Take your protein pills and put your helmets on

by LowcountryJoe on Sep 16, 2006 6:45 PM PDT

That's right, as in: "commencing countdown [magic numbers] on." Hat tip to baseballgirl. Look, AN [and various lurking Angels' fans - to include the alias NoWeWont], the fat lady just sang and the facial diaper holding back the shit-talk has just come off...the Athletics' magic number is at ten and it is less than half as much as the 21 that the LAAofAs own. Deal with it Rally Monkees! Yes, it is weird, but magic numbers can be calculated for the non-first place teams...you will notice, though, that the magic number in those cases will be larger than the number of games that they have remaining to play.

I know it seems comical for me to even post it and I know that it doesn't seem like a big deal or impressive, but did you know, even with all the non head-to-head games left to play -- that is: games that will be played by the Athletics and Angels against the rest of the league, each of which representing an opportunity for the Athletics to reduce their magic number -- the Angels cannot let Oakland win five games (or more) when they face each other? That's no matter how poorly the Athletics play or how well the Angels play in those other non head-to-head games...the Angels, as it stands right now and in spite of everything else, HAVE to win at least two games from the Athletics in their seven remaining games. Think about the a little while, my fellow Major Toms, as you're floating in your tin cans.

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I'm not sure what you just said

but as I write this the Angels are down 8-3 in the 7th inning to Texas and if they lose, the magic number is 9 for the A's. If the A's can win 3 of the next 5 then the worst the A's will be is a magic # of 6 when they face the Angels. If the A's can't win 3 of the 7 games they have to play against the Angels then they don't deserve to win anyway.
One good thing going for the Angels is that they have two days off next week so can set their rotation for the 3 games in Oakland.

by china bob on Sep 16, 2006 7:08 PM PDT reply actions

To simplify

If the Athletics lose every single game that they will play in which their opponent is not the Angels and if the Angels won all of their remaining games that they play against teams not named the Athletics, the Angels would still have to win two games against our team. In other words, no matter what happens from here on out, the Angels, as it stands right now, as I'm writing this, have to go at least 2-5 against the Athletics.

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by LowcountryJoe on Sep 16, 2006 7:18 PM PDT up reply actions

Can you hear me, China Bob?

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by LowcountryJoe on Sep 16, 2006 7:22 PM PDT up reply actions

Not over

The Angels pitching recently has been outstanding. They still have seven games against us and those will be seven tough games. I will not rest easy until that magic number is 0.

by AlBowe on Sep 16, 2006 7:25 PM PDT reply actions

AlBowe? Shucks! too bad you're not David Bowie.

Look, this thing is John 19:30ed. I'm gonna be resting easy on this one. If you choose not to, fine. How 'bout this: you can do the worrying for the both of us; cool?

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by LowcountryJoe on Sep 16, 2006 7:41 PM PDT up reply actions

I only wish I was as cool s LCJ

with his arrogance and pseudo-intellectual approch to things.

I like the A's chances too, but as the last two Septembers and the the 2000-2003 post-season experiences have proven, nothing is certain.

by AlBowe on Sep 16, 2006 8:29 PM PDT up reply actions

I'm resting easy.....

the Angels can't catch.

by BleacherDave on Sep 16, 2006 10:11 PM PDT up reply actions

I basically agree that

the Angels can't catch us in the standings. I totally agree that the Angels can't catch.

I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal

by Nico on Sep 16, 2006 10:17 PM PDT up reply actions

Casey Kotchman disagrees.

"The first night, we were right there," Bradley said. "All we needed was a couple of touchdowns, and we would have had them."

by jeepers on Sep 16, 2006 10:19 PM PDT up reply actions

Shame he's not...

Casey Catch-man, isn't it?

"I smell like a meadow." - Yuniesky Betancourt

by Ozzz on Sep 17, 2006 9:27 AM PDT up reply actions

I'm with Country Joe

Magic Number at 9 with 16 games to go.

Let the Angels pitch all they want, A's have to go 9 and 7 no MATTER what the angels do.

They are done. Stick a fork in them.

There is no such thing as a jinx. We can celebrate all we want. It will NOT affect the outcome of the season.

Alchemy doesn't exist. Witches are not magical, etc. etc. etc.

by The Hypocrite on Sep 16, 2006 8:10 PM PDT up reply actions

i'ii say this LCJoe

if, and it looks like they will, the angels lose tonite that'ii make it 6 games. the a's have 4 against CLE who they are 3-2 against this yr and 3 against SEA, who the a's can't seem to lose to. what this all says to me is that the a's have a very very very very good shot at making the playoffs this year.

:-)

"The Matt Watson/Chiba Lotte Marines Fan Club"-Through Sept 13th: GMS:61,AVG:.282,OBP:.366,SLG:.429, doubles:11, homers:5, RBI:20

by bigelephant on Sep 16, 2006 7:48 PM PDT reply actions

You say, "very very very very good"

And I say it's in the bag. tə-mâ'tô/tə-mä'tô

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by LowcountryJoe on Sep 16, 2006 7:56 PM PDT up reply actions

"NoWeWont"

Good stuff.

by mikeA on Sep 16, 2006 8:08 PM PDT reply actions

Yes It Was

And thank you for not only noticing but for giving me a pat on the back with your reply.

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by LowcountryJoe on Sep 16, 2006 8:13 PM PDT up reply actions

I like the A's chances, big-time,

but not because "Now, the Angels have to win 2 out of 7 against us." They can do that. They will do that.

I'm more excited about the fact that the Angels will probably have to win 6 out of 7 against us, and I doubt they can do that.

I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal

by Nico on Sep 16, 2006 8:11 PM PDT reply actions

My thinking exactly.

If the A's cannot beat LA at least 2 times in 7 then they don't deserve to win anyway. I don't have the exact number but am fairly sure the
Angels have one of the better records after the All Star break in the league. It is just that the A's have been blistering since then, and the Angels can't catch them. If you look at the
Angels, they have excellent pitching, below average offense and awful defense. They are clearly vulnerable which means the A's should have little problem winning 3, maybe 4 games against them in head to head. Those two teams always play tight one run games, and usually the season series breaks down about even. The oddity is that home field doesn't seem to make a difference they beat us here, we win there.

by china bob on Sep 17, 2006 8:30 AM PDT up reply actions

agreed

by OaklandSi on Sep 17, 2006 9:29 AM PDT up reply actions

I think the series will likely

go 4-3 one way or the other, but I also think it's possible one team could get hot and win 5 of 7 head-to-head.

That's why I'm loving the 6-game lead. If the Angels need to win 5 of 7 head-to-head, I like the A's chances but it's still a race. If the Angels need to win 6 of 7, I feel a whole lot better.

I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal

by Nico on Sep 17, 2006 9:09 AM PDT reply actions

i predict

that one team will win more games than the other, and that at least one of the teams will win more than two of the head to head games.

A's v Giants "is kind of like the difference between going to see the Ramones and going to see the Bee Gees. A's fans will go see the Ramones." -BB 07/27/05

by xbhaskarx on Sep 17, 2006 3:25 PM PDT reply actions