Hope Is Dangerous And Sometimes Tiresome:
by saintoakland on Mar 25, 2008 11:10 AM PDT
42 comments
Hope woke me up at 3AM Today...
Hope led me to believe that the Red Sox "might" not score...
Hope made me believe that losing Chavez's glove "may" not matter...
Hope made me believe that between the mix of young center fielders one "could" stand out and be able to track a ball as well as Kotsay...
Hope led me to believe Street's control of the strike zone "may" return...
Hope had me wishing for "Zooks" to be the hero in Japan...
Hope led me to believe that "Lach" would not be missed...
In the end, "Hope" is all I had as the A's showed us all what I can expect this year...An exciting team who is favored to lose more games than they win and I'd be smart to not EVER expect a win...I "Hope" I can temper my expectations... :)
Game Notes:
Three things that are still killing me this morning are the IBB to Ortiz , the 3rd base coach (Tony DeFrancesco) sending Barton and the VERY minor League attempt to haul in Manny's shot.
I could be upset about the team letting Dice-K off the hook in the first two innings, but I expect the offense to struggle with RISP all year so I was happy with the patience that they showed and the fact that they didn't GIDP and managed to get two runs across.
Ordering your CLOSER to walk Ortiz, who was 0-4, in order to pitch to Manny, who absolutely OWNS the A's, made my ire rise and Manny didn't disappoint my ire when he nailed a shot off the wall in CF.
Manny's shot was the type of hit that teams with good defensive CFs catch to win games, just look at the ball that Ellsbury hauled in to rob Brown in the bottom of the 8th. If Jacoby misses that ball, then Brown would have been at third with no outs and would have been a VERY valuable insurance run.
DeFrancesco sending Barton when his run wasn't the tying run was also inexcusable. If Brown didn't draw the throw, the Sox understood the importance of Brown's run, Barton would have probably been nailed at the plate.
By eliminating Brown the Sox accomplished exactly what they had to. the got the tying run off the basepaths and eliminated Crosby from being the winning run. Basic baseball 101 says that you hold Barton and give your team a shot to let a single tie the game without taking the chance on a lead footed ex-catcher scoring from 1st on a double.
Two of these three things can be fixed immediately, and we can only "Hope" that one of the three CFers can play above average defense.
I wonder if we can pull off a Rincon-like trade and have Crisp switch dugouts before this morning's game?
On a good note, I loved the heart and grit that the offense showed in the tenth inning and I do believe that this will be a fun team as long as I don't have HOPE that they will be a winning team.
I think I'll set the alarm for 5AM this time and catch the end of the game...
Cheers,
Saint
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Control the strike zone?
Boy, Street really failed at that last year. I mean, only five Ks for every walk? What's up with that?
Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.
Control The Zone As In:
not hanging meat balls in the center of the plate.
Street of 2006 had more sink on his pitches and was automatic on the corners. Last season his pitches didn't dip as much when he came back and his corner command isn't quite the same.
I didn't site his BB-K rate. rather his control of the zone.
A "better" way of saying it would be his control "In" the zone as opposed to "of" the zone, but my point is the same. His pitches are lacking the tail and dip that they had.
2 years ago, the pitch that Moss homered on would have been 6 inches lower and the kid would have K'd.
by saintoakland on Mar 25, 2008 12:29 PM PDT up reply actions
I believe the term you're looking for is command, not control
Nonetheless, comparing Street's 2006 to his 2007, he gave up:
Significantly fewer hits
Somewhat more home runs
Marginally greater number of walks
Massively greater number of strikeouts
Basically all of these can be traced back to the fact that he's now throwing a changeup, which often gets batters out but sometimes hangs or misses the zone.
The pitch to Moss looked like a change, which 2 years ago he wouldn't even have thrown.
Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.
Look: I know what I mean and so do you:
And for your information, Street added the change in 2006. Or, do you not recall him striking out Bonds on a change to end a game. It may be his most memorable pitch...So, basically, you're wrong...But, heh, we are all A's fans and entitled to our opinions...Mine is I will not hope that they win, just be glad when they do.
by saintoakland on Mar 25, 2008 3:10 PM PDT up reply actions
Meh
OK, according to Fangraphs, he doubled the frequency with which he threw the changeup. Prior to last year, it was something of a "video game pitch"-- a pitch you could make him throw in MLB '07, but not one that he actually threw very often.
It's clearly a significant change in his pitch patterns. I stand by my claim that 2 years ago he'd likely have thrown a different pitch.
Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.
He threw it 10% of the time ...
that's hardly a "video game pitch" ...
"It's for your own good. Big strong Devo knows whats best for Poppy" -- Mossback
Oh, also...
he threw the change as much in 2005 as he did in 2006, so I think it's safe to say that both of our initial statements were wrong.
Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.
That is funny, because I was going to say:
"I don't remember him NOT throwing the change"
by saintoakland on Mar 25, 2008 6:26 PM PDT up reply actions
But, being on vacation and wine tasting:
Makes for sloppy "perfection"!!!
Go A's!!!
by saintoakland on Mar 25, 2008 6:28 PM PDT up reply actions
wine tasting? high five!
Where'd you go?
"It's for your own good. Big strong Devo knows whats best for Poppy" -- Mossback
Solvang:
I am completely relaxed!!!
Well I was until I saw that Bruce, Langoria AND Maybin were sent down!!!!
by saintoakland on Mar 25, 2008 8:47 PM PDT up reply actions
It appears teams have learned
that they can screw players out of a year of free agency with limited consequences...
Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.
Yep...
And some teams are willing to lose before they win...C-Gon played his way onto this team, and now he is C-Gon until Mayo...
by saintoakland on Mar 25, 2008 10:14 PM PDT up reply actions
Nice ... I'm planning on taking a trip down to those parts in the next couple of months ...
