Petit Comes Up GRANDE!
by Nico on May 2, 2009 9:32 PM PDT
70 comments
Final Score: A's 3, Mariners 2
Whatever the A's have against Gregorio Petit, the feeling does not seem to be mutual. In a Mike Rouse-esque 2009 debut, Petit went 3 for 4 with the game-winning single in the top of the 9th and had 4 terrific at bats.
The lone run off Cahill came in the 2nd on Russell Branyan's 6th HR of the season, and the A's trailed 1-0 until the 6th, when Giambi's two-out double scored Petit from first. After the Mariners retook the lead on Andrew Bailey in the 7th, the A's tied it in the 8th on another Giambi hit with Sweeney at third and two out - this one a single through the left side, with a swing that looked like it was directed at the undefended portion of the infield.
Then came the top of the 9th, tied 2-2. Crosby walked with one out and stole second with two out, at which point Petit lined a crisp single to Ichiro, who was playing shallow. It seems that after sending runners into the jaws of death repeatedly in April, Mike Gallego finally came to his senses and put up the stop sign. Crosby ignored it. Ichiro's throw beat Crosby by the proverbial country mile, but catcher Rob Johnson neglected the important detail of catching the ball and Crosby bowled over Johnson as Johnson braced himself and heroically held onto the ball he didn't have.
What stands out to me, along with Petit's superlative performance and the fact that Jack Cust stole a base (!!!), is how fortunate the A's were throughout the game. Trevor Cahill danced through raindrops for 6 innings, allowing just one run despite surrendering 7 hits and 3 BB, including a homerun and a foul "would be 2-run HR" by Jose Lopez that missed chipping paint off the foul pole by inches. Cahill was also helped by the fact that Seattle made 3 outs on the bases, including Endy Chavez getting thrown out at home on Adrian Beltre's 4th inning double, on a perfect relay from Rajai Davis to Orlando Cabrera to Kurt Suzuki.
One final note. Following my scathing indictment of Bob Geren's tactical moves so far this year I should note that I thought Geren managed an excellent game. Smart moves, IMO, included using Andrew Bailey for 2 innings when the game was on the line, getting Wuertz ready to pitch the 9th even if the game stayed tied (sometimes you just have to put your best available pitcher in there and work backwards, rather than saving someone for a save situation that may never arrive if you don't get outs now), turning Rajai Davis (caught stealing) and Bobby Crosby (successful stealing) loose with two out and singles-hitting Petit up, pinch-hitting Buck and using Hannahan for defense when and as he did, and so on. Well done, and a big win for the A's to even their career Chez Nico record at 2-2.
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Yeah we really shouldn't have won that one.
Cahill was incredibly lucky to only concede one run.
That said, credit to the A’s for hanging in there and coming away with a win. If everyone has a crush on a player, mine would be Petit. There’s just something about him – probably that he never gets a shot with the big club. Hopefully he’s the starting 2B for the next 6 weeks.
Sometimes you get lucky
The A’s haven’t been terribly lucky this season. Tonight was one of those payback games.
I agree with you on Petit. It’s not that I’m sold on him as a starter. It’s just that he seems like such a better option than the others trotted out there.
He trapped it, by the way - we got a few breaks tonight.
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
{must. not. reply.}
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
thank you
"If you hit .440 with 20 bombs, you don't have to do s---. You don't have to bring a glove to practice, just hit and leave whenever you want. You can bring a 40 and smoke a cigarette and call me from the parking lot asking me what time the game is, and I'll tell you. You can even say 'F--- you, Steve!' Actually, don't say that, that wouldn't be very nice." -Steve Friend, Head Coach, Chabot College Gladiators Baseball
Oh, I know.
And I’m okay with it. It’s about time plays like that went our way.
