Royals Give A's the Game, A's Try to Give it Back, Wuertz Refuses to Lose
by baseballgirl on Aug 4, 2010 4:58 PM PDT
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PrintIn a wild effort today at the Coliseum, your Oakland A's took the rubber game of the series from the Royals in a close 4-3 affair that featured a meltdown from both sides before Michael Wuertz took over the game in the ninth. In a dashing bit of magic, Wuertz struck out the side, sending the A's to a series win and keeping them in the AL West hunt pending the outcome of this weekend's series against Texas.
Brett Anderson had a less-than-auspicious start to the first inning, as he surrendered a walk, a single, a stolen base, sac fly, and a RBI fielder's choice to put the A's in an early 2-0 hole, but he recovered nicely to pitch seven strong innings (allowing only three hits and the two runs overall) and collect his third win of the year.
The Royals starter, Sean O'Sullivan, three-hit the A's for the first five innings, as frustration mounted for A's fans everywhere. Add to that an inexplicable caught-stealing to end an inning by Jack Cust, and tension was at an all-time high in the game threads.
But then came the sixth--and magical--inning. With the A's down two runs, Pennington led off with a single and Crisp followed with a walk, bringing up Daric Barton with no outs. He ran the count to 2-0. Now I know some people think that when a team has an extreme inability to score runs (like the A's), one probably shouldn't be giving away extra outs to the other team, especially if the other team is the Royals, but that's crazytalk. I say, bunt! And Daric did. And Sean O'Sullivan couldn't make the play (to be fair, it was ruled a bunt single) and Pennington scored the first run of the game for the A's. Apparently, Mike Aviles felt left out, so he booted Suzuki's ground ball on the next play and the A's tied the game.
After Cust struck out (a familiar sight, since he had the hat trick today), Kouzmanoff picked up the hit that the A's were desperately searching for, in the form of a 2-RBI double. The A's would try to add on to the score in the seventh, but a failed safety squeeze bunt with Crisp on first and Pennington on third by (who else?) Daric Barton cost them the chance for an insurance run. The safety squeeze (as opposed to the suicide) has the runner waiting until the bunt is down before running, which kept Pennington out of the double play.
It initially looked like an awful call, since the ball was popped up, but once the call was explained, I actually thought it made more sense than Barton's sixth-inning bunt. If you want to steal a run from third, use someone who nearly always gets the bunt down, and Barton fits that bill. But I don't like the disturbing trend of the "automatic" bunt from Barton; I hate wasting outs.
Despite the fact that Breslow allowed a solo homerun in the eighth to bring the Royals within a run, the A's still had the game in the bag once Wuertz came in for the save. He absolutely blew away Butler, Guillen, and Ka'aihue to collect the game, and the series for the A's.
Now is the part where this NRAF is jealous of all of you Oakland-area A's fans, since believe it or not, there is a pennant race still going on at the Coliseum! If the A's sweep Texas this weekend, they are still in this race. Come cheer the A's on Friday night, or during the day Saturday or Sunday, and have a blast!
Current Series
3 game series vs Rangers @ Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
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Texas Rangers Friday, Aug 6, 2010, 7:05 PM PDT |
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| Sat 08/07 | 1:10 PM PDT | |
| Sun 08/08 | 1:05 PM PDT | |
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I was gonna listen to CT, but since his show is over, I'll watch ST:TNG instead.
It’s the one with the Enterprise-C. And prune juice, the warriors drink.
but is it chilled?
"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!!!!!
by cuppingmaster on Aug 4, 2010 6:49 PM PDT up reply actions
Kouzmanoff
Low OBP be damned, I’ve been really happy with what he’s given us this year. A very solid, if unspectacular hitter at a position where we’ve gotten nothing from in the last few years.
Agreed.
It’s nice not to have to worry about 3B all the time. Let’s us worry about other things, like why are the Matts here and not Carter or Taylor.
I love both of these comments
"Oh who am I kidding? The A's and Giants could stage a pillow fight, and I'd still care who wins." -67Marquez
Kouzmanoff
Has def. not been the main problem with this offense, but I haven’t been particularly impressed by him this season. He plays solid defense, but his approach at the plate is pretty atrocious. He hardly ever works the count, and isn’t providing us with much power. He is def. an improvement over the last couple of years, but as I said before, he hasn’t really impressed me this year.
