A's Swept in Seattle
by 67MARQUEZ on Oct 1, 2009 10:09 PM PDT
Email
Print
Well that was terribly anti-climatic.
In a season that has been part "Bad Inning Is Gonna Get You" and part "Mariners Revenge: The Sequel", both themes were prevalent on this last Thursday of the Athletics' season.
For the second time in three years, Seattle has taken 14 out of 19 games from the A's, this on the heels of that magical 2006 campaign when Oakland rode a 17-2 advantage over the M's all the way to the American League West title.
And that one naughty inning chose the fifth to emerge, erasing what was once a 1-1 affair. The Mariners scored first on the strength of a solo homerun by Adrián Béltre in the second, but the A's squared it with a run of their own in the fourth, courtesy of an RBI-double by Mr. September, Daric Barton.
Then came the fifth. And not the liquor store kind. Starter Brett Anderson, who had escaped danger in the first and the third frames, was not so fortunate in this odd inning. With a man on and two outs, Anderson walked Franklin Gutiérrez. An error by Adam Kennedy at third loaded the bases, and Mike Sweeney stuck it to his former team with a single that scored two runs. Béltre added a base hit to shallow left to drive in the third (unearned) run of the inning.
Anderson's rookie season concludes with 11 wins and 11 losses to his name. Meanwhile, Seattle starter Doug Fister was solid through seven, allowing the A's only that lone run on five hits and a walk, while striking out four.
The game remained at 4-1 until the ninth when Jack Cust greeted closer David Aardsma with a home run, his 25th on the year. Aardsma retired the next three batters with nary a scare to pick up his 37th save.
All that remains is a weekend series with the Angels. Emperor nobody takes over tomorrow night.
86 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Yeah
I’ve seen enough of Adam Kennedy at third base to last a lifetime.
UZR claims his "error runs" are only 2.8 runs below average
I have some difficulty believing this. Maybe he’s just very “clutch” with his errors?
Linda's in the cold ground, won't see her anymore
Somewhere out on the highway tonight, the drunken engines roar
It's just one of those things, one of those things
-- Al Stewart, "Accident on 3rd St."
In memory of Nick Adenhart and all victims of drunk driving
One explanation
Maybe what we’re seeing is simply the law of averages catching up. Earlier in the season, there were a lot of hold-your-breath moments where he made the play, where the ball was dropped and he had time to scoop it out and throw out the runner, or the throw was just sufficiently within reach for the first baseman to catch it. And in the past couple of weeks, his luck ran out. Kind of the way some here would say that Trevor Cahill’s luck will eventually run out if he doesn’t get his act together.
2.8 below average is sixth-worst in the majors.
Among all third basemen, qualified or not. Keep in mind that Mark Ellis’s insane 2006 season (with that record .997 fielding%) was “only” 3.9 runs above average in error runs. The deviation just isn’t all that large in error runs, it looks like.
I won't heal, given time.
I won't try to change your mind.
I won't feel better in the cold light of day.
But I wouldn't stop you if you wanted to stay.
Actually, he's "champing down on it"
"Go ahead and overachieve, you scrappy Brett-Favre-colored walk-takers." —Rev Halofan
I'm a bit annoyed.
My work life has been hell lately. My bf is 3,000 miles away. All I ask for is for the A’s to beat the Mariners once in three tries. I offered up a spanking, and THIS is what I get.
Hey, Raburn! YOU ever dive into the shallow end of a pool?--noava22
Try 18.
Sorry baby, I’m so tired.
Hey, Raburn! YOU ever dive into the shallow end of a pool?--noava22
i am not in love, it's okay, i don't know how much longer we'll be together
hes a nice guy but i don’t see this going anywhere
I hope he doesn't read AN...
"Life is a horizontal fall" -Jean Cocteau
by King Richard on Oct 1, 2009 11:11 PM PDT up reply actions
There are worse things
< thinks better of it and deletes the rest of post >
"Go ahead and overachieve, you scrappy Brett-Favre-colored walk-takers." —Rev Halofan
Do you?
If so, you read between the lines better than most here.
"Go ahead and overachieve, you scrappy Brett-Favre-colored walk-takers." —Rev Halofan
It's pretty much over now.
But when you’ve been trying for so long it’s hard to let go and move on.
