Daily Link Dumperoo: September 6, 2005

by kaweahkaweah on Sep 6, 2005 9:24 AM PDT

Let's start today off with something positive. Jason Giambi and A's players donated money to help Wash's family, who have been displaced by Katrina:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=2151772

"'That was very nice,' Washington said of the players' support. 'Now, instead of looking at one apartment, we can get a couple. That was awesome. It's been a long time since I dropped tears, I never expected anything like this.'"

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Uh...

Can anyone find a link to the story that says the A's are a lock to win the World Series because all the other teams quit? No? :) Darn.

My hornfans quote of the week:
"Anyone know if [Huston] has an intro song yet, and if so what it is?"

From TPE:
"he has one, but if a mortal tries to listen to it, it will cause your head to explode"

by Jennifer on Sep 6, 2005 9:52 AM PDT reply actions

I laughed so hard :)

I'm surprised we don't spontaneously combust just for looking at him.

"How much room do I have to cover out here?" -- Kotsay

by Sharon on Sep 6, 2005 9:59 AM PDT up reply actions

How does he even get through the day?

If I was that hot I'd never stop looking at myself in the mirror... naked.

by Jennifer on Sep 6, 2005 10:20 AM PDT up reply actions

but

would he spontaneously combust?

Or maybe the mirror?

"How much room do I have to cover out here?" -- Kotsay

by Sharon on Sep 6, 2005 10:41 AM PDT up reply actions

I bet he would combust..

à la Crosby in the hyperbaric chamber.

"Damn! Look at me. I too sexy for my--"

Someone smart needs to figure out how to bottle his hotness and use it as an alternative energy source.

by Jennifer on Sep 6, 2005 10:58 AM PDT up reply actions

LOL

"Someone smart needs to figure out how to bottle his hotness and use it as an alternative energy source"

That is one of the funniest AN quotes I've seen!

This whole post is really funny.

Street is a friggin physical marvel... -Mychael Urban

by rookieoftheyear on Sep 6, 2005 11:11 AM PDT up reply actions

Oh man. That cracked me up.

The hornsfans quotes are amazing.

"While I was there, it didn't always seem perfect, but when I look back on it I just might think it was perfect." --Eric Byrnes

by Kyli on Sep 6, 2005 10:58 AM PDT up reply actions

Hey Kyli

I love your signature. Where did you get the Byrnes quote?

I have faith.

by BillybUcko on Sep 6, 2005 11:30 AM PDT up reply actions

Thanks!

I got it from here, at the bottom of the article.

"While I was there, it didn't always seem perfect, but when I look back on it I just might think it was perfect." --Eric Byrnes

by Kyli on Sep 6, 2005 12:33 PM PDT up reply actions

Blanton's quite frustrated.

I didn't realize how far they'd go on about it when I read the article... this sort of reporting tends to make me a little queasy; give me straight stats and analysis, or give me fluff! Maybe it's just too fresh. The sections in Moneyball about BB bashing stuff didn't have the same effect.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2005/09/06/SPG2DEHRHI1.DTL&type=a s

by diabolicslugs on Sep 6, 2005 12:10 PM PDT reply actions

when Macha kicked that door in,

Blanton came out right away, and had a hidden smirk but didn't acknowledge Macha for his 'help'.

Papa and Gwynn, ESPN2 analysts for the day (I must admit, I love hearing Papa talk A's. He's a good fan and that smooth delivery of his sounds like butter next to Hank G's wet shag carpet delivery), talked about how Blanton was letting loose in the bathroom and that Macha kicked the door in because he "must have heard enough."

Shortly after it was fed to them that the door was stuck and Macha had to kick it open to get him out...

Papa: "Tony, do you believe that?"
Gwynn: "What, aren't they all one big happy family down there, 162 games a year?" (sic)

Good stuff anyway. I like to see some emotion out of Macha, even if purely out of frustration.

by popcornjames on Sep 6, 2005 1:33 PM PDT up reply actions

Amusing injuries

ESPN article posted in honor of the 10th anniversary of Cal Ripken's consecutive games streak:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=stark_jayson&id=2153049

A Beane in the hand is worth $60M in payroll

by jeepers on Sep 6, 2005 12:34 PM PDT reply actions

Article A.K.A.

Stupid Human Tricks!!

"We play our best ball when we're goofing around and having a good time" ~Bobby Crosby

by BobbyCrosbysGirl on Sep 6, 2005 12:45 PM PDT up reply actions

My favorite...

"Former Padres malingerer Chris Brown missed a game with a strained eyelid."

What's worse, a malingerer or a lollygagger?

