WLD 5/31-6/1: Maybe June...

by oblique on May 31, 2008 9:09 AM PDT Comment 34 comments

As we transition from May to June, let's dwell upon Mays past for a moment.

Alright, so May has not been the kindest month to us A's fans of late, so perhaps we should be grateful for a 2008 May that, though sub-.500, was punctuated with a six-game winning streak. Those were the days. The Mays of the A's. Yay.

The A's lost yesterday but the good news was that Carlos Gonzalez hit two doubles in his major league debut.

Gonzalez said he was excited before the game but tried to keep things in perspective.

"It's baseball, it's nothing new," he said with a smile. "It's not like I'm going to play basketball or something. When I got to second base (after his first double), Michael Young and those guys congratulated me. That's something I'm not going to forget."

This WLD has something for everyone. For example, I know we have a lot of spelling sticklers out there. Heck, I'm one of them. It's in my blood. Typo-negative. Anyway, this kid has a future on AN for sure -- one of the funniest things I've ever seen.

For those of you wondering what the A's medical staff has been doing to allow so many injuries to occur all at once, well, they've been busy. It seems NASA called them in, wanting to learn about their experiences with Rich Harden's famous "alarm clock" injury, after the Mars Phoenix Lander had a similar ailment.

As an aging single Indian man, I can't really comment on this, except to point out that the punch line was brought up years ago by Russell Peters (start at about 2:50, up to 3:30).

And for those of you unaware of the historically geeky side of baseball, check out the Bay Area Vintage Base Ball league. I'm a rookie with the San Jose Dukes this season; unfortunately we're off to an 0-6 start, but hopefully we can score our first win when we take on the San Francisco Pacifics this Sunday at 1:00. Some interesting tidbits about the league:

43 oz wooden bats
Baggy wool (blend) uniforms
Hurlers (pitchers) throw from 50 feet
No helmets
Gloves that look (and feel) like gardening gloves, no webbing
7 balls, 3 strikes; fouls are not strikes, and getting hit by a pitch is just a ball

That's all I have. Oh, and if you happen to be going to the Black And White Ball tonight, my vocal group will be sitting in for a song with Dick Bright's SRO in the Veteran's Building Lobby around 11pm.

Dump away!

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Comments

Love the spelling bee link

There's no crying in baseball!

by gigglingone on May 31, 2008 9:36 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I will have to check out the VBB

I just bought a new TV and it’s adorable: HANNspree Oakland Athletics Sandlot. $299 at Amazon, but only $149 at the HANNspree store in San Francisco.

Don't blame me, I voted for Ice Cream

by Englishmajor on May 31, 2008 10:07 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

you were in the nieghborhood, and you didn't stop by? :)

Who has Cust love, besides us? @('.')@

by monkeyball on May 31, 2008 12:30 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I thought you lived down at the end of the Great Highway

Don't blame me, I voted for Ice Cream

by Englishmajor on May 31, 2008 12:45 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

fun facts...

1. The A’s run differential took a hit with the 12-0 shellacking by the Blue Jays.
2. Not enough to keep the A’s from having the 2nd best X-W-L record in the AL at 31-24
3. The Angels, conversely, have a run differential of exactly 3 and an X-W-L of 28-28.
4. If the records of each team reflected their run differentials, the A’s would have a 3.5 game lead in the division.

MLB Standings
(The obligatory link in a WLD)

Hey, it’s all I’ve got after a 3-game losing streak. ;-)

Foolsh, the most insane regular poster on AN since oaktoon left - salb

by FoolshGame22 on May 31, 2008 10:08 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I've been beating this drum for a while

so I’ll give it a miss this time, but… the 2nd best XW/L in the AL is 31-24?

This is weird. It’s not just that the teams all look mediocre in the standings. They really ARE all mediocre.

I think the period of AL dominance is finally beginning to end. I guess we’ll find out more in a few weeks.

Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.

by PaulThomas on May 31, 2008 10:57 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I ran some numbers yesterday,

and not only are the Angels outwinning their runs scored/runs allowed, they are outscoring their wOBA for and against. So, they’re scoring more than they ought to.

Angels:
Batting wins (wOBA/runs scored/actual): -2.0/-0.9/-2.4
Pitching wins (wOBA/runs scored/actual): 0.9/1.7/6.9

A’s:
Batting: -1.2/-0.7/-4.0
Pitching: 5.9/4.3/6.0

stat-addled alien overlord

by salb918 on May 31, 2008 11:03 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Well

That doesn’t tell you anything about the strength of the league. My money would definitely be on the AL beating the NL in interleague again.

The A's colors are green and gold.

by mikeA on May 31, 2008 11:09 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

This is true

but… looking at the leaderboards, virtually all of the top talent right now is in the NL.

There are probably also more BAD players in the NL than in the AL, so the AL may still be able to win more interleague games. But I think the NL will win the ASG this year, and probably the WS as well.

Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.

by PaulThomas on May 31, 2008 12:12 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I don't know how this factors in...

to the overall evaluation, but, another fun fact:

Strength of Schedule
1. Tampa Bay Rays
11. Oakland Athletics
20. Anaheim Angels

Foolsh, the most insane regular poster on AN since oaktoon left - salb

by FoolshGame22 on May 31, 2008 11:10 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

incredibly, the Angels have played...

the 2nd easiest schedule in the American League, to date. Only the M’s have played an easier schedule. Certainly, doesn’t bode well for either of their future fortunes.

Foolsh, the most insane regular poster on AN since oaktoon left - salb

by FoolshGame22 on May 31, 2008 11:20 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I suppose it doesn't....

but it sure as hell doesn’t bode well for our franchise right now.

"You may glory in a team triumphant, but you fall in love with a team in defeat."--The Boys of Summer

by alox on May 31, 2008 2:04 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

sure it does...

the Angels have played a weaker schedule than the A’s have; they’re scoring and winning over statistical expectancy; the A’s record doesn’t reflect their run differential yet, hence, they’ve been “unlucky.” When our schedules even out, the A’s will take the lead in the division. I think it bodes very well. ;-)

Fun Fact #3: At 202, the A’s have given up the fewest runs in all MLB.

Fun Fact #4: At 6’4,” Ziggy is now the tallest player on the A’s 25-man roster.

Foolsh, the most insane regular poster on AN since oaktoon left - salb

by FoolshGame22 on May 31, 2008 2:30 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I must have misunderstood the original post....

I was under the impression that the Angels had an easier time of it for the duration of the season. If what you’re saying is true…..then bring on the Angel collapse. That’s almost as tasty as watching the A’s succeed beyond expectations.

"You may glory in a team triumphant, but you fall in love with a team in defeat."--The Boys of Summer

by alox on May 31, 2008 2:39 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

but if they are playing below potential..

and they eventually start hitting and scoring runs like they were expected, then it was pretty unlucky for us that they got the benefit of the weak schedule while they weren’t able to score many runs…

Ellis for President

by tosk on Jun 1, 2008 4:37 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs