Daily Link Dump 8/6/05

by sarajune13 on Aug 6, 2005 7:20 AM PDT

Rather than complain about getting the quick hook, Kirk Saarloos lauds the bullpen for giving the A's a chance to win:

"If you are going to win a game like that, you have to have what we did, which was an absolutely phenomenal bullpen.""

Yet another classy, team-centric comment from a member of the A's.

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Dan Meyer update

After a so-so start last night (5 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 4 Ks, 2 BBs), the Sac Bee is reporting that Dan Meyer is making some foward progress since he came off the DL.

With Kennedy at hand to fill in if Saarloos stumbles, it's nice to know that there's no urgent need for Meyer to immediately find himself again. Hopefully he'll keep coming along slowly and be ready to go next spring.

by sarajune13 on Aug 6, 2005 7:51 AM PDT reply actions

River Cats game televised tonight

Not only locally, but milb.com is offering a free video broadcast of it as well.

The game starts at 7:30 pm PST.

by sarajune13 on Aug 6, 2005 7:53 AM PDT reply actions

Tonight's River Cats game...

...is on Fox Sports Bay Area at 7:30pm tonight.

Anybody know who is starting for the River Cats? I (and probably several others) plan on checking out this game and would like to know. Thanks in advance.

by uci anteater on Aug 6, 2005 12:54 PM PDT up reply actions

Mike Ziegler

is starting for Sac. He has a 5-3 record and a 5.21 ERA. He's kinda been a filler player in the A's system since he was drafted in 2000.

The Albuquerque Isotopes (Marlins affiliate) oppose with Donovan Osborne, who has a 3-0 record and a 4.75 ERA.

by sarajune13 on Aug 6, 2005 2:33 PM PDT up reply actions

thanks...

i was hoping it would be Juan Cruz. oh well.

by uci anteater on Aug 6, 2005 3:14 PM PDT up reply actions

Some generic links:

AP wrapup of yesterday's game:
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=250805107
AP preview of today's game:
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/preview?gameId=250806107

SF Chronicle wrapup:
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2005/08/06/SPG5CE459D1.DTL&type=as
"With a 5-4 comeback victory over the Royals, Oakland became the first team since the 1965 Pirates to go from 15 games under .500 to 15 games over . 500 in the same season."

SF Chronicle News and Notes:
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2005/08/06/SPGRQE33EG1.DTL&type=as
"Along with his relatives, Johnson had some supporters on hand wearing Nebraska shirts. He said he made sure to hand out balls to all those wearing Cornhusker red."

Fearing Mecir since 2000.

by salb918 on Aug 6, 2005 10:13 AM PDT reply actions

What a punk.

I bought my UNL blanket to like six games in a row trying to get it signed, and he never even stopped to look at it. At one point I was maybe six feet away from him but he just ran off into the dugout. GRRRRR. Finally I stopped bringing it to games because people always think it's either a Red Sox or Angels blanket.

by Melody on Aug 7, 2005 12:51 AM PDT up reply actions

Root for A's: Support America

http://www.insidebayarea.com/sports/ci_2919490

IF YOU are one for truth, justice and American ingenuity, you have to be rooting for the Oakland A's to make the playoffs and for the Yankees to fall short.

The A's have officially built a better mousetrap -- for far less money, I might add -- and have provided the market with a much more appealing product.

The Yankees bring to mind a bunch of fat, washed-up executives, resting on their laurels. The A's are Jobs and Wozniak, put together in a humble garage somewhere; the Yankees an obsolete factory in Flint, Mich., about to be closed.

by louismg on Aug 6, 2005 10:41 AM PDT reply actions

Lowe

Derek Lowe is a total scumbag
http://thetrack.bostonherald.com/moreTrack/view.bg?articleid=96376&format=text
Who would have guessed that?

