WhiteWashed
by Nico on May 29, 2007 9:59 PM PDT
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PrintFirst of all, a team could probably play worse than the A's played in the top of the 6th, but it wouldn't be easy. Start with a 4-pitch leadoff walk followed by muffing a two-hopper back to the mound. Then a "wild pitch" that makes you appreciate Kendall--or most any catcher, really--topped off by Shannon Stewart's "oh was I supposed to get in the way of that ball?" gaffe that turned one run into three-going-on-four.
The A's will finish April and May without having swept a single series of more than two games. This was a golden opportunity finally to string a handful of wins together, what with the Rangers owning the league's worst record and having been especially awful on the road, with Haren going tomorrow and with Mike Wood putting on two baserunners an inning in his quest to show why his ERA was over 7.00. DiNardo even threw a pleasantly surprising five shutout innings, yet the A's couldn't take advantage.
But it's worse than that, as the last 24 hours have not been kind to the Oakland A's. Perhaps it's the "May" in me, but the latest developments now have me more pessimistic than the return of Kotsay and Bradley have me hopeful.
Justin Duchscherer is not coming back tomorrow, which means the A's bullpen crisis moves from temporary to indefinite. The bullpen, as currently constituted, is among the league's worst; the A's could weather it for a week or two, but if this is the bullpen for very long Oakland is simply in trouble.
Further, Loaiza is--correctly, in my opinion--now opting for surgery to repair the torn meniscus in his knee, which means he will not be seen until after the All-Star Break. As for Harden, talk to me when he's throwing in a minor league game; until then, as Macha liked to say, "he's a non-factor". Which means the A's, for the foreseeable future, will be running "Joe Kennedy and someone worse" out there to start about 1/3 of the games. You cannot compete with the Angels this way.
What we needed was to sweep the Rangers, while looking forward to getting a key starter and a key reliever back soon. Or two out of three. Or one. As important as Kotsay and Bradley are to the team, pitching keeps you in pennant races and as bad as the A's offense is right now suddenly the pitching doesn't look much better. If this is the crew we're stuck with for several weeks, then Bob Geren needs to invest in some very, very good mirrors.
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melhuse
keep playing melhuse! He called a good game.
Melhuse did call a good game
He actually got on base too. Geren should have warmed someone up for the the 6th inning, especially after the first batter because DiNardo was done. He pitched very well up until then.
by mlleaimee on May 30, 2007 8:46 AM PDT up reply actions
Lewis had been warming up
I had been thinking he would be brought in to face Sosa after they walked Teixera to load the bases with one away, particularly since he had struck Sosa out the night before. This is Geren's explanation for not bringing in Lewis at that point:
"Asked why he didn't bring in Colby Lewis, who was warming up in the bullpen, for a righty-righty showdown with Sosa, Geren said liked the way DiNardo had handled Sosa earlier in the game.
" 'You don't walk guys to get to someone with 600 homers very often," Geren conceded. "But Lenny had struck Sammy out and gotten him to roll over into a double play in the first two at-bats. And it was a [scoreless] game to that point. It was [DiNardo's] game to win or lose at that point."
I actually think it was the right call
to let DiNardo face Sosa. An off-balance swing = DP ground ball and that's what DiNardo does well to guys like Sosa. DiNardo just got behind in the count and then had to elevate the pitch--or didn't have to, but did.
Bad Karma!!
They never should have mentioned Todd Van Popel during the telecast...very bad Karma. And then there was double bad Karma by also mentioning Ariel Prieto in the same sentence.....I remember that year like it was yesterday and not in a good way. At osme point I thought they might even mention Candiotti but I guess that was a different year...LOL!!
Looks like a nice game by Dinardo
Nice job, Lenny! At least the number five starter is solidified. He may move up to number four if Kennedy doesn't get his act together. Did Kennedy say "I didn't have my best stuff" after Sunday? Will he ever? Has he ever? What happened to the offense tonight? I'm SO glad I was working and missed this mess! C'mon Danny Haren tomorrow! Keep us under ten games out! What's going on with the other "non factor" we got in the Huddy trade?
by A'sfansince1970 on May 29, 2007 10:10 PM PDT reply actions
I'm not too excited about DiNardo
This was a very surprising outcome
I went into tonight's game expecting a 10-8 slugfest. Didn't in a million years expect us to get blanked by a former midreliever with an inflated era.
by sf drift king on May 29, 2007 11:45 PM PDT up reply actions
agreed
not only did we get a 'pitcher's duel' of sorts, but the two errors, wild pitch, and runners LOB made this a very tough loss to take.
by popcornjames on May 30, 2007 10:51 AM PDT up reply actions
so nico, are you saying its curtains?
