Duke-Recognition

by sporty58 on Jun 20, 2008 11:41 AM PDT

I feel it is time to recognize Duke for what he is. One of the best pitchers to ever put on the Green and Gold!!

Duke has never really gotten recognition from the A's for what he has done for them. No bobblehead, no jersey giveaway, nothing. Every player drafted and highly touted by the organization has been given opportunities and recognition before doing anything on the field in addition to long term contracts.

Duke has done everything asked of him and is hardly ever mentioned.

When looking at mlb.com stats for all major league pitchers over the last 30 days many of you may be surprised that Duke leads all major league pitchers in (1) ERA-1.51, (2) WHIP 0.76, (3) SLG .230, (4) OBA .226, (5) AVG .164, (6) H9 5.05.

Thats 6 categories where his stats are the best in baseball and noone knows who he is because the organization and media never talk about him. Why?

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Comments

Very Simple

Duke doesn’t wear a pinstripe jersey or red socks. He plays for a low budget west coast team, nobody cares. Even the sucking Giants get more media attention than the A’s do. Go Figure!

Now offering great deal...on a 2007 Chavy with no clutch. - Nico

by 66th ave tailgatter on Jun 20, 2008 11:55 AM PDT reply actions

That doesn't explain why the A's organization itself never does anything to recognize him.

Not even a t-shirt in the team store. Of course, just because I’M wide enough to wear an 11-letter name doesn’t mean everybody is… ;)

I’d much rather have a Duke bobblehead than a Cust bobblehead. I’d even rather have Duke than an old-free-agent-of-the-year bobblehead (like Thomas and Piazza), and he certainly deserved one before Buck and Suzuki, or before Chavez got a 2nd one.

AN 3.0's Search Function is *hawt*!

by Poppy on Jun 20, 2008 1:14 PM PDT up reply actions

free-agent-of-the-year bobblehead

Yeah, I’d rather have a Duke bobblehead than an Emil bobblehead, too.

How ‘bout "jackass"? Can I still say "jackass"? @('.')@

by monkeyball on Jun 20, 2008 5:39 PM PDT up reply actions

You mean Emil's not a bobblehead?

You can't sit on a lead and run a few plays into the line and just kill the clock. You've got to throw the ball over the goddamn plate and give the other man his chance. That's why baseball is the greatest game of them all. ~Earl Weaver

by UncleLeo on Jun 20, 2008 6:38 PM PDT up reply actions

half-joke, half-truth,

it’s so difficult to pronounce or spell his last name?

but yes. the guy’s awesome.

by rh40 on Jun 20, 2008 2:33 PM PDT up reply actions

Is he worth a "longterm" deal?

I think he’s worth it!

Injuries aside a deal for 3 years would help our in that the yopunger members need to develop and it may be time to begin speculating what this staff will look like when both Haren and Blanton are gone.

I appreciate Duke’s candor regarding the issue of healing time in between starts. The toll on his body of needing to be ready on a daily basis indeed wore him out.

"I've been accused of using too many words...I suppose that's like accusing Mozart of using too many notes." Bill King

by Gerard on Jun 20, 2008 5:20 PM PDT reply actions

Duke-Recognition

How ‘bout "jackass"? Can I still say "jackass"? @('.')@

by monkeyball on Jun 20, 2008 5:46 PM PDT reply actions

It's like a police lineup!

Duchscherer’s the cartoon one, right?

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 Jun 20, 2008 6:06 PM PDT up reply actions

He actually missed the lineup "recuperating"

by nevermoor on Jun 20, 2008 11:42 PM PDT up reply actions

One of the best ever?

Just a tad hyperbolic, isn’t it?

I’d need to see some more long-term consistent success before I’d be willing to even consider such praise.

by UncleLeo on Jun 20, 2008 6:40 PM PDT reply actions

love Duke

by connie mack on Jun 20, 2008 11:09 PM PDT reply actions

No doubt Duke underrated and underrecognized

But i’m of a mind that’s a good thing. (And this is all the more remarkable since Duke did make an allstar team already.)

MVPs, ROY’s, allstar games and Cy Youngs only inflate a players market price (see Zito, Barry.) We want Duke to remain as undervalued as we can.

If this were to hurt us in that his eventual trade value will be too low due to ignorance of other teams, than that too is a good thing as we’d just “have to” keep him.

Reasons Duke flies so under the radar?:

a) Was reliever.
b) Doesn’t throw hard.
c) Is a humble dude.
d) name is tough to spell

"Just trying to keep my bases clogged."

by Caught squealin on Jun 21, 2008 3:47 PM PDT reply actions

Duke is the man!

If AN doesn’t know it already, you will now:

Duke is my favorite Athletic and has been for the last 4 years. His is the only official game worn jersey that I own. It is signed by him and also have his autograph on a gng A’s cap. He is really super down to earth guy in person and I could not be happier for him with all the success he is having this year. He deserves all good things that come his way and I sincerely hope that Billy Beane gives Duke a generous contract extension if he continues to perform and stay healthy. I think he has more than earned it at this point and as A’s fans, I think it is safe to say we would be very sad to see Duke go elswhere because the efront office did not lock him up in a timely fashion.

Keep Justin In Oakland Billy!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Go A’s!

by mrod on Jun 21, 2008 4:07 PM PDT reply actions

There's a very good chance

that after today’s game he’ll officially become the ERA leader in the AL. That might get some attention.

He needs 5.2 more innings to qualify for the list. If he gives up 5 ER or fewer, he’ll rank #1 in the AL in ERA. (And with 3 ER or fewer, he’ll likely stay there a while.)

"Dispatch knuckleheadedness with Bond-like aplomb." –74mk

by iglew on Jun 22, 2008 10:47 AM PDT reply actions