LaPorta Chopper Better Than A's Rockets
by Nico on Jul 3, 2010 7:41 PM PDT
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PrintIf you're interested in how luck plays a part in everyday baseball, contrast the game-winning hit with the A's top of the 8th. Suzuki scorches a liner speared by Jason Donald at SS, Sweeney hits a rocket to RF right at Kearns, Cust walks, and Rosales cracks a bid for extra bases down the 3B line into the glove of Jhonny Peralta.
So it was perhaps fitting that Matt LaPorta won the game with a chopper over the mound and into CF, over Craig Breslow, perfectly splitting Cliff Pennington and Mark Ellis.
Two points of interest in the bottom of the 10th. One is that Travis Hafner doubled against a "no-doubles" defense and possibly because of a no-doubles defense. Coco Crisp did cut his hit to right-center field off but he was so deep that he could not stop even the lead-footed Hafner from getting into second base. Also, the intentional walk to Austin Kearns is what allowed the batting order to roll as far as to LaPorta. I'm not questioning the decision to walk Kearns, just pointing out that when you issue an IBB it's not who's on deck but rather who's up after that you need to consider.
Cliff Pennington was a true bright spot tonight with a single, double, triple, 2 RBI and a couple of outstanding plays at SS. Kevin Kouzmanoff extended his 0-fer streak to 28 ABs and continues to pull everything in his sincere effort to set a major league record for bouncing into around-the-horn DPs.
As for Clay Mortensen (6 IP, 4 runs, 3 ER, 2 BB, 7 K), he hung too many offspeed pitches but was otherwise quite effective and did a great job of settling down after serving up a 2-run HR two batters into the game. He wasn't great but he certainly earned another big league start if one is available.
Current Series
3 game series vs Indians @ Progressive Field
| Fri 07/02 | WP: Gio Gonzalez (7 - 5) SV: Andrew Bailey LP: Mitch Talbot (8 - 7) |
3 - 0 win |
| Sat 07/03 | WP: Tony Sipp (1 - 2) LP: Craig Breslow (3 - 2) |
4 - 5 loss |
|
Oakland Athletics Sunday, Jul 4, 2010, 10:05 AM PDT Sunny. Winds blowing out to center field at 5-10 m.p.h. Game time temperature around 85. |
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The Chris Townsend thread is here.
The Ultimate Opportunist
by Rated-R Superstar on Jul 3, 2010 7:54 PM PDT reply actions
Yeah, I felt like Mortensen was pitching well.
He would just make these occasional mistakes, issue a walk here and there, hang a pitch here and there, and the Indians were on their toes enough to make him pay for them every time. I would have liked to see him stay one more inning. I feel like I’m saying that an awful lot these days, partially because I just no longer trust any decision Bob Geren makes, and partially because the bullpen is so untrustworthy.
On that subject, the bullpen didn’t do that badly tonight. It’s criminal that Craig Breslow has to get a loss and an ER for this game. That double should have been a single, the IBB should have been an easy out, and LaPorta’s chopper was a cheap-ass hit. Aside from all of that, the 10th inning should never have come to pass, as Nico points out in his discussion of the 8th inning.
Still, the A’s were definitely hitting the ball today. I think there’s a lot of encouraging signs to take out of this game. On the other hand, they’re the same encouraging signs that we’ve had all season: the offense is almost really effective, the defense is almost really good, the rotation is almost stifling, and the bullpen is almost adequate.
And we played a close game against a bad team
Oh well. The A’s mostly played well and just got hosed.
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
Nobody wins 162 games
And no one loses that number either. The A’s put up a minor leaguer who’d sucked the last time he was in the majors. He pitched well enough. A number of A’s balls were caught, and Cleveland had some breaks.
The best teams in the world sometimes lose these kinds of games; and the worst teams sometimes win them.
{checks record books}
Well I’ll be!
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 cubs won a world series once.
Wuertz was scratched from a minor league game on Wednesday, but bounced back quickly on Thursday, throwing mostly fastballs and sliders, although he did mix in three sliders. -Rotoworld
by ElQuesoCapitan on Jul 3, 2010 8:29 PM PDT up reply actions
Just another close game Bean was talking about, right?
Guess we give Geren an another extension. One of these years we’ll win all those close games.
And finally be able to buy that other "e" Billy so desperately needs.
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
no
This was a topic in the book by the guy who played for the padres and dodgers
"The ego, the super-ego, and the Ed" - dannycakes
Well aren't you clever, sailor!
{call 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
it was a book about strategy, right?
like Tango’s?
"The ego, the super-ego, and the Ed" - dannycakes
it's just a prima facie case of a "wide stance"
If you see me in a bathroom stall in a faraway airport, you know it’s totally innocent just so we’re queer clear.
Hello, I'm Vince Cotroneo for the Marmaduke B. Mushmouth School of Public Speaking...
by emperor nobody on Jul 3, 2010 9:13 PM PDT up reply actions
{tap, tap}
T-t-t-tap, tap wingtips — the fantastic hookup place!
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
As long as we finish the year around .500 Im happy.
Get some hitters and we are in business next year. Hope Carter/Taylor get outta their funks and shit like mashers.
"Carter's 25-game hitting streak isn't any normal streak. He's 46 for 97 (.474 average) during the run, adding 16 walks and compiling 81 total bases in the process. I'm out of superlatives for what he's doing." - Kevin Goldstein
LoL!
*Hit like mashers.
"Carter's 25-game hitting streak isn't any normal streak. He's 46 for 97 (.474 average) during the run, adding 16 walks and compiling 81 total bases in the process. I'm out of superlatives for what he's doing." - Kevin Goldstein
awesome typo there
the A’s DH position makes me almost type “Designated Shitter” all the time, so I can relate.