With those drapes,
Agreed...
Ok so I am almost in complete agreement with you...especially when it comes to Harden. Can someone please tell me whats wrong him....oh thats right NOTHING!! I think he has a sever case of no passion for the game. I almost feel that Rich Harden is another Ben Grieve but at least Ben did not say he was injured he played even though he did not care. Anybody that watched the game that he came out could clearly see that it did not look like he was going to be leaving the field for weeks, it did not even look like he would miss one game and then all of the sudden we read that Rich has decided to shut it down. Rich doesn't want to throw his scheduled bullpen session I am just really tired of him.
All of the other injuries are unacceptable, these are young guys out there playing not old men, I would understand if the Giants had the same number of injuries that we have...LOL! I think it time to fire the stength and conditioning coach, I dont know who else to blame but it just doesnt make sense.
I agree
and call it a day on Harden and bring up someone else from the farm system. I'm sick of hanging the season on his dead arm. It's too dis"harden"ing.
by A'sfansince1970 on May 29, 2007 10:29 PM PDT up reply actions
i doubt it
no passion for the game? you don't get as good as harden is if you have no passion. kind of sever humorous of you to even write that.
being injury prone does not speak of his will or passion. pitching while hurt is not the answer.
Okay, he has passion
but how long do you hang in with him? Aren't you frustrated? It seems like we lose him every year.
by A'sfansince1970 on May 29, 2007 10:38 PM PDT up reply actions
HMMMM
It doesnt just seem like we lose him every year...we do lose him every year!!!
by wacchampions on May 29, 2007 10:47 PM PDT up reply actions
well, yeah.
i guess i am somewhat frustrated, but while i hoped he'd be injury free, i sure didn't expect it.
there's no use in trading him, really. because all we would get is something much much less that what he is when he plays. nobody is going give us anything too great for the same reason that we all are frustrated. so, i'd rather keep him for the 10% chance that he gives us some good production. you just have to go in to the season with 6 starters and expecting him not to pitch, and if he does, then your 6 goes to the pen. he still doesn't take up that much salary, does he? if he does, that's another story.
if he starts 15 games and goes 8-2 or so, that's not insignificant. maybe you get less, maybe more, but i don't get rid of him until his salary becomes a big issue.
maybe there's someone out there who understands pitching physiology so well that they can tweak something in his delivery so he doesn't tweak anything.
i miss saarloos
at least you could always count on him to pitch
by Haren I mean Harden on May 29, 2007 11:01 PM PDT up reply actions
Last I heard,
he wasn't doing so well in Cincy.
by sf drift king on May 29, 2007 11:47 PM PDT up reply actions
Well, he's not pitching in Cincy anymore
So, yeah, you kinda heard right.
saarloos
May 28 The Associated Press reports the Cincinnati Reds optioned P Kirk Saarloos to Triple-A Louisville Monday, May 28. He will work out of Louisville's bullpen.
Reds manager Jerry Narron said that Saarloos, 0-4 with a 7.04 ERA, will work out of the Louisville bullpen
by greendatitiz on May 30, 2007 11:56 AM PDT up reply actions
Actually, Mike Wood strongly reminded me of Kirk
Right-handed slow-baller, everything moves, most everything sinks, trouble keeping it in the zone (or getting batters to swing consistently at stuff out of the zone), more walks and singles than you'd like to see, usually seems to be on the edge of disaster, sometimes gets away with it just fine (like Wood last night), sometimes it all blows up.
Passion
How quickly we forget that Ben Grieve was the AL rookie of the year in 1998 and his father admitted that he just doesn't have passion for the game....what team is he playing for now, oh thats right he is out of baseball.
