Too bad Harem wasn't pitching
by monkeyball on Aug 18, 2007 9:14 PM PDT
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PrintWith the exception of Joel Peralta, the Royals pitchers pretty much made the A's their odalisque tonight.
The A's had a great breakth--
Hi,AN'ers! JoeyGathrighthere! BoytonightwasagreatwinforKCwasn'tit? HeyI'mfast!
< shove >
Uh, what just happened there? I was trying to do the game wrap and he just, uh -- Blez, Nico, Louis, bbg, can I get a ruling here?
Oh, come on! </GOB>
Crud.
Anyway, the A's offense sprang to life briefly in the 6th vs Peralta, but for most of the evening it was back to same old same old with the A's offense: lots of walks with a few but not enough hits. Cust once again provided most of the excitement (thankfully, confining his entertainments to the offensive side of the ledger), with 2 BBs, a blistering 2B, and a Baggiedome-style 3B.
Unfortunately, the A's pitchers tonight had worse luck with gophers than Carl Spackler.
As many holes as the A's offense has, this offseason and next spring training may be quite intrig--
Yo! Gathrighthereagain! Wheeeee! Fast! Speed! Wheee!
<shove>
What the hell?
At least, I suppose, we can comfort ourselves that Mark Ellis was the beneficiary -- after being mugged by a crowd of Brooks Brothers-clad yuppies pounding on the glass of his workspace -- of a, shall we say, Originalist and non-precedent-setting after-the-fact intercession of judgment to preserve his errorless streak. Plus, Ellis just mkay have solidified a few more GG votes with his exceptional DP tonight.
The A's look to stop the Royals from sweeping tomorrow at 1:05.
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My ruling is simple:
Obviously, if he weren't correct he'd be named Joey Gathwrong. Thus, he is entitled to second, AND third, AND he gets to do the game wraps on Saturdays from now on. And he gets to boink your wife.
Wait, you don't even get to do that
Delete the last part.
My ruling is offensive holding
Loss of down, five yards penalty.
And don't try to claim you were "holding for a friend".
Remember the start of the year?
When we almost swept the Red Sox - only game we lost was 1-0? High point of the year.
Well, sure.
Ellis has the highest fielding percentage of all 2B starters not named after opera singers, and the best range of all 2B starters not carrying double-digit error counts (which might be even higher if Swisher would remember to play 1st base, not 2nd), but he's only batting .260ish. No GG until he's well over .300. Pay attention.
THINGS that need to change
hannahan just is not a good player. I can tell he wont ever be.
Murphy and crosby both arent good.
In the offseason the A's need to get a shortstop. I like gaudin much better in the pen.
by green and gold bruh on Aug 18, 2007 10:03 PM PDT reply actions
I have to agree on Hannahan,
though he has now hit 4 line drives that were caught, which really skews his BA in the small sample. But even though it's not yet clearly his fault, the reality is that since he started playing 3B, even non-routine ground ball to the left side has gotten through. And you KNOW Chavy would have made 2-3 of those plays--just not precisely sure which ones.
Don't agree on Murphy, yet. He's playing a pretty solid SS and hitting .270 since he got in a groove. I'm still eager to see what he can/can't do over 6 more weeks of showcasing.
Why has Gaudin suddenly decided to give up HRs? Bad idea.
Tired pitchers leave balls up
and Gaudin is approaching 150 IP this year after throwing about 80 last year.
Coincidence?
I'd have kept Meyer up and skipped his next start.
I agree. Why didn't they
keep Meyer for one more start and rest Gaudin? Sometimes the decisions made by A's management puzzle me. Is it a morale issue with Gaudin? I wonder. C'mon Lenny D! Get us out of this funk with 6+ innings of great pitching!
by A'sfansince1970 on Aug 19, 2007 10:43 AM PDT up reply actions
Two words: Larry Davis
How could Gaudin have a dead arm? He never heard of that. It must be something AN'ers are making up. There used to be guys that threw 300 innings. How could Gaudin be tired after only 150?
Best part of the game...
Was when Geren got tossed. Sad when the manager getting ejected is the lone bright spot. 82 wins slipping away.....
by Mr C on Aug 18, 2007 10:46 PM PDT reply actions
That call was nothing short of ridiculous
Glad to see Ellis bark about it--it was warranted. Honestly, one of the most pathetic calls I've seen in 2-3 years, because the rule is so simple and clear. If the fielder is going for the ball, he has the right of way, completely, singularly, and utterly, and if the runner interferes--whether on purpose, by accident, or due to an epileptic seizure--THE RUNNER IS THE ONE OBSTRUCTING.
fortunately,
... clearing the obstruction didn't lead to runs.
As is so often the case.
