Wednesday Open Thread: Are We Sticking With Doyle?
by baseballgirl on May 9, 2007 8:57 AM PDT
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PrintSo, there are many things to discuss on the table this morning.
- Tonight's game finds the A’s trying to improve their record as they take on the Royals, in a match-up that features Danny "Cy" Haren vs. Gil "I’m earning my money so far" Meche. Game time is at 5:10. Since the game is televised, we’ll be sure to post screen shots of Jennifer as they are shown.
- The Warriors try to even their best-of-seven series tonight in Utah at 6:00 PM.
- Looking at the standings, do you wonder how in the world the A’s are in first place?
From ESPN’s Page 2 on Monday:
3. If the A's make the playoffs, it'll be Billy Beane's biggest magic act yet.Only three teams have scored fewer runs per game than Oakland so far. In Sunday's game against Tampa Bay, Chris Snelling hit leadoff, Dan Johnson hit cleanup and Jack Cust hit fifth. The following players are on the disabled list: Rich Harden, Esteban Loaiza, Milton Bradley, Mike Piazza, Mark Kotsay and Bobby Kielty. Bobby Crosby's hitting below .230. Eric Chavez's OBP is below .300. So how can the A's, a team with a lineup that looks better suited for the PCL than the AL West, be sitting at .500, just a game out of first place and in contention?
Start with the pitching. Oakland owns the second-best ERA in the majors. Even after accounting for their pitching-friendly home park, it's hard to quibble with the A's team strikeout-to-walk rate (best in the AL) or its team OBP allowed (best in MLB). In the past, observers were split on whether the A's deserved credit for finding three aces to lead the staff at once in Barry Zito, Tim Hudson and Mark Mulder, or whether they were lucky. But today's A's staff is a study in scouting and player acquisition skills. The ace is Danny Haren, a 26-year-old Cy Young candidate plucked from St. Louis in the Mulder deal -- one of the most lopsided trades any team has made in years. Crack set-up man Justin Duchscherer was a soft-tosser and failed starting pitching prospect picked up off the scrap heap and converted to bullpen gold. Chad Gaudin has been a staff saver so far, posting a 2.70 ERA and just two homers allowed in 33.1 IP -- he was acquired for a player to be named later from Toronto after the '05 season. Lenny DiNardo (1.93 ERA) was claimed off waivers from Boston this winter. Joe Kennedy (2.48 ERA) came over in a trade with the Rockies two years ago (though Eric Byrnes has done well for himself since leaving the A's in that deal).
Still, the A's have lost more than their three aces. Jason Giambi and Miguel Tejada are also long gone, and the new crop of homegrown hitters expected to replace them -- led by Chavez and Crosby -- has failed to produce any legitimate stars. As a result, the A's have attacked the trade market lately. They acquired Ryan Langerhans from the Braves to patch the outfield. They flipped him to the Nats for Snelling -- a talented player who suffered through a ton of injuries in Seattle and got a raw deal in D.C., but could still pan out and become a good full-time outfielder -- a few days later. They picked up Cust, a one-time stathead favorite now pushing 30 and given what might be his last chance. They grabbed J.D. Closser, another one-time highly regarded prospect who was buried in the minors before Beane came calling. The A's even traded with the Reds to get Chris Denorfia, a multi-position outfielder with a broad range of offensive skills who also happens to be out for the season after reconstructive elbow surgery.
The Angels still have more talent, and should be considered the favorites in the West. But give Oakland an A for effort -- Beane is turning over every rock he can to stay in the race.
- We can discuss how a major league 'hitter' goes from hitting .300 or well-above, to having the lowest slugging percentage of any player, ever (well, it certainly feels like it). Is Kendall hurt? Off the juice? Simply wearing down?
- Also, feel free to discuss AN Day 4, and how far you are traveling to be there, and how fun it’s going to be. An updated diary will be posted with more information soon, if you would still like to come.