So I guess we just have to accept that we will only get 3 or 4 games a year from Harden??? maybe its time for him to move on. I am not interested in his "Injury". What is his injury? He sure did not look hurt to me in the game that he came out of. Now I know that not all injuries are visible but come on.....I mean I am tired of Mark Prior and Kerry Wood as well and they are not even on my team. I mean I cant even belive that I mention Harden in the same sentence as those other 2 but he is never healthy and I just dont really see him getting healthy..
Im willing to listen to whatever anyone has to say on this but please just tell me what is wrong with him? I know that this is a very passionate subject for people because they really love him when he pitches, heck I love him when he pitches he is awesome. Im just not sure when if ever I will see him pitch again?????
by wacchampions on May 29, 2007 10:45 PM PDT up reply actions
What is his injury?
Ask the A's. It's not his fault that the A's are not willing to release much information about his injury. Last I read, according to the A's he has an impinged shoulder. Shoulder injuries tend to be very difficult to diagnose properly.
You believe that you can diagnose injuries merely by eyeballing a player as he leaves a game?
Yes, Harden has health issues. No one disputes that.
Well, it is a bit his fault
The rules of releasing medical info changed this year in anticipation of the Mitchell Committee asking for medical records. It is now each individual players choice whether to release information or not. This why we have had much less info on specific injuries to players - and why Kotsay delivers his own updates. If Harden gave his assent, reporters could talk to Larry Davis about specifics.
by fridaynightfan on May 30, 2007 12:17 PM PDT up reply actions
Well, Harden may in fact be a sever case
Other than that, though, you lost me.
by FreeSeatUpgrade on May 29, 2007 10:46 PM PDT up reply actions
Ben Grieve got married
to a very religious woman, and he became very religious, to the point where baseball was "pointless".
He lost passion for everything but religion.
Rich Harden reminds me of a ton of running backs who were all supposed to be the next "Jim Brown" or "Walter Payton". They bulked up, tore ligaments, muscles, everything two weeks from Sunday, and had about 20 NFL carries over many years, and never heard from again. Some guys just don't have the physical structure to do what they do for very long before they get irreparably broken.
Harden was phenomenal, but his pitching motion has caught up with his inherent physical nature....hey, perhaps he should go see Mike Marshall, and adapt his "unorthodox delivery" method?
by One won lost won on May 29, 2007 10:58 PM PDT up reply actions
uh oh
your post worries me in that people are going to get upset if you write something about religion affecting performance. but, hey, maybe it does for some people. and maybe the lack of faith may cause another player to come to the same conclusion that baseball is pointless. maybe what really happened to grieve was he realized that he could get sex without being a baseball star, or maybe he just wasn't really that good.
i miss earl campbell.
Well, the free exchange of ideas
Sure, some people will feel it necessary to defend their ideas to the last gasp. That can be a problem, and it cuts both ways. We all have to take was is written in the spirit of "banter" and if we really, really, disagree, take a "time out" and remember:
It's only one (wo)man's opinion.... unless they're reporting statistics! But conclusions drawn from statistics are still just an opinion (other than the "won-lost" column: no denying the facts of the past).
Since I mentioned women and their opinions, I'd like to also pass on my humble opinion that women have much "cleaner" minds than men.
It comes from "changing" it so often! *8^0
by One won lost won on May 31, 2007 3:24 PM PDT up reply actions
And I feel better about Dinardo
then I do about Harden. At least Dinardo can pitch and pitched well tonight.
by A'sfansince1970 on May 29, 2007 10:30 PM PDT reply actions
honestly dinardo ain't bad
maybe we should put him in the 5th starter role and stick harden in the pen so he might pitch a few more innings per season
by Haren I mean Harden on May 29, 2007 11:05 PM PDT up reply actions
It won't last.
tonight was a fluke.
by sf drift king on May 29, 2007 11:48 PM PDT up reply actions
just got back from the game
I'm still thawing out -- it was quite cold in the stands. But the team seemed even colder than we were.
agreed
really worried about the bullpen and the back end of the rotation with Duke, Street, Harden and Loiaza all out for a while. I was hoping Duke would return this Wed but the baseball gods had other ideas:(
DiNardo is serviceable against a struggling team like Texas but with the Twins and Red Sox coming into town soon, our pitching staff is going to get tested quite a bit particularly in late innings. Kennedy, Blanton and DiNardo all need to take their smoke and mirrors act to the next level.
