A's Behave Badly, Umps Make A's Play On as Punishment

by Leopold Bloom on Aug 27, 2011 8:08 PM PDT

Who the hell frames these photos?! And they wonder why we hate them...

...and then they all boarded an effing ark.

Graham Godfrey got gaffled greatly giving ghastly gas gladly.

Um. So Papi went deep on Godfrey with Dustin Pedroia on base. Pedroia was reportedly looking for some semblance of hair follicles on second at the time.

That was the first inning. It went downhill from there.

Erik Bedard loaded the bases in the first and let two on in the second. The A's left five on base the first two innings. There was no offense. The A's wanted to leave. The Red Sox wanted to leave. The umpires wanted to leave. The fans, both there and here wanted to leave.

And, after this second game became official, it should have been. The umpires are lucky that no one got hurt. Why they insisted on continuing play is beyond most human understanding. But play on, they did. We got all the way to Jonathan Papelbon and all his splendor.

What a lovely way to end a lovely day of baseball.

According to Berry Jo: "baseball rain rain baseball rain rain rain rain baseball rain rain. the end"--that about covers it.

Positives:

Anthony Recker got his first official hit as a major leaguer!
Josh Outman made the case that he, not Godfrey should have started this game. He seems to pitch angry. Seven strikeouts, no walks in four innings. The one run he gave up was unearned.
Brandon Allen, aside from the missed foul out, continues to look good at first base. Except or the other ball he dropped. That led to the Red Sox fourth run.
The games went quickly. It was only an eleven hour experience.
Witch made what sounded like yummy sauce for her fried zucchini. Lonestranger and Meesus Moustache and Hunter had grilled zucchini and tri-tip.
We have 73 unearned runs, the most in the majors. We're number one!
None of our players were killed or maimed in playing in those conditions.

Off-day tomorrow. No baseball for you! In Cleveland on Monday with Brandon McCarthy. My deck is old and worn out and in need of a make-over.

Current Series

Red Sox lead the series 2-1

Fri 08/26	WP: Gio Gonzalez (11 - 11) LP: Tim Wakefield (6 - 6)	15 - 5 win
Oakland Athletics Athletics Nation @ Cleveland Indians Let's Go Tribe Monday, Aug 29, 2011, 4:05 PM PDT Progressive Field Brandon McCarthy vs Complete Coverage >
Sat 08/27		0 - 4 loss

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Comments

"None of our players were killed or maimed in playing in those conditions"

at this point that’s all I care about.

by OaklandSi on Aug 27, 2011 8:11 PM PDT reply actions

No kidding. Umps on the power play = not a good thing.

Randy Jackson: "Did you eat a lot of paint chips when you were young?"
Idol Contestant: [Nods]

by Berry Jo on Aug 27, 2011 8:13 PM PDT up reply actions

they acted like it was paramount to play this whole thing and I don't understand why.

Seriously, someone on either team could have been hurt. Makes no sense.

by Leopold Bloom on Aug 27, 2011 8:16 PM PDT up reply actions

the umpires are going to fly on the charter with the A's

We yet enjoy little to be envied, but endure much to be pitied.-Thomas Dudley

by Future Ed on Aug 27, 2011 8:22 PM PDT up reply actions

I would lock them in the bathroom.

by Leopold Bloom on Aug 27, 2011 8:23 PM PDT up reply actions

If there were shared days off, I'm sure they would have given up.

As it is, the only time they could have played was the end of the season. And the way the Yankees/Red Sox have been battling, it may well come down to a half game.

That’s the only reason I can see that they wanted to complete them that day.

by LoneStranger on Aug 29, 2011 10:01 AM PDT up reply actions

Especially because twice, Allen landed awkwardly trying to complete a play

and could easily have injured himself. Bah.

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 Aug 27, 2011 9:21 PM PDT up reply actions

If McClellan is anything, he is by the book. These games were going to get played.

He’s a commissioner’s umpire.

by player20 on Aug 27, 2011 8:24 PM PDT via mobile reply actions

Now Jim Joyce, on the other hand, would have waited for Boston to collect 26 outs, at which point the sun would have come out, and incorrectly called the game off because of weather.

by player20 on Aug 27, 2011 9:49 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions

Jim Joyce has suffered enough from that mistake.

