Wait 'Til Next Year
It is official. The A's are now 16 1/2 games behind the Rangers with just 16 games remaining on the schedule. We are done - wait until next year is now official.
Today's game was close 0-0 until the fifth inning. In the fifth inning, MLB.tv's operators finally became convinced that my computer was not in Stockton but rather in Riverside and I got to see that tie broken. A leadoff triple to Craig Gentry followed by an Ian Kinsler single made it 1-0. A Josh Hamilton sac fly scored Kinsler who had made it to third. Before Michael Young singled and Adrian Beltre homered to make it 4-0. Worried in the bottom of the seventh that this game might be close, the A's left Andrew Carignan out for a second inning of work during which he surrendered the second home run of the day to Beltre, before the Rangers would tack on two more runs. In the eighth A's Craig Breslow would allow another run to cross the plate in case there was any concern the A's might mount a seven run comeback.
With it 8-0 Rangers, the A's offense finally perked up as #3 hitter (he had replaced former #3 hitter Cliff Pennington) Eric Sogard created his own hole in the ozone layer with a moonshot to right. A's finish losers 8-1 ultimately C.J. Wilson who K'd 11 A's (who inexplicably failed to strike out Jai Miller two times) won the game for Texas. He pitched a heck of a game, and I hate him for it.
A's season is officially done. What do you want to see in the next 16 games?
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I want to see Taylor, Allen and Carter get 4 ABs a night
At this point it won’t hurt to find out whether they’re worth trying to build on.
MexicAN AmericAN VegAN
yep
play the young guys to get a better sense of their roles for next year
When we played softball, I’d steal second base, feel guilty and go back.
- Woody Allen
by rhymeswithelephant on Sep 11, 2011 3:46 PM PDT up reply actions
Sigh.
i made a joke at the start of this year that i was gonna become a Pirates fan.
Then for a while they were actually good… (Pittsburgh i mean) and it was the most baseball attention i have received from my buddies for a LONG time.
i was really disappointed with the results of this season. i am not FROM Oakland- have never BEEN to Oakland.
But i have been a fan for over twenty years.
This was the single-most massive gap between expectations and results in those twenty -plus years of fandom.
i would NEVER give up on this team, but holy shit this year fell short of my expectations.
And in all honesty- i don’t see a fuck of a lot to be optimistic about in the not-too-distant future.
Sigh.
"The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste" -Al Jourgensen
Hopefully, the A's can forget about this one, and they light up Píñéírõ tomorrow.
by player20 on Sep 11, 2011 4:04 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
Yeah, well- HOPE is not a plan.
And all i see for the future is HOPE.
i don’t know what to think as an A’s fan- what i see is a franchise with no hope without a little help from our friends- why the fuck doesn’t MLB step in and give the A’s San Jose back?
This is bullshit.
i live in Canada and i look at what AA has done for the BJ’s in like ONE YEAR and i am thinking WTF? How do the A’s be in a “rebuilding phase” for like the past five years and this AA guy swoops in and does it all in six months???
i look at the Jays and get pissed off that OAKLAND hasn’t done this.
This season was BULLSHIT.
That is all. Sorry.
p
"The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste" -Al Jourgensen
I understand your frustration, Easy. All I can do IS have hope, since I sure as hell don't have a plan.
We can all agree on one thing: The season was major bull.
by player20 on Sep 11, 2011 8:16 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
Barton turned out to be hurt. Kouz had problems early on.
Ellis got hurt and lost his bat. Suzuki lost his arm. Geren was a dope. Fuentes got lit up. Injuries to Bailey, Anderson, Ross, Braden. 10 game losing streak. It never ended with this team. Considering all this, it’s surprising that we have kept most of the scores respectable.
by player20 on Sep 11, 2011 8:32 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
There is nothing to be optimistic for.
"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
Play the youngsters!
