A's Rise From Ashes To Destroy White Sox for Series Win
by baseballgirl on Apr 13, 2011 4:35 PM PDT
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PrintIt didn't look good for the green and gold as today's game went into the ninth inning. Plagued by more sloppy play, including another Kouzmanoff error, the A's found themselves on the short end of a 4-1 deficit heading into today's final inning. Brett Anderson struggled with his two-strike pitches, the A's offense looked listless as usual, and several blatant missed signs from the dugout combined with errors and misplays designated this game for the White Sox's win column.
But then something amazing happened.
Against all odds, the A's rallied back from three down to tie the game and force extra innings for yet another day (all three games went into extras this series), finally putting the White Sox away for good in the tenth inning, as Brian Fuentes even had the luxury of a 3-run save. After a day of frustrating innings, A's fans got all they could want and more in the ninth and tenth.
The A's got on the board in the top of the fourth, as Hideki Matsui hit his second homerun of the young season, giving the A's the early 1-0 lead. But Anderson's error allowed a runner in the fifth, and a double tied the game for the White Sox. Anderson would pitch into the sixth inning, but would be knocked out of the game by more sloppy A's play; a fielder's choice and a sacrifice bunt would give the White Sox the 3-1 lead.
Breslow would replace Anderson for a scoreless inning and a third, and Ziegler would replace Breslow for the eighth inning. Ziegler would have gotten the A's safely out of the inning unscored upon (despite him and Suzuki missing signals in a pitch-out that would have easily tagged out the runner), but Kevin Kouzmanoff turned the third out into a two-base error and another run scored. I'll be honest; I didn't think the A's would come back from a two-run deficit, much less three, so I didn't figure the ninth inning would be watchable.
I was wrong.
The much-maligned Conor Jackson started the inning with a double. Willingham promptly singled him in, and the teAse was on. Matsui singled, the White Sox changed pitchers, the A's replaced Matsui with Coco Crisp (this would be important later), and Kouzmanoff with Barton (yes, really). It worked, though; Barton walked to load the bases.
And then A's fans everywhere were certain that the team was just teasing us. Kurt Suzuki maddeningly, frustrating, annoyingly struck out with the bases loaded with no one out (that just can't happen) and after the White Sox changed pitchers yet again (I worry about Matt Thorton after his fourth consecutive blown save), Ryan Sweeney maddeningly, frustrating, annoyingly struck out with the bases loaded and one out. I would have a lot to say on that matter, but luckily for our previous two batters, Cliff "Moneypenny" made the best of his at-bat and knocked a soft single to center field, driving in the tying runs.
The bottom of the ninth (and tenth) was interestingly defensively; as Conor Jackson took over third base, Barton to first, and Sweeney to right. Grant Balfour nearly struck out the side (two K's and a pop-up) and we would play bonus baseball.
The A's looked more like winners than they ever have during the tenth inning. After Mark Ellis grounded out, Conor Jackson and Willingham walked, bringing up pinch-runner Coco Crisp. Crisp wasted no time in singling in the go-ahead run, and promptly stealing second base, putting two runners in scoring position for Daric Barton. He would put the icing on the already-impressive cake; singling in both runs to give Brian Fuentes and the A's an unheard-of three-run cushion. Fuentes made quick work of the White Sox, and before we knew it, the A's had won the series! Combined with Texas' loss, the A's gain another game and are now at .500 and 3 games behind.
Our heroes don't have a chance to rest; they are in the air flying home right now to open a four-game series with the Tigers tomorrow night. We'll see you back here at 7:05, unless you are going to the game!
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What a series.
I’m exhausted.
That rug really tied the room together...
by Streams Of Whiskey on Apr 13, 2011 4:41 PM PDT reply actions
Balfour got exactly what he needed.
2Ks with a possibly suspect defense behind you. I didnt get to catch any of the game other than the 9th and 10th inning. Anyways, home games now and we can gain some ground on Texas quickly. I’ll be VERY VERY happy if we can lead this division at the end of the month.
The 9th and 10th innings were pretty much ALLLLLL of the game for A's fans!
"Feel so bad, feel like a ballgame on a rainy day"-Lightnin' Hopkins
by justANotherAsFan on Apr 13, 2011 5:31 PM PDT up reply actions
It was worth the wait in a win!
"I thought it was going in," Warriors center Chris Hunter said. "It looked like the invisible man tipped it away at the last second."
"He's chicken curry right now. He'll become beef curry a little later on."
-Keith Smart
You forgot the other Kooz problems
I’ll forgive you this once – the afterglow is still in effect.
Didn't he muff the ball for the FC too?
I thought i put that in there.
"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 Apr 13, 2011 5:19 PM PDT up reply actions
He had a soft liner hit off his glove...
for a “hit.”
"Loyal? I'm the most loyal player money can buy." - Don Sutton
he didn't bobble the ball
he made a poor choice. There was no way to get the runner going home. The runner coming from second was 3/4 of the way to third. If he looked, Kevin could have gotten him out. He also could have thrown to first for an out.
Either way, the saftey squeeze would not have happened.
Put a bird on it
Honestly, it's a blur to me
or at least the audio equivalent, since I was listening to the radio.
Spring Break Week
Got to watch this on TV with my 11 year old son (a rarity in my house). He was on the edge of his seat in the 9th and 10th. Then exploded when we won. It was the first time he’s ever been into a game like that.
It was cool.
Being called a poet as a rock ’n’ roll musician is like being called a physicist as a baseball player. It might have some application but it’s pretty remote. - Richard Hell
Possible fan for life?
"Feel so bad, feel like a ballgame on a rainy day"-Lightnin' Hopkins
by justANotherAsFan on Apr 13, 2011 5:32 PM PDT up reply actions
I'm hoping
I still remember my Mom asking me what I wanted him to be when he grew up. “He can be anything he wants, Mom.” I said “Pitcher, catcher, shortstop, outfielder…”
Fast forward 10 years – he is getting ready for his first big competition: Little Legue? No. Basketball? No. Soccer? No.
RobotWars this weekend at the San Mateo County Fairgrounds. Sumobots, Jr. Division.
Despite my best efforts, he is not that into sports. Go figure.
Being called a poet as a rock ’n’ roll musician is like being called a physicist as a baseball player. It might have some application but it’s pretty remote. - Richard Hell
by fridaynightfan on Apr 13, 2011 5:43 PM PDT up reply actions
That's awesome!
"Minutes from the last save opportunity...Balfour got 3 outs..."- Nico
by stranahanahan on Apr 13, 2011 5:50 PM PDT up reply actions
Very nicely executed at the end
We’re not used to extra inning goodness, and I tend to feel extras could be avoided if Kouzmanoff plays like an average fielder, not just this game, but previous. However, we will take the win! Back to .500 (just like all of 2010).
More than just ANtics: http://www.louisgray.com/live/
Thank you A's
for not making me face ridicule, as all the WSox fans in the office listened in as Gameday shouted “THE A’S WIN”
Even a blind squirrel is right twice a day.
My first game at the Coli tomorrow
I’ve been overwhelmed and I’ve been underwhelmed. Can I ever just be whelmed?
I think you probably meant
“The bottom of the ninth (and tenth) was interesting defensively,” but I much prefer “interestingly defensive.”
I wrote that so fast I was shocked that was the only error ;-)
Sorry! I fixed it.
"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 Apr 13, 2011 5:21 PM PDT up reply actions
Nice win...
Exhausted is right! After two Hawk Harrelson “He Gone” in the 9th by Suzuki and Sweeney, I was giving up hope. Don’t know about you, but Suzuki is frustrating to watch at bat. Please Geren, take him out a couple times a week.
I agree
Kurt has watched some pretty nice pitches go by in the last few games.
Being called a poet as a rock ’n’ roll musician is like being called a physicist as a baseball player. It might have some application but it’s pretty remote. - Richard Hell
by fridaynightfan on Apr 13, 2011 5:45 PM PDT up reply actions
um
except for his game winning HR …
You have to include smiley faces - Poppy
;- ) :- ) :-O : -> : -] : -}
He didn't watch in his last bat
All three strikes were swinging strikes that were very likely balls – at least a few of them – and would have walked in a run.
by longtimeasfan on Apr 13, 2011 5:59 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Watching the big innings on MLB.tv now
I don’t know what there is to be said for two guys in a row striking out with the bases loaded, but who would have figured Pennington would come through after that? Sweet.
Seems like Matsui’s settling in, too.
Last of the Ninth - Photography
But I thought "strikeouts weren't bad"?!
No wait, it was “they’re not any worse than any other kind of out.” That’s right. Er, wrong.
I needed a team so I wouldn’t turn into one of the eighty million pink hat-wearing Bud Light-drinking mulleted idiots at Fenway.
Well, a double play would've put nails in the coffin.
The Ks are hard to watch. But they let us survive to another win.