I took a quick trip to Sonoma a couple of weeks ago. There's really no better way to spend a weekend (when it's not baseball season) ...
"It's for your own good. Big strong Devo knows whats best for Poppy" -- Mossback
We used to go to Solvang once in awhile
when our kids were little. We thought it was cool ...but we went again about 5 years ago when a daughter was graduating from Cal Poly and I couldn't believe what a dull little place it was. As you get older I guess you expect more hehe.
Do they not have good win, good food and beautiful country roads?
What more could you expect or even hope for?
"It's for your own good. Big strong Devo knows whats best for Poppy" -- Mossback
Well it's not Las Vegas ...
but the town closing early is the perfect excuse for you and a loved one to purchase and privately enjoy a fantastic bottle of wine ... and, you know, other stuff too ...
"It's for your own good. Big strong Devo knows whats best for Poppy" -- Mossback
We can do that anytime .
We enjoy winetasting and go fairly often. (But not usually to solvang). We always buy a case for each of our daughters too when we go. When I stay overnight somewhere...I like to have something to do in the evenings besides staying in all night drinking and having sex. When you are in your 20s that may seem very romantic but it's less so as you get older IMO.
HAHAHA!!! TRUE!!!
This is definitely Syrah and Sangiovese Country. I found a couple of bottles that are around $20 that I like.
The Kalyra Sangio was very good for $28 and the Barrell 27 Syrah was nearly as good for $20.
Today we are walking to the falls before we head out. It is definitely a sleepy town, but that is why I like it.
by saintoakland on Mar 26, 2008 8:40 AM PDT up reply actions
Those sound yummy.
Good prices too. Glad that you're resting up...it won't be long until you're beating the drum for hours on end rooting on the A's.
Come on now ... this has developed into an online bar with a family restaurant attached ...
talking about sex is fine (we do it all the time) but it's important to use euphemisms ...
fair enough ... I'm still in my 20s (and not married ... probably equally critical, if not more so) ...
"It's for your own good. Big strong Devo knows whats best for Poppy" -- Mossback
Euphemisms
"Going to Solvang"
Use it in a sentence:
They won't be, you know, 'going to Solvang' for their 25th wedding anniversary...
"There is an HR in Hanrahan." ~ mikeA
or ...
Mrs. grover refuses to go to Solvang before 5 o'clock ...
"It's for your own good. Big strong Devo knows whats best for Poppy" -- Mossback
Solvang the conundrum?
"... it won't be long until you're beating the drum for hours on end rooting on the A's."
Green Tea
C'mon folks -
Resorting to puns clearly isn't Solvang anything.
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
LOL
This from the kid who talked about having fish tacos for breakfast..
Anyway...ok sorry if someone was offended. :-)
exactly .... nothing wrong with talking about it ...
you just need to use the euphemisms ...
"It's for your own good. Big strong Devo knows whats best for Poppy" -- Mossback
devo...
Come on that euphemism is a lot more offensive and nasty sounding than an honest word. I will remember that you don't like bluntness but I don't really agree with your point. That doesn't mean I won't listen to your honest opinion and curb my bluntness just because it does seem to offend you . I don't like making folks uncomfortable and if you were, then surely you are not alone.What next? i can't say my daughter is pregnant? Must I say she is in the "family way". LOL
I'm really just joking about this whole thing ...
I prefer the euphemisms because they amuse me ... I'm not easily offended.
"It's for your own good. Big strong Devo knows whats best for Poppy" -- Mossback
good to see Saint's post on AN 3.0
I hope to see and hear you and the rest of the drummers on Tuesday evening!
(yeah, I was wishing for some better outfield play...)
Hey Saint! Great to see you back!
I have plenty of hope for this season, but no expectations other than they'll do their best and that those of us in the stands will do ours. I'm happy to think that in another week, we'll be sitting in the bleachers making some noise. I hope we'll be watching the Sox get pummeled, but I'll just enjoy it regardless. The offseason is finally OVER!
If you wake up early enough to make it worthwhile you should head over to Ricky's. They deserved more than the six fans (and 10 or so broadcasters) they had this morning!
The candy and the baseball all night long: )
Yes
I went to Target to get some stuff for my guests and drove past Ricky's -- it's maybe 12 blocks from where I just moved -- and saw the sign announcing they would be open all night, so we moved the venue. Although Poppy stopped by my place first to give me a ride and be bitten by my cat.
The candy and the baseball all night long: )
by Englishmajor on Mar 25, 2008 2:29 PM PDT up reply actions
I got the following email .
It's from my friend Jaime..a lifelong Tiger fan living in Santa Barbara.
i came home for my lunch break today and they are showing the A's Sox game on ESPN right now. Man, the umps sure squeezed Blanton in the 6th inning. He threw at least 4 astrikes that werent called. Buck shoulda ccaught that ballat the wall.Major leaguers have to catch that. Welcome to 08
Just felt like sharing an outsiders view.
I knew they were going to walk Ortiz
I don't have the numbers and I don't know what Phillips was talking about during the broadcast but it always seems Street is better versus Righties.
I still feel it was the right move
To Me:
Putting Ortiz on base, or a pinch runner for Ortiz, is a mistake. A single beats you, and if you aren't going to walk both of them, don't walk one of them.
I see your logic though...And hopefully we get them tonight.
by saintoakland on Mar 25, 2008 5:41 PM PDT up reply actions
Yup -- the ass was half on that play.
The meaning of life is not so much 'found,' as it is 'made.' --Opus
by The Dogfather on Mar 25, 2008 9:41 PM PDT up reply actions
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