- And of course, official AN business: What are we calling Christopher Doyle Snelling?
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Just a nitpick on Keri's article
The A's do not have a monopoly of injuries in the AL West. The Angels have also been hit with injuries.
True...
...but nothing to our extent. The A's injuries are almost unbelievable.
Don't you mean C "F" S?
Anyway, the answer is clear ... DOYLE!
Can someone please explain the "Doyle"
Doyle
is his middle name. Once upon a time folks on the Mariners blogs decided to call him by his middle name -- for frivolous superstitious reasons -- and it stuck.
More.
You may know that I’m a big fan of a certain prospect. However, if you know that you must also be aware that that prospect has had a horrific and career-threatening injury problem. Yes, him. So! There’s a superstition that if a newborn is particularly fragile, the parents hold off naming them until they’re sure the child is through the worst — to not draw the attention of evil forces that might find and harm the kid while it is vulnerable.
In that tradition, I will say nothing about the player shagging balls before games in the outfield for Tacoma. I will be calling this player Doyle. Or Code Name: Doyle, or Conan Doyle for extra confusion. If there are evil spirits, I’m sure Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, noted for his gullibility nearly as much as his writing, would be happy to talk to them. This has the added benefit that SACD is dead, and so no harm can come from him if the injury spirits swing by to kneecap hip.
On using middle names to avoid injury
See: James Richard Harden
interesting
I for one will start referring to the above mention player as JaHa.
by braek462 on May 9, 2007 10:54 AM PDT up reply actions
That's not a name for a pitcher...
That's a name for a porn star!
"Hmm... what should the girls rent for their bachelorette party? Hmm... This one looks good... It's got Dick Harden in it..."
by The Pilots Dared Me To Die on May 9, 2007 12:45 PM PDT up reply actions
In that spirit
maybe we should start calling Chavez, Crosby, and Bradley; Cesar, Ed, and Obelle respectfully.
by braek462 on May 9, 2007 11:15 AM PDT up reply actions
Doyle for sure
And I think it would be wise to keep him starting in the outfield, even when Kotsay comes back.
If we send down Buck for 20 Minor League games, we will save another year of control over him. And when Bradley gets back, it might be the right thing to do to put Buck on the DL instead of sending Putnam down.
Assuming Bradley comes back, this is the lineup I'd like to see.
LF Snelling
CF Bradley
RF Swisher
1B Johnson
3B Chavez
DH Cust
2B Ellis
SS Crosby
C1 Kendall
Here's the link
Jennifer at the game with her beau.
It looks like that dude is wearing...
a women's style wedding ring.
Hawt
But our Jennifer's ass is smaller (I hear).
by FreeSeatUpgrade on May 9, 2007 9:30 AM PDT up reply actions
I doubt that.
Bitch.
they won for you!
Isn't it a joy to see them "alive" and in person? Did you say anything of Buck? Ain't he something?
They did!
I got Buck's autograph... I swooned.
I'm actually quite envious
You got to see both Doyle and Cust, whereas we only got to see that flase prophet, Langerhans
Hmm..."flase prophet"
http://www.urbandictionary.com/defin...
Doyle is LL's name for Snelling...
We must come up with our own. I propose:
D-SNIZZLE!
You keep pushing this.
LL h8r!
Don't make me break your unicorn.
My centaur can beat up her unicorn
by kaweahkaweah on May 9, 2007 11:17 AM PDT up reply actions
Your centaur wouldn't dare.
I'm a Sagittarius.
He's always got to be...
the centaur of attention.
Stick him in the outfield, he can play centaurfield.
give him a sex change ...
... and cast him opposite Pacino in Centaur a Woman.
Speaking of tired acts
Jason Giambi and Miguel Tejada are also long gone,
Ok, nobody was speaking of tired acts, but how long is it going to take before every writer doing a story or column about the A's stops including some variation of the above statement? I mean, it's been 6 years since Giambi was on the team and 4 years since Tejada played his last game wearing the Green 'n Gold.