Also, I just like that picture. The grass flying everywhere is pretty cool.
endy chavez might've been safe on the play at the plate too...it looked a
little bang bang. the ump was right there, but it looks to me like zooks might’ve been a touch late on the tag. the replay is on the a’s website.
by inbillywetrust on May 2, 2009 9:51 PM PDT up reply actions
Guacamole!
concocting something witty....check back frequently
by OptimistPrime on May 2, 2009 9:58 PM PDT up reply actions
You're gonna give lynnzgal a run for her money with that guac.
Nice to meet you!
Nico: Okay. We have twelve hours to make a really big pickle.
that was fantastic guac
I don’t suppose you want to make some more? I’ll be around all day if you want to deliver it… ;)
There's no crying in baseball!
Here's another pic of Swooney tonight
"And Julio Franco is batting right-handed!" -- Wayne Hagin, A's radio play-by-play, mid-80s
Ha ha ha - you left out an 'r'
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
Cardiac A's do it to me again
Our boys had no business winning this one, but after seeing so many breaks go the other way (see: injuries, mountain of), I’ll take a few going in this direction.
Hopefully the Rouse comp doesn’t doom Petit, because I like the way he’s playing. He looks very comfortable at the dish and doesn’t appear to try to play outside himself (re: swing for the fences), which is more than I can say for Patterson on both accounts. Slick glove work, too.
The rotation is forcing Geren to manage the bullpen like I did as a 2nd grader playing Super Bases Loaded, but at least Cahill got through 6 today. Let’s take the rubber match tomorrow; living in the picturesque northwest, I’m getting mighty sick of getting guff from all of these Mariners fans. Lacking the alternative of a sweep, 2 out of 3 sits just fine with me.
I just remembered I love Eric Chavez.
+1
M’s fans in Eugene are annoying
You know things are bad when Bobby Crosby doesn't have the lowest batting average of any starter, yet he's hitting .138. Yes, you're 2009 Oakland Athletics.
by diehardoaklandfan22 on May 2, 2009 10:45 PM PDT up reply actions
Nice win, bitches!
I feel better about last night (I was piiiiissssseeeeeeddddd) when I know that we stole one today. :-)
Great recap, Nico. I don’t have any complaints about the game tonight. Nice to see Giambi contributing, and I heart Petit. His night was better than any from Chavez/Ellis so far this season.
"Bobby Crosby at third is a bit of an adventure. And not like, here’s some hidden treasure, what fun. More like, gah! poison ants!" --alea iacta est
P.S. He looks night/day different from Patterson.
"Bobby Crosby at third is a bit of an adventure. And not like, here’s some hidden treasure, what fun. More like, gah! poison ants!" --alea iacta est
by baseballgirl on May 2, 2009 10:19 PM PDT up reply actions
Yes
He certainly filled those shoes nicely. It was just a matter of time for someone to step up.
by SFBAsportsfan on May 2, 2009 10:26 PM PDT up reply actions
in a postgame interview with Cotroneo
Petit said last season he was very stressed about getting a hit each time he had an at bat. During the wintr Omar Vizquel told him to just relax and enjoy the game. He said tonight he decided not to dwell on his slow start in AAA this season, that he was in a new league and starting from scratch, and that he just concentrated on putting the ball in play and “see what happens”.
What's the opposite of a AAAA player?
That is, a guy who can only hit major league pitching? Maybe Petit is one of those!
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
See I've always thought they were really similar.
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
Uncanny Ramirez? I thought he was on the Dodgers.
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 goal - outscore the other guys
We finally did it. Seems like too long. But it all starts even up tomorrow.
As for the Crosby slide home, he just shoved the heck out of the catcher. More push than crash.
More than just ANtics: http://www.louisgray.com/live/
Swooney... 3 web gems in a row...
he’s almost Byrnesesqe! Cahill… 2nd best ERA on the team behind my man, Dallas! Crosby ignores the stop sign and scores the winning run! And, our bullpen is #1 in all of MLB!
Man, things are coming up roses for our A’s!
Clowns to the left of me... Jokers to the right...
yah...
lets hope this is the start of something good
"He's almost Byrnesesqe"
minus madly circling routine fly balls and then desperately lunging at them in order to make a catch. Nobody, repeat nobody, made routine outs into such an adventurous circus like Byrnesy.
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.
A's win in Oakland Oaks gear, Gnats lose and Manny Pacquiao levels Ricky Hatton in two rounds
Yes, this is a waaaay better sports day than I had yesterday!
Green and Gold Lantern Corps
Running the stop sign
(that got me my first traffic ticket in 30 years of driving last fall)
In one of Ron Luciano’s books, he talked about Lou Piniella and his very aggressive base-running (he once ran for the cycle – made an out at each base in one game). Lou ran right through his 3B-coaches stop sign one night to score the winning run for the Yankees. When asked about the stop sign after the game, Lou replied “I don’t use a third-base coach”. Next game, Lou tried to stretch a routine single into a double, and was out at second base by a mile. Luciano asked Graig Nettles about this, to which Nettles replied that “Lou doesn’t use a first-base coach, either.”
"The glass is half full….and we are going to drown in it." - OptimistPrime
I'm a little concerned
While I’m thrilled with the result, I’m wondering if this wasn’t an example of the lack of discipline that shows up in poor fundamentals that seem to plague this team routinely. I don’t want to make too much of this, but it could have very easily cost the A’s the game (or extended it into extra innings) if he was thrown out by Ichiro, which would probably be the outcome four times out of five on that play. If this has already been discussed, please excuse this post.
Great point
but if we’re going to “lack fundamentals”, then I’d much rather do it with aggressive baserunning then anything else. It probably was a stupid move for Crosby to run through Gallego, but this is what happens frequently when you’re aggressive on the basepaths. You force the other team to make a play, and they won’t, more often than not.
It’s the times we don’t run — like when Ellis didn’t tag on a fly ball earlier in the season — that really drive me crazy.
But you’re right samljm — the A’s sometimes look as if they’ve never been coached a day in their lives.
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, samljm, except it wouldn't have cost the A's the game
because it’s not like Crosby “probably would have scored” had he held up. There were two outs and Sweeney is about a .300 hitter against RHP. So if Crosby had a 20% chance of making it, he traded a 30% chance for a 20% chance.
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
bobby crosby had nothing to lose, after watching time after time A’s losing in extra innings.
i am glad he ran the sign and tried to score on his own. we need to be more aggressive.
if he hadnt scored who knows what would happen with the next batter…..
i am sure him bowling over the catcher made all of you smile inside
Well the thing is, he DID have something to lose
He could have been (should have been) out, and Sweeney could have led off the next inning with a single, and our discussion would be a bit different.
What I will say, in defense of Crosby’s aggressiveness, is that one reason that “when in doubt, force the defense” is that stuff like this does happen more than once in a blue moon – throws short-hop, or catchers anticipating contact don’t catch the ball cleanly, and so on. Whereas the given is that if you leave it up to Sweeney, you probably won’t score, because like every other hitter Sweeney gets out a lot more than half the time.
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'd be smiling more if he was wearing another team's uniform
Last of the Ninth - Photography Site / jamesvenes.com - Blog
Which he was yesterday!
Maybe that was Ed Crosby playing some “old school ball” for the Oakland Oaks.
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
Guess he didn't see the stop sign.
On the plus side, that's quicker than he usually recognizes that a slider was in the dirt
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
Further evidence of Crosby's inability to grasp the concept of small samples:
The A’s were dressed as the 1939 Oakland Oaks and the Mariners donned the jerseys of the 1939 Seattle Rainiers, both teams sporting high socks and stirrups and contrasting colors on their back pockets.
“I think it was great,” said Crosby, a high socks aficionado. “The whole team should do it all the time. We’re 1-0. Why not?”
Nico: Okay. We have twelve hours to make a really big pickle.
I thought the game was further evidence that Bobby Crosby peaked in 1939
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 ♥ Gregorio Petit
I hope he forces his way into the everyday lineup. I still think management doesn’t like him, and the only reason they brought him up this time is because they want Pennington to get playing time and they figured whoever is brought up is just going to rot on the bench as a never-used backup. But they threw him a bone with this one start, and so far he’s making it hard for them to bench him.
"Go ahead and overachieve, you scrappy Brett-Favre-colored walk-takers." —Rev Halofan
management seems to have its grudges...
personally, I don’t think Petit has done anything to earn a grudge, but…
Clearly, they do have one for Travis Buck.
Clowns to the left of me... Jokers to the right...
by FoolshGame22 on May 3, 2009 12:11 AM PDT up reply actions
If it comes down to Patterson vs. Petit
Petit ought to start every time … he’s a better hitter and a better defender. What else is there??
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 just seems like everything has evened out in this series
I think that Oakland deserved the win last night, and I’m not so sure we deserved it tonight. Props to Petit for an extremely unexpected and yet equally well recieved preformance tonight. Lets roll on and take this series tomorrow.
I heart R. Sweeney
Seems like the A's are far more capable of coming back this year
Last year’s A’s would have lost a game like this. Giving up a run in the 7th like this.
I miss one game, and JACK CUST STEALS A BASE
thank god I have comcast watch again, or whatever it’s called.
Let’s hope that Petit can keep this going, huh.
In the other big sporting news of the day, I totally ran the table at miniature golf this afternoon. WINNER!
we also stopped in Leisuretown, CA, possibly the oddest place on earth
It's never too soon to jump to conclusions
by alea iacta est on May 3, 2009 1:02 AM PDT reply actions
What the attributes that make it "odd".
I presume we are talking about the town near Elmira, CA (another odd spot and name) and just off I-80, from the “Leisure Town” exit.
I’ve driven by that exit about, ….2,861 times, and have wondered about the hubris that went into calling a residential area “Leisure Town”. But not enough wonder to physically investigate.
'I never predict anything, and I never will.' Paul Gascoigne, footballer
by One won lost won on May 3, 2009 10:45 AM PDT up reply actions
Well, we walked in this bar
and someone came up and said to us “you guys look like christians”… it kinda went from there
It's never too soon to jump to conclusions
by alea iacta est on May 3, 2009 11:04 AM PDT up reply actions
"A guy who looks Christian walks into bar..."
Got it. Now finish the joke, ok?
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'd like to see
a bit more credit to Crosby. He was aggressive on the bases and got it done. Risky move but I thought it was the right one given the situation.
Wang’s ERA is the same as the balance in my checkbook - Jennifer
One bit of good news
Ziggy said he feels well enough to go to the ballpark today. Not sure if that means he’ll be available to pitch or not, though.
Last of the Ninth - Photography Site / jamesvenes.com - Blog
Interesting note about Buck's bunt attempt Friday night.
Travis Buck said that he had the option to bunt or not in the eighth inning Friday. With the game tied, nobody out and a man at second, he popped up a bunt foul. “I know I can bunt, but the way I’m feeling at the plate, I should have swung away,” Buck said. “I’ve got the ability to move him over. That’s a learning experience for me.”
Bring Jerry back!
Cross posting my reply on another thread:
Yeah, I saw that and it at least vindicates Geren to some degree. Though it sends the message "make a productive out" ("get him over any way you can"), where I think the better message (given the hitters up and the hitters following) is "try to get a hit, and in doing so make sure you pull the ball so that if you don’t get a hit you can still advance the runner."
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
saw that
good info for the “File”.
'I never predict anything, and I never will.' Paul Gascoigne, footballer
by One won lost won on May 3, 2009 10:42 AM PDT up reply actions
Which file?
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 just watched back the Crosby assault on the catcher
baserunning considerations aside, I’m impressed by his aggression, if a little surprised he didn’t fall apart on contact.
The 49ers are looking for a strong safety, I hear – any chance of a trade?
It's never too soon to jump to conclusions
by alea iacta est on May 3, 2009 11:13 AM PDT reply actions
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