You Can Put It On the Board...YES!
by Tyler Bleszinski on Aug 15, 2007 9:51 PM PDT
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PrintSorry, I just like to take any chance possible to mock Hawk and his ridiculous nature.
Don't look now, folks, but the A's are now 9-5 in August. All with names like Murphy, Suzuki and DiNardo leading the way. The best news about tonight was Joe Blanton seemed to finally get over whatever issues he had. I'm not going to say that he's all the way back yet (especially considering the dismal White Sox offense), but it was good to see him throwing strikes. With Loaiza about to rejoin the rotation and Meyer probably being a part of the plan at some point (maybe in place of DiNardo?), the A's pitching seems like it's about to get a lot better. I just hope Loaiza is 100 percent because we all saw what he was like last year when he didn't have his velocity. It was like someone throwing BP.
And kudos to Kurt Suzuki for hitting a key blast that wound up being the difference in the game. Suzuki has seemed much more relaxed at the plate lately and it paid off with him pulling a pitch that was outside out of the ballpark. It made up for a blown bunt earlier in the game that he popped up.
Also, congrats to Jack Hannahan, who had his first career hit. The A's have looked a bit better of late, which is always good to see. It's exciting to see some new names contributing to A's wins because if nothing more, we don't know what to expect from these young guys like Hannahan, Suzuki and Murphy (he of the .907 OPS this month).
The A's wound up taking the series and look for the sweep tomorrow with Haren going to the hill. Hopefully the A's will be saying...they gone. Ah, Hawk, I can't help but root against you, buddy.
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Street dueling in the ninth ... 3 k's
"He Gone!" I love it.
by Bleeding the Green and Gold on Aug 15, 2007 9:48 PM PDT reply actions
A couple observations...
- There was one weird moment between Blanton and Suzuki--I wonder if anyone else noticed. It was the 3rd or 4th inning, the count was 1-2 and Blanton stared at a few signs...then Suzuki started out to the mound and Blanton glared at him like he was irritated that the catcher couldn't figure out what he wanted to throw and like Suzuki was disrupting his rhythm by coming out to the mound. I couldn't help but think of all the Blanton-loves-Kendall stuff--and couldn't help thinking that Suzuki was behind the plate for a shutout so far so what's the problem, Joe? Just interesting.
- Donnie Murphy is just better than Crosby. I thought so when his average was .190 and I sure as heck think so today. Yeah he didn't make a play tonight that he probably should have, but I just feel so much better with him in the lineup. So much better. Billy, if you can do better than Murphy, great. But you can already do better than Crosby. Please, Billy, I'm begging.
- I like Hannahan. 8 letters in his name and only 3 different ones. That's cool.
I'm thinking of getting a customized jersey
with the number 12 and the name "Bobby Who?"
(And I even like Crosby.)
If the A's had made the deadline deal,
the shirt could have read, "Bobby? Hu!"
2 thoughts
1.) i caught the look from blanton. he needs to be an adult and accept his new catcher. suzuki's bomb secured the win for blanton so deal with it.
2.) i know street struck out the side, but he didn't throw one pitch inside to a left handed hitter. won't take scouts long to figure it out. he threw a couple of nice sliders but they were all outside corner. big huston fan...just something i've noticed.
Regarding point #2,
I attribute that--at least with Thome--to the fact that it was a one-run game and you don't want to make a mistake inside. If you keep the ball down and away to Thome, he's not going to take you deep. That wouldn't apply to Podsednik, though. In fact with Pods, I'd take the opposite approach--don't let him extend his arms and slap the ball; tie him up inside. Great 3-2 changeup, though--that pitch is what elevated Street from the shakier 2006 version to the guy who's given up 19 hits in 30 IP in 2007.
Totally agree
I was watching with my son and before the count became full I was saying, "keep it down and away from him Huston. I would rather see you walk him than challenge him with a pitch anywhere in the strike zone."
That last pitch to strike him out actually scared me because it was up.
Maybe I'm spoilt, but does H2A3N3 have any range?
A couple balls that got through looked pounce-uponable.
by The Dogfather on Aug 15, 2007 10:46 PM PDT up reply actions
Hard for to tell yet
One ball that got by seemed gettable by Chavy IF he was cheating toward the hole (as he often does recently) but not if he was guarding the line ("no doubles"). So some of it is positioning. In general, I feel like I'm so used to Chavy's range that it's hard to know what a 3B "should" get to.
I thought according to On the DL ...
... Chavvy's days of cheating toward the hole were over.
I'm with you Blez
When Hannahan laid down the bunt in the 7th I was thinking that if we had Chavez up in that situation we could never do that, we would have to wait for the pop up, or the K instead. It is just so enjoyable watching young players. We have no idea whether they will be any good, by the same token they may turn out to be that diamond in the rough. Sure, they are going to make mistakes, going to have bad AB's but there is always the hope that they will learn and be very good players also. Right now Suzuki has hit more HR's in his time here than Kendall did in two years, or was it three years. I predict that Murphy will have more HR's in his two months than Crosby did in four. It is a lot of fun watching a team going through a rebuilding process and winning at the same time. I hope BB has the fortitude to trade both Crosby and Kotsay. Lest I forget, trade DJ for a bucket of balls also.
by china bob on Aug 15, 2007 10:03 PM PDT reply actions
I agree too.
Much more fun watching an exciting, happy to be there young team then a boring going through the motions team. This is fun! Go A's!
by A'sfansince1970 on Aug 15, 2007 10:06 PM PDT reply actions
I can't wait to see Meyer on Friday
(the A's already announced it won't be ELo and I think the fact Meyer didn't need to pitch in long relief tonight guaranteed he'll get the start). I have seats right behind the plate, front row, which I only get 1-2 times/year; I'm psyched that it will be for Meyer's debut.
Where did you see that?
I must've missed it. I'm looking forward to seeing Meyer's debut too.
by Tyler Bleszinski on Aug 15, 2007 10:15 PM PDT up reply actions
Korach announced definitely
that ELo will NOT get the start, and it sounded like there was some tension between ELo and the A's--Korach referred to Geren being "rather blunt" about Loiaza not pitching until "it was the right time for the team" or something. I think the inference (IIRC) was that ELo wanted to pitch but the A's didn't want him to yet. Sound familiar? (Piazza)
Beane/Geren are really coming across as top-down "we meet behind closed doors-you'll do what we tell you-we'll tell you when you need to know something" management vs. players types at every turn. But in this case, I'm happy about the outcome.
I hope Loaiza gets enough chances to start
in what remains of the season, and does well. that's likely the only way that Beane could get something good in a trade. If Loaiza pitches well his contract will look relatively good to another club looking for starting pitching.
I should clarify that I don't doubt
the A's are doing the right thing with Loaiza. Their reasoning is that they want Loaiza averaging better than mid-80s on his fastball before he pitches in the bigs and I couldn't agree more.
It just appears that at every turn--Halsey, Piazza, Loiaza--the team's communications skills (or lack thereof) are lacking and often rubbing players the wrong way.
trades I'd like to see
Piazza to the halos for Dallas McPherson
Chavez to the Phillies for Brett Myers
or....Kotsay to Phillies
Heck any package of Crosby Kotsay Chavez to Phillies for any of Rollins, Myers, and of course Utley and Howard
Danny Haren to Yankees for Hughes and Chamberlain. I bet the A's would go for that but Y's wouldn't
I'd still like to see A's get Heilman from the Mets somehow.
but then I'd still like to see Durazo at first base for the A's
You just want McPherson
so we can have two Dallases and a Huston.
It'd be much
cooler if his name was Austin MacPherson.
by Tyler Bleszinski on Aug 15, 2007 10:16 PM PDT up reply actions
El Paso that sentiment along.
Well we could
just trade for Austin Kearns
and then rename Jairo Garcia again to Sanantonio Casilla
by closetasfan on Aug 15, 2007 10:22 PM PDT up reply actions
That's the nice thing about Casilla--
he can really adapt to fit any desired pattern. For example, if we had Vida Blue, Dick Green, and Bud Black, he could just declare he was actually Santiyellow Redsilla. He would also need to be about 48, which is quite possible--especially the way he's been pitching lately.
How about our Dallas for
one Austin?
We move Cisco Field into a steel cage.