"I can't believe they named someone like Hubert Humphrey after such a dump." - Billy Martin

by andeux on Aug 6, 2005 11:17 AM PDT reply actions

well in fairness

we do only know her side of the story. But if he's ditching his kids then yes, he's a scumbag

"He threw me a pitch I'd never seen before, Sexson said. The umpire asked me what it was, and I said, 'I don't know.' This guy throws ghost pitches.''

by Alien @ Athletics Nation on Aug 6, 2005 12:51 PM PDT up reply actions

Lance Armstrong?

by LowcountryJoe on Aug 6, 2005 2:19 PM PDT up reply actions

what does this have to do with

baseball? or the a's? This is not the National Sports Tabloids. I jst do not think this site should be a gossip column.
Go A's

A hot dog at the ball park is better than steak at the Ritz. --Humphrey Bogart

by West Bay A s Fan on Aug 6, 2005 1:23 PM PDT reply actions

Nate Silver Chat Transcript:

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/chat/chat.php?chatId=134

Mostly the usual stuff, but with this gem:

Gavin (San Francisco): Has there been any analysis on the predictive value of line drive %? For example, are players with low BABIP but high line drive % more likely to see their BABIP (or other stats) increase than those with low line drive%? Or the Voros angle: are pitchers able to control line drive % better than BABIP?

Nate Silver: It's tough to do robust work in this area because the data reliability just isn't there. Some systems use two categories - groundballs and flyballs - while others use four - groundballs, flyballs, line drives, and pop-ups. And just what makes something a line drive versus a flyball, or a pop-up versus a flyball, is pretty subjective.

With that said, I have seen some work that suggests that inducing pop-ups is a skill, and that guys like Barry Zito who are very good at inducing pop-ups should pretty consistently have BABIPs lower than the league average.

Extremely germane to Blez's discussion of Z's consistently low BABIPs. Anybody think one of Zito's pitches is the root of all the popups? I'm not very good at analyzing fastball vs change vs curve, etc. Does anyone else have any insight as to what pitch(es) Zito induces popups on?

Fearing Mecir since 2000.

by salb918 on Aug 6, 2005 2:09 PM PDT reply actions

Baseball America - Best Major League Tools

This is a subscriber-only article. Per a poll of managers, the A's place among the AL's best in a few areas:

Best Hit-and-Run Artist - Jason Kendall takes 2nd
Best Curveball - Zito
Best Defensive 3B - Chavvy
Best Defensive OF - Kots is 3rd behind Ichiro and Torri Hunter

I really hope that last one is an indication that this year Kots will finally get the Gold Glove he so surely deserves. If so, I think we may have to thank the Yankees a little bit -- their desperate pursuit of a CF sure seemed to help elevate awareness of his prowess in the national spotlight.

by sarajune13 on Aug 6, 2005 2:44 PM PDT reply actions

i'm not a fan of small ball

but the a's need to hit and run with kendall batting more often.

If I weren't playing baseball, I'd be... "in the Ultimate Fighting Championship." -Rich Harden

by xbhaskarx on Aug 6, 2005 2:53 PM PDT up reply actions

and just think...

if they did, they might play .850 ball the rest of the way!

Just teasing-- it sure is hard to fault with much of anything these days.

oaktoon

by oaktoon on Aug 7, 2005 2:18 AM PDT up reply actions

NY Times..Giambi

Pretty decent piece on G-man. I still have a soft spot for the bastard.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/07/sports/baseball/07giambi.html?hp

"Don't you play the flute, Huddy?"

by capper3 on Aug 6, 2005 8:59 PM PDT reply actions

First Place!

D-Rays sink the Angels!

First Place in the AL West! ...A'smA's-zing!

by A s Eh on Aug 6, 2005 10:12 PM PDT reply actions

Old Picture

But it still brings a smile to my face.

Kendall, as we all know, never smiles.

I wonder how much happier Kotsay and Kendall are to be with a team like the A's. Kotsay showed his appreciation (for being appreciated) by signing a below-market contract extension (with the Yanks in the hunt for a center fielder next year, who knows how much he could've signed for). Kendall has had to languish in a poorly-run organization for years, and had to bear the brunt of the blame for their ineptitude because of his "albatross" of a contract "hindering" their ability to put together a competitive team. Kendall has been a perennial All-Star for years, but now has a chance to do what he wanted to do the entire time, which is win the World Series.

by Inquisitor on Aug 7, 2005 6:50 AM PDT reply actions