Hello, I'm Vince Cotroneo for the Marmaduke B. Mushmouth School of Public Speaking...
by emperor nobody on Jul 3, 2010 9:28 PM PDT up reply actions
stop the hate
All DHs with over 100 ABs, batting average leaders:
- Vlad (natch)
- Jack Cust, .298
- etc. all 21 other DHs
Jack Cust: Swingles!
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
He's batting close to .300 again?!
Geeeez.
She lives by the wall, and waits by the door.
She walks in the sun, to me.
I'm telling you,
he and Jose Vidro rented “Freaky Friday” and the rest is history.
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 Dwubbles!
As for Jwacks, let it go, power is too expensive.
O/T: And Brock Lesnar takes a pounding
and comes back to win with a triangle choke in second round.
Carwin pounds the shit out of him, knocking him to the ground and cuts him up pretty bad. I was reading a blog that said 99 percent of the fights like this would have been stopped but ref let him go. Carwin ran out of gas and was submitted
"choke...gas...shit...triangle"?
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
Did one of the witnesses call the police?
I hope they catch that jerk.
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 managed to hop a few streams in Justin.tv as they were being shut down, so I saw the two important moments above,
and not much else. Lesnar is a beast. Any doubts anyone may have had regarding him in MMA should be long gone.
Why didnt geren bring baily in to face Laporta on the last play of the game?
by Belinelli's the savior on Jul 3, 2010 10:43 PM PDT reply actions
Breslow did fine against LaPorta.
You can’t ask much more from a pitcher than a groundball that hits the grass five feet from the plate.
She lives by the wall, and waits by the door.
She walks in the sun, to me.
Breslow out of gas.
I disagree, Breslow was out of gas and was in the 30 pitch range. Bailey should have been called on.
He was quoted A's saying all the relievers
Would benefit from pitching one inning per game
by OaklandSi on Jul 4, 2010 5:19 AM PDT via mobile up reply actions
I want to know where Suzuki's line drive would have landed.
That thing was scorched, and rising.
Keep in mind, of course, that "the best defense of Derek Jeter's life" ranks somewhere in between "the best fiscal responsibility of Mike Tyson's life" and "the best not-getting-assassinated-ness of James Garfield's life." -FJM
When was the last time we hit a home run?
"You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig."
Me? Well, I was taking a required PE course [Softball]...
…at Diablo Valley College so that I could earn an Associates of Arts. I think that the year was 2000. Maybe it was 2001. Anyway, we were playing on a make-shift field just opposite the playing field and I launched one — had to have been 400 feet down — the left field line, over the fence, and into the canel. You?
by LowcountryJoe on Jul 4, 2010 3:38 AM PDT up reply actions
first year in organized baseball
coach pitch league.
I was on the pirates, I hit a sharp groundball over first base. it rolled for a long time, must have gone 150 feet (on the ground). I was able to circle the bases. They had been loaded.
"The ego, the super-ego, and the Ed" - dannycakes
So, who is watching the All-Star selection show on TBS? ’Chu know ’bout Evan Meek?
The Ultimate Opportunist
by Rated-R Superstar on Jul 4, 2010 9:21 AM PDT reply actions
Strasberg didn't make it
I am happy.
"Do I talk to myself? No, I just remind myself of what I'm trying to do. You know, I never answer myself so how can I be talking to myself?" - Rickey
Athletics Nation - WE'RE ALL GONNA MRIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!! - danmerqury
by cuppingmaster on Jul 4, 2010 9:22 AM PDT up reply actions
Omar Infante made it, though. Can you believe that?
The Ultimate Opportunist
by Rated-R Superstar on Jul 4, 2010 9:24 AM PDT up reply actions
no, but he's had a good year
Not hard to understand
"Do I talk to myself? No, I just remind myself of what I'm trying to do. You know, I never answer myself so how can I be talking to myself?" - Rickey
Athletics Nation - WE'RE ALL GONNA MRIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!! - danmerqury
by cuppingmaster on Jul 4, 2010 9:24 AM PDT up reply actions
noooooo Matt Holliday
"Do I talk to myself? No, I just remind myself of what I'm trying to do. You know, I never answer myself so how can I be talking to myself?" - Rickey
Athletics Nation - WE'RE ALL GONNA MRIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!! - danmerqury
by cuppingmaster on Jul 4, 2010 9:25 AM PDT up reply actions
Then congratulations to Kevin Kouzmanoff!
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’m not buying it. Infante has a .721 OPS and 0.6 WAR. The National League roster is an utter and complete joke.
The Ultimate Opportunist
by Rated-R Superstar on Jul 4, 2010 9:40 AM PDT up reply actions
That's why they've not won for a bazillion years.
"You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig."
CAhill!
"Carter's 25-game hitting streak isn't any normal streak. He's 46 for 97 (.474 average) during the run, adding 16 walks and compiling 81 total bases in the process. I'm out of superlatives for what he's doing." - Kevin Goldstein
I was shocked. After Lee, I thought all the starting pitchers were announced. Hughes and Sabathia should be replaced with Pettitte and Weaver, by the way.
The Ultimate Opportunist
by Rated-R Superstar on Jul 4, 2010 9:40 AM PDT up reply actions
Yeah I hate Weaver but how did he not make it?
"Carter's 25-game hitting streak isn't any normal streak. He's 46 for 97 (.474 average) during the run, adding 16 walks and compiling 81 total bases in the process. I'm out of superlatives for what he's doing." - Kevin Goldstein
Is he pitching next Sunday?
That’s the only possible explanation I can think of.
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 know, but the A's needed a rep
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
GAME THREAD IS 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
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