I'm sure Swish watched his fair share or pro wrestling back in WV.
by oaklandSMASH on Aug 16, 2007 1:14 AM PDT up reply actions
We certainly wouldn't miss Kendall's
grittyness if we signed Stone Cold. Lackey wouldn't dare throw inside.
Eye-bar--"Hey Lackey, that guy's stealing home!!"
Stone Cold--"Thanks for the run, jackass!!"
Yeah, I think it could work.
by oaklandSMASH on Aug 16, 2007 10:28 AM PDT up reply actions
STRETCH!!!
Goodbye Hawk.
Hope we all can sit back, relax and strap it down tomorrow for a sweep.
You can cancel the postgame show.
Can-o-corn, this series is "O-VAH".
What a crazy site.
Only one problem with Blez' account:
He said, "Hopefully, the A's will be saying..." when it's "Hopefully, we will be saying..." You see, an announcer's job is to refer to himself as part of the team in the process of blatantly rooting for "us" to win. For example, sometimes "we need a big hit"--not Joe Crede, not the White Sox, US.
I did not know
there were "good guys" and "bad guys" wearing different uniforms playing the same game.
by Hit4TheCycle on Aug 15, 2007 10:35 PM PDT up reply actions
"Problem, we have a Huston."
Embree-o aborted in the last trimester.
Yay new guys
Murphy looks like a suitable "anyone" to plug into "anyone but Crosby." Hannahan didn't do anything in the minors, but I like his swing and most of his outs so far have been line drives. Maybe he suddenly became good this year?
I wonder if Buck in CF is something they're seriously considering. I was sitting up in the plaza outfield, so I didn't see anything he did. Was any of it notable?
The triple he couldn't get to was interesting
Was it catchable? I suspect not by anyone we have, but was probably catchable by one of the really good ones (Torii Hunter, Cameron, etc.). On our team, Kotsay gets the best jumps but isn't that fast--I think 2007 Kotsay doesn't get to it. Swisher can track a ball the farthest, but doesn't get the jumps or have the speed to get that, I think. Buck looked a bit awkward at the end, but I didn't see what jump he got initially (not shown on TV).
What did others think?
It all depends
on whether tracking flight paths is essentially an innate skill or not.
It seems more like one to me, but I have to admit that my experience is strictly limited to failing laughably to catch pop-ups in intramural softball games.
I still think they should give him a few games at shortstop and see what happens. He'd be an awesome offensive asset at SS.
Great game tonight.
Sitting down in 104 on the line. The crowd was great and loud - probably the loudest and most "into" it crowd I have seen on a Wednesday night this year. Good pitching matchup, and Embree slowly surrendering the closer role by making it just a little too interesting. Good to see Huston back in form.
I know people have made comments about Murphy's range -- but he is improving every day and made some fantastic plays today. His arm is fantastic. And he's producing offensively. Yes, I'm a Crosby h8er...but the Murph seems like he has a good shot at replacing him. He's doing well. I'm happy not having an offensive black hole at SS. Now, if only we could do something about Kotsay...
PLUS the fact is my friend's boyfriend is a Sox fan and sulking like a 5 year old after the game - that just topped the whole thing off.
Side note:
We can't feel bad about our baby 3.2 earthquake last night now seeing what happened in Peru this evening...scary.
beginning of game vs end...
turned on game just as the announcer said something like "and here's Hawk"
(my thought: DAMN!! Why the whitesox announcers on MLB Extra Innings..damn)
and when Huston came out in the 9th, it looked like the A's from yesteryear and left me feeling like there was no doubt that not only would Oakland win, but Street is back and the A's could make a run.
My thoughts on the a's now is that they are forming a young nucleus similar to a late 90s squad that will be very competitive in a year or 2.
crosby has to go. Period.
by Erik being Erik on Aug 15, 2007 11:25 PM PDT reply actions
Good win
I've been enjoying the last few weeks just like everybody else. I'm anxious to see Murphy's defensive metrics by the end of the year. Can't imagine he'll supplant Crosby by opening day, but it'll be great to have someone to at least push Bobby (though I'm not sure BoCro is much of a pressure player, and pushing him may be the worst thing for his development, and I do believe Bobby Crosby can still be an All-Star).
