Open Thread: Game 55 - A's vs. Twins

that the A's scored 10 runs in the first inning. Of course, Jason Bartlett was pitching and the game was being played at a new ballpark the Rangers had just built (but for some reason there were A's logos everywhere). So, yeah...

chance to stick with the big club.

Bye bye Jay Witasick.  Always wondered why we got him back in the first place.  But I wish him well.

and good grief in the office this morning and hopefully out of here by early in game...be on the deck,as we have the "warmest" day of the year, "near record" temperatures forecast...73 degrees!

Because the Yanks-Sox game is the Sunday night ESPN game, the Boston team probably won't leave on their flight to Oakland until after midnight EDT, getting into Oakland well into the AM hours.  Here's hoping they play extra innings tonight.

according to Marty Lurie

I think we know what that means

Three Guys at the Park or whatever?  "Which A's player would you hook your sister up with?" (to Mike Piazza).  He answered Melhuse and then qualified it with a lot of BS about how all these guys were a great bunch of guys who liked to have a good time but also go to chapel (!).  

for those of you (like me) who can't wait to see the lineups posted)

Here's Oakland's starting lineup (Cust gets another chance, though not in the field). New Dad Ellis gets to hit second. Melhuse not in even though it's a day game after a night game.

Stewart, LF .274
Ellis, 2B .242
Swisher, RF .300
Johnson, 1B .300
Chavez, 3B .230
Crosby, SS .247
Cust, DH .233
Kotsay, CF .143
Kendall, C .194

every play.  Pretty sad to be that good of a player but not ever be able to play.

Let's go, go, go, Gaudin.

Middle of the 2nd.  Miggy stranded a guy on third.

he said Kotsay "talked himself into the lineup"...not that there were great options?

Runner on third, one out. :-(

LET'S GO OAKLAND!!!

HUGE DP, CROS!!!

Nice pitch Go Go Dan!

Shake it out, Gaudin.

to let that ball go through the middle to Croz for the DP.  Most pitchers blow that.

If giving birth to a unicorn hurt.

<dances around>

HUGE!

Wow!

when did you send bocachica to SD??

SWISHA!!!

He's gotta corral those or he's gonna give up a rebound goal one of these days.

I did not expect to see this today.

or a walk.

usually throw his slider in the strike zone, or is it more of a "make everyone look like BoCro on the outside slider" thing?

But hey, we got one. Just hope Gaudin settles down.

BoCro really hit that hard.  I'll take on any haters.

or 30 minutes ago.

i can't believe it

Johan was having trouble hitting the zone.

mlb.tv's "Commercial break in progress..." BrickOut graphic has once again removed the annoying bounce sound effect when the baseball hits the bat and the "MLB.TV" logo.

That goatee is a little too extensive, IMO.

Bobby take some pitches he just walked two in a row.
Time to bat him 8th

Where have I heard that name before?

Who'd he used to pitch for again?

and for the starters to have only gone 3-1 given that .73 ERA is really too bad...

and the Giants game is tied. Go Phillies!

but the Giants and Philies are tied 8-8 in the 9th.  Where'd they get all those runs?

She gets more press on FSBA than the A's get on ESPN.

Macha would be chewing gum in the dugout, staring into space.

On one of those replays, it also looked like Kotsay may have barely scaraped the ball running past it.

...on the BrickOut graphic.  Aargh!

As always, I personally blame Bud Selig!

Maybe? Hopefully?

:-(

A K from a 3-0 count?

could hit better.

Go Dan!

my lunch was getting cold...couldn't touch it til they got out of that jam, thanks guys...

an A's umbrella online??

shannon stewart is now halfway to being a hall of famer.

strike calls. It's borderline showing the ump up, but not quite.

...BoCro excepted (grrrrr...)

Just a sac fly, but still!

Given what this team often does in this position, a sac fly seems pretty good to me.

Ha ha!

I'll take it!

thanks, Josh!

A's up 4-0

to haunt him.

where can I find one?

anyone knows?

After 7.  Jeremy Guthrie's tossing a one-hitter.

And Crosby's D has been consistently good for a while now - nice to see.

facing kotsay, kendall, and stewart.  
this is a go buy your hot dogs and beer inning.

I was wondering why the good AB. Then I figured it out: it was your one way of producing a DP!

...so much

one for some reason.

O's lead by 1 run.

Heading to the bottom of the 9th.

things.

hate hate hate

Whoa there.

the last couple of years in Dominican Winter League, I really hope he could stay with the A's and do his job, he got a great stuff.