"It's too much, Cap'n! The engine canna handle such a heavy load!." - LB
That's just a rough way to spin it
One of those guys HAS to get at least one run in. They’re damned lucky Pennington actually did something.
Last of the Ninth - Photography
by Flashfire on Apr 13, 2011 5:59 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
We're all damned lucky, yes. But lenscrafters is right - there are only a few preferable outcomes, and they are hits, errors, and long fly balls.
"It's too much, Cap'n! The engine canna handle such a heavy load!." - LB
The only preferable out in that situation is a deep fly ball.
Everything else would result in the same result or worse. A groundball, for example, would’ve been an almost sure double play.
"We were shit, pathetic," Guillen growled early in spring training. "We hit too many home runs."
by lenscrafters on Apr 13, 2011 5:59 PM PDT up reply actions
That's true
An out is generally an out … but “making contact” in that situation is preferable. Yes, a groundball at someone may result in a double-play, but a groundball may also result in a base hit.
Striking out in that situation is bad. Nothing good comes from it – ever. Your chances of scoring runs go up big-time, I would imagine, if the batter makes contact vs. striking out with the bases loaded and no outs. Of course, there’s always the passed ball/3rd strike we could hope for. ;-)
I needed a team so I wouldn’t turn into one of the eighty million pink hat-wearing Bud Light-drinking mulleted idiots at Fenway.
by Vacafan on Apr 13, 2011 6:31 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
I agree with this
In that situation, yeah – making contact may result in a double playy and both Suzuki and Sweeney are especially prone to those, but going from bases loaded, nobody out to Pennington being your last chance with nothing changed on the bases is…not optimal.
Fortunately it worked out this time.
Last of the Ninth - Photography
nothing good comes of it
but it is less bad than a grounder and equally as bad as a pop up
Put a bird on it
by Future Ed on Apr 13, 2011 6:41 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Unless the 3rd strike is a wild pitch and all runners advance a base
Official Athletics Nation Rotating Tagline Editor - Pam liked my old sig better.
My thoughtful watermelon is easily mistook for an early American catapult.
*not applicable if
1) a runner is on first
2) unless it’s two outs already
The BABIP for a ground ball is .235
over 75% of ground balls become outs. What do you think the odds of a DP are with the bases loaded?
With the bases loaded and no outs, we had an Win Expectancy of 84%. A K gives us a 72% chance of winning, a DP drops us to 51.8%, so while I imagine a GP is a slightly better outcome than a K, it’s not as huge a difference as you think.
whoops
That would be my bad, completely forgot the situation.
That was all for a tie game.
I think the point about the differences in Win Exp are still slightly relevant though.
I'd imagine that BABIP would also be a bit lower in this situation
considering that Suzuki is slow and a bit below average as a hitter and Thornton is much better than average pitcher.
"We were shit, pathetic," Guillen growled early in spring training. "We hit too many home runs."
by lenscrafters on Apr 13, 2011 8:31 PM PDT up reply actions
Crain* not Thornton, but in any case, he's also a much better than average pitcher
"We were shit, pathetic," Guillen growled early in spring training. "We hit too many home runs."
by lenscrafters on Apr 13, 2011 8:57 PM PDT up reply actions
Forget the grounder
One of them couldn’t hit a fly ball?
Again, at least Pennington came through but it’s justified to talk about how badly Suzuki and Sweeney failed to do anything.
Last of the Ninth - Photography
by Flashfire on Apr 13, 2011 8:43 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
To be honest, it doesn't sound like a fly ball was a called for result to try for
Down two with bases loaded nobody out, sure a long enough fly ball might advance two runners but there’s no guarantee of that. With one out, a fly ball is not a good result.
Sounds to me like the situation called for “get a hit or die trying!”
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 did. But: it's scary/frustrating to have two guys strike out in that situation, and Moneypenny of the .185 ave strolling to the plate with 2 down.
And YET…. he came through! It was just awesome!
"Feel so bad, feel like a ballgame on a rainy day"-Lightnin' Hopkins
by justANotherAsFan on Apr 13, 2011 8:51 PM PDT up reply actions
In a bases loaded, no out situation, with your team needing 3 runs to take the lead,
I don’t think the goal should be to focus on situational hitting. Situational hitting handicaps your swing so that the chances of hitting a weak double play ball or fly ball are increased. Even if your situational hitting succeeds, you still traded an out to get one run, which isn’t enough. In this situation, the batter should be looking for a perfect pitch to (and I can’t believe I’m saying this cause we’re talking about Suzuki here) hit as far as he can.
Suzuki (obviously) got the second part right; he just wasn’t swinging at good pitches to drive. In fact, he swung at some pitches he shouldn’t be swinging at period. Sweeney, of course, lost the at bat as soon it was determined that Thornton, a very good lefty, could come into the game. Strange as it sounds, I’m actually more glad Sweeney didn’t make contact as opposed to Suzuki even though his was the second out.
"We were shit, pathetic," Guillen growled early in spring training. "We hit too many home runs."
by lenscrafters on Apr 13, 2011 8:56 PM PDT up reply actions
The only thing that annoys me about Zuke's AB
is that he struck out swinging at ball five.
"You may glory in a team triumphant, but you fall in love with a team in defeat."--The Boys of Summer
do you have the pitchfx for that at bat? gameday made every pitch in that at bat look like a ball.
the artist formerly known as inbillywetrust
vaca, it's not quite that
the idea is that players who hit for power often strike out a lot also.
So if you get rid of all the high K players, you also get rid of the high HR players.
The correlation does not work in reverse – there are plenty of high K players who don’t hit HRs.
Those guys, get rid of, please!
Yeah, of course you can find a particular situation where one kind of out is better than another.
Doesn’t say anything about the whole, though.
boy this team is really going to test your patience.
kouz’s awful hitting and defense playing is really frustrating
geren’s maddening decisions are becoming a massive liability. not knowing the rulebook is unforgivable. as is pinch hitting for laroche forcing the a’s to play conor jackson at 3B. that’s insane.
the artist formerly known as inbillywetrust
Yeah, it's kind of embarassing when you know he was thinking
“oh, cool, Guillen went to the mound already, that means I can hit Sweeney, and Guillen can’t take the pitcher out.” WTF?!
I needed a team so I wouldn’t turn into one of the eighty million pink hat-wearing Bud Light-drinking mulleted idiots at Fenway.
the dude can't make a double switch w/o losing the DH. he's a total clown
the artist formerly known as inbillywetrust
And he didn't KNOW that
"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 Apr 13, 2011 5:20 PM PDT up reply actions
i thought he was right too. but i don't get paid to be a baseball coach. the rule he was thinking of is that if a team makes a pitching change, then you change hitters and the new pitcher has to throw at least one pitch to the new hitter.
the good news is that he further displayed his full mastery of all things moronic by pinch hitting swingles for laroche.
the artist formerly known as inbillywetrust
But, don't you love him for PH'ing with Barton? All is forgiven.
"It's too much, Cap'n! The engine canna handle such a heavy load!." - LB
Right. the fact he didn't get the nuances of rule 8.04 (and neither did Fosse) in no way outweighs PH'ing for your hottest hitter
Had he not done so in the first place that poor hapless deer in the headlights (Thornton? I forget at this pint, Crain? I think it was Crain) would have had to face LaRoche. Now, maybe the matchups were wrong or something, but Swingles has yet to prove himself able to man up as a pinch whiffer, and the shadows were between home and the mound and absolutely no-one wouild have questioned Geren if he let LaRoche hit.
And that’s the point: poor Bob thinks his stupid decisions are “thinking outside the box” or something else hackneyed when in fact they are the very essence of mediocre.
Please, Billy, please get cojones and fire your buddy soon.
"Feel so bad, feel like a ballgame on a rainy day"-Lightnin' Hopkins
by justANotherAsFan on Apr 13, 2011 6:00 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
This.
There is no "i" in Teamocil. At least not where you'd think.
by GreenNGoldSooner on Apr 13, 2011 8:51 PM PDT up reply actions
i'm less concerned about the lost at bat and more concerned about the poor defensive choice the a's had to make
the artist formerly known as inbillywetrust
My first thought
was he was right too – thinking about the Dodgers gaffe last year – but obviously that was a different situation – and the penalry is having to remove the pitcher which is what Ozzie wanted to do either.
But, then whent hey put the rule up it was very clear – so Geren probably should have known that. It was just kind of embarassing that he clearly thought he was playing the game with Ozzie waiting to see if he changed pitchers or not and in the end got played himself.
by longtimeasfan on Apr 13, 2011 6:02 PM PDT up reply actions
Oh, yes, it was embarrassing.
