Not So Fun-damentals Cost A's Again Against Mariners
by Nico on Apr 11, 2009 4:27 PM PDT
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PrintFinal Score: Mariners 8, A's 5
The past 4 games, the A's have been good at getting men on base, just not so good at getting them all the way to the 5-pointed base, especially with runners at third and less than two outs. Today, 8th inning failures by Bobby Crosby to field his first ground ball of the season, and by Mark Ellis to get a bunt down, became big factors in depriving Oakland of what looked like a great chance to beat Felix Hernandez - or at least beat Seattle.
After Josh Outman made it look easy for two innings, the A's put up three runs off Hernandez in the bottom of the 2nd, the first two driven in by a Landon Powell double in his first major league at bat, another by Orlando Cabrera with a sacrifice fly (ok the A's do sometimes get runners home from third with less than two out).
Outman's Outing turned from great to meh, however, with a Russell Branyan HR and then a two-run 5th that tied the game. Outman went 4.1IP and was charged with 3 ER.
In the 5th, with the game tied 3-3, Jack Cust came up with a man on and did something incredible. He hit the ball over the fence on the fly. Seriously, I'm not kidding, he did. Apparently it's called a "homerun" and it gave the A's a 5-3 lead against King Felix, who would be deposed after 5 innings of 8 strikeout but 5 ER ball.
Then came the top of the 8th. Casilla was on the mound, and Crosby was in for "defense" - because in the late innings, what you try to do is to figure out who your 3rd best defensive 3Bman is and make sure he's in the game. Naturally, the very first hitter bounced one to 3B and even less surprisingly Crosby booted it for an error. Then a single, then a walk to load the bases, so Geren turned, in desperation, to Brad Ziegler, asking for a 6-out save. What he got was a one batter "blown save" and a two batter "lose," as Jose Lopez banged a two-run double and Kenji Johjima followed with a two run single: 7-5 Mariners.
It was still 7-5 when Ellis came up with two on and nobody out in the bottom of the 8th, but Ellis twice bunted foul before grounding into a 4-6-3 DP. Seattle tacked on an insurance run in the 9th, and there you have it.
Failure to get guys home with productive outs (twice yesterday). Failure to capitalize on 7 BBs or to tag up when you're supposed to (yesterday). Failure to field routine ground balls and failure to get down a bunt (today). Not the best 48 hours the A's have ever shown to the home faithful. C'mon, guys. I can hang with the young pitching, but let's sharpen up the easy stuff, 'k?
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in five games we've already had one failed bunt, one failed bunt attempt, one failed double steal, and one failed attempt at aggressive baserunning
small ball is for idiots. unfortunately, bob geren just may be an idiot, considering cust consistently bats in the bottom half of the lineup, nomar plays almost every freaking game despite being both brittle and not very good, and crosby is a defensive replacement at a position he has never played before at the major league level.
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, 2009 4:30 PM PDT reply actions 5 recs
Puzzling.
The Ultimate Opportunist
by Rated-R Superstar on Apr 11, 2009 4:35 PM PDT up reply actions
I agree with some of what you say, X
I certainly continue to be bugged that Cust is so low in the lineup, but I didn’t have any problem with Ellis bunting in the 8th today. The next two hitters, Sweeney and Cabrera, are singles hitters and playing at home against Seattle (whose bullpen is shaky) I think tying the game puts your “win exp” pretty high.
But then I wouldn’t have had Crosby in the hole, where they could walk Sweeney or Cabrera. Giambi/Nomar gives you a BETTER defense than Nomar/Crosby. Dumb move to take Giambi out on a day when Chavez is not available.
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
Like I said in the last game thread
I know it’s early in the season but these guys are not showing me big league preparation at game time. Period!
Beane needs to kick everyone in the nuts, in my opinion.
Zeigler to Geren…."A-Rod? He’s my bitch." -alox
I don't know - when the guys doing it are Mark Ellis
I don’t think a “kick in the nuts” is the answer. And strangely, Ellis has been responsible for the biggest baserunning blunder (last night) and the bunting failure (today). It’s not like young or lazy players are the issue.
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
don't forget about the double steal failure as well on Opening Night in LA.
Zeigler to Geren…."A-Rod? He’s my bitch." -alox
True. I didn't mind that one so much,
but you’re right: the person who failed there was Ellis for not stopping when he got a bad jump.
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
well last night was an epic failure on his part not tagging up.
I saw it up close and personal. Just terrible and I really expect more from a player like Mark.
Zeigler to Geren…."A-Rod? He’s my bitch." -alox
He would have been safe by a country mile,
because Griffey couldn’t even get in position to throw for about 3-4 steps after he caught the ball. And he caught it pretty near the visiting bullpen.
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
Ellis could've scored, showered, and dressed
before Griffey gets that ball in …
I needed a team so I wouldn’t turn into one of the eighty million pink hat-wearing Bud Light-drinking mulleted idiots at Fenway.
I heard on today's pregame show
that Gallego told Ellis to tag up but he didn’t hear him….but he should have done it anyway…
Heard to hear him from down there
seriously — did Mike shrink? I saw Sweeney standing next to him at third last night, and Gallego looked like a garden gnome.
no way. Ellis would have been safe all the way.
I had a great view of the play and Griffey was still trying to slow down after the ball was caught.
Zeigler to Geren…."A-Rod? He’s my bitch." -alox
Apparently, Ellis went in to talk to Geren and apologized
today, acknowledging the blunder.
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
Seriously? See, I can let it go now.
I know that’s stupid, but I can. Acknowledge the mistake and move on. (But you better damn-well acknowledge it. :-)
I needed a team so I wouldn’t turn into one of the eighty million pink hat-wearing Bud Light-drinking mulleted idiots at Fenway.
Agree on all points.
Bonehead move. Own up to it. Move on.
"Go ahead and overachieve, you scrappy Brett-Favre-colored walk-takers." —Rev Halofan
That's what I said when I heard Crosby was coming in as defensive replacement!
Giambi/Nomar >> Nomar/Crosby
on the postgame show
Geren said that Giambi’s leg tightened up when he legged out that single, which is why Geren took him out.
Oh - that makes me feel a little better about the move
I’d still consider just putting Crosby at 1B, but that could have ended up problematically too.
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
playing small ball isn't for idiots
if you don’t have the players capable of playing small ball and still try to get small ball to work for you, then perhaps, you have an argument.
I agree about the lineups though. Yesterday I was looking at Cust’s stats while at the game, and could not for the life of me understand why he was hitting 7th. Nomar probably needs a break, too. But overall, the A"s are not playing/executing the fundamentals of the game. :(
Zeigler to Geren…."A-Rod? He’s my bitch." -alox
win expectancy for a successful sacrifice bunt in that situation:
8th inning, down 2, no outs, runners on first and second base
408 games
159 won
.390 win %
8th inning, down 2, one out, runners on second and third base.
275 games
97 won
.353 win %
so it drops 5% with a successful bunt. that’s probably too small sample (all identical situations from 1977-2006) to tell us anything, but i would at least let the batter hit after strike one. one failed bunt attempt is enough.
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
I think you HAVE to consider who's up, though
For example, just the pitcher being L/R would influence me with Ellis being the batter. Certainly with R. Sweeney it would – in that situation I would not bunt against a RHP but I absolutely would against a LHP.
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
considering the circumstances, like i said, i would at least let the batter hit after strike one. one failed bunt attempt is enough.
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
or why not just forget the bunt all together?
might as well just tell Ellis to give it his best shot at getting a base hit and screw the bunt if he can’t get it done.
Zeigler to Geren…."A-Rod? He’s my bitch." -alox
Ellis is a pretty good bunter
I can see where Geren would figure he had a good chance to get a bunt down.
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
okay, and after ellis fails to get the bunt down
let him hit with one strike instead of with two strikes, considering the massive difference in OPS between a 1-1 count and a 1-2 count.
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
also, 1 strike = infield still expecting a bunt
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
I'm fine with that
I just know that with first and second, the odds of Ellis moving a runner, or two runners over, aren’t that much more than his BA, which is .250 against RHP. So you’re likely to end up with first and second one out, or maybe first and third one out. Whereas if you do get the bunt down, you have two shots at a game tying single with two high average singles hitters coming up.
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 should acknowledge that it's his OBP, not his BA,
which is more like .300 and change against RHP.
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
What I'd like to see
is not “win expectancy”. I want to see how often (with a successful bunt) the two runners scored. What happens after that has nothing to do with the bunt/runners scoring.
I needed a team so I wouldn’t turn into one of the eighty million pink hat-wearing Bud Light-drinking mulleted idiots at Fenway.
It doesn't matter how the runners got there
The situation is the same weather they are bunted over or someone hit a double with a runner on 1st.
Has that been shown?
that the win expectancy is path independent?
A Double + walk could have a different strategic reasoning than single + walk, even tho the results were the same.
Or three consecutive walks imply a different thing happening with the pitcher than three singles.
But yes, likely it doesn’t matter much in any statistical way.
I wouldn't call "aggressive baserunning" small ball ...
Not trying to be argumentative, but aggressive baserunning is just smart baseball. Anytime you put pressure on the defense to make a play, you’ll be successful more often than not. Now, don’t get me wrong, there’s a BIG difference between aggressive baserunning, and stupid baserunning.
But if you’ve got a chance to take an extra base, I think it’s smart to be aggressive. I’m not a National League guy either — IOW, I don’t like bunting just for the sake of bunting. But when you’re down two runs in the 8th inning with two runners on and nobody out? You’ve gotta get ‘em in scoring position. Just because the batter can’t execute Little League fundamentals, doesn’t mean it’s the wrong move!
I totally agree with your points regarding where Cust is hitting and playing Crosby at third, by the way.
I needed a team so I wouldn’t turn into one of the eighty million pink hat-wearing Bud Light-drinking mulleted idiots at Fenway.
by Vacafan on Apr 11, 2009 4:40 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
My feelings exactly
+1
"If my uniform doesn't get dirty, I haven't done anything in the baseball game." - Rickey Henderson
I agree they should at least put a threat out there, even if the intent isnt there necessarily-
Its odd because it seemed like we were running a bit more in ST.
Maybe not Giambi or Cust, but everyone else.
Bobby Crosby = ground-out triple play...
Who are you?
You obviously have no idea what you are talking about. The guys batting ahead of Cust are better hitters, dah, Garciaparra had a huge hit to beat the Angel’s the other night and supposedly, Crosby is great on defense therefore should be able to field a routine ground ball, whether it be at short or third base. He just missed it. By the way, The Ramones are the greatest!!! Get a damn life.
SMHALLERT(STUDMUFFIN)
"The guys batting ahead of Cust are better hitters, dah"
Sweeney, no. Cabrera, hell no. Holliday is the only “dah.” Giambi, debatable. Garciaparra, no not at this point in his career.
Get your facts straight before you tell someone to get a life…
"We were s--, pathetic," Guillen growled early in spring training. "We hit too many home runs."
by lenscrafters on Apr 11, 2009 8:52 PM PDT up reply actions
Even if Cust and Giambi are equivalent,
one is in his prime and off to a great start, while one is clearly in his twilight years. Advantage: Cust.
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 disagree
The Ramones are good, but definitely not the greatest.
Oh, and your comment sucks.
m*****f***ing c***s***ing peanut butter and jelly!! f*** f*** f***!!!
I want this to turn green
I would add, what is up with the bullpen management? Why put Wuertz in so early when he has had so much work? Why not go with Gallagher in the 5th and try to save Casilla for the 8th? I mean folks mention the 6 outs he wanted from Ziggy but what about the 6 he was apparently trying to get from Casilla? Has Casilla worked that way in the past? This bullpen is going to fall apart if Geren continues to unnecessarily ride the same 4 guys. Now Casilla will be unavailable tomorrow, Wuertz is unavailable and what about Ziggy? I don’t know Bob, I just don’t know.
Nice weather at the Coli today, btw.
"Not in your wildest alcoholic nightmare would you ever imagine such events unfolding!" Bill King
by Buck Turgidson on Apr 11, 2009 7:08 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
I did mean to bring that up -
It’s hard to find 4 good pitching performances on a given day. Why not just roll the dice with Gallagher in the 5th-8th?
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
A few Cust related thoughts on the lineup:
1. At the very least, Cust should be batting before Nomar, and Chavez after, rather than the other way around as has been the case thus far (actually I would be fine if they both went ahead of Garciaparra, but I’m assuming Geren is into this lefty/righty thing). Cust has put together two very good years offensively, while Chavez has been mostly injured. Additionally Cust’s career OBP is 40 points higher than that of Chavez, meaning he is less likely to kill rallies. Cust is definitely the better lefty at this point.
2. I think a situation from Friday’s game bears closer scrutiny. In the bottom of the sixth, with the bases loaded and one out Garciaparra hit a sacrifice fly to score Sweeney. Cust came up next and walked to reload the bases. Suzuki would then record the final out. Had Garciaparra and Cust been switched in the lineup, the A’s could have scored an extra run (which is all the A’s would ultimately need to tie). Sure, thats just one isolated incident, and as in life, baseball hindsight is 20/20. Besides, its not like the A’s didn’t come up short in plenty of other opportunities last night, and to be sure Nomar did get the RBI so this I’m not intending to rail against the guy. There will be times when Garciaparra is hot and Cust is cold. Still, for those who might argue walks are overrated, WAR is too abstract, or lots of strikeouts intrinsically make a hitter worse, I think a situation such as this should clearly demonstrate the advantages of having high OBP hitters go before less patient ones (even if, as in the case of Holliday and Garciappara, they are very good hitters). If a team is having problems stranding base runners one solution is to not get out – ie have more base runners. There is no such thing as clogging the bases. You can’t have more than three people there at a time. Sorry if this sounds a bit churlish, but apparently there are people, such as Bob Geren, who are less enthusiastic about Jack Cust than myself.
3. While we’re at it, if you’re gonna bat two lefties consecutively (which you are) it might as well be Giambi and Cust, preferably somewhere between the 1 and 5 spots and in either order. Early in the game this would help the A’s against right handed starters (which is most starters), and rather than mitigating the A’s heart of the order against loogys, it would create a real challenge for pitchers who are often a bit fringey anyway. Cust and Giambi are our best walkers, and anyone facing them better locate their pitches well or the A’s have a rally going with Holliday due up.
4. Something about how the players used to make up the lineup (right?). I seem to remember Swisher hitting second during Kaiser Macha’s trainwreck ’06 campaign.
5. Cust Cust Cust Cust Cust.
6. I like to use lots of dashes but I am afraid of inciting AN’s auto formatting and strikking ooooout!!!!!11 Pleaz sen d tipz!
by scromulus on Apr 11, 2009 10:35 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Great points - OBP before BA,
Cust and Giambi and Chavez higher in the order, Nomar and Cabrera lower.
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
Geren also claimed to have read "The Book" before...
but apparently has decided to ignore just about everything in it.
"We were s--, pathetic," Guillen growled early in spring training. "We hit too many home runs."
by lenscrafters on Apr 11, 2009 11:22 PM PDT up reply actions
Excellent recap Nic'
I know that the tough losses seem to stick with you longer than the blow-outs, but I’m just amazed at how often we fail to execute basic fundamentals year after year.
It just never seems we get better at it. Bringing in runners from third with less than two outs has to be about a 60% “yes” at worst!! We just can’t do it … we haven’t been able to bunt since the LaRussa left. Not tryin’ to give Tony any credit, just sayin’ it’s been a long time.
I hate the Angels, but it’s no secret why they’re so successful. You know it’s very rare when the Halos don’t execute in situations I just described. Scoscia wouldn’t stand for it. They’re good at it, we’re not. That’s not the only reason they’ve been more successful recently, of course, but it sure don’t hurt.
I needed a team so I wouldn’t turn into one of the eighty million pink hat-wearing Bud Light-drinking mulleted idiots at Fenway.
I agree again
The Angels are fundamentally sound year after year and the A’s… well, we’re not.
The one person who I would have thought we could 100% count on to be fundamentally sound (Mark Ellis) did a putrid job of getting the bunt down. To make matters worse, he hit into a double play right after that.
They should have made him get the bunt down with 2 strikes. If he is up there to get the bunt down, don’t “reward” someone who fails the first two times with allowing them to swing. Let them either get the bunt down or strike out on another failed bunt attempt. It’s disgusting.
"If my uniform doesn't get dirty, I haven't done anything in the baseball game." - Rickey Henderson
The left-on-base crap I can deal with.
Yeah, it was totally frustrating last season when the team could never make contact or a “productive” out whenever called upon, but this season, I have faith that with better overall personnel (Orlando Cabrera, for instance, has already been a “productive out” machine so far this season) the team will score enough runs.
But I reserve the right to be legitimately frustrated when the team FINALLY puts up some runs on A’s-killer King Felix and then promptly and collectively loses focus and coughs up a whole bunch of runs to gift the Mariners a win they didn’t deserve.
I hope both problems are just part of an overall “early season learning curve”, because a whole season of both would be too much to take.
I'm never gonna do it without the fez on!
+1
i agree i am much happier with 4 runs and 16 lob than 4 runs with 3 lob because our lineup is so much deep that eventually those guys on base will be brought in….
If you had a lineup of 9 Jack Custs who hit(Cust career average) .239 AVG, .382 OBP, and .475 SLG, then your team would score 6.12 runs per game-totalling to 991runs a season.The 08 rangers lead the majors in runs score with 901.
Crosby=FAIL
I don’t think that was the time for the “Bobby Crosby at 3rd experiment” to begin. The ball always finds you, and it found BC.
Enjoy the game
Not Crosby's Fault
You don’t bring a guy in as a defensive replacement when he’s got no experience playing the position. That’s just dumb. Either you leave Garciaparra in, you bring in Chavez for defense, or you move Cabrera over to third if he has experience there (I don’t know if he does).
As for the inability to bunt…Over the past couple of years I’ve seen times when the shift is on, and if Cust lays down a bunt, he might get a double - and he’d end the shift. Giambi could’ve tried that yesterday when the shift was on in the late innings. Apparently it’s okay to keep your bat on your shoulders and never swing, but the idea of trying for a bunt hit is somehow unmanly. But you have to know how to do it. This isn’t small ball. It’s strategic planning. If you know how to execute, you have more weapons at your disposal.
"strategic planning" sounds way more manly than "small"
From now on, my penis is just doing strategic planning!
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 is particularly hilarious
while using the shift C function.
"You have to score to win"~Rickey Henderson
That was pretty a ridiculous time
to have Crosby make his 3B debut. Why would Geren figure Crosby at 3B would be better at his position than Giambi is at 1B? And since more balls are hit to 3B than 1B, why would you weaken your defense at 3B to improve it at 1B?
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 Crosby's Fault"
That he sucks?
I kid…..absolutely I think Geren thought he had this game wrapped up and just went to sleep with the moves he made.
Zeigler to Geren…."A-Rod? He’s my bitch." -alox
I need help
This kinda ruined my day. It’s only April and I’m already emotionally invested in every at-bat. This is not a good thing.
It makes absolutely no sense that the A’s couldn’t get runners across home plate against the likes of Ryan Rowland-Smith and a gaggle of no-name relievers, but touch up Felix Freaking Hernandez for 5… and still manage to lose. I mean, I get it. Luck factors in heavily. But still. Blerg.
I can’t get on board with the Crosby error hate. They asked the kid to move from the only position he’s ever known and learn 3-4 others over the span of a month. He’s supposed to be perfect in the field all of a sudden? Meh. Maybe Geren would’ve been better off putting Crosby at 1st and leaving Nomar at 3rd, but that’s not Crosby’s fault.
Ah, well. Get one back tomorrow to restore some dignity. Then it’s on to murderer’s row…
I just remembered I love Eric Chavez.
don't let it ruin your day
just start drinking heavily immediately.
Zeigler to Geren…."A-Rod? He’s my bitch." -alox
I don't think we blame Crosby for making that error,
so much as we blame him for sucking at yet something else when he was already so deep in suckth.
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
Agree, it's more on Geren than Crosby.
by 33SwisherSweet on Apr 11, 2009 5:24 PM PDT up reply actions
A's swept the BoSox at the Coliseum last year
It happens.
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
and another thing
The weird thing for me was that Giambi was bound to be up again so Geren’s careful defensive strategy ensured that we would have four righties up in a row in the ninth. And a sure out in Crosby. The whole thing was absolutely inexplicable. (and to make matters worse, I had just picked up Casilla for my fantasy team!)
d. ross
Turns out Giambi's leg tightened up
At least there’s a reason!
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
Fantastic recap...just perfect.
Summed it up exactly. The young pitchers have a hard enough road ahead of them; what is this crap?
The A’s could an “intro to baseball fundamentals” lesson from Little League, for sure.
"If I was any more warm and fuzzy I’d be lint." -grover
Can Barton play RF?
Buck is now under a buck, and just looked bad today. Granted he isn’t seeing alot of playing time, but I wonder how much of this they will take.
Also, that girl was back with more AAA fun between innings; a run from LF to 3rd and pull the base, kind of funny as the grounds crewman couldn’t pull the base up either.. At least the creepy dude with the Stomper doll wasn’t around. I also think Stompers’ costume has been cleaned, he looked fluffy.
Might be my fault, I have been at both games and they lost both, hmm…of course so have the A’s.
Enjoy the game
Re: Barton in RF.
One. Why would Barton need to play in RF? If you were to hypothetically replace Buck with Barton why not just send Giambi to DH, Cust to RF and Barton to first?
Two. Not a specific comment to you DCinWC, but what is with this fascination to get rid of Buck? Travis has received a grand total of 10 at-bats scattered over a week, and has only started in back to back games once. That sample size is so statistically insignificant it’s not even worth discussing. Give Travis some regular playing time, and if come May he’s still “under a buck” then you think about making a change.
Bobby...Crosby...
(just got back from the game)
good things: Powell’s first major league at bat. Orlando Cabrera. Jack Cust….the pastrami sandwich’s price didn’t go up….I found kraut.
can’t help it, I’’m pissed…they should have won this game…
I have to go out of town on family business tomorrow and probablly won’t get to listen to the game…my next game in person: Monday night against the Sux.
You know about that Jack Cust home run?
"To this day and dating back 25 years, before every game he plays, Henderson stands completely naked in front of a full length locker room mirror and says, "Ricky’s the best," for several minutes."
by VORP is too nerdy on Apr 11, 2009 5:15 PM PDT reply actions
I didn't actually call it during the game though.
I didn’t see the one today since it didn’t show up on EI. I did, however, predict that Cust would be the first A’s home run.
"To this day and dating back 25 years, before every game he plays, Henderson stands completely naked in front of a full length locker room mirror and says, "Ricky’s the best," for several minutes."
by VORP is too nerdy on Apr 11, 2009 5:32 PM PDT up reply actions
Really went out on a limb there
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
Really went out on a stretcher there
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
straight from the horse's mouth
Giambi’s version of getting stretched out:
“Way too much running for me early in the year,” Giambi said. “If Jack didn’t hit that ball out of the ballpark, I would’ve been like an auto part store out there. My hamstrings would’ve fallen out. My groins would’ve fallen out. I would’ve been done for the year.”
Way to prepare yourself for the season, G.
Really, that’s just fucking inexcusable.
"I’m Joey Devine, I’m what Joba Chamberlain would be if he was good and nobody had ever heard of him."
It's called exaggeration
perhaps he was saying the fish was thiiiiiiis looooong.
by MobiusKlein on Apr 12, 2009 12:36 AM PDT up reply actions
Fewer before steroids.
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
My yoga instructor uses the plural for "groins" as well
as in “loosen the groins”
It's not the results, it's how you look going about those results -- Tim McCarver
by WaddellCanseco on Apr 11, 2009 11:03 PM PDT up reply actions
That would not be conducive for the unison of body and mind
It's not the results, it's how you look going about those results -- Tim McCarver
by WaddellCanseco on Apr 12, 2009 8:38 AM PDT up reply actions
I think there's ten.
When anyone says “groin” in an athletic context, it means “groin muscle”. If you “pull a groin”, you don’t pull the whole groin area, you pull one muscle in it. To someone like Giambi, it’s natural to say “groins” and be thinking of the specific muscles.
I’m no expert, but from this description, it looks like there’s five on each side.
"Go ahead and overachieve, you scrappy Brett-Favre-colored walk-takers." —Rev Halofan
lol at crosby
i laugh at his failures now. I used to cry
If you had a lineup of 9 Jack Custs who hit(Cust career average) .239 AVG, .382 OBP, and .475 SLG, then your team would score 6.12 runs per game-totalling to 991runs a season.The 08 rangers lead the majors in runs score with 901.
2 things
1) Crosby in at 3b as a “defensive” replacement? If you are going go with defense, where is Chavez?
2) WTF are we bunting when Lowe can’t find the plate. Down one, maybe. Down 2, why are we giving up outs like that? I could really care less that Ellis failed to execute.
This loss lies squarely on Geren’s shoulders. He “overmanaged” this one.
by 33SwisherSweet on Apr 11, 2009 5:22 PM PDT reply actions
Sounds like a CYA answer to me.
Even if that were the case, move NOMAH to first and Chavy at 3b.
by 33SwisherSweet on Apr 11, 2009 5:38 PM PDT up reply actions
Geren rolled the dice
Chavy is still recovering, and it does make sense to not blow him out in the first month back.
…
But yes, ugh.
Geren also said he wanted to give Chavez a full day off
I understand…but this is not spring training…in the 8th inning if you’re going to put in a defensive replacement you put in your best defense…
alright, time for me to move on.
Game over, hung over, and a ton of new movies just waiting for me on the DVD player. See yuz guyz and galz…….M-Rod
Zeigler to Geren…."A-Rod? He’s my bitch." -alox
yay for amusing caption!
boo for the rest of this crappy game. I don’t expect us to win against King Felix, but blowing it like this? Can someone please trip Crosby so he twists his ankle and we can call up a better infield backup?
Everything is sunshine when you are Ray Fosse, bitches.
Jesus,
I leave y’all alone for one day and this is how you thank me?!
That’s it. From now on, I’m getting a babysitter.
ooooh, better than last years. Yeah, that should be the standard that lineups are judged against. --xbhaskarx
It's kind of interesting
to view these first few games as a possible trend for the rest of this season. note these occurences:
- Let’s say starters give up a few (3-6) runs so that….
- the outcome of the game relies on the bullpen (Springer, Weurtz, Casilla, Bailley, Zeigler) to merely preserve a lead or even…
-give the offense some sort of chance to win while behind during close games
P.s. – I get the feeling our offense is definitely capable of late inning heroics and we’ll be seeing more than a few walk-offs this season.
Unfortunately, without Devine so is our bullpen
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
Agreed
Our Ziggy is not exactly fooling anyone so far this year.
2 Horrible pitches were given the treatment they deseved. Of course Crosby started this off in the first place.
And both were to right-handed hitters
Tough spot to enter into, but for a sinkerballer it’s a “DP situation.”
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
it's funny
before the collapse of today, it seemed like people were feeling pretty good about the bullpen situation. now it’s like a possible weakness…which i dont think should be worried about too much. but i agree, if ziggy can’t be reliable at all, it could be disastrous
I think the bullpen will be fine
Bailey has been a pleasant surprise, Wuertz looks great, and Ziggy/Springer/Casilla/Blevins should be pretty solid. Bullpens blow games, and more so when they try to get 14 outs.
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
It's just exacerbated by putting guys in less-than-ideal situations
Granted, that’s to be expected with such a young starting rotation, but still…
"I’m Joey Devine, I’m what Joba Chamberlain would be if he was good and nobody had ever heard of him."
That's why use of the long man is important
If available, Gallagher – or whomever is in long relief – should get the call one out into the 5th inning.
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
That I agree with
What the hell is Gallagher on the ML roster for. If he has to straighten himself out then AAA to get starts. Otherwise he is withering away doing nothing.
the only thing that the recap misses
is that crosby should have fielded the hit down the line of Ziegler. I’m not sure how it wasn’t an error, to be honest. ok, i am, i guess, but he was caught awfully flat footed. I guess it’s not his fault, in that, really, he’s not good enough to make that play, but, frankly, that play should have been made.
Still. First game of the season, and I only spent a third of it with my head in my hands. So, yknow. small mercies.
"When a player tried to jump after a goalkeeper who has the ball, to prevent the enemy from turning, then he must also pay at a bank. So he received the card anyway."
by alea iacta est on Apr 11, 2009 10:44 PM PDT reply actions
Thanks to the magic of Fox blackouts,
I had no idea how that ball was hit. It looked a lot like Howie Kendrick lining out to right-center field to me.
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 watched that multiple times
I thought so too, but in slow-mo, he had no chance. Really. And I’m not a Crosby defender.
"If I was any more warm and fuzzy I’d be lint." -grover
by baseballgirl on Apr 11, 2009 11:49 PM PDT up reply actions
fair enough
it looked, live, like he should have made it, to be honest.
but I was watching in the bleachers, so, yknow. I easily could be wrong
"When a player tried to jump after a goalkeeper who has the ball, to prevent the enemy from turning, then he must also pay at a bank. So he received the card anyway."
by alea iacta est on Apr 12, 2009 7:35 AM PDT up reply actions
yeah, some of the fans sitting near me were sure he'd get another error
I was sitting on the third base side, and it seemed to me that he should have at least gotten a glove on it.
Stuff that's annoying me
— I actually disagree, a bit, with the Cust people. The guy goes into awful slumps. When he’s in them, I like the option of having him hit eighth. But he also gets red hot. When he does, I want him batting as often as possible. It’s pretty easy for me to see that Cust is hot right now. Why can’t Geren see this?
— I also agree with scromolus above about the importance of batting OBP guys like Cust before hackers like Garciaparra. The sequence the other night, with Nomar hitting a sacrifice fly followed by a Cust walk, was predictable and ended up costing the A’s a chance to tie the game.
— I understand the need to rest Chavez, especially given my skepticism that he’s going to last. But geez, what do you expect if you put in Crosby as a defensive replacement at a position he’s never played?
— It’s reasonable to expect Ziggy to regress a bit this year. It wouldn’t shock me if he was just flat-out bad for a while. That obviously poses a problem for the bullpen, with Devine’s absence.
— Too many mistakes. It’s nothing new, but remains aggravating.
you forgot the stale peanuts and hot dog buns at the coliseum
FU aramark
"Not in your wildest alcoholic nightmare would you ever imagine such events unfolding!" Bill King
by Buck Turgidson on Apr 12, 2009 3:00 AM PDT up reply actions
you mean aramark has ceased to be
the leader of fresh, local, sustainable AND delicious purveyorship we’ve known them for all these years? rule number one of going to the coliseum… buy your food in fruitvale and bring it on in. if you’re gonna eat junk, you owe it to yourself enjoy its flavor.
don't care if i ever get back.
Food can have flavor?
Wow – I will try bringing something in from the outside.
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
My take on Aramark's food -
Aramark Kotsay: Gritty.
Aramark McLemore: The “past it’s prime rib” is ok.
Aramark McGwire: Too many preservatives.
Aramark Redman: Doesn’t agree with me.
Aramark Ellis: Lacks flavor but gets the job done.
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 think Cust looks better at the plate than he did most of last season
but I’m also wondering whether batting lower in the order this year than last is actually helping him? It’s undeniable that the (at least potential) quality of the batting order in general is much higher than last year — which also helps Cust.
Before the game Cabrera was 15 for 30 lifetime against Felix. Yesterday he doubled, sacrificed home a run, and struck out against Felix — not bad…
Apparently Chavez "tweaked" his shoulder diving on Friday.
The larger concern than Geren’s poor judgment is that Chavez is not well
It's not the results, it's how you look going about those results -- Tim McCarver
by WaddellCanseco on Apr 12, 2009 8:40 AM PDT up reply actions
Same thing that got Ellis last year - diving back to the bag
I’m less bothered by the defensive changes now that I know Giambi had to come out and Chavez was not only supposed to be unavailable, but actually was sore and not just taking a scheduled day off.
That means Crosby had to come in at either 1st or 3rd, and either way there was potential for a problem; putting him where he’s more comfortable makes good enough sense to me.
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
Ellis and Chavez need to stop diving on the bases.
Runners went in feet first all the time until Joe Morgan changed the fashion. Lou Brock always went in feet first. It’s not like either is Joe or Rickey on the bases anyway.
It's not the results, it's how you look going about those results -- Tim McCarver
by WaddellCanseco on Apr 12, 2009 9:07 AM PDT up reply actions
That's a very good point
It’s probably instinct but they could retrain themselves to go in feet first. It’s a silly reason to aggravate a known injury.
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
Streakiness
I’m pretty sure I’ve asked this before, but if so I’ve forgotten the answer. Is streakiness a repeatable quality? That is, clearly we can identify which players have been streaky in the recent past; is there a way of measuring past streakiness that correlates with future streakiness? Is it reasonable to expect that players who have been streaky in the past will again be streaky in the future? or is it like how some dice are seen to be streaky?
"Go ahead and overachieve, you scrappy Brett-Favre-colored walk-takers." —Rev Halofan
I'd bet that players who often have to play through injuries are streakier than those who don't
But that’s not saying much
m*****f***ing c***s***ing peanut butter and jelly!! f*** f*** f***!!!
thanks nico
Thanks for pointing out the type of mistakes that have been driving some of us fans
crazy for more than just a few games early this year. Mark Ellis may be the most brain
dead baserunner I have ever seen at the major league level. We have already lost a
couple of games this year due to non execution of some basics. All I ask is that we
play at a level comensurate with major league status. I am not being hyper critical of
our players, The A’s are the only pro sports team that I care about. Fundemental break downs are really inexcusable at this level. This is not asking any more of our guys than a high school or little league coach expects from his starting line up.
Let’s go A’s
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