Yes, there is nobody currently on the team who is as good as either of those guys, but that's basically been the case since Tejada left (the Big Hurt being the exception last year) and yet the A's have still managed to do pretty well for themselves. Maybe writers could find something else to include as a standard side comment in their A's-related stories?
/rant
What about Jackson, Rudi and Bando?
We lost them, too, and nobody ever mentions them anymore. Wonder why....;-)
by GreenNGoldSooner on May 9, 2007 9:59 AM PDT up reply actions
Not even close.
by GreenNGoldSooner on May 9, 2007 10:42 AM PDT up reply actions
But...
But if the A's had Tejada instead of Crosby the last 4 years, it certainly would have been worth a number of extra wins each year.
by SA on May 9, 2007 11:05 AM PDT up reply actions
True, but...
I certainly agree with that, but A's fans have moved on, why can't the media?
As a comparison, the Mariners lost Randy Johnson, ARod, and Griffey Jr either via trade or FA over a 3 year stretch. For a year or two after, most articles about the Mariners would mention this fact, but after a couple of years they stopped.
Nobody wrote a best-selling book about Seattle
by BlameChannel53 on May 9, 2007 11:26 AM PDT up reply actions
Yes...
and they've pretty much sucked for the most part so they're not surprised. With the A's it's like, how the hell are they doing it?
seattle early this decade
The Mariners have been bad for the last several years, but that 113(?) win season was right after they lost ARod, and Randy Johnson and Griffey had left during the previous two seasons. I thought it was great that they put together a year like that after losing three stars. Well, great except that the A's finished in second.
It's for comparison's sake.
Most other teams (at least the competitive ones) have large enough payrolls to keep their good players once they get...well, good. If Billy Beane had a larger payroll, we'd have a perennial World Series winning team. You know, Tejada, Giambi, Damon, Zito, Mulder, Hudson, etc. The media brings this up all the time because, frankly, it's amazing that the A's have been competitive after losing these all of these great players.
Well, yeah, but there
aren't a lot of teams that still have guys they had six years ago. In fact, I'd be willing to bet that many (most?) productive 28-30 year olds are not with the same team six years into the future.
Chad. Gaudin.
... has to be the story of this team right now. Beane has obviously done wonders finding suitable replacements at a handful of positions, but Gaudin can be included among our fill-ins. Had Loaiza not gone down, Chad may still be in the pen, though it was inevitable Harden would find some ailment that would give Gaudin a shot.
Either way, this is a guy we picked up after two teams left him on the scrap pile at 22, turned into a quality reliever, then turned into the starter everyone thought he could be when he debuted at 20. Having just turned 24, Gaudin is fourth in ERA at 2.40, and in 41.1 innings he's totalled 33 H and 14 BB, a 1.14 WHIP good for 10th in the circuit.
Over their first seven starts, Dan Haren, who rankend among the league leaders in strikeouts last year, has 33. Gaudin has 34 whiffs. I know it's only been a month, but if Gaudin keeps throwing anything like this and improves whatsoever in keeping runners on, there's no possible justification for pulling him from the rotation, especially with our versatile, deep bullpen.
If they pull Gaudin
That will amount to the biggest single blunder in the history of the A's organization!!! I for one hope and pray no one is that incredibly stupid!
If you have ever read my diary I have lobbied for Gaudin in the starting lineup for a while and now that he is here he is showing his true grit. The boy just has nasty movement on the ball and a very competitive nature. Once he got both focused, he would be untouchable. We now have two legit aces on our staff to replace one fake ace (Zito) and one fragile ace (Dick Harden)
Funny
I wrote a similar column about Billy Beane's magic act on FSN Bay Area to the ESPN piece...
