The time has come to buckle down! As of right now, the A's have 81 games in the loss column, meaning they need to win out to reach .500 for the season. Unfortunately, the green and gold is up against the Mariners, who have dominated Oakland to the tune of a .313 winning percentage. But those were the "Matt Holliday is a .200 hitter" A's of April, the "we just realized that maybe we should send Dana Eveland to AAA" A's of May, and the "getting rid of some dead weight" A's of August. Now the Mariners are up against the "Rajai Davis is Superman, and Eric Patterson is probably Batman or something" A's of late September, so do they even have a chance?
I've developed a bit of a Pavlovian response to Mariners series this season -- basically I just curl up in a ball for 3-4 games and try not to turn on the tv. So, despite the strong play that we've been seeing lately from Oakland, my highest hopes for the next three days are pretty much just that I don't catch swine flu.
Links
- Probable pitchers
- Mariners stats
- Yesterday was an off-day, but I wasted it on work, so I still don't have grades for the last two GOG. But make sure to vote in the poll below...
GOG #51 :: The Penultimate (32 points possible)
Three game series @ Seattle Mariners -- September 29-October 1
UPDATE -- answers added below in bold
- Series outcome [3 points] 3-0 Seattle
- Tuesday is Felix Day! He's leading the Cy Young race for the "AL pitchers not named Zach" category. Predict IP/ER/K for the King [2 points each] 7.2 IP, 2 ER, 4 K
- With Hairston out, Eric Patterson has started the last six games and put up a batting line of .474/.600/.684 with 3 stolen bases to 1 caught stealing. Can he stay hot against the Mariners? Predict his AB/H/SB [2 points each] 9 AB, 4 H, 0 SB
- In his last start at Safeco field, Brett Anderson tossed an easy seven innings, striking out 8 while allowing only one run. How many innings will he last in his upcoming start? [3 points] 5 IP
- Kurt Suzuki has been the seventh hardest player to strike out in the AL this season (for some reason this category contains a lot of second basement, with Polanco, Pedroia, and Callaspo in spots 1, 2, and 3). How many times does Zook strike out against Seattle pitching? [3 points] 1 strikeout
- Shawn Kelley is suffering from some flyballing tendencies and the large HR rate that goes along with it, but he has struck out 4.88 hitters for every one that he has walked, which puts him fourth among AL pitchers with at least 30 IP (you may have heard of the dudes in the 1 and 2 spots -- Roy Halladay and Mariano Rivera). As Lookout Landing Jeff points out, this is a pretty good skill set for a middle reliever. How many walks and strikeouts for Kelley against the A's? [2 points each] 0 BB, 2 K (in 1 inning pitched)
- As a team, Seattle has the lowest walk rate in the American League at 7.2%. What is the Mariners' largest single game walk total in the series? [3 points] Seattle walked twice in game one; they only walked once in each of the other two games
- For the series, who posts a higher Batting Average on Balls In Play, Ichiro (currently at .382 for the year) or Rajai (currently at .368)? [+1 if right, -1 if wrong] Ichiro
- How many double plays do the A's hit into (includes the strike out/caught stealing type)? [3 points] Oakland hits into two double plays
Series starts at 7:10 pm. It's Felix day, so we all should just hide in a basement somewhere.
Results
High scores on this one. Will you all keep it up for the very last GOG?
Overall scoring statistics
- mean = 7.33333 points
- standard deviation = 2.52605 points
- mode = 7 points
Your Scores
Congratulations to nevermoor for winning GOG 51. Looks like he's not going to let up at the end of the season, so zaniac75 and RRS have their work cut out for them. Also, hey cuppingmaster! Welcome to the GOG!
name | place (this GOG) | score (this GOG) | # of GOGs | place (all GOG) | score (all GOG) | place (by AVG) | score by AVG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
nevermoor | 1 | 12 | 46 | 1 | 369 | 2 | 0.247 |
JLeverenz | 2 | 10 | 32 | 14 | 218 | 7 | 0.212 |
streetfan | 10 | 46 | 13 | 219 | 23 | 0.146 | |
easyraider | 10 | 20 | 19 | 139 | 8 | 0.209 | |
muffinpryde | 5 | 9 | 43 | 9 | 247 | 16 | 0.177 |
Rated-R Superstar | 6 | 8 | 45 | 3 | 313 | 6 | 0.219 |
swatnick | 7 | 7 | 30 | 8 | 252 | 1 | 0.263 |
micdog2001 | 7 | 42 | 5 | 283 | 9 | 0.208 | |
colin | 7 | 49 | 6 | 281 | 15 | 0.178 | |
A'sfaninNC | 7 | 39 | 4 | 290 | 3 | 0.230 | |
stranahanahan | 11 | 6 | 15 | 33 | 80 | N/E | 0.174 |
zaniac75 | 12 | 5 | 49 | 2 | 353 | 5 | 0.223 |
doctorK | 5 | 51 | 7 | 268 | 21 | 0.163 | |
GoAs | 14 | 4 | 35 | 12 | 226 | 11 | 0.195 |
cuppingmaster | 15 | 3 | 1 | 92 | 3 | N/E | 0.094 |
Mantecan As Fan | DNP | -- | 1 | 96 | 1 | N/E | 0.024 |
SoCal As Fan | DNP | -- | 14 | 30 | 93 | N/E | 0.200 |
NateHST | DNP | -- | 15 | 26 | 112 | N/E | 0.225 |
DCinWC | DNP | -- | 16 | 32 | 84 | N/E | 0.158 |
mikeA | DNP | -- | 31 | 11 | 232 | 4 | 0.227 |
ZeroIndulgence | DNP | -- | 20 | 25 | 116 | 17 | 0.176 |
gigglingone | DNP | -- | 16 | 24 | 117 | N/E | 0.225 |
Kimberly | DNP | -- | 21 | 20 | 131 | 12 | 0.189 |
oblique | DNP | -- | 38 | 15 | 217 | 18 | 0.176 |
vegAN ryAN | DNP | -- | 4 | 52 | 27 | N/E | 0.185 |
diehardoaklandfan22 | DNP | -- | 16 | 28 | 106 | N/E | 0.202 |
Walton711 | DNP | -- | 1 | 78 | 9 | N/E | 0.214 |
travdog6 | DNP | -- | 2 | 96 | 1 | N/E | 0.013 |
Boonee | DNP | -- | 3 | 58 | 19 | N/E | 0.174 |
RayJEdd | DNP | -- | 12 | 29 | 104 | N/E | 0.252 |
A'sBowlingLeague | DNP | -- | 2 | 58 | 19 | N/E | 0.244 |
elephantbaseball | DNP | -- | 19 | 21 | 126 | 10 | 0.200 |
brian.only | DNP | -- | 4 | 69 | 14 | N/E | 0.096 |
robertmelvin | DNP | -- | 6 | 43 | 41 | N/E | 0.188 |
OaktownPower | DNP | -- | 16 | 27 | 110 | N/E | 0.201 |
roscoe | DNP | -- | 29 | 18 | 161 | 19 | 0.168 |
Flashfire | DNP | -- | 1 | 88 | 6 | N/E | 0.143 |
designatedforassignment | DNP | -- | 3 | 68 | 16 | N/E | 0.145 |
tresselfan | DNP | -- | 4 | 85 | 7 | N/E | 0.046 |
KMoAsFan | DNP | -- | 4 | 57 | 20 | N/E | 0.137 |
Gallagher's Watermelons | DNP | -- | 1 | 74 | 10 | N/E | 0.238 |
GreenOctober69 | DNP | -- | 1 | 82 | 8 | N/E | 0.190 |
SLOtown | DNP | -- | 10 | 37 | 60 | N/E | 0.174 |
Angry Sean | DNP | -- | 45 | 10 | 244 | 20 | 0.167 |
baseballnut020 | DNP | -- | 9 | 41 | 51 | N/E | 0.173 |
MaineAthletic | DNP | -- | 12 | 34 | 73 | N/E | 0.187 |
j_rich36 | DNP | -- | 1 | 85 | 7 | N/E | 0.167 |
scutaroknowstheway | DNP | -- | 1 | 92 | 3 | N/E | 0.071 |
train80 | DNP | -- | 35 | 16 | 206 | 14 | 0.179 |
FormerHuntsvilleStar | DNP | -- | 11 | 31 | 88 | N/E | 0.251 |
jay_sensei | DNP | -- | 6 | 42 | 44 | N/E | 0.227 |
Athletix Man | DNP | -- | 9 | 38 | 59 | N/E | 0.199 |
Athletics fan and runner | DNP | -- | 6 | 52 | 27 | N/E | 0.133 |
Holy Toledo! | DNP | -- | 1 | 92 | 3 | N/E | 0.083 |
Nico | DNP | -- | 1 | 74 | 10 | N/E | 0.278 |
EddieVegas_NRAF | DNP | -- | 1 | 100 | -1 | N/E | -0.028 |
JLaff | DNP | -- | 1 | 91 | 4 | N/E | 0.111 |
WaddellCanseco | DNP | -- | 5 | 51 | 28 | N/E | 0.164 |
crb29 | DNP | -- | 11 | 35 | 70 | N/E | 0.196 |
eastcoasta'sfan | DNP | -- | 4 | 56 | 23 | N/E | 0.161 |
Oaktownflav | DNP | -- | 3 | 64 | 17 | N/E | 0.156 |
Future Ed | DNP | -- | 6 | 43 | 41 | N/E | 0.197 |
JediLeroy | DNP | -- | 1 | 82 | 8 | N/E | 0.222 |
Dalesman | DNP | -- | 2 | 88 | 6 | N/E | 0.083 |
nateh37 | DNP | -- | 7 | 45 | 39 | N/E | 0.174 |
anomaly_kat | DNP | -- | 3 | 61 | 18 | N/E | 0.173 |
sprtsnwyn | DNP | -- | 2 | 64 | 17 | N/E | 0.250 |
VORP is too nerdy | DNP | -- | 4 | 47 | 32 | N/E | 0.234 |
asyouwish33 | DNP | -- | 1 | 82 | 8 | N/E | 0.250 |
jeffro | DNP | -- | 4 | 61 | 18 | N/E | 0.150 |
Cutthemullet | DNP | -- | 3 | 55 | 24 | N/E | 0.238 |
stabbin_mcadams | DNP | -- | 1 | 74 | 10 | N/E | 0.312 |
jasonthea | DNP | -- | 4 | 49 | 30 | N/E | 0.219 |
fruitattack | DNP | -- | 11 | 48 | 31 | N/E | 0.086 |
adragon | DNP | -- | 32 | 17 | 167 | 22 | 0.161 |
Helloooo 1st | DNP | -- | 6 | 46 | 34 | N/E | 0.165 |
King Richard | DNP | -- | 2 | 71 | 13 | N/E | 0.203 |
jpl | DNP | -- | 8 | 40 | 55 | N/E | 0.222 |
baseballgirl | DNP | -- | 1 | 74 | 10 | N/E | 0.286 |
whiteshoes40 | DNP | -- | 18 | 36 | 68 | 24 | 0.116 |
walkoff baltimore chop | DNP | -- | 1 | 85 | 7 | N/E | 0.200 |
spiffyjwc | DNP | -- | 2 | 71 | 13 | N/E | 0.194 |
samljm | DNP | -- | 1 | 78 | 9 | N/E | 0.265 |
pam5981 | DNP | -- | 7 | 38 | 59 | N/E | 0.276 |
Gaijin_Suketto | DNP | -- | 1 | 69 | 14 | N/E | 0.424 |
harenshair | DNP | -- | 15 | 21 | 126 | N/E | 0.249 |
tosk | DNP | -- | 5 | 50 | 29 | N/E | 0.179 |
mikev | DNP | -- | 1 | 64 | 17 | N/E | 0.515 |
Leopold Bloom | DNP | -- | 1 | 96 | 1 | N/E | 0.029 |
ElQuesoCapitan | DNP | -- | 3 | 61 | 18 | N/E | 0.194 |
Trainman | DNP | -- | 2 | 92 | 3 | N/E | 0.049 |
OptimistPrime | DNP | -- | 1 | 90 | 5 | N/E | 0.179 |
dtownmbrown | DNP | -- | 4 | 54 | 25 | N/E | 0.182 |
Blicks | DNP | -- | 21 | 21 | 126 | 13 | 0.183 |
chillicothe20 | DNP | -- | 1 | 78 | 9 | N/E | 0.265 |
ChadGod | DNP | -- | 1 | 71 | 13 | N/E | 0.382 |
SamYam | DNP | -- | 3 | 58 | 19 | N/E | 0.186 |
JLopez | DNP | -- | 4 | 78 | 9 | N/E | 0.069 |
robbo650 | DNP | -- | 4 | 64 | 17 | N/E | 0.132 |
Steve in Napa | DNP | -- | 1 | 96 | 1 | N/E | 0.032 |