Here's hoping that Kotsay and Bradley coming back will help the offense enough that the bullpen is a non-factor in the remaining games.
by oak1 on May 29, 2007 10:40 PM PDT reply actions
This is why I did not
like the comment that the Rangers are an "awful" team. They shut the Athletics out! Made no errors! Got hits with the bases loaded.
These are all things the Athletics failed to do, several times over in this game.
So I say the Rangers are not an "awful team" as much as to say they fail to play to their potential more often than other teams. Same could be said about the 2007 New York Yankess.
by One won lost won on May 29, 2007 10:47 PM PDT reply actions
No, they are awful
For all the reasons we mentioned yesterday. Even awful teams win 1/3 of their games.
Good news for the A's bullpen!!
Armando Benitez, not balking out of the A's bullpen.
See, there are things more painful that a 4-0 loss. See the Giants' blog for a good laugh.
what happens to travis
when milton and kotsay come back? Should we count on another outfielder getting hurt before travis can drive to sac and back?
by Haren I mean Harden on May 29, 2007 11:08 PM PDT reply actions
I would keep Buck in the outfield and move
Swisher back to first.
by larrysgurl on May 29, 2007 11:20 PM PDT up reply actions
I think it's early to be calling him a bust.
And a few weeks ago I also thought it was early to be calling him a savior.
Right now they're just throwing things he won't hit. I think he needs a little longer to make adjustments... and if he doesn't adjust, then he's a bust.
(rhyme brought to you by Johnny Cochran...)
Throwing things he won't hit
like fastballs? He's striking out on fastballs which, supposedly, he kills. It's one thing to over swing and miss off speed stuff, but he's doing that on fastballs. It isn't too early to call a career minor league hitter a bust. The guy is 30 and hitting .200 - how long do you wait before calling him a bust?
On the other hand, can a career minor leaguer be a bust at all? After thinking about it a little bit, I would say no. The A's were fortunate to get the week out of him they did. I just don't see him being a viable long term option at DH. Let DJ DH (say that three times fast) and keep Cust as a pinch hitter.
by IndianaAsfan on May 30, 2007 9:46 AM PDT up reply actions
That's what happens
Fastballs suddenly go past you when you expect slow stuff...and visa versa.
That is why the fastball and changeup are two of the best pitches to have as a pitcher.
MLB hitters can adjust. AAAA hitters cannot.
by Colorado Fan on May 30, 2007 10:09 AM PDT up reply actions
Cust is a Bust
I only said it because it rhymes. Jack Cust is not a bust... he's just not capable of being consistent in the Major Leagues.
by Colorado Fan on May 30, 2007 10:10 AM PDT up reply actions
Ooh, can I play?
Haren is scarin' 'em!
Melhuse is ill-used.
Scutaro's cuter-oh, Ellis is jealous.
Buck is... not a safe name to play with, let's pick another...
I only said it because it rhymes
Story of my life, dude. Story of my life.
Maybe we could wait on calling him a bust
until he no longer has the highest OPS on the team.
Not a bust
A bust would not be posting a .411 OBA and .611 SLG.
Small sample size
Now that argument goes both ways, I realize. Tell me, what is his OPS the last 10 games?
by IndianaAsfan on May 30, 2007 12:03 PM PDT up reply actions
What did I miss?
Where did you see Duke suffered a setback? I don't see it on the A's official site nor the Rotoworld updates on the side of AN.
Also I seem to be a lot more excited about DiNardo's future than many. Sure he's 27, but he has good minor league stats and only one major league year with more than a 4.3 ERA, though it was the year with the most innings. Actually his start tonight reminded me a lot of Haren's first start this year (probably the unearned runs and being shutout part).
Here's the article about Duke
http://oakland.athletics.mlb.com/new...
by larrysgurl on May 29, 2007 11:25 PM PDT up reply actions
Well, crap...
I was just writing that I thought Duchscherer's return was critical, far more important than Kotsay's, because the bullpen is such a problem.
And now, Duchscherer's traveling across the country to visit a surgeon.
