Trevor Cahill really is pitching today, right? OK. The A's take a 9-game losing streak against Texas into today's nationally televised game, hoping to improve upon a ragged performance last night in which their 3 errors only began to tell the story.

Cahill goes up against Alexi Ogando who, remarkably, is facing the A's for the first time all year. Ogando's last start was skipped to give him a "mental rest" so both his arm and his complex thinking skills should be especially sharp today.

Josh Hamilton, proud (I assume) papa to his 4th child, a tattooed little girl named Stella Faith who was born yesterday (note to Stella Faith: This is your one chance to say, "Well I was born yesterday!"), is back in the lineup. And yes, that last sentence was as about as well constructed as the A's roster.

The lineups do not feature Michael Taylor, as the A's try to show the rest of the baseball world that they have no idea how to handle young hitters. Ridiculous.