"HRs by second basemen are sexy. They're rare and exotic." -Kyli

by McFood on Sep 6, 2005 4:12 PM PDT up reply actions

managers and pitchers

Lloyd McClendon fired in Pittsburgh:
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2153470
This should please those who hate Macha, as the rumors are that Ken wants to manage his hometown Pirates. I like Macha more than most here, but also think he's easily replaceable; things shouldn't change much next year whether the manager is Macha, Geren, or someone else.

Derek Zumsteg of USS Mariner completed his study of injuries to pitching prospects over the last decade.
http://ussmariner.com/?p=2958
As expected, his Mariners are near the top. Also as expected, the A's are at the bottom with zero serious elbow or shoulder injuries to those pitchers included in the study. Every other franchise had at least two. There is some question as to whether the data is really statistically significant, but I'd still urge everyone to remember these numbers the next time they get mad at the A's for "babying" their young pitchers.

No Crosby and no Harden make AN something something.

by andeux on Sep 6, 2005 2:00 PM PDT reply actions

very interesting

about the A's and their prospects. This year's injuries to Harden and Zito made me wonder if we were doing something counterproductive, but I guess our track record is quite strong.

by Apricot on Sep 6, 2005 2:06 PM PDT up reply actions

arm injuries

Note that the study only included arm injuries, so I don't think Hudson or Harden's obliques, Zito's ribs, or Mulder's hip would be counted. The study only goes through 2004, so I'm not sure if Dan Meyer's problems this year would ruin our perfect record - he missed a fair amount of time, but hasn't needed surgery.

Pitchers' health is still very poorly understood, and it's certainly possible that the kind of routines or mechanics that help avoid major arm injuries lead to compensating problems elsewhere in the body, but I think most of us would agree that the latter is still preferable to one of our aces missing a year or two following Tommy John surgery.

No Crosby and no Harden make AN something something.

by andeux on Sep 6, 2005 2:28 PM PDT up reply actions

read comment 51 in that thread

I didn't pay enough attention to each game in the minors to know about an eight man tandem starting rotation. Have other teams done this...and why would the A's stop if it was effective?

I recall Zach at EIO mentioning something about Dallas Braden's high pitch count in a game for Stockton this year and it piqued my interest b/c I was sure that the A's kept all of their young starters on a very strict pitch count.

I hope that they haven't strayed far from what's been a very effective system for the organization.

"How much room do I have to cover out here?" -- Kotsay

by Sharon on Sep 6, 2005 3:36 PM PDT up reply actions

Buck promoted again

The Kane County Cougars missed the playoffs, but Travis Buck and pitcher Ryan Ford will join Stockton for their playoffs:
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/beaconnews/sports/AU06_COUGS_S1.asp
I'm guessing that Buck will replace Danny Putnam, who was rumored to be joining Midland as a replacement for André Ethier, but I haven't found confirmation of that move yet.

No Crosby and no Harden make AN something something.

by andeux on Sep 6, 2005 2:33 PM PDT reply actions

Wow!

I'm so excited for Travis. :)

Street is a friggin physical marvel... -Mychael Urban

by rookieoftheyear on Sep 6, 2005 4:37 PM PDT up reply actions

OMG.

Be afraid, Travis... be veryafraid... mwahahahahaha

Oh no! Run! It's the Internet People! -monkeyball :P

by GreenNGoldGirl on Sep 6, 2005 6:43 PM PDT up reply actions

Make me proud. :P

I'll mail you some more tranquilizer darts.

by Jennifer on Sep 6, 2005 7:39 PM PDT up reply actions

What about Pennington?

An Optimist belives there is a light at the end of the tunnel. A Pessimist knows there isn't.

by Zonis on Sep 6, 2005 7:35 PM PDT up reply actions

Gotta love the top 3 rookies

Hey, it's nice to have some good news around here. I still feel good about this year, but this makes me realize how good things look for 2006 and beyond:

Athletics RHP Blanton named AL Rookie of Month

September 6, 2005
NEW YORK (Ticker) - A series of stingy outings in August resulted in Oakland Athletics righthander Joe Blanton being named the American League Rookie of the Month on Tuesday.

The 24-year old Blanton yielded just six runs in 46 innings for a league-leading 1.17 ERA for the month. He posted a 3-1 mark with 36 strikeouts in seven starts.

Blanton, who also won the award in June, recorded his first career complete game on August 31, when he struck out 10 batters in a 2-1 loss to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Oakland teammates Huston Street and Dan Johnson were second and third in the balloting. Seattle pitcher Felix Hernandez was fourth.

by kcfries on Sep 6, 2005 3:58 PM PDT reply actions