Still, stm72’soint is by far the more important:
1) Sweeney is no sure thing as a PH
2) LaRoche is hot
3) Know thy rulebook
"Feel so bad, feel like a ballgame on a rainy day"-Lightnin' Hopkins
by justANotherAsFan on Apr 13, 2011 6:09 PM PDT up reply actions
I guess I'm not that upset about 2
I don’t mind if the manager bases his decision on how good the players have been over a significant amount of time rather than basing it off their last 20 at bats.
almost any pinch hitter is worse than the guy he's replacing. pinch hitting, aside from a platoon split angle, is a bad decision
the artist formerly known as inbillywetrust
Barton is our best hitter.
The only reason he was in a position to PH is because he was supposed to be resting. That substitution made sense: bring in the better hitter and take out the dude who’s been booting the ball all over the infield. Barton takes over at 1B and LaRoach moves to 3B.
It’s not the same as taking out the starting first baseman, who’s been doing just fine all game, putting in a cold fourth outfielder and forcing an awkward infield situation in the bottom of the inning. This move just seems to me like “change for the sake of change”.
"As the tag line of my favorite dirty joke would have it: 'Keep your hat on. We could wind up miles from here.'" ~Kurt Vonnegut, Hocus Pocus
the problem is that it was a bad decision that worked out. bad process and good outcome = luck. geren won't likely take the right message away from it.
the artist formerly known as inbillywetrust
GREAT LOOKING DUDE, TRUE
homo or not
"Feel so bad, feel like a ballgame on a rainy day"-Lightnin' Hopkins
by justANotherAsFan on Apr 13, 2011 8:26 PM PDT up reply actions
Ditto to that
"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 Apr 13, 2011 5:20 PM PDT up reply actions
I didn't watch the game.
Would someone mind explaining exactly what happened here? It would be much appreciated.
OK. I'll try.
Or, go here
Act I: The Death of Poor Juan Pierre: A’s got a couple runners on in first: MATSUI FAIL. Juan Pierre got on twice and got picked off twice. WAY ta go, Brett!
Matsui-san hit a homer. A’s up 1-0. We’re in the top of 4th.
Act II: The Transfigregurgitation of Brett Anderson(and a preview of the coming death of Kevin Kouzmanotoff): bottom 5th. Brett boots Pierre’s soft infield grounder, Pierre safe at first. Beckham doubles, Pierre scores. CWS 1-A’s 1.
Bottom of 6th: After a long battle, Brett hits the lad-off batter, Carlos Quentin, in the foot on a slider- Rios doubles, Quentin to third. Morel squeeze-play: Kouz throws home, off-line and high, Quentin scores (throw is ill-advised, high and wide any way, and wouldn’t have beat the runner EVEN if perfect), 2-1, CWS/A’s. Morel sac, Rios scores, CWS 3-1. Breslow replaces Anderson.
Act III: The Further Destruction of Jesus Christ Kouzmanoff by the Death of a Thousand Cuts: BOTTOM OF THE 8TH: 1) Rios walks. 2) Rios steals second. 3) Ramirez sacs Rios to third. 4) Castro grounds out to Kouz. 5) Kouz sails it high and wide to Zooks on Morel’s sharp grounder. Rios scores, CWS 4-1. (JustANotherAsFan turns off set for awhile, huffs some illegal drugs, takes a short walk around the property, kicks cat that is ill and cost $300 yesterday, says some bad words, folds laundry, and decides to tune back into game…)
Act IV: The Good, The Bad And The Ugly as Interpreted by Ozzie Guillen: Part 1: Tall-skinny-scary-good Sales comes in- Vally-Fever-Jackson doubles to center. Willingham singles, Jackson scores. CWS4, A’s 2. Matsui singles. Crain replaces Sales. Crisp pinch-runs for Matsui. Barton pinch-hits for E5 Kouz. Barton walks on a full count. Crain’s pitches are all over the place. Bases loaded, no one out. Suzuki up, swings at 5 or 8 pitches out of the strike-zone (high fastballs) (reality: swings very hard at 3 out of the strike zone, while 3 more are also out of the strike zone). Suzuki out. Bases still loaded. Ozzie visits mound to settle his reliever down. Geren, believing <<>> this means Ozzie must leave Crain in to face the next hitter NO MATTER WHAT announces Sweeney to PH for LaRouche (who’s played very good 1B and hit well also). Geren announces Sweeney. Guillen, AFTER CLEARING IT WITH UMPS, goes back to the mound and replaces Crain with Thornton (LHR). Geren heaves his bulk out for a nice calm pontification with the umps, gets clarification that he has officially effed-up, and Sweeney also strikes out (he had NO chance vs. Thornton’s LH 96-07 mph fastball). Moneypenny comes up with 2 out and bases loaded. Thornton deals a FB first pitch, and Money wrists it into short centerfield, scoring Willy-ham and Crisp. CWS4-A’s 4. deJesus out. Bottom of the 9th: Jackson is now the 3B, Crisp is the DH, Barton is 1B. Sweeney is RF. Balfour is pitching. 3 outs, two strickouts, one foul out…
Act V: The Redemption of Bob Geren The Fool: Ellis grounds out. Jackson walks. Willing-man walks. Crisp singles up the middle, Jackson scores. A’s 5-CWS 4. Crisp steals. Runners at 2nd and 3rd, no-one out. Barton singles ‘crisply’ to right, Willy and Crisp score. A’s 7-CWS 4. Pena replaces Thornton. 3 outs are made. Bottom of 9th: once again, it’s Fuentes. He does the job, no matter how weird he looks doing it, and voila!, Bob Geren genius…
"Feel so bad, feel like a ballgame on a rainy day"-Lightnin' Hopkins
by justANotherAsFan on Apr 13, 2011 8:17 PM PDT up reply actions 5 recs
That happend to me with Hamlet.
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
Romeo & Juliet did a bit of "scoring," too! I think it's Act II, scene 3b, if memory serves.
"It's too much, Cap'n! The engine canna handle such a heavy load!." - LB
Are you still jealous because
she was supposed to marry you?
Sweet is the lore which Nature brings; / Our meddling intellect
Mis-shapes the beauteous forms of things:— / We murder to dissect.
Once you've had Helen, there can be no jealousy for a child like Juliet.
"It's too much, Cap'n! The engine canna handle such a heavy load!." - LB
There are always critics. I think it tells the basic story, EVEN IF IT'S WRONG
"Feel so bad, feel like a ballgame on a rainy day"-Lightnin' Hopkins
by justANotherAsFan on Apr 13, 2011 8:21 PM PDT up reply actions
Thanks. I was trying to convey the feel of grand opera, because that's what it was. The play by play is too dry, even if more accurate
The sad part is I still screwed it up, even with the play by play in a side-by-side window…
"Feel so bad, feel like a ballgame on a rainy day"-Lightnin' Hopkins
by justANotherAsFan on Apr 13, 2011 8:48 PM PDT up reply actions
still rec'd for pure entertainment value
Empires may crumble, FIP statistics may lose their meaning, but only a Keetsa mattress puts years back on your life while you're sleeping.
by emperor nobody on Apr 13, 2011 9:58 PM PDT up reply actions
pinch hitting
for laroche when he’s going well, and with Crain a mess and not knowing that a ph allows guillen to go to the mound again is inexcusable….read a rule book bobo..its kinda your job
Ray Fosse thinks Pete Rose is a prick......
I read the first good Geren quote ever tonight
He said, “I told the guys in spring training, be prepared to play a lot of close games and be prepared to win a lot of them.” Now the fact that this gem is not that shiny and also the only interesting thing I ever remember him saying is not such an endorsement for Geren. I have never been a Geren fan, and right now I like him less than any of the players. But I sort of feel like the team needs to really slump to justify canning him right now. I feel they are just about to take off and win a whole bunch. They can’t really can Geren then, can they?
by barryzitoforever on Apr 13, 2011 8:20 PM PDT up reply actions
Well if I was the manager
I would tell the guys to be prepared to play a lot of blow-outs and be prepared to win all of them. Surely this is better?
I'd say,
“Guys, let’s be honest: We have Kouz, Cramer, and three other guys I won’t name, who clearly suck, and you should be ready to get blown out on a regular basis. Oh, and I’m sleeping with one of your wives.”
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
by Nico on Apr 13, 2011 9:17 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
And by "wives",
I mean at least two and not the ones of the crappy players I just blasted.
"You may glory in a team triumphant, but you fall in love with a team in defeat."--The Boys of Summer
woohoo! a win!!!
the road trip turned out better than i expected.
kooz needs to sit for a couple of days…get his head screwed on straight. RELAX. he’s killing us right now. and let landon play a game or two a week. it’s not like kurt is the second coming of johnnie bench.
Actually, I don't think Suzuki is that far off right now.
Hit a couple on the screws last night – just right at people. I know the K in the 9th was bad, but still …
I needed a team so I wouldn’t turn into one of the eighty million pink hat-wearing Bud Light-drinking mulleted idiots at Fenway.
ok, you could be right. but he doesn't need to play every day.
at least give him a day off each week so he doesn’t wear down by august.
Well he is getting occasional days off
He played 3 games, got a day off, played 5 games, got a day off, and today made his 3rd game in a row. You could make an argument he shouldn’t play 5 days in a row I guess, but he hasn’t plaid a week without a day off yet.
Yeah, I think he's fine
My wish in an earlier post was that Suzuki never play 7 days in a row. This early in the season, to play 3-5 in a row, day off, is perfect.
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 honestly think Kooz needs to lie on a couch for a few days, talking to a shrink
He’s not right at all
Zooks needs a reminder that he is not a home-run hitter, just a guy who sometimes hits home-runs.
"Feel so bad, feel like a ballgame on a rainy day"-Lightnin' Hopkins
by justANotherAsFan on Apr 13, 2011 5:39 PM PDT up reply actions
I'd just like the better catcher to start a few more games. We need the offence.
"Nah, you look like Elijah Wood." - danmerqury
Hamilton is so defensive sometimes
he doesn’t have to apologize for getting hurt on aggressive, spectacular plays anymore than he should have complained about the 3B coach sending him. Of course people will say he’s soft or the drugs made him brittle and susceptible to injury, but he has an MVP trophy to point to.
Empires may crumble, FIP statistics may lose their meaning, but only a Keetsa mattress puts years back on your life while you're sleeping.
by emperor nobody on Apr 13, 2011 5:37 PM PDT up reply actions
Yep
And did you see Bobby V’s idiotic comments about the slide today too?
"Minutes from the last save opportunity...Balfour got 3 outs..."- Nico
by stranahanahan on Apr 13, 2011 5:50 PM PDT up reply actions
I tried to open the article
but every yahoo sports blog screws up and takes FOREVER to load up. something about cross site scripting? lame.
You have to include smiley faces - Poppy
;- ) :- ) :-O : -> : -] : -}
Here it is
Karl Ravech: What was stupid about the play?
Bobby Valentine: Well, it was the first inning and it was taking a chance with your best player and he did dive headfirst and it was a way of avoiding the slide and he knew that he shouldn’t go and he did go, you know? And you know, there’s indiscretion in this guy’s life, he was stupid earlier and because of that, he can’t take drugs now to help cure this injury and heal this injury. And that might have been dumb on everyone’s part because, my gosh, it’s the first inning, he’s the MVP. They’re scoring runs better than anybody in the league, you have to tag up on a fly ball in front of the dugout?
"Minutes from the last save opportunity...Balfour got 3 outs..."- Nico
by stranahanahan on Apr 13, 2011 11:01 PM PDT up reply actions
Wow
I mean, there might be some kind of an underlying point in there, but he’s allllllll over the place with this one. And, it shouldn’t really matter whether it’s the first inning or not. You shouldn’t play the game as hard if it’s 15 minutes old?
Last of the Ninth - Photography
risk/ reward
play hard in first inning yes.
But one run in the first is less crucial than one in the 9th of a close game.
With a team like Texas and their offense, sure
For the A’s, sometimes that first inning run is very crucial.
Last of the Ninth - Photography
Not if you're a drug addict.
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
that was after he doubled down on the criticism of anderson
dude needs to talk to his sponsor
Put a bird on it
It's been a while since I read every comment in a game thread....
Quite an enjoyable and unexpected win. First game of the season in attendance for me tomorrow!
"Loyal? I'm the most loyal player money can buy." - Don Sutton
It was an awesome accompaniment
as I prepared a powerpoint presentation on my policy memo for Oakland’s civil gang injunctions
If Pennington manages 17 HRs, I’ll vow to consume an article of clothing to achieve a humorous effect --Joey C.
As frustrating as Suzuki and Sweeney's at bats were
Take time to remember how “bad” Matsui looked in the first few weeks. Matsui is hitting the ball really well now, and it is not preposterous to assume that Suzuki will figure out his swing as well. As avid sports fans, we are a very reactionary group of people and we want to see our team win every time. Unfortunately, sports are not like movies and the good guys do not always come out on top. We sometimes make rash and unwise decisions following and unexpected loss, and if the A’s would have lost today then many of us would have been calling for Suzuki’s head. We all need to settle down and realize that the team is playing well, and Suzuki had a walk off two days ago. Kouz had a big HR last night, and if we would have won that game, then Kouz would have been anointed as the hero.
I guess my point is that we tend to fall in love with young players or players who don’t play very often because they have yet to let us down in big situations. Many people probably want a lot of the Riverkitties to be starting for the A’s even though that lineup would most likely fail this season. We all need to relax and realize that good hitters are going to fail seventy percent of the time. Yes, Suzuki looked lost at the plate today, but it could have just been one of those at bats that would fall into the 70 percent fail rate. Expect Kurt to pick it up at some point in the season.
by Rygoslinglover on Apr 13, 2011 5:38 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
Not a good example.
1. “First few weeks”? We are in week 2.
2. Matsui always stinks it up early, in fact he probably will hit a slump in May and June. He usually goes berserk after the ASB.
3. Suzuki has never ever really been a good hitter. His OPS has gotten worse year after year, which is reminiscent of one Bobby Crosby. With his approach at the plate today, he certainly looks headed down that path, which sucks.
Wasn't Suzuki considered no-hit during his days in the minors?
Then he came up and surprised everyone….
Maybe the guy just isn’t that good.
I know that Matsui is a notroiously slow starter
but some people wanted Carter called up for him after the first week. My main point in writing this was for people to not hope for Suzuki to be replaced because now people should see that Matsui should not have been replaced either. Suzuki is not as bad as Crosby, and while he is not a .300 hitter, he should hover around 270 for his career.
by Rygoslinglover on Apr 13, 2011 5:55 PM PDT up reply actions
What proof do you have that Suzuki is not as bad as Crosby?
I was forced to endure Crosby’s remarkably shitty approach at the plate for years, and today saw the exact same cruddy-ness from Suzuki.
Suzuki:
735
716
734
669
618 (currently)
Crosby
744
802
636
619
645
652
592
Look, I’m a child of the FJM era, and therefore loathe “scrappy” guys who “play the game the right way” and “do all the right things” and are “well-liked clubhouse guys”, but do not actually put results on the field. Suzuki falls under all of these. I am a fan of results and good hitting. If Suzuki had the personality of Mike Napoli, I can guarantee you he’d be in AAA right now, but he has a great smile and the pitching staff likes him because he’s good at blocking pitches (but not throwing out runners). Obviously I’ve been sick of Kurt’s hitting since last year when his production fell off a cliff. I’ve even been chastised on here by being vocal about it, but the bottom line is: we can’t win when we have black holes of production in our lineup, and we have several right now at C, 3B and RF.
Don't hang deJesus on the cross just yet. It's week 2. I was yelling at him for continuously smiling today, but it's 1/13 of a season...
But I’ll give you C, 3B, and raise you SS, even if he WAS the hero today…
\
I’m not too worried about Ellis or Barton. Ellis because he obviously gets upset whenever he has a bad atbat-et in a “OK, what did I learn here?” way. Barton, because he seems to be coming around…
"Feel so bad, feel like a ballgame on a rainy day"-Lightnin' Hopkins
by justANotherAsFan on Apr 13, 2011 6:57 PM PDT up reply actions
Of all players, don't hang DeJesus
He’s a very good player with a track record of being…a very good player.
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
But, but, you didn't play on my cross symbolism
"Feel so bad, feel like a ballgame on a rainy day"-Lightnin' Hopkins
by justANotherAsFan on Apr 13, 2011 6:59 PM PDT up reply actions
I wish he would nail a few.
"It's too much, Cap'n! The engine canna handle such a heavy load!." - LB
Ah ha ha
"Feel so bad, feel like a ballgame on a rainy day"-Lightnin' Hopkins
by justANotherAsFan on Apr 13, 2011 7:00 PM PDT up reply actions
For Christ's sake.
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's a thorny situation, for sure.
"It's too much, Cap'n! The engine canna handle such a heavy load!." - LB
We won! Water you guys into wineing for?
Visit my blog the Todd Van Poppel Rookie Card Retirement Plan!!
"Always look on the bright side of life!"
"It's too much, Cap'n! The engine canna handle such a heavy load!." - LB
same, like
"Feel so bad, feel like a ballgame on a rainy day"-Lightnin' Hopkins
by justANotherAsFan on Apr 13, 2011 7:00 PM PDT up reply actions
Except he's not
He has exactly zero 4+ WAR seasons, that’s what “very good” players have.
He’s yet another powerless player taking up another position where most teams have power. He isn’t a good fit here. I’d rather have Corey Hart.
But he's had three 3 WAR seasons, which is what "pretty damn valuable" players have.
And are we really back to the “X position should have X hitting style” line of thinking? Who cares?
And wouldn't he have been a 4+ WAR player last year if he didn't get hurt?
If he played the same number of games as he did in 2009 (144), he was at least on pace for a 4.1 WAR. The thumb thing was a freak injury.
Last of the Ninth - Photography
He needs some kind of dental intervention
It’s not orthodnty, it’s not that his teeth are too big, it’s that his upper lip is too small. some kind of plasty, where the upper lip is extended. This leads to ugly pics when he’s 70, but, geez, stop smiling when you strike out, dude- you remind me of cust!
"Feel so bad, feel like a ballgame on a rainy day"-Lightnin' Hopkins
by justANotherAsFan on Apr 13, 2011 7:02 PM PDT up reply actions
I'm not saying that the A's can't improve at catcher
but there are no internal candidates who would be better than Suzuki other than Stassi, who is not ready. Some people want Powell or Donaldson to replace Suzuki and those guys are not better than him. That was my main quibble
by Rygoslinglover on Apr 13, 2011 7:36 PM PDT up reply actions
Through his hitting suckfest,
Suzuki has been brilliant with balls in the dirt, and he has had a lot of near-impossible chances. So he’s not doing everything badly.
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
Yes, his defense at the plate is great. He's no Mauer at throwing out baserunners, but his value isn't his 'hitting', that's for sure...
"Feel so bad, feel like a ballgame on a rainy day"-Lightnin' Hopkins
by justANotherAsFan on Apr 13, 2011 8:46 PM PDT up reply actions
I agree with...
everything you said; however, you are leaving out one particular trait: Suzuki will not block a runner of the plate. Have you ever seen him hold his ground? Just an ounce of Kendall or Scioscia play, and I would like him a lot more. If the winning run were at third base late in a game, I would want Powell over Suzuki.
by Flamethrower on Apr 13, 2011 9:48 PM PDT up reply actions
Then again, of those three only Suzuki
hasn’t been seriously injured, so there’s that. Of course my argument would be better if Kendall and Powell hadn’t hurt themselves doing things that had nothing to do with blocking the plate.
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
yes - this is annoying
if he would just smile once after doing something GOOD, I might forgive him. I like the comment above: “he needs some sort of plasty”
by Brian in 317 on Apr 13, 2011 10:07 PM PDT up reply actions
While I agree that its certainly too early to eat DeJesus and drink his blood, I'm sorta wondering
if in general he’s pretty much the same player as Sweeney – they have very similar skill sets. Now I don’t mind having an extra Sweeney around considering the OF injury concerns and lack of depth, and Vin Mazzaro is for the birds, but I would much sooner try to extend Willingham/Crisp than DeJesus considering we’ll have Sweeney for a couple more years, and his physical peak at that.
Well, I consider Sweeney to be "DeJesus light"
and also Sweeney has knee issues. So I think there’s a fair amount of separation between them, even though you’re right that their skill sets are pretty similar.
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
Sure, he looks a bit like Crosby if you ignore everything everything he did prior to August 2010
Here are the top catchers in MLB by WAR over the past 3+ years:
BB-Ref WAR
1) Mauer, 22.2
2) McCann, 11.9
3) V-Mart, 7.7
T-4) Suzuki, 7.5
T-4) Molina, 7.5
Fangraphs WAR
1) Mauer, 18.7
2) McCann, 15.7
3) V-Mart, 9.3
4) Molina, 9.3
5) Martin, 9.0
6) Soto, 8.9
7) Napoli, 8.7
8) Suzuki, 7.3
A .710 OPS from a catcher who plays 140 games (and his home games in a pitchers park) is pretty good. Suzuki’s the starting catcher because, thankfully, the A’s look beyond the previous 2.5 months when evaluating players.
He does have a nice smile, though.
by Danny on Apr 14, 2011 8:08 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Sure, his first few seasons where he had a .320 wOBA, you take it and be happy.
When it drops to .296, his BB rate stays low, and all of a sudden 20% of the balls he hits are popups, there is absolutely cause for worry.
Especially when he starts the season like crap – which he has – and has only gotten ONE day off in 12 games.
Official Athletics Nation Rotating Tagline Editor - Pam liked my old sig better.
My thoughtful watermelon is easily mistook for an early American catapult.
Yes, he had a down year
Given what he done previously, we should expect him to bounce back some.
When it drops to .296, his BB rate stays low, and all of a sudden 20% of the balls he hits are popups, there is absolutely cause for worry.
His walk rate has always been low, and it was pretty close to his career rate in 2010 (and better than his 2009 rate). And the 20% infield flies are why is BABIP was so low, which is why his wOBA was so low. So what you’re really saying is that we should be worried that he hit a lot of popups last year.
The question is whether we should expect him to hit a ton of infield popups going forward, or whether he’s likely to regress back towards his much lower IFFB rates from pre-2010. Hitting IFFB is a “skill,” but a single season’s data still needs to be regressed. Fangraphs tells us that infield fly rates are less stable than other BIP rates, such as GB and FB rates. Here’s their whole chart for the number of PA it takes for a stat to “stabilize”:
50 PA: Swing %
100 PA: Contact Rate
150 PA: Strikeout Rate, Line Drive Rate, Pitches/PA
200 PA: Walk Rate, Groundball Rate, GB/FB
250 PA: Flyball Rate
300 PA: Home Run Rate, HR/FB
500 PA: OBP, SLG, OPS, 1B Rate, Popup Rate
550 PA: ISO
This tells us that, statistically, we should be less worried about Suzuki rebounding from his down 2010 than we would be if it were caused by an increased K rate, a decreased walk rate, or a decline in pretty much any other batting component.
Scouting could tell us something here; perhaps Suzuki has completely reworked his swing, which is resulting in a lot more popups. But I haven’t seen that to be the case. A lot of people talk about him only trying to hit home runs now. I can see how that would cause him to start hitting more FBs, but I don’t see why it would result in his infield FB per FB rate increasing.
Another place where OPS fails where wOBA shines.
Crosby’s career wOBA: .299.
Suzuki’s career wOBA: .313.
And tack on another .008 to Suzuki’s for the 5 run difference in positional adjustment. That makes their bats about a 1.2 WAR difference, on average, given a full season.
This idea that Matsui is better in the 2nd half is untrue
It happened last year, that’s it.
"Minutes from the last save opportunity...Balfour got 3 outs..."- Nico
by stranahanahan on Apr 13, 2011 11:04 PM PDT up reply actions
He is better in the second half, but only barely
Though the splits aren’t equal with 81 games before and after, but rather cut off at the All-Star Break. The numbers are very similar, at least.
Last of the Ninth - Photography
Exactly
I mean of course they’re not the same. But to suggest he’s significantly better before or after the AS break (2nd half), well there’s just no proof. Last year’s numbers alone could have shifted the career numbers enough to make the difference…
"Minutes from the last save opportunity...Balfour got 3 outs..."- Nico
by stranahanahan on Apr 14, 2011 1:09 AM PDT up reply actions
So you are admitting that he is significantly better in second half when playing for an AL West team!
HA!
2011 Oakland Athletics: We have Cy Young pitchers and make yours look like it, too
by elcroata on Apr 14, 2011 2:26 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
This is precisely the kind of game
that begins to forge an identity for a team over a marathon 162-game grinder of a season. Great that we play tomorrow and don’t have to wait til Friday. Like we’ve been saying the games so far have a very different vibe than the last few years already and it’s only 12 games into it.
Empires may crumble, FIP statistics may lose their meaning, but only a Keetsa mattress puts years back on your life while you're sleeping.
And hopefully starts to differientiate
this season from last season with all its 9th inning teAses.
Being called a poet as a rock ’n’ roll musician is like being called a physicist as a baseball player. It might have some application but it’s pretty remote. - Richard Hell
by fridaynightfan on Apr 13, 2011 5:49 PM PDT up reply actions
How nice.
I always space out day games. Home from work dial up mlbtv first and see it it archived so duh, it’s over. So without checking the scores I go into the highlights and first highlight is Ozzie talking about the loss…..sweet.
alaska A in northern idaho
I have to admit, after Kouz blew that play in the 8th, and the ChiSox went up 4-1, I turned off the set, after saying some things that upset my cat
Fortunately, some little demon inside said “just see if they’re still playing”, and so I tuned back in in (in in, iglew!) the top of the 9th with the bases loaded, a run in, and Suzuki at the plate in the 9th. Hooray Moneypenny! Hooray Coco! Hooray Dale/Daric! (Apparently, Hooray, ValleyFeverMan, too!) BooBooBoo, Kouz! Great finish to the series and road trip.
Knock Geren about not knowing the rulebook, but, apparently, it’s pretty obscure. Neither Fosse nor Kuiper understood what was going on, and Guillen ASKED the umps first if they understood the book before he trotted out to take out “BAD RELIEVER #2” [Jeez, all those guys are flame-throwers, but, looking today like Henry on a bad day, only 4-5 mph slower]
"Feel so bad, feel like a ballgame on a rainy day"-Lightnin' Hopkins
by justANotherAsFan on Apr 13, 2011 5:49 PM PDT reply actions
As with DM67, I reply to myself often.
I just have to say, the 2010 A’s would have been extremely unlikely to do what the 2011 A’s did today.
I hereby swear to not in the future in 2011 turn off my set in disgust, even if the stooopid misplay leaves us down 3 runs in the bottom of the 8th.
"Feel so bad, feel like a ballgame on a rainy day"-Lightnin' Hopkins
by justANotherAsFan on Apr 13, 2011 5:51 PM PDT up reply actions
It's not obscure at all
And I am pretty sure Guillen was not asking about the rules, but rather if Geren had already announced the pinch-hitter.
2011 Oakland Athletics: We have Cy Young pitchers and make yours look like it, too
Oh my god, you guys have to go watch the Ozzie Guillen postgame interview
It’s posted on the csnbayarea.com site.
Soooo funny to see him pissed off…
"Minutes from the last save opportunity...Balfour got 3 outs..."- Nico
watch it here
OZZIE G SEES THE SAME SHIT YOU GUYS SEE
Empires may crumble, FIP statistics may lose their meaning, but only a Keetsa mattress puts years back on your life while you're sleeping.
by emperor nobody on Apr 13, 2011 6:10 PM PDT up reply actions
Ozzie can be total jerk.
But he’s not stupid, he tends to say what’s on his mind (to a fault), and he’s always entertaining.
I can think of some managers who could learn from some of this.
There is no "i" in Teamocil. At least not where you'd think.
by GreenNGoldSooner on Apr 13, 2011 8:58 PM PDT up reply actions
He's not stupid. But he will be called out for his bullpen management today. Geren is pretty stupid, but his subs looked like genius today.
Funny game, baseball…
"Feel so bad, feel like a ballgame on a rainy day"-Lightnin' Hopkins
by justANotherAsFan on Apr 13, 2011 9:08 PM PDT up reply actions
Funny game, baseball...indeed!
To give Ozzie a little credit, he really had no good choices with that bullpen. But I agree: it was a tough day at the office for him.
There is no "i" in Teamocil. At least not where you'd think.
by GreenNGoldSooner on Apr 13, 2011 9:13 PM PDT up reply actions
Soon, when it comes to OF, we may have to make a CHOICE.
Because Michael hit his 2nd 3-run shot in as many days today. He’s definitely a candidate for a quick rise through the minors and it wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if we see him here in September.
It'd surprise me to see him in Sacramento in September.
"We were shit, pathetic," Guillen growled early in spring training. "We hit too many home runs."
by lenscrafters on Apr 13, 2011 5:59 PM PDT up reply actions
Too far too fast PL
If he makes the River Cats by September, that’s more that you ought to hope for.
"Feel so bad, feel like a ballgame on a rainy day"-Lightnin' Hopkins
by justANotherAsFan on Apr 13, 2011 6:03 PM PDT up reply actions
No, I'm going to hope for the best possible result
and Choice in the bigs in Sept is it. If he’s in Sac that’s cool too.
I wonder what would happen to AN if like, every single thing that could go right actually did for once. Would be really curious to see what AN circa 2002 would look like…
It would look like, "Hey we should start a blog soon...."
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 also struck out 3 times tonight
He’s not moving up anytime fast if he can’t learn how to make better contact.
That BABIP isn’t gonna stay as high as it’s been so far in his pro career…
"Minutes from the last save opportunity...Balfour got 3 outs..."- Nico
by stranahanahan on Apr 13, 2011 11:19 PM PDT up reply actions
nice win
after the Sweeney K I thought it was over.
You have to include smiley faces - Poppy
;- ) :- ) :-O : -> : -] : -}
Ha ha ha ha! Somebody let RickRoller in on the joke.
You silly, of course not. Jencks pitched a 5-hit complete game shutout, again. We’re just trying to avoid dealing with it, so we imagined a 9th inning comeback and a 10th inning win!
"It's too much, Cap'n! The engine canna handle such a heavy load!." - LB
Danks. Jenks gone. Jenks really big. Obviously not Jenks
"Feel so bad, feel like a ballgame on a rainy day"-Lightnin' Hopkins
by justANotherAsFan on Apr 13, 2011 7:00 PM PDT up reply actions
Oops, sorry :{
Still, it was a cool fantasy while it lasted. The A’s suck, can’t hit for shit.
"It's too much, Cap'n! The engine canna handle such a heavy load!." - LB
Thanks.
Next q: Who’s this AJ Griffin character who was drafted last year but is 23 and just had a 10 K game?
He was the A's 13th rounder out of San Diego
He’s a 6’5’’ righty who was a college teammate of Matt Thomson, last year’s 12th round pick. He was a typical 13th round pick, as he was a senior with average stuff. He has a plus changeup, but he doesn’t project as much more than a middle reliever. He struck out 33 in 26.1 IP last year with 7 BBs, so it’s possible the A’s will get a little more out of him than a typical 13th round pitcher. Then again, he’s nothing more than a C prospect with upside as of now.
"Loyal? I'm the most loyal player money can buy." - Don Sutton
I saw A.J. Griffin in Vancouver.
He made no impression on me at all. He pitched an inning or two in middle relief, but other than that I only remember his name, he’s white, and kind of tall.
And really, the only reason I even remember his name is because at the time I thought, “Huh, there are two A.J.’s on the team.”
Yeah, I’m not much of a scout….
Sweet is the lore which Nature brings; / Our meddling intellect
Mis-shapes the beauteous forms of things:— / We murder to dissect.
Awesome Win
Not being ironic … i really can’t remember. How did the A’s end up trading CarGo, and how did we get Kooz? Is it me, or does Kooz just totally suck?
Love this club, though!
CarGo, Street, Smith for Holliday
Hairston, Cunningham, reliever (Gray?) for Kouz, Sogard. Kouz isn’t as bad as he’s been playing or he’s looked. He’s an above average defender and a slightly below average hitter. Unfortunately, so far, he’s been neither.
"Loyal? I'm the most loyal player money can buy." - Don Sutton
Ryan Webb, I think
Jeff Gray went to the Cubbies for. . . I want to say Foxypants and E-Pat?
Fox and Rosales
Jeff Gray, Matt Spencer, and Ronny Morla to Cubs for Jake Fox and Aaron Miles. Then Aaron Miles to Cincinnati for Adam Rosales and Willy Taveras.
Or to be more precise on the latter trade, we traded Miles’s playing ability for Rosales’s playing ability while accepting Taveras’s awful contract in exchange for Miles’s awful contract. Taveras had no playing ability left, so he was dumped after a courtesy period.
Sweet is the lore which Nature brings; / Our meddling intellect
Mis-shapes the beauteous forms of things:— / We murder to dissect.
Are we still paying him?
Sweet is the lore which Nature brings; / Our meddling intellect
Mis-shapes the beauteous forms of things:— / We murder to dissect.
Yeah, I know.
I was just wondering how long his old contract had run. Looks like we paid him through 2010 but not for 2011.
Sweet is the lore which Nature brings; / Our meddling intellect
Mis-shapes the beauteous forms of things:— / We murder to dissect.
Great Result
Unfortunately my son was home sick – fortunately I stayed with him in the early afternoon and got to watch the game with him instead of working. He’s 2 1/2 but loves to watch baseball and wasn’t feeling well so sat or stood through most of it instead of wanting to go off and play. Though in the 9th and 10th he put his A’s hat on and was doing the “Let’s Go A’s” and “Let’s Go Oakland” chants. It was fun – and I was very happy to see the A’s get the much-needed timely hitting from Pennington first and then Coco and Barton.
Great way to end a fairly successful but still frustrating road trip against good teams!
Nice vignette. I can picture it.
"Feel so bad, feel like a ballgame on a rainy day"-Lightnin' Hopkins
by justANotherAsFan on Apr 13, 2011 7:04 PM PDT up reply actions
vignette may have something to say about that.
"It's too much, Cap'n! The engine canna handle such a heavy load!." - LB
had I had salad tonight, which I did not, but I would have
used vignette dressing.
alaska A in northern idaho
Are you flirting with me?
"Loyal? I'm the most loyal player money can buy." - Don Sutton
Good recap
I was shocked as anyone. It must have been fun to watch. I hope cuppingmaster got to stay for the whole game.
Put a bird on it
Anyone miss Cust?
No homeruns and batting 176 with a 326 oba. I don’t miss the strikeouts and with Matsui he puts the ball in play.
I don't. I think Matsui will be better than Jack 2010. Not Jack 2008, but neither isJack.
"Feel so bad, feel like a ballgame on a rainy day"-Lightnin' Hopkins
by justANotherAsFan on Apr 13, 2011 7:06 PM PDT up reply actions
dear jack,
How do you like Seattle? I hope the move has not disrupted any of your habits.
alaska A in northern idaho
The good part
Looks like we had his best years. The Rockies should take a flyer on him because the M’s ballpark is no better for a fly ball hitter than Oakland.