It would most definitely be the A's greatest accomplishment if they were able to take the division this year with this rag tag crew of misfits. It's the A's team with Snelling playing the role of Mr. T.
by Tyler Bleszinski on May 9, 2007 9:31 AM PDT reply actions
IT. WILL. HAPPEN.
by ohtobe21likehuston on May 9, 2007 9:42 AM PDT up reply actions
We will be there when the smoke clears
who is going to beat us? The Los Angeles Anaheim Angels of...Anaheim or Seattle? Fat chance
Don't take the Angels lightly ..
.. they are still the favorites .. although of course everyone who bleeds Green&Gold wants to see us upset them! :)
by Randy Bell on May 9, 2007 1:09 PM PDT up reply actions
DOYLE!
Ross Gload and DOYLE!. On the same field.
They both wear #11.
[cues eerie music]
we didn't see you last night
but that was quite impressive to watch Gaudin's performance. The guy was simply amazing last night.
Hopefully the rain stops around 5:00 or 6:00 tonight because I don't want to go through a 2-hour rain delay again this year. Unless someone for the Royals hits a GS and we need to make it a game that never was.
by ohtobe21likehuston on May 9, 2007 9:48 AM PDT up reply actions
Hopefully no Slam against Haren tonite! :)
That could mess up his ERA! ;-)
by Randy Bell on May 9, 2007 9:54 AM PDT up reply actions
The Royals are being held together by Meche!
I am hoping we remember he used to pitch for Seattle. Not the NEW Seattle but the one from the previous few years.
Should be a pretty good pitching matchup tonight :-)
by ohtobe21likehuston on May 9, 2007 9:59 AM PDT up reply actions
I parked down by you guys.
I think I spotted you over on the first base side.
I spoke with a very nice lady wearing a Bill King tee. I freaked her son out, which is normal. I didn't tell her my name, though.
NO RAIN, please! We are flooded down here. It can flood all it wants to... after the next two days.
it was a pretty small group before the game
There were some A's fans that brought horns to the game and it sounded like the Coliseum in the parking lot. They might have practiced a bit too much for my taste because it gave me a headache.
Did you see the guy with the cowboy hat run on the field? Yeeeeee HAW! It was over before he ever got started.
I'm on best friend's CPU right now and they have a "Flood Warning JoCo link" box showing so it must be a serious situation all over this area. I was here for the Seahawks vs. Chiefs and I hope to never see rain like that again. Scary shit... especially when people start trying to drive through it.
by ohtobe21likehuston on May 9, 2007 10:14 AM PDT up reply actions
I heard a drummer as I was leaving.
But Cowboy Hat Guy was zero fun. He just stood there!
Photo.
That's it.
Topher it is!
Sex panther
singes the nostrils
Smells like a turd covered in burnt hair.
Kendall hurt?
I have suspected since spring training that there is something not quite right with Jason Kendall. Either he got some of Swisher's mono (don't ask me how I don't want to know), he's hurt and the A's know it or he is being "gritty" and is hiding it. This bad of a slump from a veteran .300 lifetime hitter is actually a bit unusual. I know many on AN are not big Kendall fans. But he is not that old to be regressing like this. In his track record there is nothing like this slump that actually started way back in spring training. I really have to wonder if he is hurt at this stage. If he is hurt the A's really must hate Adam Melhuse and his ability to call a game, to knowingly take such a heavy drop in offence from Kendall.
by Athletics Fan In London on May 9, 2007 9:58 AM PDT reply actions
Well...
He's played a lot of games at catcher. My guess is, even though he's not too old for a catcher, he has caught more games than almost any catcher ever for his age, and that most catchers with this many games logged start dropping off, kinda rapidly, although this appears more drastic. I'm not sure, but that is my guess.
by Philip Christy on May 9, 2007 10:03 AM PDT up reply actions
I think the ridiculously
unlucky 19% hit rate has more to do with it than any hidden injury. With his contact rate, his BA will rise as his hit rate normalizes.....Doesnt change the fat that he has no pop and hits into more double plays than humanly possible. But the BA will rise......
by OaktownPower on May 9, 2007 10:09 AM PDT up reply actions
I'm voting for "multiple concussions" ...
