12 Lessons from 10 Games

by CurveballKing on Apr 11, 2008 2:01 PM PDT Comment 25 comments

- Here we are, ten games into the season and my excitement for the remaining 152 has yet to be extinguished. I’d say that’s enough to give this season an “E” for “Exceeds Expectations.”

- Let me be the first one (somewhat inaccurately) to welcome Dana Eveland and Greg Smith to the pitching panacea that is Oakland A’s baseball. I am mildly concerned that they’re merely benefiting from their opponents’ bout of Who-the-Crap-is-This-Guy-?-Syndrome, soon to be cured by word-of-mouth and periodic injections of videotape, but let’s enjoy it while it lasts.

- Man, Toronto fans boo EVERYTHING.

- Damn you, Rich Harden. Damn you for pitching well. Damn you for beating the Red Sox. Damn your 0.82 ERA. Damn you for giving me hope for two games before taking it all away again. Damn you to Hell. (sniff) Damn you for making me love you again.

- I like Mike Sweeney. He’s old, he’s tough, he’s experienced, he’s wise, he marks the path for the rest of the team – he’s basically Jack Palance from City Slickers. So he’ll probably be dead by August. Oh well.

- The A’s currently have more wins than the San Jose Earthquakes. I’d say this proves once and for all that Moneyball doesn’t work.

- I currently trust our 2003 closer more than our 2008 closer. Those may be the saddest words I’ve ever written.

- Hey, remember the Mulder trade? The one we didn’t expect to follow the Hudson trade? Where we all thought we were getting hosed? But then it turned out that Haren ended up having a better season than Mulder did, meaning that even a one-for-one Mulder-for-Haren trade would have been to our advantage, and Kiko Calero and Daric Barton were just the frosting on top? Is anyone thinking that Haren for Eveland trade might end up the same way? Yeah, that’d be sweet.

- If current trends continue, I may have to write something positive about Bobby Crosby by . . . I’d say July 14th at the latest. I’m not sure if I’m ready for that.

- I’m probably not allowed to marry Kurt Suzuki. But pending agency approval, I may be able to adopt him.

- So, one start and Ducscherer’s on the DL. That’s not good. We want the Duke healthy. So, how can we keep him healthy? Hmmm . . . hey, how about the putting him in the bullpen? Think that might work?

- And finally, I’m proud to introduce . . . the current Oakland batting champion . . . clocking in with a .364 batting average and a truly goliath .500 slugging percentage . . . Ryan Sweeney? Seriously? Ryan Sweeney? . . . Man, this team sucks.

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EVELAND

I am really high on Eveland. The Haren trade seems to be an absolute boom right now. Greg Smith and Dana Eveland? with Carlos Gonzalez approaching and Brett Anderson coming up in a few years? Dude. I love the A's.

by solscreen on Apr 11, 2008 2:26 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

i don't think

anyone is wanting to undo that trade

President of the Joey Devine fan club as of 1/15/08. Accepting applications for other positions. "He has no equivalent." -Paul DePodesta on Jeremy Brown

by flipgatey3 on Apr 11, 2008 6:35 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

don't forget...

Don't forget about Aaron Cunningham and Chris V. Carter who we acquired in the Haren trade as well.

by uci anteater on Apr 11, 2008 8:36 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

you spelled all the names right
you made some jokes that have not been made fifty times already
you wrote more than two sentences

these days, that is enough to get you a recommendation.

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 Apr 11, 2008 3:07 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

This is what happens when all the good writers get promoted to the front page.

H-A-N-A-H-A-N. Hanahan.

by Rocktopus on Apr 11, 2008 3:50 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

And/or start having conniptions about AN 3.0

And/or start blogs about college basketball.

Wait, no, that's why I'M not writing my usual 2000 word position papers. Or at least haven't been. I might start again soon. But I'm lacking topics right now, after my prior idea was done before I could get to it, in a Staturday.

Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.

by PaulThomas on Apr 11, 2008 3:59 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

HE MISSPELLED DUCHSCHERER! HE MISSPELLED DUCHSCHERER!

;)

"Huston, you're hot!'' said first baseman Dan Johnson, dressed as a bottle of mustard.

by Poppy on Apr 11, 2008 5:30 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

heh, you're right

i didn't actually check the spelling, i just assumed it was correct.

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 Apr 11, 2008 5:58 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

LOL!

Wait... that's not funny.

The monster at the end of this blog.

by grover on Apr 12, 2008 8:34 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'm with you on Harden

He's so destructive, breaking my heart again and again.

Nature's first green is gold...

by prana160 on Apr 11, 2008 3:31 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

July 14th for positive Crosby words sounds right

Storm the Bastille! Let 'em eat sliders low-and-away!

There is an A in Whimsy.

by FreeSeatUpgrade on Apr 11, 2008 5:24 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Geren bullpen management

My biggest beef about Geren, is his bullpen management. I don't think he has a clue about pitching.

by HuskerFan on Apr 11, 2008 10:10 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

When was the last time..

we likes a managers bullpen moves?

