And if 3 hours of losing wasn't enough...

by baseballgirl on Sep 9, 2007 6:11 PM PDT in News

...try five.

What did I do to deserve the game today? What did we all do to deserve this season? How has it come to us watching the battle for the cellar on a Sunday afternoon between two teams who are not very good at baseball? Even if you hate football, that channel must have been tempting.

What a different a year makes. Last year at this time, we were nailing down the division, making playoff plans, and playing games that counted. I look back and can’t believe I ever complained about anything last year; offense or pitching. The team right now is so unbelievably awful that it’s stopped being funny and started being just sad. And painful.

Even while scoring nine basically meaningless runs, the A's still managed a way to leave a hundred and six men on base (actually thirteen, but felt like more), their starting pitcher got shelled and was not helped by their terrible defense, and the game just would never end.

And now the A's find themselves swept by the Rangers, are smack in the middle of a race to the bottom of the division, and for everyone, including most fans, October can't come soon enough.

What an ugly weekend.

The A's lose 12-9, Ellis and Swisher provided the bulk of the offense; the latter with two homeruns (the very definition of 'too little, too late'), and now the A's 'get' to go to Seattle and play a frustrated Mariners team, whose playoff hopes fell short a month ago when they stopped winning games.

We feel ya'.

Here's to Spring Training! <raises glass>

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frankly, the Rivercats saved my weekend

now I'm going out to eat salmon and drink scratch margaritas

by OaklandSi on Sep 9, 2007 6:05 PM PDT 0 recs

amen

to nothing in particular

Let's have our Piazza and eat the Cust too - SPWC

by closetasfan on Sep 9, 2007 6:07 PM PDT 0 recs

Starting pitching

Looking at this weekend, it's hard to see how the A's could trade Blanton, particularly after letting go of Esteban. Since the A's can't count on Harden returning, then without Blanton the number 2 and 3 starters could be Gaudin and DiNardo. Difficult to picture the A's competing with that type of starting rotation.

by SA on Sep 9, 2007 6:11 PM PDT 0 recs

Since the A's can't count on Harden returning ...

... then with Blanton the number 3 and 4 starters could be Gaudin and DiNardo. Difficult to picture the A's competing with that type of starting rotation, either.

habitually tragicomic approach @('.')@

by monkeyball on Sep 9, 2007 6:15 PM PDT up 0 recs

another player might be done for the season

Calero's uncertainty: Kiko Calero said he's not sure if he'll throw again this season and the reliever, who is arbitration eligible, is concerned that the A's might not want him back next year.
"This year for me has been way down," Calero said. "They know when I feel good, I can pitch, and I know they know I've been working hard to try to come back, but I don't know what their plans are. I love it here, the team is like a family and my wife and I love the area."
Calero said he cannot finish his pitches because of a pinching sensation. He was examined by Dr. Lewis Yocum last week, and Yocum told him that his shoulder is "very weak, very tight." Calero has begun to feel better but he still isn't sure if he'll be able to throw this year and he said that if he feels any more discomfort, he will probably shut it down the rest of the way.

link

by gotgreen on Sep 9, 2007 6:33 PM PDT 0 recs

Well, if it's worth it to him to stay

then he can probably stay. But let's face it-- he's likely to get more money somewhere else. Unless he tacitly agrees to lowball himself in arbitration, I suspect the A's will non-tender him.

by PaulThomas on Sep 9, 2007 6:44 PM PDT up 0 recs

I agree that

Billy should in no way trade Joe Blanton this offseason. As tonight proved...We need him next year, if we want to be remotely competitive next year, to be in the starting rotation behind Haren and before a hopefully healthy Harden. You only trade starting pitching for "organizational depth" if it’s a luxury. Quite simply, we do not have this luxury. Billy needs to keep his 1-2 punch of Haren and Blanton... and if he absolutely feels the need to trade a starter, move Chad. Sure, Chad won’t bring in the same haul Joe would, but he will bring something in return. Chad, being a bottom of the rotation SP, will be easier to replace (and cheaply) via free agency, a trade, or someone like Meyer can take his spot.

by AsWin on Sep 9, 2007 6:48 PM PDT 0 recs

Nominates bbg for "Worst Motivational Speaker

EVER" award.

'the a's suck and beane is stupid' --xbox paraphrases baseline

by LAXile on Sep 9, 2007 6:57 PM PDT 0 recs

It's pretty unusual when your team

scores 9 runs and you can honestly say the offense was terrible.

Moneyball at its finest in innings 2-5: an RBI walk, an RBI fly-out, and 11 runners left on base. We almost always had runners everywhere all game, yet our two HRs were solo. The team that gets walked 10 times loses.

In a word: Gak.

I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal

by Nico on Sep 9, 2007 7:41 PM PDT 0 recs

Saw a tourist today with

an Athletics t-shirt. He did not speak English very well. I pointed to my A's hat to get his attention. Big smile. I asked him what his favorite A's player was....."Milton Bradley!" he exclaimed. I attempted to describe the DFA....whatever.

The long sobs of autumn's violins wound my heart with monotonous languor.

by ak_A on Sep 9, 2007 7:55 PM PDT 0 recs

In Alaska, didn't speak English very well...

...Was it me?

I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal

by Nico on Sep 9, 2007 8:58 PM PDT up 0 recs

was not you

no earings

did not smell of booze

though challenged to speak English, he did not slurr his words.

The long sobs of autumn's violins wound my heart with monotonous languor.

by ak_A on Sep 9, 2007 9:34 PM PDT up 0 recs

are there people in alaska

who CAN speak english well?

A's v Giants "is kind of like the difference between going to see the Ramones and going to see the Bee Gees. A's fans will go see the Ramones." -BB 07/27/05

by xbhaskarx on Sep 9, 2007 9:25 PM PDT up 0 recs

This is possibly the single saddest thing

that I've ever seen on this website.

by PaulThomas on Sep 9, 2007 11:02 PM PDT up 0 recs

So how do draft pick compensations work?

For having terrible years? How badly of a record do we need to have to get a top ten pick?

I mean, we might as well go for broke at this point and get a great draft pick.

by RenoTy on Sep 9, 2007 9:46 PM PDT 0 recs

Let's get JaMarcus

and teach him how to pitch.

Spiralball will lead the A's!

Green Hulk Fists

by oaklandSMASH on Sep 9, 2007 10:59 PM PDT up 0 recs

It's based on regular season record

which means that the ideal way to do a season is to have a terrible regular season record, sneak into the playoffs with 83 wins, and luck your way into a world series win.

Last year's Cardinals team was a lot smarter than you might have thought...

by PaulThomas on Sep 9, 2007 11:05 PM PDT up 0 recs

I was at and endured that game...

Poor Swisher was so confused. At the beginning of the game he started to trot out to left field then looked over to center before remembering that he was playing right. Perhaps we could find him a permanent position? If it means homeruns from both sides of the plates, right field works!

I'm not a big wine guy... Where do you grow the BEER?

by str8tarrow on Sep 10, 2007 7:37 AM PDT 0 recs

Barton is up

Barton will be in the big leagues today after his good AAA playoff week. So we can start the goodbye to DJ count down. I defended DJ here but over the last few weeks it has become apparent he is no future 1Bman for the A's. Now Barton has a chance to take the position.

by Arcman on Sep 10, 2007 8:29 AM PDT 0 recs