A's Stay Tied For Almost One Full Hitter, Bumble To 11-6 Loss
by Nico on Jul 18, 2009 4:46 PM PDT
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Print"It's a beautiful day for baseball, ladies and gentlemen...Fans just settling into their seats and here's the first batter of the game, Chone Figgins...Mazzaro's pitch...Figgins swings, and the A's trail for the rest of the day."
And so it goes. A game, apparently, where you could go to the Berkeley Rep, watch Carrie Fisher talk about being a bi-polar drug addict, come home and feel like you were surrounded by more joy than if you had gone to the A's game."Wishful Drinking" is an excellent show, by the way, and I highly recommend it. Drinking, that is.
I look at the box score and I see the A's made 4 errors -- how nice. Vin Mazzaro bombed for 10 hits in 3+ IP -- that's nice. Oakland's offense with a "far too little, far too late" rally in the 9th inning of a blowout loss -- lovely. Sounds like I missed a real winner!
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The third inning said it all.
Top 3rd: LA Angels
- R. Willits scored, C. Figgins to third on third baseman A. Kennedy’s fielding error
- B. Abreu singled to shallow center, C. Figgins scored
- M. Napoli singled to shallow right, B. Abreu scored, J. Rivera to third, K. Morales to second
- J. Rivera scored, K. Morales to third, M. Napoli to second on catcher L. Powell’s fielding error
- E. Aybar singled to right, K. Morales and M. Napoli scored
Let’s hope Anderson keeps pitching the way he has been as of late.
The Ultimate Opportunist
by Rated-R Superstar on Jul 18, 2009 4:53 PM PDT reply actions
I'll make the attempt at being positive:
-Holliday had a couple hits and a couple stolen bases.
-Cust looked really good at the plate, and walked twice.
-Edgar Gonzalez was less bad than usual. That guy has good stuff. Unfortunately, when you don’t know where the ball is going it really doesn’t help.
-Landon Powell had 2 hits. They almost (but not at all) made up for the drop he had on the Holliday throw.
-Craig Breslow is awesome.
"True fact: In a global thermonuclear war, the only human who would survive would be David Eckstein" -PT
Springer.
Why?
"You may glory in a team triumphant, but you fall in love with a team in defeat."--The Boys of Summer
There is no "i" in Teamocil. At least not where you'd think.
by GreenNGoldSooner on Jul 18, 2009 5:41 PM PDT up reply actions
See Eveland?
Maybe he’s looking forward to himself or Geren being traded (or maybe a simple apology). Record 7-2 (aside from his last outing/gave up 6 in 6). Brought his ERAAA up to 3.93. IMO, one af the A’s biggest bad decisions this year right out of the gates (not giving him #1 starting role & eventually sending him down). Check it out.—-he’s playing Geren’s little game. at the little price Geren pays, losing a few ML games here and there. He’s gonna have a good career somewhere.
Optimistic...
Glad to see Eveland have some good games in AAA.
I’m not a believer in Eveland, but hopefully some other GM will be. I don’t think he has any future with the Oakland Athletics. If he has a future with some other team, good for him. Let’s get something for him.
"Go ahead and overachieve, you scrappy Brett-Favre-colored walk-takers." —Rev Halofan
Perhaps if you don't believe in someone
you should look around at what else you have before you give up on them.
Optimistic...
{looks around, still sees that Eveland is "sucky filler"
who is about 9th on the depth chart, gives up on Eveland}
He’s just not a very good pitcher, Porcupine. What you say makes sense for Gio, or for Gallagher, but not for Sir Dana who, if I haven’t mentioned it before, doesn’t pitch well.
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 haven't given up on him.
I’m still hoping he’ll make himself worth something in trade.
"Go ahead and overachieve, you scrappy Brett-Favre-colored walk-takers." —Rev Halofan
I'm not all that impressed with what he's done in Sacramento
His last start was a bad one you can’t ignore that. While he’s improved on the walks he’s still giving up a lot of hits. I don’t see him being any real improvement over anyone else at this point, if ever.
Eveland had no business being a #1 anyway and he earned his demotion.
Last of the Ninth - Photography Site / jamesvenes.com - Blog
Come clean, Dana
How did you decide on the screen name of “Porcupine”?
Respectfully disagree
IMO He will never have a good career in ML’s.
If I am wrong, I will apologize. Not going to happen though. He is plain and simply bad.
Career 5.52 ERA
Career .298 BA
This year 71 baserunners in 27 IP Has to be amongst the worst WHIP’s you would ever want to see.
He has pitched 259 innings of overall garbage.
My favorite team is a fucking embarrassment to all true A's fans and they make me sick to my stomach on an almost daily fucking basis. But being a true fan, I will ride this pathetic bunch of losers out and hope that they get better in 2010
How many innings
of overall garbage have we witnessed from the alternative. He was the best prospect we had. If you think his stuff stinks, check out every one of our starting pitchers. Last year before the all-star break none of them would’ve been around. It seems as if Geren’s ass hurts less when he loses, as long as everyone has a good attitude and doesn’t confront him. Eveland is not great, but he was good enough to be the starter for this team. His record was 9-9 last year with a 4.34 ERA, which was the best record among our starters after Duke got hurt. The only one worthy of being other than a #4 or #5 starter was Outman, and he is gone for a while. Braden would’ve done a lot better fine as a #2. It hasn’t worked out for anyone.
Optimistic...
And we also lost a lot of ground
messing with the closer role. Ziegler had an unbelievable line last year. We may have a better closer now than we did, but at the cost of losing a few more games. These moves Geren made are a direct result of the A’s not having a winning season. Giving up in extra innings. Late inning switches, so everyone gets play time. And he had nothing to warrant any of it. Giving up on day games after night games. Not playing Buck against pitchers he’s done well against. All he had to do was give 3 lucky kids a job as the 3,4,5 in the starting rotation and leave the closer role alone. Benching hot hitters and playing cold ones. I hope Geren can figure out the difference between what is working now and what isn’t. Otherwise, I’m prepared to lose a lot more games throughout his tenure.
Optimistic...
Every one of our starters are still better than Eveland
Last of the Ninth - Photography Site / jamesvenes.com - Blog
Using record as an argument?
They say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing all the time!
by muffinpryde on Jul 18, 2009 10:55 PM PDT up reply actions
Get Over It
C’mon Porcupine, Eveland fucking blows. That was last year. He totally sucked in the 2nd half, got demoted, then continued to suck balls big time this year both with the A’s and at AAA Sacramento. Stick a fork in that huge cupcake he is WAY overdone.
Get Them B4 They Get You!
has this been posted?
interesting read. holliday talks about his swing.
don't care if i ever get back.
I love how Passan praises him as such a professional
Yet I watched three different occassions today where he didn’t seem to care to be playing for the A’s.
1. He practically walked to a hit down the line early, and ended up missing it as a result.
2. He collided with Orlando Cabrera, and got up and just walked off. Didn’t even look to see if his teammate was alright.
3. I watched him literally run into the clubhouse as soon as Sweeney hit the ball for the last out. He hadn’t run that hard all day.
Otherwise, it’s a nice read.
by MrMoneyBaller on Jul 18, 2009 8:50 PM PDT up reply actions
if you check out the game videos on mlb.com
you can see him verbally checking with cabrera and cabrera answers before he gets up and walks away. the rest i believe as you saw. but not bad comradery.
anyway, the story reads a little like PR from boras’ agency, or like they at least had the idea for the interview, to drum up some optimism in holliday, right? that aside, i believe what holliday says.
don't care if i ever get back.
Not a bad game to miss, if I do say so myself.
Way to go, me.
Nico: Okay. We have twelve hours to make a really big pickle.
Me, too.
Though I only missed about half of it.
"Go ahead and overachieve, you scrappy Brett-Favre-colored walk-takers." —Rev Halofan
No rally pics were gonna save this game, I'm guessing.
Nico: Okay. We have twelve hours to make a really big pickle.
That's what it was when I left.
"Go ahead and overachieve, you scrappy Brett-Favre-colored walk-takers." —Rev Halofan
I had to stop watching,
When they brought in Springer who promptly gave up 3 runs…
Has this guy ever ‘held’ a game?
Its hard to watch.
Dont blow Bailey.
prior to playing for the A's,
I think Springer was quite good.
A real Poppy Palace would have a lot more chocolate, and a moat with otters. -Poppy
by Leopold Bloom on Jul 19, 2009 12:20 PM PDT up reply actions
Agreed, and I appreciate his sharing of knowledge w/ Braden-
But man please keep him away form any game we have a chance of winning.
Dont blow Bailey.
Did you know you can comment on Athletics Nation from your phone or PDA? SB Nation has launched mobile commenting. Check it out next time you're at the game or bar and have something to say.
Uh oh. Geren lost his testicles again.
"There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want" -Bill Watterson
Please.
The situation is such that a mere testicle-scavenging is not nearly enough to remedy it. We need a team meeting stat.
"We were shit, pathetic," Guillen growled early in spring training. "We hit too many home runs."
by lenscrafters on Jul 18, 2009 11:36 PM PDT up reply actions
So the best we can hope for....
is a split?
I don’t like our chances.
"You may glory in a team triumphant, but you fall in love with a team in defeat."--The Boys of Summer
I'd say the best we can hope for is a fourth game tomorrow,
since that didn’t happen last time these teams played a four-game series. As we found out in April, there are worse things than losing 3 out of 4. :-(
Ugh — as I typed that, I realized that “losing 3 out of 4” has multiple meanings.
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
Uhhh....
don’t even want to think along those lines. Every time it’s mentioned all I can think of is that young man’s father sitting in the locker room and staring into it. What a horribly crushing blow.
I much prefer to dwell on my simmering hatred of all things Garden Grove based.
"You may glory in a team triumphant, but you fall in love with a team in defeat."--The Boys of Summer
Was going to join the game thread in the 2nd inning
Saw Powell drop the ball from Holliday, then watched Mazzaro give up two more runs in the inning, then I shut my computer down and switched the TV over to ‘Ice Road Truckers’.
"If Vin Mazzaro comes anywhere near me with shaving cream he’s gonna be coming away with a bloody stump" – Dallas Braden
good choice. love that show
What you fail to understand in your joyless myopia is that baseball is the key to life-- the Rosetta Stone, if you will. If you just understood baseball better all your other questions your, your... the, uh... the aliens, the conspiracies they would all, in their way be answered by the baseball gods.
by winchester5 on Jul 19, 2009 12:43 PM PDT up reply actions
Can you believe THIS was the first game we took our twins to?
Clearly… they were not happy with the outcome.
More than just ANtics: http://www.louisgray.com/live/
Looks like they want to throw up on
Geren almost as much as I do.
"You may glory in a team triumphant, but you fall in love with a team in defeat."--The Boys of Summer
They are still adorable!
Looks like you has some room to spread out. At least there is that. And Powell is the truth. Get that guy some at bats!!!
Bring Jerry back!
I would seriously put them at SS and 3B, right now.
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 hats are too cute. I guess they don't come in a 12-18 month size.
I don't always blog. But when I do, I prefer AN. Stay thirsty my friends.
Tell me about it..
I carried them both from our seats to the parking lot and… I forgot that I had biceps. Sore. Sore. Sore.
They’re about 20 pounds each.
More than just ANtics: http://www.louisgray.com/live/
LOL...
I remember those days all to well! I once carried my middle daughter for hours on end in Disneyland. She loved that place with a passion but was to tired to walk anymore. I think she was around four years old. She’s twenty and nowadays her and her sisters will make the trek on their own. It’s so strange to think that so much time passed by so quickly! I use to work 16 hour shifts for weeks on end in order to take them down there for a few days. God, how I wish I could go back and do it all over again.
"You may glory in a team triumphant, but you fall in love with a team in defeat."--The Boys of Summer
Too cute!
Looks like they’re saying, “Get us out of here!”
will crosby spread his legs so far apart at bat that the games will have to be rated nc-17 -- emperor nobody
Thanks! We like them too.
Matthew and Sarah turned one on June 20th.
More than just ANtics: http://www.louisgray.com/live/
cute kids, Louis.
A real Poppy Palace would have a lot more chocolate, and a moat with otters. -Poppy
by Leopold Bloom on Jul 18, 2009 11:46 PM PDT up reply actions
I apologize louismg....
I forgot to compliment you on a fine looking pair of progeny. No wonder you haven’t been around much lately, these two must keep you and the wife at the ragged edge of exhaustion on a continual basis! Your pics combined with a few beers and a 44th birthday caused me to take a nostalgic stroll down memory lane. I was almost envious of you, but then morning arrived and I sobered up after a decent nights sleep….something you probably know very little about these days!
"You may glory in a team triumphant, but you fall in love with a team in defeat."--The Boys of Summer
44th birthday
Aha. I am four months younger than you.
If I recall correctly, we have one year on Nico and two years on Don.
"Go ahead and overachieve, you scrappy Brett-Favre-colored walk-takers." —Rev Halofan
damn, you dudes are old.
A real Poppy Palace would have a lot more chocolate, and a moat with otters. -Poppy
by Leopold Bloom on Jul 19, 2009 12:16 PM PDT up reply actions
2 years on Nico! At LEAST.
I kind of liked being 23, so I’ve kind of stayed 23 for the last 19 years. So I’m somewhere between 23 and 42, but that’s IT.
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
whatever.
old dude.
A real Poppy Palace would have a lot more chocolate, and a moat with otters. -Poppy
by Leopold Bloom on Jul 19, 2009 12:19 PM PDT up reply actions
CHONE!
{shakes fist at nemesis}
A real Poppy Palace would have a lot more chocolate, and a moat with otters. -Poppy
Some of my observations from my visit to the Coliseum today.
First, I have to say that the pre-game ceremonial first pitch was as touching a moment as I’ve ever experienced at a ball game. It literally brought my entire row to the verge of tears, and it was absolutely inspiring to see Jom Wilhite throw that ball to Kurt. A very moving way to begin the game, and a pleasant tone to set.
The rest of this may come off as a bit off a rant, so please bear with me.
Second, it might just be me, but watching on TV has really made it easy for me to overlook the A’s offensive struggles. After all, if it gets too bad, I usually change the channel. Not so much today, as it really hit home just how bad the A’s offense is. Again, just my opinion, but even when the A’s rallied, they looked surprised at the plate, (although Cust and O-Cab seemed to be dialed in). It was tough to watch at times.
Third, I know it’s been discussed before on AN, but today also really hit home the value of showing some degree of fire as players. Holliday showed absolutely zero interest of being in Oakland, something that I guess I’ve just ignored to this point. Aside from the two stolen bases, he looked to be going through the motions all game. From the left field bleachers, he looked to be loafing after the ball hit by Matthews Jr. in the second, there was no reason for him to miss that ball, none. He showed no concern for his teammmate’s well-being when he pulled a Jack Cust and tackled an infielder. He grounded into a double play to end the 8th, and on a very questionable call, didn’t even turn towards the umpire to discuss the play. Steverson immediately started talking to the umpire, while Holliday just turned around and literally threw his batting helmet at Steverson, who at that point was busy arguing and was almost nailed in the head by it. And the one thing that angered me most, was the most hustle I saw from him all day was his sprint into the clubhouse as soon as Sweeney’s bat made contact with the ball on the last out. I’m sure Matt Holliday is a nice guy and all, and next year I may miss his production, but I’m not sure I’m going to miss the effort or the attitude of “I don’t care”.
Lastly, I was pretty appalled at how poorly the A’s played defense today. Kennedy made a tough throw, granted, but he sailed that sucker farther than I thought he could throw. He looked really out of place at third almost all day (I thought). The A’s were lucky that Giambi was not given an error on his throw on a pickle, that’s for sure. He stepped towards the inside of the bag, and then threw towards the outside, which I still can’t figure out, especially when Cabrera was standing so far to the inside. Defensively, it was a pretty terrible game to watch, especially since Jack Cust provided the defensive play of the game, (I’ll give him credit for a great catch).
Sorry for the ramble, but those are just a few of the thoughts that I’ve had while driving home from Oakland.
Um,
the way he looked aside, Holliday was 2 for 4 with a walk, two RBIs and two SBs. Defensively, he had four put-outs, an assist from the outfield that Powell dropped. and an error.
I’m sorry, but that doesn’t add up to a player not trying to me. I know how he looks and how he acts seems like he doesn’t care. His numbers suggest otherwise.
A real Poppy Palace would have a lot more chocolate, and a moat with otters. -Poppy
by Leopold Bloom on Jul 18, 2009 11:45 PM PDT up reply actions
I have no issue with his performance
Just his attitude.
by MrMoneyBaller on Jul 19, 2009 1:01 AM PDT up reply actions
but where does his attitude come into play except through his performance?