Frank Cohen
TeamTICKERmlb.com
Your Effortless Baseball Connection
Lovin the optimism, hatin the reality.
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
Yuck
If the offense had this much trouble in the KC series just wait for Lee and Harden and the Rangers this weekend. The insanity that seems to have taken over Barton and the rest of the organization for allowing him to continue wasting his services is getting ridiculous. Your second best hitter gives himself up twice in important situations; albeit once it worked out and the other time it failed. Obviously the team is not actively trying to lose but stupid decisions like these make it a whole lot harder for the team to win.
"Their batters are patient to the point that it's annoying." -Ryan Franklin
in the Chron wrap of the game
Geren said it was supposed to be a squeeze play with Pennington breaking if Barton got the bunt down. Not a horrible idea if Barton had put the bunt down the 3rd base line b/c, according to Geren in the article, the third baseman was playing even with the bag. Didn’t turn out our way.
Still stupid
We’re already ahead so it’s not like a 9th inning, need a run situation. If it was Davis or Crisp or Watson or Carson or anyone else of that ilk than maybe I’m okay with it. But not Barton, our 2nd best hitter.
When will the stupidity end!?!?!
"Their batters are patient to the point that it's annoying." -Ryan Franklin
This next week is huge
If we can win 2 out of 3 against the Rangers, and they can lose to Felix Rodriguez tomorrow, then we can get to 6.5 back. After that, if we can sweep Seattle, or get at least 2 out of 3, and the Rangers struggle against the Yankees and Red Sox, then we could potentially get within 3.5-5.5 games back. Maybe even better if we get lucky. We’d be right in the thick of it, and Cater and Taylor would be up around that time to help out.
Didn't Felix Rodriguez pitch for the Giants?
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 4, 2010 7:55 PM PDT up reply actions
One key guy that a lot of people aren't mentioning
as a prospect who can help us in this pennant race is Fautino De Los Santos. He’s moving quickly along in the system as a reliever and (though his ERA at AA might indicate otherwise) is pretty much dominating and appears to have his elite stuff back after his surgery. People tend to forget that he was the centerpiece of the Swisher deal, a consensus top 100 prospect (usually ranked around 50-60) in all of baseball. He would be a huge addition to our bullpen, and in addition to the return of Bailey, the recent resurgence of Wuertz, and the always steady Craig Breslow, could help form one of the deadliest late-inning relief corps in all of baseball. A shutdown bullpen is going to be needed in order to keep playing meaningful games come October.
Frank Cohen
TeamTICKERmlb.com
Your Effortless Baseball Connection
Question for any who know
But why is there no chance of FDLS going back to starting? I can understand starting out as a reliever to get back in the swing of things but now that he’s shown that he has his good stuff again why not try and convert him back to SP? He’d certainly be a lot more valuable as a starter vs. a reliever.
"Their batters are patient to the point that it's annoying." -Ryan Franklin
Well, first of all, it would take him much longer to get back to
the majors. Second, there is much more of an injury risk when starting versus relieving.
Frank Cohen
TeamTICKERmlb.com
Your Effortless Baseball Connection
I'm pretty sure he's rule 5 eligible soon too. So there isn't enough time to stretch him out in the minors.
"You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig."
If we're wasting 40-man spots on guys like Carson and Watson
I’m sure we could find a spot for FDLS if the A’s brass thought he could successfully transition back to starting.
"Their batters are patient to the point that it's annoying." -Ryan Franklin
Minor league free agent then?
I’m sure I read something about him not being around for long enough to convert back to a starter in the minors.
"You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig."
Nah, I think it's just that he's no spring chicken.
24 in AA, since he lost that year with the TJ surgery. If we convert him to a starter and bring him up when he’s fully developed, making sure to raise his yearly innings cap slowly, he’d be almost out of his prime.
24 is old?
[looks in mirror]
Frick.
"You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig."
I still think
that’d be a better use of his skills than as a reliever.
"Their batters are patient to the point that it's annoying." -Ryan Franklin
Well and he only has one option left
If he’s not up by 2012, he leaves the A’s.
"Loyal? I'm the most loyal player money can buy." - Don Sutton
I just see it as a risk worth taking
Presently the best case scenario is that he becomes a top-flight reliever. Big whoop.