The A's have two top-flight relievers. One is gone for the forseeable future. Now it's Street who we are pinning our hopes on, but his problem seemed more serious than Duke's. So I will remain quite cautious about the optimistic report in the Chron.
In its present state, even if this week's returnees come back healthy and reasonably productive, this is a .500 team at best. It's a light-hitting team with a crappy bullpen and not enough starters to plug all the holes.
Beating the Angels was going to difficult enough even if the team stayed reasonably healthy. It's hard to get very cheerful now, even with June just around the corner.
Street's more serious than Duke's?
Uh, Duke's got what's sounding more and more like a degenerative hip. That's a career-ender and a lifelong-debilitator right there. Street, worst-case scenario, gets ligament/nerve surgery and comes back spring '08.
Duke's Specialists Fixed Izzy
Will Carroll of Baseball Prospectus notes that the doctors the Duke is seeing fixed a similar issue in Izzy's hip and seems to think Duke could come back healthy, as Izzy has done, but called an '07 return after the procedure "possible... but unlikely".
thanks for the info
I should have clarified -- Duke's condition is potentially a career-ender and a lifelong-debilitator.
Injuries are one thing
but we may look back on the season and point to losses like this and the 3 out of 4 we dropped to KC on how we let it slip away. If we can't beat the worst of the worst in May, then that "light switch" will be much heavier to flip come June.
It's amazing how many A's go for
second opinions 2 weeks into their injuries....like Duke now. Why the hell don't they get a second opinion right away? it is clear the first opinions are not working..Hell, Harden took like 2 weeks befrore he went and saw a high end shoulder specialist like Yocum. Guys get hurt, but the lack of an excellent diagnosis on some of these guys is just unacceptable.
As far as I'm concerned,
it's interesting that more than 15 A's players
have seen Harden's chiropractor, who practices in Victoria BC but regularly travels to see his patients, both in the Bay Area and as far away as Greece:
http://www.canada.com/victoriatimesc...
This is apparently the chiropractor that Kennedy went to see last season.
Seems the players are taking things into their own hands.
Sigh
Of course Duke is not coming back Wednesday. That would just be too easy.
Comeback?
Yes, this team has a recent history of second half comebacks. But that's unlikely without healthy performances from Street, Duchscherer, Harden, Bradley, Kotsay, and Chavez. The first three look very questionable, and Bradley provides no confidence in his long-term viability. And the little item about Chavez at the end of the Duchscherer article (link above) is worrying.
At what point do you start to think differently about this season? Do you have any assets that could bring back valuable prospects? Are there players that should be given their shot now? That could mean that Buck gets put in the lineup and plays every day, even through slumps. It could mean that Suzuki comes up now.
It's hard to ever give up on this team. But if Street, Duke, and Harden remain on the DL past mid-season (and Loaiza is gone), I don't see how you put Humpty Dumpty back together again. Not with the talent they have on the roster (or even in AAA) right now.
The Problem continues to be the Offense
If we scored some runs in the 1st 5 innings w/ some timely hitting, the A's win that game. Dinardo pitched a great game, but didn't defend his position. Same with Melhuse & Stewart.
Our Starting Pitching w/o Harden & Loaiza is the best in all of baseball. If we can start hitting the ball, getting leads, etc...a winning streak will follow.
Problem is, I don't think it will
continue to be. Haren and Gaudin have to come down a notch, and Kennedy/DiNardo are not above average 4/5 starters. I don't believe the A's can compete with LAA with Kennedy as their #4 starter. Ironically, if the A's made a move I'd suggest they get not a closer, not a hitter, but another solid starting pitcher.
excellent point
I hadn't thought about that argument before. It makes a lot of sense (perhaps the reason I hadn't thought of it).
The overall impact that one SP would have as an addition (given the states of our 'pen, rotation, and lineup) would be significantly greater than that of an end-of-game reliever or a batter.
So, who's going today?
If it doesn't clear up pretty soon, Kendall's not going to hit that homer today, either...
On my way!!
Dollar dogs for breakfast, YUM!!!
Tomorrow is the one-year anniversary of The Home Run!!
ATHLETICS 8TH: Crosby flied to right; Payton lined to center;
Johnson walked; Kendall homered [Johnson scored]; Scutaro
grounded out (shortstop to first); 2 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Royals
0, Athletics 7.
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