No one should receive death threats for a game.

by LoneStranger on Aug 29, 2011 10:02 AM PDT up reply actions

threats, danger, and violence are one side of this coin and i’m completely against all of them. but that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t be reminded nicely and politely that he wrote his own name in the history books.

by AV on Aug 29, 2011 10:56 AM PDT up reply actions

No need to

He’s beaten himself up over it enough times already and has been one of the best umps around in spite of that terrible mistake.

Last of the Ninth - Photography

by Flashfire on Aug 29, 2011 12:10 PM PDT up reply actions

Jim Joyce does happen to be one of my favorite umps.

You know when he’s behind the plate, and you know whether a pitch is a ball or strike. I was just making a joke on the absurdity of the game conditions. What happened during the perfect game in Detroit, I would wish on no one.

by player20 on Aug 29, 2011 3:14 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions

It's weird to me that that caused more controversy than

a wrong call that actually made a difference.

Joyce’s call made no difference in the result of the game, only in how it gets logged for stats. And even there, everyone knows what really happens, so it’s not like Joyce somehow made it not a perfect game. It still was, and everyone knows it.

Seems to me that a poor call that changes a win to a loss is much more egregious. This is just meaningless record-keeping, and readily corrected.

Being wrong about something you’ve worked on is a blessing, not a curse, and people are so invested in being right that that gets lost. —Graham MacAree

by iglew on Aug 29, 2011 3:16 PM PDT up reply actions

I didn't know it would be offensive.

by player20 on Aug 29, 2011 3:24 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions

huh? nobody was offended by your comment. i wasn’t anyway. i think neither was FF.

by AV on Aug 29, 2011 3:32 PM PDT up reply actions

yay baseball

We yet enjoy little to be envied, but endure much to be pitied.-Thomas Dudley

by Future Ed on Aug 27, 2011 8:33 PM PDT reply actions

AN zucchini day

Fried zucchini fritters with peach chutney.

Don't you realise you'll find next monday or next Tuesday/Your golden shoes day

by PDXAthleticsfan on Aug 27, 2011 9:08 PM PDT via iPhone app reply actions

Under normal circumstances

I would be unhappy about losing a doubleheader to the Red Sox.

But I didn’t care today. I just wanted the stupid games to end without injury and for the A’s to get on the plane and fly safely to Cleveland.

by bear88 on Aug 27, 2011 9:22 PM PDT reply actions

me too

by OaklandSi on Aug 27, 2011 9:37 PM PDT up reply actions

Thanks for making the games bearable.

And at least we looked better than the 49ers. Equivalent would have been, well, I can’t think of one.

Hey dad, I got this guy's autograph, Rollie
Fingers. Who's he?

by WhizDad on Aug 27, 2011 10:11 PM PDT reply actions

Michael Taylor had 2 HR's today

Getting close to callups

by duballers23 on Aug 27, 2011 10:28 PM PDT reply actions

I'll be shocked if they don't call him up. But I've been shocked before.

Hey dad, I got this guy's autograph, Rollie
Fingers. Who's he?

by WhizDad on Aug 27, 2011 10:30 PM PDT up reply actions

They've got Triple-A playoffs to deal with first

And yes, they’ll probably leave him there for them.

Last of the Ninth - Photography

by Flashfire on Aug 28, 2011 12:03 AM PDT up reply actions

Which is a bit aggravating,

but is at least tempered by the fact that we actually do have 3 OFers trying to get Type A or B status. Were it not for that, I’d be fuming that he wasn’t up now.

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 Aug 28, 2011 8:28 AM PDT up reply actions

I dunno. I value AAA playoff experience highly, compared to time on the bench in the majores.

"OK, Recker is starting, that’ll mean a rain delay, 12 grand slams, a hurricane, a US Airways flight landing in the outfield and the toilet backing up."- WhizDad

by Gaijin_Suketto on Aug 28, 2011 8:35 AM PDT up reply actions

How about time starting 4-5 days/week in the majors?

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 Aug 28, 2011 9:07 AM PDT up reply actions

I might value AAA playoff experience more than starting 4-5 days/week in the majors, especially in September.

by LoneStranger on Aug 29, 2011 10:07 AM PDT up reply actions

I'm pretty sure the players don't.

AAA’s AAA.

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 Aug 29, 2011 7:18 PM PDT up reply actions

If only we knew some players, or knew someone who had an in and could ask the players what they might think......

by LoneStranger on Aug 29, 2011 9:55 PM PDT up reply actions

I'm pretty sure anyone in Triple-A would rather be in the bigs playing even 2-3 days a week...

…instead of being in the playoffs in the minors.