"Go ahead and overachieve, you scrappy Brett-Favre-colored walk-takers." —Rev Halofan
Soon.
Just when you think there is nothing.
Hey, Raburn! YOU ever dive into the shallow end of a pool?--noava22
Just keep putting yourself out there, babe.
But, be smart and don’t settle. I know you won’t.
Hey, Raburn! YOU ever dive into the shallow end of a pool?--noava22
look at me and lynnz, both of us in a relationship with guys who are away
grass isn’t always greener on the other side of the fence
Its about finding your match
And that’s not easy.
Hey, Raburn! YOU ever dive into the shallow end of a pool?--noava22
And you might have to kiss the same frog more than once.
Hey, Raburn! YOU ever dive into the shallow end of a pool?--noava22
Try 15 years, babe.
I never thought it would happen for me again.
Hey, Raburn! YOU ever dive into the shallow end of a pool?--noava22
You're exceptional.
There is no doubt in my mind.
Hey, Raburn! YOU ever dive into the shallow end of a pool?--noava22
and you already are knowledgeable about baseball
Should have put you ahead of the competition
"Do I talk to myself? No, I just remind myself of what I'm trying to do. You know, I never answer myself so how can I be talking to myself?" - Rickey
by cuppingmaster on Oct 1, 2009 11:15 PM PDT up reply actions
Nice going, guys.
You had three wonderful ladies here, all of them feeling alone, and none of you were here to comfort them, or something like that.
Oh I guess that includes me.
Never mind.
I'm here to talk about the past.
Well, got the GCOD
Gray Curtain of Death on my mac, but I see I missed nothing
"Do I talk to myself? No, I just remind myself of what I'm trying to do. You know, I never answer myself so how can I be talking to myself?" - Rickey
kind of, but easier to recover from
"Do I talk to myself? No, I just remind myself of what I'm trying to do. You know, I never answer myself so how can I be talking to myself?" - Rickey
by cuppingmaster on Oct 1, 2009 10:26 PM PDT up reply actions
you should go on AIM
"Do I talk to myself? No, I just remind myself of what I'm trying to do. You know, I never answer myself so how can I be talking to myself?" - Rickey
by cuppingmaster on Oct 1, 2009 10:26 PM PDT up reply actions
I've wondered before why some folks are skeptical of ERA.
And now I get it. Susan’s article is headlined “Anderson done in by error.” But of course, the error kept the inning alive, and it was Anderson who gave up the double and the single afterwards. Counterfactually, he ought to have escaped with no runs. But the fact that he didn’t has more to say about him than about anyone else, including AK. He ends up with 1 ER, keeps the ERA down, but the rest of his line has more truth, it seems.
Are there other “metrics” that substitute for ERA, but are still easily graspable, in the way that OPS is easy to understand (and calculate, and compare different players)? By that, I don’t mean that it is not also a stat with limitations, etc., etc.
Of course, if anyone wants to tell me that ERA works out over time to represent pretty well, I can accept that, too.
I think FIP and tRA are fairly graspable.
They’re very easily graspable if you don’t care about the specifics and are content to just trust that they’re scaled like ERA but more accurate.
It’s a little more work if you want to understand what they’re measuring, but still not too hard.
"Go ahead and overachieve, you scrappy Brett-Favre-colored walk-takers." —Rev Halofan
Thanks, iglew!
Did a little reading, those both make a certain kind of sense. Someday when I have a chance, I’d like to know if the pitchers who are considered some of the greats line up in terms of these stats.
Fangraphs has career leaderboards sortable by FIP.
They added tRA to their player pages about a month ago, and said that tRA sorting on the leaderboards would come soon, after some retooling.
I won't heal, given time.
I won't try to change your mind.
I won't feel better in the cold light of day.
But I wouldn't stop you if you wanted to stay.
I sure hope the A's do better against the Angels on Saturday
I just bought front row tickets for section 125 for only $24 on stubhub.
You have to include smiley faces - Poppy
;- ) :- ) :-O : -> : -] : -}
half off :-)
too bad I found out there is a small more expensive section in front of us so we aren’t right on the field like I hoped BUT we will be super close to the bullpen mound.
You have to include smiley faces - Poppy
;- ) :- ) :-O : -> : -] : -}
I have tickets for Friday and Sunday
and may go Saturday as well since I received the invitation to the season ticket holder postgame event.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