Exactly. The last thing he needs is to be in a pitcher's park
surrounded by lousy hitters. Actually, the last thing he needs is to be in the National League where they make you wear a glove. So basically, he should not sign with the Padres.
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
Sadly, the Bankees didn't buy him. He was made for their "ballpark".
"Feel so bad, feel like a ballgame on a rainy day"-Lightnin' Hopkins
by justANotherAsFan on Apr 13, 2011 7:07 PM PDT up reply actions
Short RIGHT
Which is what they have
"Feel so bad, feel like a ballgame on a rainy day"-Lightnin' Hopkins
by justANotherAsFan on Apr 13, 2011 8:30 PM PDT up reply actions
He has power to RIGHT as a left-handed hitter (else why the shift?) and he does, true, have power to left-center
"Feel so bad, feel like a ballgame on a rainy day"-Lightnin' Hopkins
by justANotherAsFan on Apr 13, 2011 8:41 PM PDT up reply actions
I have. He still has power to right, along with leftcenter, and with a true fight field short porch, he's have a ton of homers
"Feel so bad, feel like a ballgame on a rainy day"-Lightnin' Hopkins
by justANotherAsFan on Apr 13, 2011 8:45 PM PDT up reply actions
We should just have a Cust and Matsui counter at the top of front page with second by second updates of their numbers.
So we don’t have to do this in every post game thread.
"We were shit, pathetic," Guillen growled early in spring training. "We hit too many home runs."
by lenscrafters on Apr 13, 2011 7:14 PM PDT up reply actions
With daily comparisons of his FIP-ERA gap.
Both counters will, of course, come with threads to put comments in so people can make their daily overreactions after every game.
"We were shit, pathetic," Guillen growled early in spring training. "We hit too many home runs."
by lenscrafters on Apr 13, 2011 7:25 PM PDT up reply actions
So where does the meta-thread for each these appear?
Lower left corner?
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, we'll put them where the Xfinity ads have appeared,
so that Suzuki can miss them.
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
literally seconds before pennington got the hit I was screaming
“BASES LOADED NO OUTS AND WE COULDN’T PUT THE FUCKING BALL IN PLAY!!!!”
rage
Me too, el...me too
"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 Apr 13, 2011 8:29 PM PDT up reply actions
baseball is funny
Pennington is a hero and thornton is a goat, but the ball he hit was a weak popup. It was total luck it fell
Put a bird on it
by Future Ed on Apr 13, 2011 8:02 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
Weird.
I think KK (or was in Vince) called it a “soft liner” in the broadcast.
"As the tag line of my favorite dirty joke would have it: 'Keep your hat on. We could wind up miles from here.'" ~Kurt Vonnegut, Hocus Pocus
It was kind of in between
It was also in between the infielders and outfielders, which is what it needed to be.
Last of the Ninth - Photography
Loved the game threads today
I didn’t get to follow along, or see what happened until the game was over, but damn, that looked like some fun. Haven’t been able to hit the game threads like I used to, but it is nice to know that I’m not the only one that follows every pitch frantically. Great win today. Maybe the offense will start just doing that all game.
Might as well Jump! - Van Halen
Great recap, BBG.
The funny thing about baseball is that people will believe what they want to believe. —Joe Posnanski 8/29/09
thanks, pam5981!
"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 Apr 13, 2011 8:29 PM PDT up reply actions
I finally checked all the highlights and caught mlbnetwork rehash and heh,
glad I was not suffering through those two strikeouts in the ninth with the bases juiced….let alone listening to the Hawk yelp out those obnoxious ‘he-gones’ with added emphasis.
alaska A in northern idaho
But you can watch it knowing that you're able to relish what happens next.
"We were shit, pathetic," Guillen growled early in spring training. "We hit too many home runs."
by lenscrafters on Apr 13, 2011 8:37 PM PDT up reply actions
Great Win and the Best Part
Was listening to Hawk Harrelson moan after his cocky “He Gone! It’s All Good” yelps after the first 2 A’s strikeouts in the 9th. That guy is an absolute tool.
I agreee
i cannot for the life of me stand Hawk Herrelson he is such a homer and a douche,he is the most annoying commentator,except for probably krukow who is also a douche.when the A’s tied it and he came back to earth it was the best.most satisfying win this season because lets face it the A’s down 3 runs in the 9th GAME OVER,but they overcame the hole they were in with clutch hitting.
Elephants on Parade
the best part was when zook k'd in the 10th
but we had already taken the 3 run lead. All he could do was muster up was a weak “he gone” without any effort at all, let alone the typical obnoxiousness. He might as well had said nothing at all, but felt obligated to get his asanine catchphrase in there despite the situation. Always feels great doing that to the oposing broadcast team when they’re as annoying as hawk is. kinda like when we would do that to the slegna’s and we shut up physioc and hudler.
Ya know...
he’s a lot less annoying when the A’s are kicking the sox in the nuts. But he’s an interesting guy who has a very melodic broadcast voice. Not bad at all and very entertaining if your WS fan. I had no idea he was such a good golfer either.
"You may glory in a team triumphant, but you fall in love with a team in defeat."--The Boys of Summer
I like Hawk's voice a lot.
I heard the complaints about him for years and assumed he was awful, but then when I finally heard him I thought, “Hey, I kind of like this guy”. It’s true that he’s a homer and some of his catchphrases are dopey, but his general smooth running conversation I find very pleasant. He’s a perfect broadcast companion for TV.
Sweet is the lore which Nature brings; / Our meddling intellect
Mis-shapes the beauteous forms of things:— / We murder to dissect.
Are the White Sox really this stupid?
From what I can see that Santos guy should be their closer. At least his pitches have some movement.
Yeah, he was flilthy-cubed.
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
after skimming some of these comments
I just want to say: stop talking about LaRoche being the A’s hottest hitter. There is no predictive value to hot and cold streaks. This has been well established.
Now, if you think LaRoche is a straight up better hitter than Sweeney, or if you think Geren is an idiot who doesn’t know the rules, that’s another thing.
Why don't you make like a tree, and get out of here.
So to start a flamewar,
I don’t agree with the sweeping statement “There is no predictive value to hot and cold streaks.” I think that simplifies a complex concept by confusing “results” with “process.”
It has been well established that if you look a 5-game stretch and just view the results, those results will not predict the next game’s results. What has not been established is how a stretch of good process (which could result in several hard hit outs, or only moderate results due to facing exceptionally good pitching, etc.) might predict good process the next game. And the better the process, the better the likely result is.
As a manager, I would completely ignore the fact, alone, that a guy was “8 for his last 18.” But the fact that a guy is seeing the ball well, laying off tough pitches out of the zone, making solid contact, and so on? Yeah, I’d look at 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
by Nico on Apr 13, 2011 8:46 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
This makes sense
It’s really two different things. Sure, you can’t really predict what someone’s going to do, but if you take two people and can see one of them is having much better ABs than the other, regardless of results, it’s absolutely reasonable to suspect he’s going to be more likely to have a better game overall. Doesn’t mean he will, doesn’t mean he won’t, but like you said, if the process is looking good that has to be factored in.
Maybe that’s where some of the “so-and-so is their hottest hitter right now” stuff comes from, but it’s not always clear whether it’s got more to do with people just seeing the results no matter what goes into them, or seeing the process as well.
Last of the Ninth - Photography
Yeah, totally agree
and I think the good managers do look at that
by Rygoslinglover on Apr 13, 2011 8:52 PM PDT up reply actions
I go with this, but Bobo doesn't...
We need true alternative universes to test this. Let me know when you figure out how to access them. I’ll be right there!
"Feel so bad, feel like a ballgame on a rainy day"-Lightnin' Hopkins
by justANotherAsFan on Apr 13, 2011 8:54 PM PDT up reply actions
But how do you determine good process?
Kouz, for example, is someone who always has, and always will, look very bad process-wise. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t going to start getting better results in the future, or that he hasn’t gotten good results in the past. And “hard hit outs” are, in a way, results.
"We were shit, pathetic," Guillen growled early in spring training. "We hit too many home runs."
by lenscrafters on Apr 13, 2011 9:04 PM PDT up reply actions
It's hard, which is why when in doubt you go with the "track record"
But there are signs. For example, when guys take bad balls they often chase, they’re picking up the spin earlier (“seeing the ball well”). Or when their mechanics are in synch they’ll be quicker through the zone and as a result will hit the ball more squarely more often, usually “hard to all fields” instead of “whiff, pull a double, pop-up, whiff, pull a dribbler to 3B.”
It’s subtle and VERY hard to track or prove, but sometimes you can see it and at those times I think it makes sense to let your gut lead over your CW.