My feeling is that a guy with as much talent as FDLS should be given every opportunity to start and if he breaks down then you move on or as a last ditch effort go back to relieving. The reward vs. the risk in this situation is enough that I’d try him out as a starter again.
"Their batters are patient to the point that it's annoying." -Ryan Franklin
FDLS
Pull a Duchscherer with him. Build his arm strength this season (Short Relief), 2011 (Short/Long Relief), 2012 (Short/Long Relief)… Then during the 2012-2013 offseason move him to the rotation. Relievers grow on trees around this organization.
Duchscherer didn't last long once moved to the rotation
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 4, 2010 7:56 PM PDT up reply actions
Because Duke is fragile
That car accident ruined his spine and probably his career.
"Their batters are patient to the point that it's annoying." -Ryan Franklin
Sure but he was fine as long as he was a reliever
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 4, 2010 8:20 PM PDT up reply actions
Untrue
He had DL stints for back problems back then too. Either way his spine deteriorated during that time and finally snapped once he was starting, but not solely because of it. The point is that Duke is not a valid comparison, injury-wise, to FDLS.
On that note does anyone know of a site that lists DL trips for individual players? I’m trying to find one but am having no luck as of yet.
"Their batters are patient to the point that it's annoying." -Ryan Franklin
I know Fautino just got off of major, major surgery,
but I wouldn’t count on him being as injury-prone as Duke.
That's cos nobody is as injury prone as Duke.
"You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig."
Which one is still pitching?
"You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig."
(checks DLs)
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 4, 2010 8:19 PM PDT up reply actions
They said no.
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
I'm all for bringing up Fautino and sending down Wolf
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 4, 2010 7:57 PM PDT up reply actions
I'd rather send down H-Rod until
he learns some control and works on off-speed pitches
Frank Cohen
TeamTICKERmlb.com
Your Effortless Baseball Connection
He's basically got nothing left to prove in AAA.
In 20 AAA games this year: 21.1IP/10H/4ER with a 13.1 K/9 and a 3.8 BB/9.
Well he should work on his off speed stuff still
100 mph heater after 100 mph heater works in the minors, but not so much in the big leagues
Frank Cohen
TeamTICKERmlb.com
Your Effortless Baseball Connection
What's so great about Ross Wolf?
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 4, 2010 8:18 PM PDT up reply actions
we can say "send in the wolf"
but that’s about it
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
H-Rod is out of options after this season
They need to see what he can do at the major league level eventually
by pfeifer on Aug 4, 2010 8:19 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
It was a fun game to be at
although there was a horrendous jam in the parking lot afterward, because the 4 PM group of Moneyball extras were trying to get in as the game crowd was leaving.
I got my root beer float from Ray Ratto; I asked him if he would sign my mug and he said “Why do you hate your mug?”. So it remains unsigned. The East Side Club was terribly crowded and as usual with Coliseum events, the staff had not done a good job of arranging traffic flow, so that people spent a lot more time in lines or waiting to get in and out of doors than was necessary. That there’s never been a crowd trampling incident there owes much more to luck than good management in my opinion.
It was my first time in the Value Deck. Really quite nice up there, you can even see a tiny corner of the Sunshine Biscuits sign.
It's the fans that make the game fun. -- Rickey Henderson, July 26, 2009.
Thanks for that!
I love your “first person” comments. Makes me miss the Coli and you guys! :-)
"Oh who am I kidding? The A's and Giants could stage a pillow fight, and I'd still care who wins." -67Marquez
It seems as if nobody likes Urban or Ratto.
The Ultimate Opportunist
by Rated-R Superstar on Aug 4, 2010 8:15 PM PDT up reply actions
I don't know anything about Ratto, but I definitely don't think much of Urban.
I like the trio of Lee, Lockhard and Slusser.
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Aug 4, 2010 8:19 PM PDT up reply actions
Don't like Ratto.
Urban I’m okay with. Not my favorite, but I don’t mind him at all.
But, of course, no one beats Slusser.
It's overrated.
"You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig."
I love playing the Royals
"Their batters are patient to the point that it's annoying." -Ryan Franklin
That's my line
The funny thing about baseball is that people will believe what they want to believe. -Joe Posnanski 8/29/09
I saved one for you.
The Ultimate Opportunist
by Rated-R Superstar on Aug 4, 2010 8:46 PM PDT up reply actions
You got over SCG quickly.
