Sunday, Random Sunday: Bob, Would You Do Something?!?!?!?
by jeffro on Sep 12, 2010 3:00 AM PDT
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PrintAs some of us cling to the notion that the A's are still in this thing, I am looking ahead and thinking about a bunch of things I don't really care about. Like, what Bob Geren could do differently to get the team over the hump (to put it nicely).
I mean, we all talk about lineups and who should be where on the field when? When should you send runners? When should you hit and run? Why the heck is Daric Barton bunting, at all? How come Kurt Suzuki plays 3000 games a season? I don't think any of that is even important anymore, well except the Suzuki thing.
One of my main criticisms of Bob Geren is that he doesn't get kicked out much. I don't believe that managers really impact the game as much as some think, and certainly getting thrown out more regularly wouldn't change that. I just remember when my coach in American Legion ball would get tossed and it was awesome. We'd all laugh about it for at least a week. I want some theater to go with my all pitch-no hit baseball experience. That said, Bob, a fan is showing you up!
I don't remember a fan getting booted by an umpire anywhere other than Startett Field, home of the Lemoore Little League, circa 1986. Back then, I was on the Giants (I know, I had to swallow hard. At least we wore yellow jerseys) and whenever my teammate, Vernal, suffered a strickout!!!111, his mom would go ballistic. She got tossed a few times. This sure as hell beats that! For some reason, I am jealous of this fan. Plus, it was Bob Davidson that threw him out and he blows calls more often than boiling tea pot blows steam. It would be an honor for him to throw me out of Sizzler, let alone a Major League stadium.
Speaking of Balkin' Bob, does anyone remember the first World Baseball Classic? He cost some dude, from Mexico, a freaking Home Run off Roger Clemens! The nerve. That guys grandkids now get to hear, "I hit a Home Run off that cheater Roger Clemens and a horrible umpire ruled it it hit the fence when it was really 10 feet up the foul pole" instead of "I hit a bomb off a Hall of Famer."
I guess the Hall of Famer part isn't really Balkin' Bob's fault. More randomness:
- Can I have Mat Latos please? I want him for my very own. Or, at least his FIP so I can give it Vin Mazzaro for Christmas.
- This guy deserves "Fan of the Year." I know, no such thing exists, but he has the Jeffrey August Fan of the Year Award sewn up. That was some perseverance, heart and determination on display. Three things us A's fans have needed to even pay attention at points over the last 3 seasons.
- Speaking of that dude, he gave me an idea. Instead of fighting about where a stadium should be, I think we need to debate whether or not there should be one of those giant ball pits (the kind you might find at a McDonald's Play Place) in each outfield corner, just behind the foul pole. It might encourage more folks diving after Home Run balls and I am in favor of that. Maybe there should be hidden prizes, like a Stomper puppet, or something. Someone at 360 Architecture get cracking on this, like now.
- Coco Crisp, if you make another catch like this, I will want to bear your children. Just saying.
See you at game time, Go A's!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Bob Geren is just what happens
when you suck all semblance of human accountability out of a situation and replace it with terminal, "I could lose the DH in 162 straight AL games and still have a job" security and connection-derived guarantee of ongoing employment no matter what the results in the execution.
What I resent most about him isn’t the losing and the gaffes, but the blissful aplomb with which he spins crapping the bed as sleeping on clean linen, knowing that outside of claiming in the press that he saw Billy Beane having untoward contact with a US Senator in a bathroom stall in the Minneapolis Airport men’s room, there is literally n-o-t-h-i-n-g he could do to possibly lose his job. Lesson: never, ever hire your friends to positions of impactful authority in your business, cuz they are extremely hard to fire and subsequently retain as friends. The old axiom about mixing business & pleasure and all that.
If he’d only change his name to Peter Principle I might have more respect for him. Of course we knew his achievement of keeping the A’s in quasi-contention into September would get his option picked up for 2011, but that doesn’t make it any more distressing and depressing, IMO.
Silence s'il vous plait!! Vous ne voyez pas que je suis en train de se masturber?!?
PS
I am dying for Coco to rob another HR over the wall, if only to see in the flesh what the love children he and jeffro would produce would look like.
Make it happen, Crisp!! LOL
Silence s'il vous plait!! Vous ne voyez pas que je suis en train de se masturber?!?
by emperor nobody on Sep 12, 2010 4:08 AM PDT up reply actions
Sorry to be a party pooper, but
Jeffro just says he’ll WANT to bear Coco’s children, not that he’ll be able to.
Suppose we agree that he can’t actually have Coco’s babies, not having a womb, which is nobody’s fault, not even the Yankees, but that he can have the right to have Coco’s babies.
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
Well, then, in that spirit...
As some of us cling to the notion that the A’s are still in this thing…
…Someone should be keeping track of the Athletics’ magic number which, if my math serves me correctly, sits at just 29 with some 21 games left to play! That’s do-able.
Well, if the Yankees would actually play like the damn Yankees, the A's would be 5 1/2 back right now
This is more reason to wish death on that franchise.
www.zekeishungry.com
by thejd44 on Sep 12, 2010 6:49 AM PDT up reply actions
They'll crush the Rangers in the offseason
don’t worry.
being 7 1/2 games out with 21 games to go
chasing a team that appeared to be in free fall until this weekend – that’s certainly different from the past three years. Instead of simply an extended audition for next year the A’s are actually playing meaningful games for 2010. The players certainly seem to think so, to hear them talk and hear about them scoreboard watching and turning on Rangers’ games in the clubhouse.
The possibilities that the A’s can overtake the Rangers are slim. I don’t think anyone has any illusion about that.
If this is going to happen, Texas
Needs to fall on their face. I thought the Yankees had it in the bag the past two days, but nooooo. Lets hope the A’s sweep and the Yankees get one. We may have to just sweep the Rangers when they come here. Its a daunting task, but its possible
The BP calculation now says 1.12%.
Continuing to slowly dwindle away with time … but we knocked the Red Sox down to 1.07%. Before they played us their number was about twice ours. Now it’s less. Ha!
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
The worst of Bob
What Geren does wrong the most is over use his players. Example Suzuki need to rest more and with a capable back up in Powell it makes no sense. Suzuki is tired by mid season let the guy have more than 1 day off a week. The only way a player has a day off is if they are hurt or there is no game. Use your bench more than in case of emergency.
Lots of line-up mismanagement this season
But I’m not seeing it that much lately. He’s trying to put the best line-up on the field and no longer experimenting with bizarre rest periods for players who are on a roll.
I keep thinking that watching Larish and Tolleson, and having seen Kouzmanoff all year, if the A’s should make it a priority to include Kouzmanoff in any major trade for a hitter. If the team can sign Beltre, great. Otherwise, Larish and Tolleson, and Rosales when healthy make perfectly good substitutes.
Also, I think it’s pretty much true that with the A’s current 1-4 starters, the team only needs eleven men on the pitching staff, which should allow for a larger bench in 2011. You could probably go with ten if Geren gave up on the one-batter LOOGY or ROOGY idea, which he hasn’t used lately to no great detriment.
I am with you on the Kouzmanoff
I like watching him play, but Tolleson/Larish/Rosales are not huge steps down. I think Larish could be a step up, when taking offensive production and defense into account. Kouz’s value is pretty much on defense.
I haven't been too iimpressed with Larish at 3B
but of course it’s a pretty small sample size since he hasn’t played many games there for the A’s.
either way
Me too. Not impressed or limpressed.
I think he can be serviceable. I wish Barton would volunteer to move to third, cause he could be awesome there, IMHO. And then Larish and Carter could be a two headed beast at first/DH
I wish Barton would volunteer to move to third, cause he could be awesome there
i think you may be underestimating how hard it is to be a decent defensive 3b
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
More than an hour and still no MikeV?
This dog whistle isn’t working.
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
Good job.
Playing is much better than talking about things vaguely related to playing.
Bob Geren was born in a suburban apartment complex he built with his own two hands.
by QueenOfCansAndJars on Sep 12, 2010 12:46 PM PDT up reply actions
I remember that the AAA experiment with Barton at 3B didn't work out too well
that probably doesn’t mean that he can’t learn. But I wonder what trying to do so now might do to his offense.
Plus he's awesome at 1B
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Sep 12, 2010 12:57 PM PDT up reply actions
Agree
I like Larish in the batter’s box. He is aggresive with a compact swing, but also seems fairly disciplined. Also not many guys on the roster have his power, i dunno, maybe I’m a little biased because he reminds me of Swisher. Tolleson can be super utility next year, he’s shown he can handle it well.
by Po' Boy on Sep 12, 2010 11:57 AM PDT via mobile up reply actions
I like him too, but I like long hair.
Baseballwise, though, I think he has the potential to have a halfway decent season or two in his career. I just don’t know if it’s here next year.
If he heats up these next few weeks, or has a killer spring, I might get on his wagon.
Bob Geren was born in a suburban apartment complex he built with his own two hands.
by QueenOfCansAndJars on Sep 12, 2010 12:48 PM PDT up reply actions
Larish is pretty terrible defensively from what we've seen
I’m not so sure about Tolleson either. Rosales played a decent 3rd but he’s more valuable as 2B/SS. If we’re going to get a meh defensive third baseman, he better be freaking awesome with the bat. In other words, Beltre or bust.
!#%&$#@&%&% antioxidants! - pam
by cuppingmaster on Sep 12, 2010 11:49 AM PDT up reply actions
no no no and no.
If we cant get Beltre, Kouz is our best option. According to WAR, he is the 11th best 3B in baseball this year. He’s been the same value to his team as Casey Blake and Chipper Jones.
By all means, sure, try and upgrade, but you dont just kick a 3 WAR player to the curb. That’s not upgrading. Rosales has a giant babip and isnt supposed to play everyday. I love him as a super UTL though. Larish? Are we watching the same player? All I see is a AAAA scrub whos a natural 1B hacking it over at 3rd. Tolleson is an interesting guy, but Kouz is better at baseball than him. I agree Kouz’s bat is not ideal, but on an ideal team, he hits 7th and we dont expect anything from him. Seeing as our team is horribly constructed this year, he’s been hitting too high in the order and hence why you think he’s replaceable. His defense is great, therefore he is not.
I'm not for giving Kouz away
But I’m all for getting Larish in the lineup…Just dont think it should be at 3B, left field is fine with me.
by Po' Boy on Sep 12, 2010 12:01 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
I'd rather trade Kouz than one of the big four starters
..or Pennington or Barton or Suzuki. Rajai Davis has some value, but not as much as a starting third baseman. If the A’s need to upgrade for power, they have to give up value.
I think there's enough out there for the A's to just buy their upgrades.
You would be surprised how much of the gap we could bridge by simply getting Hudson & Ordonez. I’d only trade prospects for known talent at this point, when you have a great core of under 25 players you kind of have to take advantage of it. Our time is right about….now.
plus theres the whole thing of not giving up defense
I mean we could get Mark Reynolds, who essentially is the same as Kouz, only having Reynolds over Kouz means our entire pitching staff regresses to their FIPs…which are nowhere near in the realm of their ERA’s. I dont want that.
All we need is a 2B, and 2 OFers. Fix those 3 via FA or prospects and we are set to dominate.
dear god why??????
Larish is AAAA, if you are into scrubs and the team being shitty, then yeah he’s an option. If he’s here next year we arent going anywhere. I want a FA in LF next year, or at the very least Chris Carter.
If the org. thinks hes ready
Than obviously CC would be my preference..Like I said I’m biased and like larish’s approach to at-bats. He shouldnt be at 3B though, starting or not. I’d like 1 OF spot open to fill from within the massive amount of them we have, the other cof spot should be filled through FA.
by Po' Boy on Sep 12, 2010 2:55 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
I just noticed this...
All CC OF next year would be awesome.
(Carter Crisp Crawford)
Ooh, I like that.
In fact, that alone is sufficient to make me in favor of signing Carl Crawford now.
(Yes, I know. My priorities are silly.)
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
It's really kind of ridiculous how many people have bought into this Jeff Larish thing based on some nonsense about a "good swing"
He’s a corner player, never been rated highly as a prospect, with no defensive value and a career wRC+ of 83 in 262 PA. A total nonentity.
"We don't want our people to be preoccupied with seminude, crazy men jumping up and down who are chasing an inflated object," said Sheik Mohamed Osman Arus, head of operations for the Hizbul Islam insurgent group.
Why are so many people obsessed with 11-man pitching staffs?
It’s a terrible idea. Bench players hit like crap when they come off the bench. Pitchers actually pitch BETTER when they come off the bench. It’s kind of a no-brainer. Bench players should be limited to those you actually need for things other than hitting (3, maybe 4 guys at most).
"We don't want our people to be preoccupied with seminude, crazy men jumping up and down who are chasing an inflated object," said Sheik Mohamed Osman Arus, head of operations for the Hizbul Islam insurgent group.
Players get injured
A strong bench limits the damage.
but pitchers are more likely to get injured
And he’s right — the guys you have on the bench are there because they can’t get a starting job. We need less of those guys, not more.
!#%&$#@&%&% antioxidants! - pam
by cuppingmaster on Sep 12, 2010 12:35 PM PDT up reply actions
How?
How does your fifth outfielder limit the damage caused by replacing your third outfielder with your fourth outfielder? That doesn’t make any sense.
"We don't want our people to be preoccupied with seminude, crazy men jumping up and down who are chasing an inflated object," said Sheik Mohamed Osman Arus, head of operations for the Hizbul Islam insurgent group.
It limits the damage your team takes if you replace one of the 3 starters in the outfield
and then replace one of them and suffer an injury. Then you have to stick someone not familiar with playing the outfield out there. It also expands pinch running/defensive replacement situations late in games. Does it effect more than 90% of the games? Probably not, but it’s those 1 – 10% of games that you’d like to have the options that are more important anyway.
Choosy Feebas choose Leopold Bloom nipples
Daring. Sensual. Invigorating. Squirrel.
BLOOM. For men.
If the eggs actually hatch I made more than a mistake, I made some scientifically impossible crime.
Or you could have a pitcher, who is fresh and has the platoon advantage, in 100% of games
This is not a difficult decision to make here.
"We don't want our people to be preoccupied with seminude, crazy men jumping up and down who are chasing an inflated object," said Sheik Mohamed Osman Arus, head of operations for the Hizbul Islam insurgent group.
If a player gets injured, then you DL him, and call someone else up.
If its something where a guy doesn’t need to be put on the DL, then it probably isn’t significant enough time shortage to warrant.
This is the American League, playing the bench one man short won’t really hurt you, since you’re not pinch-hitting for pitchers.
Needs moar dingerz.
by Blicks on Sep 12, 2010 12:46 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Why do we want a larger bench when we don't even have five guys who can hit?
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Sep 12, 2010 12:57 PM PDT up reply actions
That fan who dove for the homer wrote a really long explanation of the whole thing over on the MLB site's story and it just made me cover my face
It came off like catching a home run is his entire life and made me think he’s got OCD.
Last of the Ninth - Photography
they interviewed him and showed the interview on the coliseum screeen yesterday
I got the same impression that you did.
I didn't see that
Still, I watched that at work like 27 times. I had a crowd around my monitor and we all were there.
Yay, that was major facepalmage
Poor guy, but seriously, it is what it is, don’t make anything else of it.
AN: Where you will be an A's fan or Dallas Braden will show you the repercussions of your actions.
by stranahanahan on Sep 12, 2010 11:12 AM PDT up reply actions
criticizing geren for not getting thrown out of games, is this like criticizing chavez for not "caring" about how he does because he never flipped out like carlos zambrano?
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
I actually agree he doesn't get tossed out enough.
Sometimes it’s all the spark the team needs.
by LoneStranger on Sep 12, 2010 12:51 PM PDT up reply actions
Has arguing with an umpire ever worked?
A's Fan in Sweden
"Some of us know him as the a-hole who piled into Ray Fosse in an All-Star game (it's why Ray is the way he is folks)" - OptimistPrime
I have seen it work
Maybe twice in my life. Where a call was overturned when the umpires huddle up to get it right.
That's also not the only way it "works."
It’s a longstanding principle that if you can convince an umpire that he was wrong on something, he’ll give you a makeup call or two.
In addition, it also tends to fire up your players and it lets them know that their manager cares about them and about the games.
"I wasn't able to extend so I had a serious lack of extension."--Dallas Braden
by StJosephBurningTheOakTreesToTheGround on Sep 12, 2010 11:12 AM PDT up reply actions
he’ll give you a makeup call or two.
I don’t agree with this at all.
AN: Where you will be an A's fan or Dallas Braden will show you the repercussions of your actions.
by stranahanahan on Sep 12, 2010 11:13 AM PDT up reply actions
Maybe it does
But it doesn’t make it right
AN: Where you will be an A's fan or Dallas Braden will show you the repercussions of your actions.
by stranahanahan on Sep 13, 2010 11:47 AM PDT up reply actions
agreed, we have no evidence of this
It’s equally likely that the umpires hate you for coming out to argue.
!#%&$#@&%&% antioxidants! - pam
by cuppingmaster on Sep 12, 2010 11:50 AM PDT up reply actions
yeah, Joe West shows daily that principle is wrong.