The most depressing thing...
is how ugly the losing is. They don't just lose a game in the middle of putting together a decent end to a disappointing season. They can't score to save their lives, against bad pitchers, drop easy fly balls, amongst other errors, etc. Ew.
I guess that's the trade off with having a bunch of rookies on the field. They're either gonna shock the hell out of you with thier shiny newness or fall flat on their faces. Like the players they're filling in for, it's day to day.
by AintEasyBeinGreen on Aug 19, 2007 1:43 AM PDT reply actions
This wrap cements monkeyball's rep as the Dennis
Miller of AN, but without the reactionary politics. And funnier. And not annoying. It's just a shame that you couldn't have photoshopped a Delacroix or Ingres image with Gaudin, Gload, and Perez's faces.
My guess is that Gaudin would be the one in front begging to be screwed.
End to a season
I'm not real astute when it comes to baseball but I have watched three different teams this season and it seems to me the A's are missing some very elementary baseball plays. Squeeze, walks(well they do manage a few of those),bunts, and sacs. I'm not sure what moneyball is all about as I haven't read it nor do I intend to. I just know that when you play ball there has to be a cinergy amongst the players and coaches and they seem to be hit and miss on this. Even though it is a season on the brink (my midwest tribute to Bobby Knight!) it would be nice to see the A's salvage some self respect and just play good baseball. The stat counters from above have not been doing a very good job so far---so let the managers manage. Play players that want to play and are mindful of why and how they got to the bigs in the first place. Well I've ranted long enough. Thanks.
I disagree
I don't think the problem is a lack of playing "small ball." I think the problem is that if you're going to build a team around OBP and SLG, you need to find hitters that actually post average or above average numbers in those categories. Recalling Nico's argument against the lineup with 9 '02 Hattebergs, I think (no offense, Nico), that he minimized the difference between Hatte's OPS and the current A's OPS. Put another way, would you want a lineup with lots of OPS but no speed and small ball? As an extreme example, what if you had 9 Pujols? Would you trade a couple of them for Juan Pierre or Chone Figgins?
Good thinking, there
I mean, it's only like the most important book written about baseball in forty years and freely available at basically every public library anywhere. Keep up the good work, Morgan!
Moneyball
may be the greatest thing since sliced bread but when it comes down to it, all the stats in the world do not tell everything. You can look at stats all day long but if you did not watch the game or see what other things may have affected the outcome/season/ personal career of a ballplyer then how can you be sure that particular player is going to be good or not. Stuff happens beyond the stat control. Players-managers and teams are judged IMHO unfairly because they don't have the "stat". I just want to see well executed baseball by a coach who isn't taking direction from some bean counter(no pun intended) telling them that this is what you do because the stats reflect that. Just play ball. Like I said I'm not an astute stat baseball fan I'm just a baseball fan. Go A's.
by robofavant56 on Aug 19, 2007 6:00 PM PDT up reply actions
I disagree again
I've seen one A's game this whole year, and I can still tell you that Jack Cust is a good hitter and Mark Kotsay is not. I can tell you that while I love DiNardo's performance this year, I don't think he'll sustain it in the long run. I can tell you that I think if Braden stays in the majors, he'll start to improve much like Gaudin has. Granted, not seeing the games prevents me from seeing things like Braden not using all of his pitches, or being able to evaluate a pitcher's mechanics to say if I think he's injury-prone. Then again, scouts (who get paid to watch games) used to say that Harden had an easy motion and that he would not be an injury risk. Stats tell you a lot, if you have some idea how to interpret them.
As for letting stats influence in-game decisions, while I do think that each situation needs to be evaluated individually, overall trends are very important and should play a big role in the decision-making process. If you had evidence that a particular action was doomed to fail in most cases, or would have less benefit than another action, would you still choose that action?
Actions
if a game situation arrose where a predicted action could make a difference then that is the one to pick much like Vegas- you play the odds. However, there are times when you have to take a risk and go with your gut and I still say if you have a good manager that knows what his players can do and his gut tells him to look past the stats and the guys holding all the magic strings -- take that leap of faith. I look at things from a very simple point of view and I'm trying to understand the concept of moneyball. I just think there should be a merging of playing/coaching styles and use whatever it takes to get the win. Thanks for your incite. Maybe I'll read moneyball (but I don't have to like it!) LOL
by robofavant56 on Aug 20, 2007 5:32 PM PDT up reply actions
Need to score more than 3 runs a game, I don't
care how it gets done, home runs or bunts. Blanton and Haren are solid and will probably give up 2 to 3 runs. The other starters are giving up 4, 5, 6 runs and the bullpen gives up 2 or 3 more, hell we have to score 10 runs a game to win. Every game. Pitching and defense.
by Huskerland A s Fan on Aug 19, 2007 11:27 AM PDT reply actions
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