... and yet still too hard-headed to admit to being hurt in the first place, or to the cumulative impact on his performance.
So, a mix of sympathy and derision.
Gaudin vs. Kennedy = mini competition?
GS INN ER H W K WHIP ERA IP/S BAA
JFK 5 28.00 5 24 12 13 1.29 1.61 5.6 0.240
CG 7 41.33 11 33 14 34 1.14 2.40 5.9 0.216
In terms of comparing starts, the two aren't that far apart - while CG has the better K rate, JFK has a nice thing going with his 1 ER per start gig (JFK's overall starts are distorted by that oddball relief stint vs. the Yankees). I think the two have an unsaid competition going on to prove who deserves to stick around the rotation. And as the capitalists say, competition is good for business. While not necessarily as epic as some of the intra-competition of the old Big 3, this one is just as fun to watch to see how long they can sustain it. As long as both are playing better to prove that they can, it's all good for our Muppets. Between Haren-Blanton-Gaudin-Kennedy-X, I'm not too worried about the rotation - funny that among the 4, I think Blanton is the "weak" Zito-esque link (can eat up innings, but those peripherals have me concerned)
Kennedy / Gaudin - Keep Harden on 10-Days Rest
When Harden gets back, Maybe Kennedy & Gaudin can alternate taking Harden's every-other-turn. Harden should only pitch once every 10 days. Haren & Blanton should take there turn every 5 days.
Kennedy & Gaudin can slide to the bullpen between their 10-Day rests to get some extra bullpen work.
Way outside the Box, but maybe it could be done.
by Colorado Fan on May 9, 2007 11:17 AM PDT up reply actions
Kendall
Is Kendall ... off the juice?
So you're telling me Kendall only had < warning track power on the juice?
by braek462 on May 9, 2007 10:58 AM PDT reply actions
Better than 1 extra base hit in over 100 ABs
by baseballgirl on May 9, 2007 11:09 AM PDT up reply actions
Maybe
Melwho is secretly sabotaging Kendall and switched his test with est. Has anyone checked Kendall for man-boobs lately? A chest protector can be quite concealing.
by braek462 on May 9, 2007 11:13 AM PDT up reply actions
I thought you were kidding...
ONE double? Holy shit, that might be the worst 110 AB's in the history of baseball.
by OaktownPower on May 9, 2007 12:12 PM PDT up reply actions
Nickname: Triffer
Worked for me the first 4 years of my life before I could accurately pronounce my own name.
Triffer, what an asshole.
{/Don Cheadle in Ocean's ad infinitum}
I wish there was a way to see
which team blogs by team get the most activity ... because I'd really like to figure out why the Nat's starter Bergmann was pulled after 6IP, 2H, 1R with only 79 pitches today. He's fully stretched, so that shouldn't be the issue. I know if one of our guys had that line, we'd be wondering why he got pulled, but the Nat's Sportsnation blog doesn't get too much activity. Why do I care? Damn you fantasy league! (Pulled from a 1-1 game after 6, so I had both a CG and a W denied).
You get that in the NL
Top of the 7'th - tie ball game PH for the pitcher
My guess anyway
by onlysaying on May 9, 2007 1:29 PM PDT up reply actions
Good call, garbage NL "strategy"
I just read the play-by-play.
2 out, 0 on in the top of the 7th, and the Nats PH for a pitcher @ 79 pitches, 6IP, 2 hits, 1 run. No one made it past 1st except for a solo homer. With that kinda managing, I guess it's not surprising the Nats are 9-25. Who cuts short that kinda outting?
Conan
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle -> Conan the Barbarian.
Help
First off, DOYLE! done. finis. next.
Help! When is AN day and how do I get in? I want to meet some of my fellow knucklehead A's fans.
Kendall: Toast. Done. Finis. next.