Any word on the draft picks? Was hoping something could get done with Mark Schlareth's kid at least.
see
we just need to trade Crosby to a guy like you (believes Croz could be an All-Star) for a talented young CF replacement, and we're set.
My point is...
(and I defended Croz as late as this May) that if Crosby makes it, (I hope he does) it probably won't be with the A's. He needs a big shake up. A change of scenery, coaches, and teammates to have a shot.
It took him three and a half months of sub par play to adjust and get closer to the plate. That's not going to cut it in the bigs.
Crosby and Casilla to the Tigers
for Thames. Carlos Guillen moves to first, the Tigers get a solid defensive SS who might hit with the combo of a change of scenery and the magical Leyland, and they add something they love and have missed: a "power arm" for their shaky pen. The A's add a right-handed bat with power and open the door for Murphy to handle SS.
Or somethng like that.
I'm pretty sure that illegal and/or immoral
behavior by Dave Dombrowski would be required for that trade to be, uh, consummated.
Marcus Thames is a 30-year old backup outfielder with a significantly sub-average OBP. He's basically a right-handed platoon player, albeit a good one.
As I said before, I'd rather just get Jason Perry back than take either Thames or Monroe. And Crosby+Casilla for Jack Hannahan doesn't exactly strike me as the best deal either.
Frankly, the Cats would probably deal Monroe or Thames for just Crosby.
My trade ideas are always just bases
for trades. In that deal, the A's could ask for a minor league starting pitcher to complete the deal, or subtract Casilla and trade Croz for Thames straight up. Thames has significant platoon splits but I'd bill him as more than a platoon player; last season, 26 HRs, 20 doubles in 348 ABs overall. He consistently slugs .500+ against LHP + RHP combined. I'll take the low OBP to add that to the current high OBP/high LOB lineup. I'm not especially keen on Thames, btw--he just has the lure of being available on a team whose SS can't field or throw.
Ok, that makes more sense
although I feel they'd be more willing to surrender Monroe than Thames for Croz.
The current team, I hate to tell you, is not high OBP. It's average OBP. If that. Getting a .350/.400 OBP/SLG player would still be significantly more valuable than getting a .300/.450 player.
But it's average OBP
due to being dragged down by Kendall (gone), Kotsay (going, going...), and Crosby, and will (hopefully) be adding a high OBP (but low SLG) guy in Barton. With Buck, Barton, Cust, and Swisher, you have the nucleus of a solid OBP team; a right-handed bat with power would be a good complement, IMO, more than a right-handed bat with Swisher/DJ/Cust patience but Barton's or Stewart's power.
Streak part deux...
The A's are 3 for 3 on the five year anniversary of the streak. It started on Aug 13, 2002. only 17 more to go. whoo hoo! I'm definitely feeling number 4 tomorrow.
AND their only 8 1/2 out of the wild card i believe.
by AintEasyBeinGreen on Aug 16, 2007 12:28 AM PDT reply actions
I like this team
The team, as currently constituted, is a lot more exciting than the version earlier in the season. It's full of young guys with potential and guys who never got a chance. It reminds me of the late-90's A's. Granted, I'd love to have a healthy Duke in the pen and Harden in the rotation, but this team gets me excited.
Only real "hole" is CF where we're putting guys who have no business there. I guess we have to hope Denorfia is the answer next year.
I agree
much more enjoyable to watch, even when the lose. Just a relief to not see Crosby come to the plate - and, sadly, Chavez. Though I chalk a lot of his problems up to injury that hopefully will be worked out. Too bad Wash is gone - he could turn Murphy into a very good SS. He definitely has the arm for it.
I would like to see Buck get some more games in CF - anything to keep Kotsay out of the lineup. Make a waiver trade or DFA the guy and bring up Davanon for the bench. We give up a lot of OF defense with Stewart, Buck, Cust out there, but this is their best lineup right now.
Buck
Stewart
Swish
Cust
Piazza
Ellis
Hannahan/Scutaro
Murphy
Suzuki
Piazza's not right
He has to have reaggravated something in his shoulder at some point. He looks like he's laboring through every at-bat. His last two "big hits" have been inside-out flares fisted over the head of the second baseman. This implies that he's having problems getting around on inside pitches.
I know the guy's a gamer, but he's not himself right now. He should be on the DL, with DJ and Kotsay continuing to see play.