Mess up a call that costs team runs? OK. Mess up another call the next day.
Arguing might work in the intangible sense… if the ump makes an egregiously bad call, the manager stands up for his players.
Needs moar dingerz.
Yes.
At a game at the Coli this year, someone hit a homer in left field that hit the spot between the yellow line and the bleachers and bounced back onto the field. It was ruled not a home run. Geren came out and argued. The HR was reinstated. (Weirdly, when this same thing happened again on Wedensday against the Mariners, Geren failed to come out of the dugout until a full pitch later, robbing Mark Ellis of his rightful HR.)
"I wasn't able to extend so I had a serious lack of extension."--Dallas Braden
by StJosephBurningTheOakTreesToTheGround on Sep 12, 2010 11:11 AM PDT up reply actions
That's unequivocally wrong though
The ground rules of the Coliseum specifically say if it goes over the yellow line it’s an HR. He should yell for a replay if anything, because that’s what it’s for.
!#%&$#@&%&% antioxidants! - pam
by cuppingmaster on Sep 12, 2010 11:52 AM PDT up reply actions
I do
It actually was sort of the reason I was thinking about it. Not seriously though. I mean, we all know what’s up with Bob. Getting thrown out of games is the least of his issues.
Didn't Geren get a couple of calls reversed this year?
Geren will argue a call if he thinks it should be reversed, or if he’s protecting a player.
He won’t argue a call to get the team riled up or to play to the crowd.
Well, at least
the A’s offense is better than the Raiders
by RememberDurazo on Sep 12, 2010 11:42 AM PDT reply actions
I enjoy the tone of this post, Jeffro
It’s very bloggy, in the good sense of the word. Or maybe I just like it when someone casually rambles from thought to thought without making an thesis out of it.
You’ve got me thinking my own thoughts about the role of the manager, but they keep getting longer and longer, and I have to leave in about 15 minutes. Maybe I’ll have to make a separate fanpost of it some day.
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
I like how the undertone of this post is that
he wants Geren to get thrown out of the game so the A’s dont have to deal with his horrific management skills.
Thats the best part about this
Geren not managing the game already gives us an edge over the competition. Lately he hasn’t been much of a dummy, but if you average it out through the season, he still rates very high on the dumb-dumb scale.
by Po' Boy on Sep 12, 2010 12:08 PM PDT via mobile reply actions
Slightly different subject
Was watching the game yesterday, and Fosse & Kuiper & the camera crew paid no attention to the game until the late innings. When I’m watching a baseball game, I want to hear about the game. I don’t need two innings of bullshiting with Tony Whoever-He-Is about how he gets up in the morning, I don’t need to hear Kuiper go on and on about the tiramisu he had at Francesco’s, and I didn’t turn on the TV to watch three guys in the broadcast booth talk to each other and miss the game.
Not a word about what Lackey or Anderson was throwing. Not a word about positioning. Not a word about any of the chess moves that make up a good game.
I’m sick of that crew. Fosse is good when he’s watching the game, but I’m tired of the bullshiting.
agree
Kuiper sucks. How many times he gets enthused about a medium fly ball like it is out of here. Kuiper needs to go soon. The guy is just terrible at play by play. Where is greg papa?
He's a rolling stone. Wherever he lays his hat is his home.
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Sep 12, 2010 1:00 PM PDT up reply actions
A bad announcer is at least announcing
These guys aren’t doing that. They’re paying no attention to the game at all, and their camera people and directors aren’t either. Those two inning conversations with guests have to stop. NOBODY CARES….if anyone at Comcast Sports is reading this…NOBODY CARES. It’s bad radio and it’s even worse television. I’d shut the sound off but - we’re not even seeing the game. We’re seeing a bunch of boring middle aged men chatting nonsense amongst each other and sipping their soft drinks.
Hey! I'm sipping water!
I hate Bob Geren and his peanut brain so much -- lenscrafters
by WaddellCanseco on Sep 12, 2010 1:03 PM PDT up reply actions
wipe the tears from your eyes
Why do they make Pokemon so sexy?
My question is, are there really any good "tactical" managers in MLB?
and if so, who?
Needs moar dingerz.
Pains me to say it but
I think Mike Soscia or however you spell his name, is pretty tactical…..ugh cant believe I said that.
by Po' Boy on Sep 12, 2010 3:01 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
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