Harden: will be traded for a stick. Mark my words. If I am wrong oh well, but this is my firm conviction.
Haren? Thank you. That is all I can say: Thank you.
If it were not for Haren we would be in a big world of hurt right now.
Making diary right now...
...hang on a sec :-)
by baseballgirl on May 9, 2007 12:45 PM PDT up reply actions
Okay, diary up
nickname should be...
Oakland, 94621's "Tori" Snelling
Eerily foreshadowing
the sad events when Tori Snelling's alcohol binge over the all-star break almost costs him his chance to graduate from the recovery room of the San Ramon Surgery Center.
by FreeSeatUpgrade on May 9, 2007 3:47 PM PDT up reply actions
Here we go Fred, here we go!!
Here we go Fred, here we go! Clap, Clap, Clap-Clap-Clap.
Catcher Jason Kendall, who entered the series batting .170, said he spent the team's day off on Thursday with his father, Fred, a former big-league catcher who is also Kansas City's bullpen coach. "He knows my swing better than anyone; he's my Dad," Kendall said. "And he watches me as much as he can, so it's always great to catch up with him and see if he sees anything I'm missing.
Hopefully
Fred reminded Jason that he should be using a bat instead of Howie's sword from Benchwarmers.
by BlameChannel53 on May 9, 2007 2:20 PM PDT up reply actions
Concussion, Jr.
JASON (SQUINTING)
Okay, Pop. Toss one down the middle.
FRED (SQUINTING)
Sure thing, Junior.
Fred SQUINTS, rears back, and HURLS the ball plateward.
FRED (SQUINTING)
Watch out, Sonny boy, this one's gonna take your head off!
The ball WHOOSHES along toward the plate.
JASON (SQUINTING)
F'in' stick that thing out there, old man!
Jason SQUINTS and mightily uncoils all the power in his wrists to flit the bat haplessly -- and LOSES HIS GRIP ON THE BAT --
-- which TUMBLES END-OVER-END toward the pitcher's mound.
JASON (SQUINTING)
Watch out, Methuselah, you're gonna --
-- BONK!!! goes the ball on Jason's cranium --
-- {bip} goes the bat on Fred's head --
JASON (SQUINTING)
Lookin' good, Pa!
FRED (SQUINTING)
Lookin' good, Son!
Gaudin
I was skeptical to say the least of everyone in the A's organization during spring training when they were touting Gaudin as a possible candidate for the rotation, but he's been pretty brilliant (setting a career-high in strikeouts in a game against the AAAA-worthy Royals notwithstanding). If he really is emerging as a solid dependable starter, that would be at least one good thing to take away from early 2007, historically-speaking.
I've been trying to think of a player who's pulled something like this recently just for comparison's sake, but I'm drawing a blank. Y'all're buffs, can anyone throw a name out there?
Isn't Fausto Carmona doing pretty good ?
.. for Cleveland ..
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/7603
He was in the bullpen last year for the Tribe ..
by Randy Bell on May 9, 2007 3:33 PM PDT up reply actions
Johan Santana
Was a rule V draftee that Ryan has admitted he wanted as essentially a loogy. After some time toiling as a bullpen, WOW!!
by BlameChannel53 on May 9, 2007 8:05 PM PDT up reply actions
Good calls, both
I'm starting to like the idea of a rotation featuring Harden, Gaudin, and Blanton taking up 3 of 5 spots over the next few years. And if Harden ever figured out a way to pitch without blowing himself up... wow.
Toris Snelling
It's got to be Toris, hasn't it? We give him his own name and there's a story attatched to it - much better than re-using the 'LL' version.
Friviolous frivolity
First, faulty logic.
Just because the Marinators gave him his nickname does'nt mean we should change it. This is tantamount to us changing "The Big Hurt" to something else because he got that name elsewhere.
Second, he will be gone in a few days.
You heard it here first: Harden and Halsey to Baltimore for Hernandez and Payton...
yeah, right
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