I fear the shoulder injury
effectively ended Piazza's career. His swing had already slowed down, but his great hitting ability was still going to allow him still to be a decent hitter this year and maybe next (not even sure about that, though). Now I think it's a Kotsayesque declinee for Piazza--knowing what to do and being surprised and frustrated when balls he thinks he's driving are lofted gently to the OF or topped to SS. Damn Father Time.
agree..
we're in the late 90s stage...and this past week has been tolerable. I still haven't gotten to watching a full game yet, but the 9th last night was sweet for Street
by Erik being Erik on Aug 16, 2007 11:01 AM PDT up reply actions
Who is this guy?
White Socks Broadcast Team is the Worst
They have always been one of the worst three or four in my opinion but they take the crown. Even worse than Remy in Boston.
I understand being a homer. Hell, I would be a homer too if I was an announcer.
What makes Hawk and his partner unbearable is that they are so ignorant that they appear to be blind. To see the exact same play happen to both teams and see them so differently...to borrow a quote from Hawk..."is ridiculous."
They whined for two days about the close play to end the first in game one. Then they fail to acknowledge the same play when it happened to the other team in game 2 (the later play at first, not the earlier one).
Worse was them bitching about the strike zone late in the game. Not sure what they were looking at but the A's were throwing strikes. And even if you want to say they were a hair outside, the same calls were being made with the A's batting. I can confidently say those close pitches by Embree and Street late were more strikes than the inside shit they were calling strikes when Cust was batting.
Ump had a bizarre strike zone last night
It's supposed to be a vertical rectangle. His strike zone was probably wider than it was high. This was patently obvious to me from the reactions of the players-- relieved when a belt-high pitch got called a ball, irked when a pitch 6 inches off the inside corner got them rung up.
Why would Meyer replace DiNardo in the rotation?
That makes no sense to me at all. DiNardo is pitching great, has a 3.28 ERA (last I checked)and looks like he will be a (big) part of the staff next year. I thought the plan was to have Meyer take the place of Braden and see what Loaiza's got to give(?)
by Bosnian on Aug 16, 2007 10:09 AM PDT reply actions
I think when Blez wrote that
he was under the impression Loaiza would start Friday. So now the question is: If Meyer starts Friday and does fine, who will Loiaza replace and when? The answer, at the moment, appears to be that ELo is the current Piazza--the veteran the A's plan to mess with because they don't have a spot for him at the moment while they check out some younger guys.
So the question is: Does ELo in fact need more rehabbing to increase his velocity, or are the A's just not interested in having him pitch for Oakland right now? My guess is: both.
So the next question is: If ELo's velocity is there before the A's really want him to pitch for Oakland, what will they do? My guess is: Tell ELo that before he can be activated, first he needs to prepare to be a backup catcher.
Welcome to your 2007 Oakland A's!
Gaudin
I hate to say this because i love the guy and he is coming off a nice start but I would really like to see them put Gaudin back in the bullpen and save him for next year.
As mentioned before on this site, the innings are piling up.
I was wondering if the A's might consider that--
going with Haren, Blanton, Loaiza, DiNardo, and Meyer, putting Gaudin in the pen and maybe resting Casilla a bit more (and not overusing Brown too). That would offer a good look to see what Meyer can do, how DiNardo sustains his success, and where Loaiza is, while backing off on Gaudin's and Casilla's innings.
Gaudin earned his spot in the rotation
He's had his ups and downs as any young pitcher thrown into a spot is a little to high up in the rotation for him.
Hands down he deserves to be a starter for us, and would probably benefit the A's in the future for him to have a full season under his belt.
Sending him to the pen and letting a guy like E-Lo do the johnny-the-surgery-come-lately insert seems all too wrong.
E-Throat-Losenge to the pen to work up to starter
by oaklandSMASH on Aug 16, 2007 11:30 AM PDT up reply actions
It wouldn't necessarily be a demotion. He's
just thrown a lot of innings this year and he seems to be slowing down, which is completely understandable. Someone posted the idea of 6-man rotation and that wouldn't be too bad of an idea for the A's to evaluate a few guys with an emphasis on 2008.
by ohtobe21likehuston on Aug 16, 2007 9:46 PM PDT up reply actions
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