"You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig."
Thank you Gutierrez!!!!!
Steal a homerun from the Rangers!!!
"Oh who am I kidding? The A's and Giants could stage a pillow fight, and I'd still care who wins." -67Marquez
And then the stupid, stupid Rangers walked Nelson Cruz AS THE TYING RUN
And Murphy gives the Rangers the lead…sigh. How can Don W. be the worst manager in the league!?
"Oh who am I kidding? The A's and Giants could stage a pillow fight, and I'd still care who wins." -67Marquez
They were up by 3 last time I checked. Bah.
"You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig."
Well it looks like Doug Fister is back to being...Doug Fister.
"We were shit, pathetic," Guillen growled early in spring training. "We hit too many home runs."
As EM said, it was a fun day, and it was a great day for baseball.
Not too hot, thanks to a little breeze. We used two of our vouchers and upgraded them to Lower Box, which put us in the second row right in front of the A’s pitchers warming up in 127. Hunter stayed awake the whole game, which means he was cranky for part of the game. He and I visited 67M and Feeba a couple sections over, during the A’s go-ahead scoring. He loved playing with Feeba’s foam finger. Her pretzel bites were great and I hope they make an appearance at a future tailgate.
As far as the RBFD stuff, we got in line at about 10:10am at the north BART ramp, after going to the store to get a 2010 team ‘set’ of baseball cards. Skipped both lines to get mugs and went right into the East Side Club. We walked up and down the length twice looking for the current players. For the life of me, I couldn’t find them. We bought mugs and decided to go back in and get in line for Rickey, and that’s when I realized they were in the middle with no names on the wall. There were only two that I saw; Vin Mazzaro and Adam Rosales so I got Vin to sign a baseball card and Rosey to sign a baseball. Afterward, Heather got one of the ‘sugar free’ floats, and I went over to the Shark’s table for Dan Rusanowski, play-by-play guy on the radio. He was great, chatting with the fans and thanking them for their generosity. I got a picture with him, and thanked him for teaching me hockey over the past few years. He said hearing that means a lot to him.
Serious Hunter is serious.
Quite a few people told me they liked my moustache. I wiggled it for a few kids.
I was disappointed that there weren’t more current players there, but I understand that they have a game they have to get ready to play. I really wanted to get Dallas Braden to sign my SI Cover reprint, but I’ll get it signed someday. Now that I’ve got one RBFD under my belt, I’ll be an old pro for the next ones. Thanks to whiteshoes40 for her tips. They certainly made things less confusing.
As I typed this, Hunter was read a story and put in bed. I can still hear him in there by himself chanting “Let’s Go Oak-land.”
Hopefully soon!
I’m sure I will be going to a bunch more games this year.
by LoneStranger on Aug 4, 2010 10:34 PM PDT up reply actions
the solitary Let's Go Oakland chanting is too cute for words
that boy is the living definition of adorable.
Hello, I'm Vince Cotroneo for the Marmaduke B. Mushmouth School of Public Speaking...
by emperor nobody on Aug 4, 2010 11:43 PM PDT up reply actions
It's almost like he lives baseball.
Not totally surprised though. If there’s an A’s game being played, it’s usually on the TV. I am fairly certain, however, that once football and hockey return he will go nuts with them as well.
The kid appears to be good luck, too.
Well, maybe it was our combined powers, but still.
Great story, great pic, great time.
(Oh, and Miss Shoes, I didn’t get there in time for the floats, but at least someone was able to benefit from your tips. Sorry. If AN knows anything about me, is that I show up late to events.)
I'm here to talk about the past.
MinorLeagueBlog
#Athletics Chris Carter hit Home Run #25 for AAA Sacramento as part of a 3-5, 2B, HR, 3RBI day. Travis Buck had 3 hits also
16 minutes ago via web
The Ultimate Opportunist
by Rated-R Superstar on Aug 4, 2010 9:47 PM PDT reply actions
The thing is, you know as soon as one or both of them are brought up, they'll suck and people will go nuts.
It’’ll take a little bit for them to adjust to the majors.
by LoneStranger on Aug 4, 2010 10:19 PM PDT up reply actions
Greenberg-Ryan group wins Rangers auction
Crane-Cuban group had one last chance but backed off. Final tally: $385 million in cash, plus $12 million in escrow and $220 million in assumed debt.