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 think Kouzmanoff is a pretty good example of bad process leading to mostly bad results, actually
Just a few weeks ago the story was he’s trying to improve his perception of the strike zone or however they worded it. He’s a very free swinger and goes after a lot of pitches others would hardly even sniff at.
He barely sees more pitches than Pablo Sandoval, who’s notorious for swinging at just about everything. Yet, even Sandoval is averaging about 50 BB a season so far. Kouzmanoff’s high? 32, and not a single one yet this season.
Let’s put it another way. Last season Barton walked 110 times in 159 games.
Kouzmanoff has 111 for his CAREER in 611 games.
Last of the Ninth - Photography
SO HE HAS MORE, RIGHT???
I rest my case.
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
This is kind of painful when you think about it
Barton averaged a walk every 1.4 games last year, 1.7 for his career.
Kouzmanoff? One every 5.5 games, or basically one every two series.
Last of the Ninth - Photography
wholey cripes!
111 for career, none this year.
Wow.
At last year's rate, Barton would have had 436 in the amount of games Kouzmanoff's played
Last of the Ninth - Photography
Yuck. Sounds like a bad RBI guy.
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 saying that Kouzmanoff isn't a bad hitter overall.
I’m saying that in the past, he has had numerous hot streaks correct? Assuming that good process → good results, If he is consciously doing better “process” and getting good results during those hot streaks, why would he stop? And if good process is not something you can be “conscious” about, then I don’t think you could argue that good process is predictive, since you don’t know when the run of subliminal “good process” will end, and neither does Kouzmanoff.
"We were shit, pathetic," Guillen growled early in spring training. "We hit too many home runs."
by lenscrafters on Apr 14, 2011 11:45 AM PDT up reply actions
i dunno, you may have a point
I’m too ignorant on stuff like that to comment on it. I know, for me, I’m just a lot better off not trusting what I see with my eyes. Back when I used to watch the Sox, there were plenty of times I’d see Manny look (to my eyes) confused and overmatched for an entire three game series, then proceed to hit 4 monster jacks in three games.
All that said, I think it’s pretty clear what someone means when they say “so and so is hot right now,” or reference a “hot streak” or a “cold streak.” They’re not talking about a hot streak of good process (I’m not sure what that would even mean). They’re talking about a hot streak of good results. And those mean essentially nothing.
Why don't you make like a tree, and get out of here.
by thelincolndude on Apr 14, 2011 10:16 AM PDT up reply actions
To me when you say someone is on a hot streak,
it’s all about the present, not about projecting the future at all. If so-and-so has a 20-game hitting streak going, then I think that’s fun. I know it doesn’t mean he’s more likely to get a hit than some other non-streak guy who is just as good, but I’m still interested in seeing if he can extend it to 21.
Sweet is the lore which Nature brings; / Our meddling intellect
Mis-shapes the beauteous forms of things:— / We murder to dissect.
i'm with ya here
We’re on the same page. I’m just being a pedant, getting annoyed with people for saying Geren sucks because he pinch hit for our hottest hitter. Bringing in Sweeney, who pays the pinch hitter penalty and then ends up having to face an incredibly tough lefty anyway was probably a terrible move, but not because Andy LaRoche is on fire.
Why don't you make like a tree, and get out of here.
by thelincolndude on Apr 14, 2011 5:25 PM PDT up reply actions
Here's how I see it.
Good process, for the most part, equals good results. Good process is what you want to see, and good results are a slightly fuzzier picture of that. The reason for the fuzz? Sometimes good process = bad results, and sometimes bad process = good results.
Here’s what I propose. The amount of good process that turns into bad results is essentially constant. It doesn’t change, league-wide. Just, to pick a random number, 25% of the good processes turn into bad results. And that doesn’t change.
The same holds for the other side. Say, 5% of bad processes turn into good results. It just happens, because baseball is weird like that, and flukey things happen.
Granted, I don’t have any evidence for this. But it seems to make sense. The blurring effect of the process/results disconnect is just random luck affecting results, and because it’s random chance, it is a constant. Essentially, good results = good process, plus a fuzz factor that is constant. Now, here’s the thing. IF that is true, then it also MUST be true that if good results don’t forecast good results (in the case of hot streaks), then good processes don’t forecast good results.
Let me be the first in this thread to refer to our next opponent as...
The Motor City Kitties (h/t CT)
There…..got that out of the way!
There is no "i" in Teamocil. At least not where you'd think.
by GreenNGoldSooner on Apr 13, 2011 8:48 PM PDT reply actions
someone else called them the kitties earlier, either in the recap or the thread. You too late...
"Feel so bad, feel like a ballgame on a rainy day"-Lightnin' Hopkins
by justANotherAsFan on Apr 13, 2011 8:49 PM PDT up reply actions
The Decrepit City Alcoholism Enablers.
"OK and now everybody who said 'game over' at some point
GO KNEEL IN THE CORNER!" - elcroata
by Gaijin_Suketto on Apr 13, 2011 8:54 PM PDT up reply actions
Awesome!
Which is the decrepit city? KC, MO, KC, KS, or OAK, CA?
"Feel so bad, feel like a ballgame on a rainy day"-Lightnin' Hopkins
by justANotherAsFan on Apr 13, 2011 8:55 PM PDT up reply actions
Detroit, Michigan.
And they enable Miguel Cabrera.
"OK and now everybody who said 'game over' at some point
GO KNEEL IN THE CORNER!" - elcroata
by Gaijin_Suketto on Apr 13, 2011 8:56 PM PDT up reply actions
Yeah, Got It
"Feel so bad, feel like a ballgame on a rainy day"-Lightnin' Hopkins
by justANotherAsFan on Apr 13, 2011 9:03 PM PDT up reply actions
Egad!
Tootaaal Faiiiil!
Not KC, DET, MI…
"Feel so bad, feel like a ballgame on a rainy day"-Lightnin' Hopkins
by justANotherAsFan on Apr 13, 2011 8:56 PM PDT up reply actions
I've said this before on AN, but I'll say it again.
I have no ill will whatsoever toward the Tigers as a franchise. Though they’ve never been a team I’ve rooted for in any way, I have some positive feelings toward them.
Their unis—especially the home kits—are totally classic.
The Tigers of my childhood and young adulthood featured the middle infield combination of Lou Whitaker and Alan Trammell, two great (or at least near-great) players who exuded class.
Old Tiger Stadium was one of the great, quirky, but underrated ballparks.
Ernie Harwell was one of the truly great baseball voices of all time.
And the Tiger fans that I’ve known over the years have tended to be knowledgeable, passionate and not at all fair-weather.
There is no "i" in Teamocil. At least not where you'd think.
by GreenNGoldSooner on Apr 13, 2011 9:11 PM PDT up reply actions
I'm down with all of this. Until they are playing my green n gold, when they must get beaten!
"Feel so bad, feel like a ballgame on a rainy day"-Lightnin' Hopkins
by justANotherAsFan on Apr 13, 2011 9:12 PM PDT up reply actions
But of course!
There is no "i" in Teamocil. At least not where you'd think.
by GreenNGoldSooner on Apr 13, 2011 9:13 PM PDT up reply actions
So all agreed we should sweep them?
OK then!
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
Fixed
So all agreed we should will sweep them!
There is no "i" in Teamocil. At least not where you'd think.
by GreenNGoldSooner on Apr 13, 2011 9:15 PM PDT up reply actions
Is anyone else concerned with DeJesus right now?
I mean, this is what I expected out of Suzuki, to be honest.
But DeJesus looks completely lost. The way he’s hitting he’s swinging over the top of everything.
"Minutes from the last save opportunity...Balfour got 3 outs..."- Nico
DeJesus has a track record.
So with him there is an expectation he will regress to the mean. Zooks on the other hand, has had one OK offensive year followed by a below average one. He has more to prove.
by Mr. Clean Sweep on Apr 13, 2011 11:34 PM PDT up reply actions
I know I should be thinking the same
But isn’t this basically the guy we got anyway?
A few less groundouts and a few more XBHs?
I mean the K and BB rates are close to career rates…
"Minutes from the last save opportunity...Balfour got 3 outs..."- Nico
by stranahanahan on Apr 14, 2011 1:11 AM PDT up reply actions
No problem
as long as you got somebody else to pay for beer and tix.
There actually are several ‘bi’ fans here, but nobody seems to like us, want us to make up our minds.
I can't help it
I was born this way!
(no, I’m not wearing a meat suit – that really is mental.)
beer was free
got to go on warning trck and eat hot dogs and garlic fries during BP. But I am in no way a giants fan 100% oakland
WTF GEREN?!?!?!
Thanks for the recap, BBG.
I especially like recaps when they tell what happened for those of us who missed the game.
Sweet is the lore which Nature brings; / Our meddling intellect
Mis-shapes the beauteous forms of things:— / We murder to dissect.
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