A real Poppy Palace would have a lot more chocolate, and a moat with otters. -Poppy
by Leopold Bloom on Jul 19, 2009 11:09 AM PDT up reply actions
he did check to see if OCab was okay btw.
What you fail to understand in your joyless myopia is that baseball is the key to life-- the Rosetta Stone, if you will. If you just understood baseball better all your other questions your, your... the, uh... the aliens, the conspiracies they would all, in their way be answered by the baseball gods.
by winchester5 on Jul 19, 2009 12:47 PM PDT up reply actions
Okay, that's fair
I just didn’t see it from the bleachers.
by MrMoneyBaller on Jul 19, 2009 8:29 PM PDT up reply actions
I missed the Wilhite pitch (and a lot of the game)
Does anyone know where to find video of the pitch by any chance? I really, really want to see it.
><
Wow, I just saw it on "Baseball Tonight" and it's very moving
My other thought, having seen the highlights, is that yes, Kennedy made a terrible throw, but the Angels are so good because Figgins tested him – again – and that’s how the Angels play: They look for a weakness and exploit it. I’ll bet you anything if Giambi and Cust played for LAA, they’d have learned to hit to LF by now.
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'll buy that the Angels tested him
But I’ve got to say, that wasn’t even that difficult of a throw. Kennedy, had he thrown the ball well, would’ve beaten Figgins by at least 2 steps.
by MrMoneyBaller on Jul 18, 2009 11:44 PM PDT up reply actions
Cust hits to left field with authority.
That’s not really his problem. It’s only groundballs that he doesn’t hit to the left side.
"Life is a horizontal fall" -Jean Cocteau
by King Richard on Jul 19, 2009 12:20 AM PDT up reply actions
You're joking, right?
All Cust does is hit it to LF.
Some motherfcukers are always trying to ice skate uphill - Blade.
Actually, he usually hits it to the catcher
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
Sorry about the pathetic spelling. Very tight on time today. Guys do me a favor. when line ups come out will you post if our beloved manager gave us a good one? thanks
He didn't
I don’t need to wait for gametime to tell you that.
Last of the Ninth - Photography Site / jamesvenes.com - Blog
Question for those who have the MLB Extra Innings Package:
Does anyone know why today’s A’s game isn’t on the schedule?
will crosby spread his legs so far apart at bat that the games will have to be rated nc-17 -- emperor nobody
A show of mercy?
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
lol
Yeah, maybe it’s best for my sanity that I won’t be able to see it.
will crosby spread his legs so far apart at bat that the games will have to be rated nc-17 -- emperor nobody
I noticed that too.
quite odd.
A real Poppy Palace would have a lot more chocolate, and a moat with otters. -Poppy
by Leopold Bloom on Jul 19, 2009 11:10 AM PDT up reply actions
The only thought I had is that it might be on NBC,
like that one A’s/Giants game earlier this year?
A real Poppy Palace would have a lot more chocolate, and a moat with otters. -Poppy
by Leopold Bloom on Jul 19, 2009 11:11 AM PDT up reply actions
The schedule on the A's Web site
says it’s on CSN California. Odd indeed that EI isn’t showing it.
will crosby spread his legs so far apart at bat that the games will have to be rated nc-17 -- emperor nobody
maybe they feel we're too pathetic to be part of any national broadcast,
kinda like when you suck from season-to-season in EA’s College Football games and you can only recruit close to where you are…
A real Poppy Palace would have a lot more chocolate, and a moat with otters. -Poppy
by Leopold Bloom on Jul 19, 2009 11:22 AM PDT up reply actions
Jesus,
is it time for A’s baseball yet today?
C’mon!
A real Poppy Palace would have a lot more chocolate, and a moat with otters. -Poppy
Oooh.
coffee. I like coffee. I could sit here, sweat and twitch!
BTW, the landlady has yet to really properly fix my AC. It’s about 85 in here.
A real Poppy Palace would have a lot more chocolate, and a moat with otters. -Poppy
by Leopold Bloom on Jul 19, 2009 12:23 PM PDT up reply actions
He's in the lineup today.
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
WooHoo
I was pretty worried for a sec.
I haven’t really had a chance to watch him play, but we definitely needed some new blood.
Dont blow Bailey.
Aw crap Lackey...
Although it does look like he’s having a poor year by his standards.
Lets get the split!
Dont blow Bailey.
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