No, that does not mean Cuban is suddenly going to turn his attention to buying the A’s. The Rangers are valuable because they have really good revenue streams. The A’s, um, don’t.
i'm just glad the rangers will be run by an owner who doesn't believe in pitch counts instead of an owner who may spend outrageous amounts of money on payroll and the draft
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 Aug 4, 2010 11:07 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
agreement
this is the preferable outcome, given Cuban’s rep as 1) a biiiig spender and 2) an owner players love to play for.
Hello, I'm Vince Cotroneo for the Marmaduke B. Mushmouth School of Public Speaking...
by emperor nobody on Aug 4, 2010 11:40 PM PDT up reply actions
ummm...
the two guys backing Greenberg and Ryan are two Texas oil Billionaires that have more cash on hand that Cuban…
Bob Simpson
Ray Davis
Combined they have much deeper pockets than Cuban ever would
JD’s like, "you want some fucking pitching? Here’s all the pitching you can stand. Now choke on it, bitches!"- RCCook
This is when the music "goes dun dun dun!!!!!"
"Their batters are patient to the point that it's annoying." -Ryan Franklin
truthfully it wasn't common knowledge who was backing the
Greenberg/Ryan group until they showed up at court last night…
Went from being an auction to a billionaires pissing contest
JD’s like, "you want some fucking pitching? Here’s all the pitching you can stand. Now choke on it, bitches!"- RCCook
Team went from a valuation around 500 to 535M to 598 when it was all over
JD’s like, "you want some fucking pitching? Here’s all the pitching you can stand. Now choke on it, bitches!"- RCCook
208 is assumed debt
would still be part of the valuation…
Basically they paid almost 400M and then guaranteed that they would payback another 200M of debt
JD’s like, "you want some fucking pitching? Here’s all the pitching you can stand. Now choke on it, bitches!"- RCCook
Having the money and spending it on the roster are two different things
See Polhad, Carl.
"And Julio Franco is batting right-handed!" -- Wayne Hagin, A's radio play-by-play, mid-80s
that was one of the questions about the Cuban bid
people where wondering if he was interested in the Rangers due to the marketing power of being able to tie them to his HDnet venture instead of wanting to own the team to win
JD’s like, "you want some fucking pitching? Here’s all the pitching you can stand. Now choke on it, bitches!"- RCCook
Losing or Bunting
I, for one, hate losing more than bunting. I am not really sure why there is such an aversion to bunting expressed on this site. It seems that bunting is a wasted at bat,
but popping up, striking out and hitting in to a double play with runners on is not. Come on people. One of my favorite times to bunt is when already ahead in the game and we are trying to add runs. Picking up a run or two to add to a lead will usually prevent the other team from catching up. Do we need some obscure stat to prove that?
It's not losing OR bunting
Actually, many times, you will lose a game because you bunted, thus giving away an out that you might have used to score multiple runs, runs that would have won the game.
It seems that bunting is a wasted at bat,
but popping up, striking out and hitting in to a double play with runners on is not.
Yes, but in the latter’s case, they are not TRYING to make an out. Bunting is absolutely the definition of that; a successful sac bunt GIVES the other team an out. The A’s don’t have nearly the offense to give away outs.
"Oh who am I kidding? The A's and Giants could stage a pillow fight, and I'd still care who wins." -67Marquez
by baseballgirl on Aug 5, 2010 11:12 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Exactly right
I love how people jump on a false dichotomy around here, but BBG is nice about it.
susanslusser
Within this #Athletics beat, Jackson had cortisone shot, to start rehab games Sat.; Devine to report to AZ. http://tinyurl.com/2fa94hh
3 minutes ago via web
The Ultimate Opportunist
by Rated-R Superstar on Aug 5, 2010 9:14 AM PDT reply actions
He had a cortisone shot to start a rehab game?
So, erm, he’s clearly still injured then.
"You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig."
Anyone see Geren's quote in Slusser's latest drumbeat?
About the terrible, godawful safety squeeze:
“It’s a great play if it works,” Geren said. “If it doesn’t, it looks awful.”
Sad, but not surprising
"Oh who am I kidding? The A's and Giants could stage a pillow fight, and I'd still care who wins." -67Marquez
by baseballgirl on Aug 5, 2010 11:13 AM PDT up reply actions
Really, only Neil Simon should be saying things like that.
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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