
FIRST PLACE!!!!!!!!!!!!! YEAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!
That is all.
by Athletics fan and runner on Aug 28, 2005 7:27 PM PDT reply actions
My take on this team
Remember the big picture:
Since the AS break, this team is 29-13. That's nearly .700 ball.
Since the Crosby turnaround, they are 56-24. That's .700 ball over one game short of a half season.
Compared to their 4 competitors (plus Chicago) for a postseason berth, they have:
- better starting pitching;
- better defense;
- and while they don't have the explosiveness of the offenses in either Boston or New York, the fact is they have a deep group of hitters who can hurt you from almost any position in the lineup. 46 runs in the last 5 games shows that it was the ten games before that that were the aberration-- this is still a very good offense.
These other teams all have flaws that are more significant than ours-- that's why the A's have outplayed them all by a wide margin over the past three months.
Now- this week-- the A's can take a huge step toward sealing the deal. If they win both of the upcoming series they will return to being clear favorites to win the division or the wild card. They will have a very good chance to gain the #2 record-- which will mean no Chicago in the first round, but will also mean home field advantage.
Are there issues? sure. Kendall, Kotsay and Hatteberg are still question marks offensively. The bullpen has shown a few frays lately. And Harden, of course.
But our issues and worries are much less bothersome than everyone else's. The next month should be fun. But it's the one after that that I'm really salivating over.
Good teams beat the teams they're supposed to ...
One set for ...
Boston + NY + Chicago + Cleveland + Minnesota + Fullerton Angels of Palos Verdes
and everyone else ...
Great stats are one thing, but if there's a severe drop-off against playoff-talent teams, that might just mean another first-round exit.
here they are
A's hitting against all other AL teams pitching
both sorted by OPS.
by green star oakland on Aug 28, 2005 11:16 PM PDT up reply actions
Nice Stats
Of the playoff contenders...
(Danger Zone)
Yankees: 5-1 vs. Oakland
Boston: 4-2 vs. Oakland
Indians: 4-2 vs. Oakland
(Preferred Opponents)
LAA: 5-7 vs. Oakland
Chicago: 2-7 vs. Oakland
We Played the Yanks and Boston
Remember??
No Harden; Blanton and haren struggling. Bullpen a mess.
Not saying those two teams don't have very strong offenses, but they're hardly superteams. A's are better than both of them right now.
94 wins enough?
They seem to bear out my concerns ... Out of the 6 other teams duking it out for playoff spots, we only have a better OPS vs against the Chisox and Twinkies. Our matchup against NY almost seems absurdly bad. Granted, we'll have a better sample size after this weekend's series, but still, both they and Boston have absurdly high stats against us.
Out of our final 32 games, 20 are against these 6 teams, and Texas(6) and Seattle(6) aren't going to roll over against us.
I would say we need to go at least 12-8 (4 series wins out of 6) vs. contenders and 8-4 (sweep all 4 series)vs TexSea to nail down a spot. And I still think it'll take 96 wins to get win the Wild Card ...
Prospective matchups
Slugfest
Boston .796 OPS
A's .768 OPS
Let's see how it looks after the upcoming series ..
NY .861
A's .579
We 'own' them
Chicago .651
A's .796
Pitcher's Duels
LA .641
A's .623
Cleveland .760
A's .693
Minnesota has a weak team this year.
Minn .529
A's .600
for the last time
These are so funny!
I loved the Joe Morgan cameo, but after
I got a kick out of Brantley saying LAAAAA pen is more composed! Huh? Last I checked it was their pen that blew a 4-0 lead late and of course their closer allowed us to win in a way I never thought possible.
Ok, I am done venting, thank you!!!
He also said....
Melhuse
Hatteberg
Ellis
Scutaro
Crosby
Chavez
Swisher
Payton
Kotsay
Kielty
Harden
Zito
Haren
Rincon
Calero
Duchscherer
But who's counting??
Nice birthday present for me!
by A'sfansince1970 on Aug 29, 2005 6:42 AM PDT reply actions

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