When will then be now? Soon.

by Syphon on Apr 11, 2008 11:08 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

When was the last time

anyone liked ANY manager's bullpen moves?

I'm pretty sure that's a no-win-zone for any manager. Not to say that some aren't better at it than others-- or that, say, using your only top-tier lefthander to attempt to retire three righties might not be the ideal strategy-- but I'm pretty sure every manager ever has been raked over the coals for that one.

Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.

by PaulThomas on Apr 11, 2008 11:31 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Im not defending Geren..

Im just saying people are always gonna second guess pen moves. That one move wasnt the smartest.

When will then be now? Soon.

by Syphon on Apr 12, 2008 12:17 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

overuse

Well half the bullpen is on pace for over 100 innings or something sick like that, and Foulke and Street have injury histories, and Embree just isn't good enough to be getting all those innings. Speaking of Embree, that really seems like a rare boneheaded move from Beane--Ron Flores was cheaper, better, and younger lefty specialist. Embree is the epitome of a gascan... Anyhow at some point they are just gonna have to trot out the longmen and risk some losses or they are going to injure the bullpen, or at least gas them to the point that their numbers could be inflated by the trade deadline and no value or even worse, they are gassed after we stand pat because we are still in the race.

It started last night when they let Blanton out to pitch the 8th in a 9-1 game-- just send out the mopup men and keep Blanton fresh --by the time it got to the mopup crew, the rally was out of hand and Geren had to burn Casilla and Street--AGAIN. Sure if the game was 4-1, I'd rather gamble on Blanton eating the extra innings than the Rule V pick, but in a 9-1 game Blanton shouldn't be out there with the pitch count near 100.

by mrrickyg on Apr 12, 2008 2:01 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

+1

+1 My point exactly.

by HuskerFan on Apr 12, 2008 5:51 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Regarding bullpen innings, though, you have to

factor in that the A's had several days off between games 2 and 3. So when Foulke pitched in (IIRC) four of the first five games, he was NOT being overused.

Regarding yesterday's game, I actually thought Geren handled the 8th inning masterfully. He needed to save bullpen arms and had Blanton out there coasting. Then when Blanton was out of gas he gave him a couple hitters to try to get that last out. When he couldn't, he lifted Blanton and, knowing he still had a big lead and just one out to get in the inning, spared his best and oft used relievers and went to Fernando Hernandez. When Hernandez completely tanked, Geren went "no nonsense" and got one of his best guys (Casilla) in there to restore order, even though it was still only 9-4. Then after the rain delay, he recognized that the save was now and went straight to his closer. The problem was, his ace starter, his first reliever, his better reliever, and his closer, all couldn't get a single out for hitter after hitter after wild pitch. But I thought Geren played it just right, not panicking too much or too little.

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 Apr 12, 2008 7:55 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yep

Right idea, IMO. It only looked bad when he couldn't seem to find a guy who could get that one out.

I'm here to talk about the past.

by 67MARQUEZ on Apr 12, 2008 10:22 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Keep in mind

that a relief pitcher can be used in almost 90 games without pitching on back-to-back days, and almost 120 games without pitching on 3 consecutive days.

Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.

by PaulThomas on Apr 12, 2008 11:43 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I never understood

what Beane had against Flores, but obviously he never seriously considered him for some reason, even though he always seemed to perform well at the major league level. Did he sleep with Beane's wife or something?

by Dilferules on Apr 13, 2008 3:30 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

flores walked a ton of batters in 2007

if flores is so great why is he in AAA once again?

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 Apr 15, 2008 7:27 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Maybe

he’s a stud and has slept with every GM’s wife?

by Dilferules on Apr 15, 2008 6:56 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

disagree with blanton

"Regarding yesterday's game, I actually thought Geren handled the 8th inning masterfully. He needed to save bullpen arms and had Blanton out there coasting."

Just letting Fernando Hernandez start the 8th was the right play. Burning him isn't a big deal, and the plan is to just let him mop up 2 innings of work.

The worst part of the blunder is allowing a tired Blanton to pitch in the 8th when you are trying to build his trade value. I love Cupcakes as much as anyone, but you don't want to risk unneccesarily inflating his ERA, because 1 IP fewer won't make an impact to other GMs, but a sub-3 to mid 3 ERA will, especially if wins will be rare. On the flipside if he has a bunch of wins, more likely to hold onto him for the season to compete, etc. More to the game theory of that decision than inning distribution.

by mrrickyg on Apr 12, 2008 4:49 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I think way too much is being made of

"building up trade value" - you're there to try to win games, manage starters and relievers, etc. You don't pull Blanton so as to carefully manipulate his stats, any more than you have Ellis sacrifice instead of "try to hit the ball to the right side" so as to protect his batting average. I think that concept is overrated/overinferred - more than anything else, the A's are trying to win two kinds of ballgames: today's and tomorrow's.

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 Apr 12, 2008 8:40 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs