Good runs! Good runs! A's 4, Mariners 2
by monkeyball on Apr 27, 2008 3:56 PM PDT
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PrintFelix Hernandez was, by all auditory and transcribed accounts, even more dominant this afternoon than Bedard was yesterday.
But the A's waited ... and waited ... and waited -- and finally Hernandez' pitchcount crept upward, he lost a lot of his control, he threw a couple hittable pitches, and the A's finally made him -- and the Mariners' accelerant-doused bullpen -- pay.
The 8th was the turning point, when the A's loaded the bases on a couple walks sandwiched around an Ellis double, and then Oscar Madison and Felix Ungar came through with consecutive RBI singles to tie and put the A's in the lead.
Joe Blanton did yeoman-like work today. He was thoroughly outpitched by Hernandez, but Joe managed to minimize the damage with all the Mariners' baserunners (8 hits and 2 walks in 7 innings). And Casilla and Street both
So the A's take another series win, and have to feel awfully good going into the showdown in the OC tomorrow.
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The next 4 days will be fun.
If we can take 3 from LAAoA, I’ll officially feel like we’re for real.
Awesome win, today.
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I'll take a split.
I think 3 of 4 would be a rousing success.
The kings remain missing, so they're playing with Eric Chavez Bobbleheads. "Chavvy does have six Gold Gloves," Brown explained. "That's good enough to be king."
I predict a split in Anaheim
so long as the rats don’t bite one of our players and put someone out of action….
"I never predict anything, and I never will." Paul Gascoigne, English footballer
by One won lost won on Apr 27, 2008 4:03 PM PDT reply actions
I can't even begin to describe how big this was
Felix looked dominant, yet we squeak out a win in a game we weren’t supposed to win. Blanton pitched like an ace today, and to me, he’s the player of the game for keeping us in it and giving us a quality start.
Prince: This bores me. Is anyone up for a game of basketball?
100% agree on all points
huge game, Blanton=total guts, tons of skill.
"I never predict anything, and I never will." Paul Gascoigne, English footballer
by One won lost won on Apr 27, 2008 4:04 PM PDT up reply actions
Blanton did his job
He kept the team in the game, until they could wear Felix down and get to the Mariners’ weakest link, the bullpen.
Station to station got the job done today!
MLBlackout.wordpress.com - Help put an end to MLB.tv blackouts
common mikeA be a man
And what did we do once we discovered a rift in the fourth dimension? We launched a monkey into it. @('.')@
Casilla 'allowed' two runs Friday, right?
It didn’t show on his ERA, but he came on w/ bases loaded no out, and gave up 2 Sac Flys.
There ought to be a stat that measures runs allowed vs runs expected (by league average)
so that a relief pitcher who allows a bases loaded no outs score gets more credit than a pitcher in same situation, but with 2 outs.
Base it on the expected number of runs scored matrix, and you could analyze any pitcher without the stupidity of blaming the first pitcher for the loss when the reliever gives up a 2 out grandslam.
"inherited runners that scored"
is the invented “stat” that covers that idea of not getting charged on your ERA, but you didn’t shut them off.
"I never predict anything, and I never will." Paul Gascoigne, English footballer
by One won lost won on Apr 27, 2008 4:20 PM PDT up reply actions
but crank it up to the next mathematical level
allowing a bases loaded, no out inherited runner is less problematic than a two out, runner on first case.
Make it mathematical, an you have a better measure.
WPA basically does this
Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.
From my last post
howdy howdy AN brothers and sisters! A really beautiful day outside today and enjoyed listening to the game outdoors…...
God I just saw Zito’s line today
3 innings and out..seven runs allowed in thr 1st inning alone..yikes! Poor bastard…sobbing all the way to the bank I guess. Nice come from behind win today by the boys in gng. This was a really an important win for the A’s because it accomplisehd two very important things: 1) They beat Felix Hernandez and proved that he is human. 2) They won a series from the M’s and proved that they will not start this season owning the A’s as they did last year. A really tough game and well deserved win. They never gave up and battled till they broke through on Hernandez and the M’s bullpen.
Way to go Blanton!!!
Baseball Tonight
Will the A’s get any love for their AL best 16-10 record?
Eveland rocks! Eveland rocks! Somewhere Drew Carey just smiled.
I almost couldn't believe it
but Gammons on bb tonight actually had more than a minute of coverage about the new pitchers we acquired in the offseason trades, and this was before they did the recap of the game, so that’s like two whole minutes, I guess that will probably be it for the rest of the week but hey it’s something
Gammons is hurriedly working on a way
to make us sound like the Red Sox of the West. It’s the only way to justify giving any airtime to the A’s.
yuk
Green Hulk Fists
by oaklandSMASH on Apr 27, 2008 7:22 PM PDT up reply actions
I spoke too soon
Eveland and Smith get some love for being a combined 5-1.
Eveland rocks! Eveland rocks! Somewhere Drew Carey just smiled.
Sunday night thread!
I call for an anti-Angels Sunday night thread!
Or should we all just go troll at Halos Heaven?
Is this Heaven? No, it's Iowa. -Field of Dreams
I'll make a thread.
"Hasn’t the foggiest inclination toward winning ‘tall. Hates to win. Likes to be buggered."
Timely hitting trumping defense
I believe the sabermetricians when they say clutch hitting doesn’t exist, but there are some A’s that are certainly making the case this season. And with Chavez probably back around the All-Star break and Cust’s PT already reduced by the platooning and late-inning substitutions, the defense could come around relatively soon. Then the A’s would have lights-out starters, a solid bullpen, good defense, and… a little offense? Scary thought.
-JC
President and CEO of the Ryan Sweeney Apologists Consortium
A little offense
Woah, woah. Let’s not get carried away.
Is this Heaven? No, it's Iowa. -Field of Dreams
question
who is the starting pitcher for the rivercats tomorrow?
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
Shocked!
I can’t believe the A’s won this game! King Felix on the mound, down by 2. Wow.
Cust getting that hit is hopefully a sign of good at bats to come from him.
Good things come to those who wait...
...and the A’s finally got their Heinz ketchup on their burger today. Yummy!
"[Moneyball] is huge [in Japan], I guess, so I'm like a David Hasselhoff type or something..." -- Billy Beane
by FormerHuntsvilleStar on Apr 27, 2008 4:56 PM PDT reply actions
Cust / Thomas
When will either start hitting the long ball? Cust is still sitting on 1 HR>
by Billy Beane's Brain on Apr 27, 2008 4:58 PM PDT reply actions
The last time Cust hit a homer
was in Japan.
FEED HIM SOME SUSHI!!
Green Hulk Fists
by oaklandSMASH on Apr 27, 2008 7:24 PM PDT up reply actions
I think Geren deserves credit for sticking with Blanton,
and for sticking with Cust. Many on here wanted Blanton yanked after 6 innings, but he pitched a great 7th (and got the win – which matters to pitchers so it’s not totally ridiculous for managers to give starters a chance to get something they want). Say what you want about Blanton but he has given the A’s a chance to win every single time out, despite little run support and poor defense behind him.
I wanted Denorfia to hit for Cust in the 8th, feeling like it was our one chance to take the lead and Cust would likely strike out (while Denorfia would likely put the ball in play and not get doubled up), but Cust came through. Hopefully a confidence booster for the Legendary One.
Score two for the Best Man.
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
I wouldn't have wanted Cust in against Felix
but he’s a great matchup against Morrow with the bases loaded.
I want to say about Blanton that I like him.
The A's colors are green and gold.
I'd take Cust's batting eye
against Morrow’s “I have no idea where this is going” fastball with the bases loaded every day of the week and twice on Sunday.
Maybe not with a runner on 3rd and one out… but bases loaded? Absolutely.
Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.
Yeah
And we need to thank McLaren for leaving in Felix too long. He was dealing for most of the game, but when your starter is doing his best to load the bases with no outs in the 8th in a 2-run game… might be time to pull him for his own good. ‘Course, their bullpen has been garbage. Just goes to show how precarious the balance can be for managers when deciding whether or not to let the ace work his way out.
-JC
President and CEO of the Ryan Sweeney Apologists Consortium
Disagree
You need a K there and he’s a K machine, not to mention being way better than those bullpen guys. Have to trust him there. Hell, he almost struck out Brown. 0-2, and the pitch Brown hit was pretty good.
The A's colors are green and gold.
Fair enough
I see it as a good starter who’s out of gas vs. a replacement-level reliever who’s fresh, which is itself a lesser of two evils type of thing.
-JC
President and CEO of the Ryan Sweeney Apologists Consortium
yeah, certainly not obvious,
but I know I was rooting for them to take him out.
The A's colors are green and gold.
Saw this comment on McCovey Chronicles
can see it in the Chronicle tomorrow AM…
"And in Giants news, Barry Zito has been placed on the DL with a major case of sucktitude and a touch of "Foot-up-the-assitus" as well.
Adoptive papa to Omar…so basically I’m screwed.
by PacBellBoozer on Apr 27, 2008 5:46 PM EDT
Zito's decline is so steep it's scary
I guess a lack of command doesn’t combine well with a lack of velocity.
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
The lack of command is more troublesome for Zito. If he can get ahead of hitters he can nibble with the 84 mph fastball and use his change and curve to finish hitters, but when he gets behind 2-0 it is tough to sneak a low 80’s fastball by major league hitters.
Eveland rocks! Eveland rocks! Somewhere Drew Carey just smiled.
It's also hard to sneak
$126 million by intelligent baseball fans…even if they are Giants fans!
Man that has to be hard to swallow if you are a Gints fan. I like Zito and he was good to our club while he was here but man talk about a fall from grace…...
Thing is, while I doubt many of us are surprised
that he’d be a #3 more than he’d be an ace, I think you have to be surprised that he’s already pitching like a #5.
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
His velocity had already plummeted in the second half of 06
I was rooting hard for him to stay in the division over that offseason.
The A's colors are green and gold.
It would have been a vintage Rangers signing
Get rid of Chris Young and Edinson Volquez to make room for Millwood and Zito.
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
This goes without saying...
... but for the decline to come right in the beginning of his prime is even scarier. The only thing I can think of is that he’s letting the contract get to him and he’s trying to hard, thinking too much. Dimestore psychology at its worst, true, but I really think he benefits from small-market anonymity.
-JC
President and CEO of the Ryan Sweeney Apologists Consortium
Psychology?
or physiology?
Is he injured, or suffering Giambi-itis?
I had always thought of Z as the least-likely guy to have juiced ...
... but at this point, nothing would surprise me.
And what did we do once we discovered a rift in the fourth dimension? We launched a monkey into it. @('.')@
I think it's overuse
Zito has consistently pitched around 200 innings for the last eight years or so, but not only that, he’s also been tops in the league in pitches thrown each year. Overworking the arm could be a probable cause of the decline in velocity, even if there is no real structural damage. As for his lack of command, I think it’s just batters learning to work the count and take pitches, causing him to nibble and walk more batters. And when the pitcher’s throwing 83, there’s definitely more time to differentiate between which pitches are balls or strikes.
"We were s--, pathetic," Guillen growled early in spring training. "We hit too many home runs."
by lenscrafters on Apr 27, 2008 5:24 PM PDT up reply actions
I agree - I think that's exactly the problem(s) for Zito
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
Anyone think z may have used
Vitamins by Balco? Looking at how fast Mulder fell apart and now he is pretty much done I’d say there was a really good chance that he was using. Just a thought, though.
This was just discussed in a BP article...
No, not about Zito using Steroids, but about people always calling a precipitous decline the result of cessation of steroid use.
Recently, there has become a tendency to ascribe any unattributed change in performance-favorable or unfavorable-to steroid use. Invariably, this is backed up with some sort of hearsay, or circumstantial evidence: “Ortiz looks much smaller this year” or “I hear so-and-so and Jose Canseco went to strip clubs together in Miami.” Our brains are designed to look for patterns in static, and like it or not, there is a lot of static in baseball statistics. Steroids have become the cure-all for every bit of our cognitive dissonance.
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See the latest dumbass thing I've done -- camUra
I dunno,
if there’s no actual structural damage, but the decline is instead caused by too much stress, ie overuse, ie overreaching, that is he’s bodies adaptation and recovery abilities are overstressed, I would imagine that if Zito is honest with the Giants training / coaching staff, they should have been able to at least have an idea if this is the case by now, even by just doing simple tests like blood pressure tests.
ZIPS: Milledge: 466 HR, 485 2B, 2282 hits, 278-379-524
ugh, his body's
ZIPS: Milledge: 466 HR, 485 2B, 2282 hits, 278-379-524
Wait!
I can see it now…Zito gets a DFA, the A’s resign him for the minimum, they stick him in the rotation, he wins the most of his starts ala Rick Sutcliff and Doyal Alexander. The A’s win the world series, Zito the Cy Young and the giants finally understand they are the cursed team in the bay area and move to Portland!
Yeah, yeah. I know.
But a man can dream, can’t he?
Ooo! Piece of candy!
by ChickenStanley on Apr 27, 2008 8:33 PM PDT up reply actions
I share in your dream
(SMASH cries a single tear)
Green Hulk Fists
by oaklandSMASH on Apr 27, 2008 9:55 PM PDT up reply actions
Are the pitching matchups for the Angels series out yet?
"We were s--, pathetic," Guillen growled early in spring training. "We hit too many home runs."
From memory...
Gaudin – Garland
Smith – Saunders
Eveland – Santana
Duke – Moseley
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
Oh joy.
We get A’s killer Ervin Santana.
The other matchups aren’t that bad though. Thank god Lackey and Escobar are injured.
"We were s--, pathetic," Guillen growled early in spring training. "We hit too many home runs."
by lenscrafters on Apr 27, 2008 5:11 PM PDT up reply actions
And we miss Jered Weaver
Couldn’t hope for much more.
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
jered weaver is not a pitcher to fear
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
Compared to Garland and Moseley he is
I think he’s pretty solid – I’d take him on my team any day.
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
Only if he got a haircut
In search of a new signature. Say something funny and you may see your comment here!
We miss Lackey, Escobar and Weaver
We get the #4, #5, #6, and #7 starters. That’s pretty bad luck for the Angels. Of course they miss Harden.
by WaddellCanseco on Apr 27, 2008 8:22 PM PDT up reply actions
I can definitely see a split
With a series win a possibility just by looking at those matchups. We beat King Felix today so why not beat Santana as well!
"Their batters are patient to the point that it's annoying." -Ryan Franklin
by Helloooo 1st on Apr 27, 2008 5:13 PM PDT up reply actions
Based on those matchups, I'd say:
Game 1: Advantage A’s
Game 2: Halos
Game 3: Halos
Game 4: A’s
The A's colors are green and gold.
I'm not sure (I think all their pitchers have good numbers against us...)
That one could probably go either way, but Saunders has been pitching great this year, and Smith is still a pretty big question mark, although I like him too.
The A's colors are green and gold.
I suspect most of both teams' pitchers have good numbers against the other team
Angels-A’s games are traditionally low scoring affairs.
Although if I recall correctly, Scot Shields has been terrible at the Coliseum.
Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.
Shields pitched the 8th and 9th tonight -
It seems like the Angels are happy for him to be less available for the A’s series and to rely on Speier and K-Rod more. Kind of interesting.
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
Another Positive From Today
Felix threw 115+ pitches for the third start in a row… hopefully the M’s new manager is a Dusty Baker acolyte and has Felix do this more often… and throw 40% sliders…
Cust is the new Jaha.
by johnjahafanclub on Apr 27, 2008 5:24 PM PDT reply actions
No, no, no
As much as I liked winning on Thursday, I was actually sad to see how badly Liriano is struggling. Guys like Felix, Liriano, Harden don’t come around often and it’s terrible to see them injured. Felix is a terrific talent – I hope he stays healthy.
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
I hope he stays healthy....
in the National League.
The A's colors are green and gold.
by mikeA on Apr 27, 2008 5:28 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
I have no objection to the "missing him" thing
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
Worth noting:
That was by far the best Street’s stuff has looked so far this year. That fastball had good velocity and tons of movement; the slider was actually a bit off, but he didn’t use it much. Also by far his best command. He’s been getting behind 2-0 a LOT this year, and when he gets that first strike he very very tough to hit.
The A's colors are green and gold.
That's nice to hear
(since I couldn’t SEE it – GRRRR….).
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
Casilla's velocity was seriously up as well
He was hitting 96 and 97 regularly and I’m not sure if the gun up there is just high or not, but he also had a crapload of movement on the pitches. He looked pretty unhittable.
That was a huge win today.
by Tyler Bleszinski on Apr 27, 2008 6:13 PM PDT up reply actions
Yeah, I mentioned in the game thread that his velocity is up 2-3 this year.
The gun agreed with the (different) gameday gun.
The A's colors are green and gold.
He's throwing more fastballs and more strikes
He and Andrew Brown have been unsung heroes.
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
Brown has done well
but his command has been very shaky and I think he’s lucky not to have given up more walks and hard-hit balls when he gets behind in the count. Casilla has phenomenal stats and he’s earned them. His command is much much better than last year.
The A's colors are green and gold.
Still wondering what happened last year
Casilla is an odd pitcher. He’ll have stretches of unbelievable dominance (single-A season, first half-year last year, start of this year) and then he’ll have stretches where he couldn’t hit the broad side of the Titanic with his fastball.
Just gotta ride the bad times out, I guess. I’m sure as hell enjoying the good ones.
Brown’s been dancing on eggshells for sure… but with his stuff, he can get away with it.
Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.
No one can hit the broad side of the titanic.
Maybe Aquaman can.
Green Hulk Fists
by oaklandSMASH on Apr 27, 2008 9:05 PM PDT up reply actions
[adds "pre-iceberg" to running list of useful disclaimers]
Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.
Well, I'll take it
if one of the passengers or observers of the Titanic brought baseballs to Southampton, England.
I’ll substitute cricket balls for baseballs in this instance.
(too much time on my hands)
Green Hulk Fists
by oaklandSMASH on Apr 27, 2008 9:28 PM PDT up reply actions
Everyone criticizes the Titanic
What, like your ship don’t stink?
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
Not the whole ship
just the portholes and the poop deck..
Green Hulk Fists
by oaklandSMASH on Apr 27, 2008 9:44 PM PDT up reply actions
He can get away with it
and be an above average reliever (which he is), but I don’t think he’s a great reliever. I’m definitely glad to have him.
The A's colors are green and gold.
For RAFs who couldn't actually watch the game
A couple points:
Casilla’s command still depends in part on getting guys to chase. He wasn’t especially accurate today, but the Mariners helped him out quite a bit. (Of course, getting guys to chase is partly a function of talent, since people chase when you fool them so badly they can’t help it; it’s just that you figure the Yankees and Red Sox are more likely to take the bad ones and put our guy in a bind.)
Casilla struck out Beltre today on what may have been the highest pitch I’ve ever seen a batter swing at. You know how announcers always say a batter swung at a pitch up around his eyes? It’s never literally true; as high as those look, the replays always show the pitch is really more around the shoulders, or up to the neck in extreme instances. But Beltre swung at a fastball literally up over his forehead. The angle of the bat looked ridiculous, as if he was trying to knock a bird out of the air or something. He’s a free swinger, but not many pitchers have the stuff to bait a guy into going that high.
Also for RAFs: You missed seeing Cust butcher a couple balls out there. Lopez’s “double” was well struck (maybe a HR in many parks), but either Cust or Sweeney could have had it easily. Cust just didn’t yield the right of way in time, and Sweeney didn’t take charge as authoritatively as a CF needs to do. Both were right there, both shied away at the last moment without so much as sticking a glove out for the damn ball. Hideous. Cost a run and could have cost the game.
A later double was driven over Cust’s head, again well-hit and a tough chance but a ball I think most left fielders catch (Cust got the end of his glove on it but looked none too coordinated doing so. It’s the difference between someone who looks like he damn well intends to catch the ball and someone who’s giving it the old college try but would be shocked if he actually succeeded.) I’m a bit discouraged about the prospects for success for the Cust-as-outfielder experiment; I tend to think he’s going to start spending a lot more time on the bench simply because the defensive risks are so high.
That Beltre K
Absolutely ridiculous. I was watching the game on FSN with a Mariners fan, who wasn’t paying attention at the time. I said, “you gotta watch the replay on that, I’ve never seen anyone swing at a pitch that high.” For some reason, there was no replay forthcoming…
-JC
President and CEO of the Ryan Sweeney Apologists Consortium
I would only slightly disagree
with the part about Cust’s defense. The second fly ball you refer to is one that, I agree, a better left fielder could have tracked down—those are the occasional hits we will give up by putting Cust in the outfield. But the first ball, in my opinion, was all Sweeney’s fault. Cust actually looked like he was tracking that ball perfectly, and then at the last second Sweeney ran right into Cust’s path and periphiral vision causing him to pull up. But Sweeney, as the center fielder needed to either call it and then catch it, or back off and let Cust have it. He did neither, it dropped between them, and bounced over the wall for a double. It is actually unfortunate that Sweeney didn’t just back off on that play as I think we could have actually seen Cust make a nice running catch.
Too bad Gio is struggling, but on the positive side
Petit (2/5 today) is up to .315 now.
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
Big 3 stats for pitchers are K, BB, and GB
Gio has been bad (for AAA, ie worse than Braden/Meyer/Windsor have done).
Cahill, on the other hand, has been unbelievably awesome. Often a GB pitcher doesn’t get many K’s, but Cahill obscene K, BB, and GB rates this year. I would not be surprised if he has the best component pitching stats in the entire minor leagues this year. 0 HRs in the HR heavy Cal. league, and most of the hits he’s given up have been on GBs. I am promoting him right now to #1 pitching prospect.
The A's colors are green and gold.
He's my gut-feeling
“guy who will make it” pick. I see him passing DLS and Gio, who I think are talented but unpolished.
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
Yeah
a lot of guys with great fastballs come into the league and struggle. Cahill appears to have great stuff and great command. DLS, Gio and (especially) Hrod don’t appear to know where the ball is going at this point.
The A's colors are green and gold.
Gio isnt really "struggling"...
He wasnt great today but his era is under 4 and his Ks are fine. Just a few too many walks. He will be fine.
When will then be now? Soon.
I'm telling you
the guy has actual upside as a hitter. (Petit, that is, not Gio.) He’s a net-plus player if he can even look vaguely competent with the bat, and I think he can do better than that.
Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.
No
he has no upside as a hitter. He has roughly a 0% chance of being a league average major league hitter. He has value as one of the many slick-fielding, bad-hitting SSs out there. But that’s his upside. His “middle-side” is Cezar Izturis.
The A's colors are green and gold.
OK, that's your opinion...
Obviously I don’t agree with it.
Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.
Didn't PECOTA have him at a .257 EqA at his peak in the 90th percentile scenario?
League average being .260
by WaddellCanseco on Apr 28, 2008 4:52 AM PDT up reply actions
I have no idea
but if it did, well… again, I don’t agree with it. And I can’t really analyze why it’s saying what it is, because I don’t know what the algorithm is.
Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.
Kudos to the whole eighth inning gang today...
WhatCanBrownDoForYou, FinallyCust!, Sweeney, R and AWESOME Casilla. Just an amazing win out of a sure loss.
Blanton absolutely toughed out that win, and he deserved every bit of it. What a great, needed win. Now if ONLY the Tigers can pull this one out to give us a little edge going into Anaheim this weekend.
So, bring on Bonds! Or, not... then, bring back Langerhans!! -One won lost one
Not looking good so far
The A’s gotta do it the hard way, down in Anaheim next week.
by asfansince1989 on Apr 27, 2008 6:52 PM PDT up reply actions
first post here
is billy beane a genius or what? with everyone writing off the A’s this year, it’s great to see them in first place after 4 weeks of the season. granted, it’s still early and we’ve yet to see what they’ll do the rest of the way, but you gotta be encouraged by how they’ve played so far. I mean, I freaking signed up for SB Nation to comment on oakland’s performance.. all the hallmarks are there: solid pitching, solid bullpen, low run production.. haha.
Go A’s.
by the federer express on Apr 27, 2008 6:42 PM PDT reply actions
Ha ha - Welcome to the madness!
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
Joe Morgan gave A's respect
He just called A’s the “biggest surprise,... on the positive side” during the Angels Tigers game.
Well, the best record in AL speaks for itself
one shit burger coming up, ESPN!
by asfansince1989 on Apr 27, 2008 7:43 PM PDT up reply actions
FJM has been puzzled
by occasional bursts of what appears to be actual competence from him this season.
Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.
I feel bad for
Jeff. Awesome people don’t deserve this… And he’s really awesome.
The A's colors are green and gold.
Jeff needs a hug... and a win.
"Hasn’t the foggiest inclination toward winning ‘tall. Hates to win. Likes to be buggered."
I'm sure you'd take care of the hug half, if you could.
The win, go ahead, now that we’re done with them (for now).
The kings remain missing, so they're playing with Eric Chavez Bobbleheads. "Chavvy does have six Gold Gloves," Brown explained. "That's good enough to be king."
Once Again Snatching Victory from the Jaws of Defeat
Two out of three….I don’t know if it is smoke and mirrors, but the A’s have been awesome taking victory from the jaws of defeat in two out of the three games against the M’s this weekend. Granted that McLaren, the M’s manager, gave us a helping hand, but I see the A’s gaining confidence in their fast start, and I think this can continue.
I echo an earlier post questioning whether putting Jack Cust out in left field is a grave mistake. If he was hitting like he started off last year it would be one thing, but his defense is terrible, and he is not even hitting his weight. His defense is like Emil Brown’s base running….it will cost the A’s some wins.
I wouldn't characterize Friday's game
as “snatching victory from the jaws of defeat”.
Friday’s game was like Eric Byrnes catching a pop fly. It should have been a routine catch, and it only looked thrilling because we blundered so badly and almost gave it away.
formerly known as mdl
Wow. Perfect.
The first rule of Oakland is - you do not talk about injuries. The second rule of Oakland is - you DO NOT talk about trainers." - Larry Davis
I took a DNA test, and it's true!
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
Till he called the cops, yes.
Then I got off. Of him, that is.
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
Actually, I think the real Maury wouldn't mind
Connie Chung wouldn’t either.
Green Hulk Fists
by oaklandSMASH on Apr 27, 2008 9:51 PM PDT up reply actions
My daddy would hit the cutoff man
and he wouldn’t make outs on the bases.
"My daddy would hit the cutoff man"
My daddy was the cutoff man.
Wait—if your daddy hit the cutoff man, and my daddy was the cutoff man …
And what did we do once we discovered a rift in the fourth dimension? We launched a monkey into it. @('.')@
Awesome win today!
I was at the game, and the best part was during the rally in the 8th, two guys in front of us a couple of rows had a horn and an A’s flag and were waving and blowing the horn and we were all saying “Let’s Go Oakland!” and clapping. It was AWESOME! This team never quits and just hangs around long enough!
by A'sfansince1970 on Apr 28, 2008 7:04 AM PDT reply actions
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