The walks are killing us

I agree completely with what has been said thus far about Sunday's game and the entire series in Texas - to a point. Yes, we are banged up. Yes, the fact that we were competitive in all seven of the games on the raod trip despite our injuries is reason for optimism once we get healthy. But if we don't stop putting free runners on the base paths via the base on balls, we're never going to get out of this rut. Sunday was a case in point. If Saarloos doesn't walk Wilkerson - one of the easier outs in the tough Texas lineup - in the 2nd, Botts' home run nets just two runs. And sure, you can chalk Kinsler's game-winning, broken bat dribbler up to bad luck. But to a certain degree, you create your own luck. Had Saarloos not walked both Wilkerson AND Botts previously in that inning, Kinsler deosn't even bat. Take away the walks, and the A's win Sunday. And maybe Friday. And probably Thursday as well. Forget about defaulting into a mode where we look for moral victories in the midst of a plague of injuries. Even with the DL as long as it is, we are still good enough to beat the best teams in the league if we do the little things right - like not walking guys all the dang time.