Last of the Ninth - Photography

by Flashfire on Aug 30, 2011 1:46 PM PDT up reply actions

We can have this round-and-round discussion about higher pay and such,

but it doesn’t change the fact that having the experience of a playoff run is a plus. That is all I’m saying.

by LoneStranger on Aug 30, 2011 3:09 PM PDT up reply actions

You have a deck??

Being wrong about something you’ve worked on is a blessing, not a curse, and people are so invested in being right that that gets lost. —Graham MacAree

by iglew on Aug 27, 2011 10:50 PM PDT reply actions

there's a bit of a joke there.

by Leopold Bloom on Aug 27, 2011 10:59 PM PDT up reply actions

Where are the before and after pictures?

There is no A in OFFENSE!!

by wacchampions on Aug 28, 2011 2:20 AM PDT up reply actions

....and the elusive one posts!

by Leopold Bloom on Aug 28, 2011 3:19 AM PDT up reply actions

His deck leaves a lot to be desired.

I think it needs an upgrade.

by LoneStranger on Aug 29, 2011 10:07 AM PDT up reply actions

3 hrs later

and still no TWSS on this? :)

by Rickeyfan on Aug 29, 2011 1:00 PM PDT up reply actions

That was so last season

Last of the Ninth - Photography

by Flashfire on Aug 29, 2011 3:49 PM PDT up reply actions

TWSS

"Trying not to rec a "F**k the Giants" post is like trying not to look at boobs."

by Tutu-late on Aug 29, 2011 5:58 PM PDT up reply actions

TWSLS?

by player20 on Aug 29, 2011 6:43 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions

Theres no DLD, so here's a very poorly written article about Chavez.

Click if you dare:

While the Yankees are not typically a team where free agents go to hide, once Brian Cashman showed some interest, Chavez began to realize, going to a team where the everyday third baseman makes $31 million annually might be exactly the type of change he needed.

Sorry, I just have to write this better:

While the Yankees are not the most obvious choice for a player looking to hide, Chavez realized that joining a team with a massive payroll on a smaller deal would actually be better for him in terms of keeping expectations low….a far cry from the pressure of being the franchise player in Oakland.

The writer also makes a point to say the A’s are low budget then says the $1.5M Chavez signed for is akin to “spare change in the Yankees couch cushions.” Uh, the A’s gave the same deal to Rich Harden this year, $1.5M is spare change in any teams couch cushions.

Ouch. Jeff Bradley needs to step his writing game up. It took me 3 tries to read that paragraph I quoted, the commas were really flow constricting. I wish FJM was still around to call out poor writing like this.

(Sorry for nerding out on writing stuff, I’m stuck inside and am bored waiting for this hurricane to hit!)

by PL78 on Aug 28, 2011 7:26 AM PDT reply actions

meh. your rewrite changes the meaning (which i’m pretty sure you did knowingly to put your twist on it—no problem there as long as you realize you’re twisting into your meaning, not clarifying the sentence’s original meaning). but if you just wanted to clear up the sentence itself, all you’d have to do is get rid of the “starting to” (definitely a rookie mistake i have my eyes on) and delete the one superfluous comma after realize (there’s no need to close that clause, as it’s the actual subject-verb-DO part of the sentence). otherwise, this sentence is perfectly OK.

while the yankees are not typically a team where free agents go to hide, once brian cashman showed some interest, chavez realized going to a team where the everyday third baseman makes $31 million annually might be exactly the type of change he needed.

by AV on Aug 28, 2011 10:43 AM PDT up reply actions

Hi, I love you.

Yes, I changed the meaning because the other one was too biased toward NY. My re-write makes more sense, nationally speaking.

Your rewrite is spot on though, that extra comma made reading that so awkward but hey, I don’t get paid to write about baseball and he does, so he deserves criticism.

by PL78 on Aug 28, 2011 10:51 AM PDT up reply actions

Just droppin' by to say "howdy"

Lately, every time I watch this team, it doesn’t go well. Case in point: the last game of the Yankee series. I missed the first two. Turned on the final game. Left to teach a class when the A’s had a big lead. Y’all know the rest.

Hoping that if I return to the game threads a bit my luck will change. Or maybe it’s not me, just this club….

There is no "i" in Teamocil. At least not where you'd think.

by GreenNGoldSooner on Aug 28, 2011 8:56 AM PDT reply actions

No, it's you.

The team is fine if you would just get your act together.

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 Aug 28, 2011 9:08 AM PDT up reply actions