I think Macha should go.

There ain't a big trade on the horizon, unless beane gives up at some point and trades Zito... or unless he can find someone to take Crosby, but then who would play SS??

You can;t fire the players.. but somehow..someway a spark must be lit.

I find his lineup tinkering annoying and a contributing factor to the team's poor hitting;

and his pitching decisions increasingly strange-- like tonight. Sure he's working with a AAA bullpen-- but he's exacerbating the problem.

I think BB has to pull the trigger on this one soon-- this is too good of a team to be languishing ever closer to last place.

That reguardless of the outcome of a game, despite burying my face in my hands after seeing the score, Blez has the amazing ability to make it all seem ok.  Theres hope at the end of every single one of your posts Blez and I thank you for that.  Im going to put on my Athletics cap now, and march out into the rain.

1. DJ flied out to DeJesus -- yes, DeJesus, as in the CF DeJesus. so, thats an improvement.
2. Crosby made contact not once, but twice. looks to me like his eye is getting better, which means he's right in line with the cosmos and it is really, in fact, the tail-end of may.
3. FT homered. which is all we can ask from him.
   

I dont think anyone is sucking up to anyone. Its so easy, and I know this from the time I've put into journalism, to lash out in frustration, anger or disappointment.  I have come across many who constantly bash players in the paper for what they did or didnt do.  The same rule applies here.  We can all sit here and sulk and bash Macha or any of the Athletics players for that matter, but where does that get us? Anyone one can yell and scream that the sky is falling (that goes for you) but I have more respect for those who look up to the sky before joining the panic bandwagon.

Well, Byrnes extended his hitting streak to 12 games with two homers, Rheinecker pitched 8 1/3 shutout innings and we lost to the Royals....'nuff said.

you are genuinely excited at the thought of the return of Jay Witasick.  Well, maybe "excited" is too strong a word.  But I'm relieved.

I said it last night.  I'll repeat it tonight.

Do not take the Texas Rangers lightly.

On Fireworks Night?  Impossible!!

Once again if we have a healthy bullpen that's a different game. Haren may not have to go out for the seventh, someone like Kennedy and Duke don't give up what Kiesler and Karsay do, and then Swish hits a walk off in the bottom of the 9th. When these guys get back, we'll take off like we did a year ago tonight.

4 ER against one of the worst teams in the history of the game?

this team is a disaster

I'm halfway around the world from the Bay Area right now and I won't be back until July. By the time I get there, the A's ought to be back in business. They'd better be.

They're hanging in there. They're not 15 games behind the next team. The Mariners and the Angels aren't doing so well either. The A's just need to keep within reach of the Rangers until the cavalry arrives. Really, they could be doing much worse considering the eviscerated bullpen.

hypothetical all-time active line-up. You'd replace with Hernandez and Ellis (or even Gitner at this point).

from a popular sitcom:

It's like there's rock bottom, then 50 feet of crap, and then the A's.

That's how it feels sometimes. I just keep telling myself: "this is the Rivercats staff, this is the Rivercats staff, this is..."

When Harden, Duke, Kennedy and Witasick return, the entire pen will be transformed and all these average-at-best relievers can go back down to the minors where they belong.

Of course, none of that eases my misery at watching the Royals, THE ROYALS!!!, dominate our hitters all night long. I mean, did we ever get the leadoff man on base? I know the Royals did more often than not. But let's address one drunken-stupor-inducing aspect of the team at a time. F'n May.

...that your proctologist isn't a hot, blonde,  27-year-old Swedish woman?

i really mean it this time.  I have lost my love for the team.  No longer do I get all riled up over a game and that sucks.  One of the best things about summer is baseball and the A's are sucking badly.  I willo have to watch them from afar as I can't take the pain.  Please make it stop, boys

From the Hardball Times

Justin Duchscherer (RHP, OAK)
A couple of weeks ago, the news that Duchscherer had some minor soreness in his pitching elbow was met with little concern around the A's. That false hope is likely to change with the latest news.

While doing some rehab work on his pitching forearm and elbow, he felt pain in his pitching elbow. This was just some lightweight work with his wrist, and his elbow started barking at him. This suggests the main tendon in his forearm is either the source of the pain or it is rubbing up against the painful area in his pitching elbow. He underwent an MRI on the elbow, but the cause of the pain was not discovered conclusively. This prevents the medical staff from treating it with a cortisone injection until they know the exact cause.

The A's haven't provided any additional information, but this latest report hints that he's back at square one and a quick 15-day DL stint is a fleeting wish. It's not out of the question this setback will push his return to sometime after the All-Star break, perhaps late in July.

Looks pretty rock bottom to me.

OTOH, nowhere else to go but up.

but my brain cannot help but think it is the same old story for our beloved A's. I know, I know, last May we were 17-32 and went on a 71-42 roll to finish the season. However, we finished...SECOND. The truth is that this team has little sense of urgency (as expressed my many of you) because the supposed cavalry of Harden, Loaiza, Bradley, Duch, Witasik, and Kennedy are due back soon.
However, as much as I hate to say it, it would be half-a-miracle to get Harden back at full strength for half of the remainder of the season. I love the guy, but he is the baseball version of Grant Hill. Loaiza? The guy needs to stop spending time on his side burns and spend more on getting his velocity back. I still love the Bradley trade, but seeing Andre Ethier hit .303 in his first 65 at-bats with the Dodgers makes me cringe. As for the 3 bullpen guys, sure there presence is solid, but it is hard to get too happy when our offense only scores on solo shots and weak grounders with a runner on third. Take a look at our offensive "leaders" through today:

Swisher- .303
Kotsay- .281
Chavez- .279
Kendall- .265
Payton .252

What does it say when Jason friekin' Kendall has your 4th highest batting average? Or, when Jay Pay is fifth at .252?!?
Bottom line is that this time last year Chavy went crazy and gave the team a lashing after a loss in Atlanta. He felt the sense of urgency based on the mediocre performance from a young team. My fear is that this years urgency is lacking based on the comfort of knowing that the cavalry is due back soon, which it is...But, will the cavalry be enough?