I cannot agree more about playing our young players. It is more important to see our bright future than to see more of our regrettable past. Besides youngsters, please let
Sweeney play. I really think he could be a great hitter. He should be allowed to play against LH pitching. He will be very valuable player in our resurgance in AL West.
Swingles?
"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
imo
he lacks a killer instinct and the will to win; he’s just happy to be collecting a paycheck. And becuase of this, he will always be a 4th OF.
Re-sign Josh Willingham now!
by sf drift king on Sep 12, 2011 4:02 PM PDT up reply actions
Thank you. I agree with the killer instinct assessment.
4th OF
by player20 on Sep 12, 2011 4:22 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
A Scotsman on a horse.
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
What do I want to see?
the movie Moneyball.
oh, and Carter.
I’ve been overwhelmed and I’ve been underwhelmed. Can I ever just be whelmed?
What about Recker?
Can anybody tell me how Recker is doing? I was happy when he got drafted in 05. He is a local guy here and its good to see he got his chance to be called up but I only saw that (pathetic) Yankees game. Reading batting stats can only tell so much. How is the defense for him?
Not so great
He made a “shouldn’t have thrown it” throw into CF today, hasn’t impressed me with any throws yet, and has looked (to me) so-so saving potential WPs. That being said, I think I’ve only seen him play 3-4 times, so who knows.
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
They ran on him like a 80's one-hit wonder today, but those could have been on the pitcher. I defer to an experts' opinion in the SB situation today.
by player20 on Sep 11, 2011 8:05 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
from the many games I've watched this season
it seems that most of the A’s pitchers haven’t been very good at holding runners close to 1st base.
agreed many of the steals there is no chance to even make a throw.
by Billy Frijoles on Sep 12, 2011 10:21 AM PDT up reply actions
And that seemed to be true
for the one Reddick threw into CF. It was Napoli running and he had no chance of getting him which seems pretty bad. That said, I don’t think Recker has been very good defensively either.
by longtimeasfan on Sep 12, 2011 10:44 AM PDT up reply actions
yeah he probably should have just held the ball but it is hard to blame a kid for trying to make a play.
you can blame him for making a bad throw though.
by Billy Frijoles on Sep 12, 2011 10:47 AM PDT up reply actions
he should concentrate on tennis
We yet enjoy little to be envied, but endure much to be pitied.-Thomas Dudley
Recker sucks.
"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
I'd like to see our lovely team not suck so much next year.
In the meantime, start auditioning new blood as much as possible, in spite of the unwritten rule not to roll over while there are pennant races going on.
hell, let sogard hit cleanup in between cookie stints in his tree.
bat penny 11th.
do something different. anything.
I don't want to see the next 16 games....
My hobbies include golf, wearing polo shirts and changing my name on AN.
I want to A's players form into several small groups
And forced to compete against each other in a round the world race. They will only be allowed to use machinery what runs on steam power, and materials no stronger than leather and iron. It will be wits and brawn put to the ultimate test – to track and catch the nefarious Professor Selig; the evil cad who has stolen Princess Kara from her Hot Corner.
Can they use the power of advanced statistical analysis to overcome ferocious Tigers, hell-bent Angels and mound-hatin’ Rangers? Who knows? Tune in over the next three weeks to find out.
"A great catch is like watching girls go by, the last one you see is always the prettiest." - Bob Gibson
by Tess D'Emeryville on Sep 11, 2011 9:13 PM PDT reply actions 3 recs
Don't play the fre agents except willingham
A waste to keep playing DeJesus, Crisp, and Matsui. Its time for Carter, Miller, Sogard, Cardenas, and Carter.
I doubt we'll see Crisp again this season.
His foot or ankle (or both) is sore enough that he has to hobble around the clubhouse in a walking boot.
That's kill our draft position. I'd rather lost 16 in a row at this point.
"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
Holy fuck balls that's a poorly typed sentence.
"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
nope
the second sentence is OK, just the first that’s borked.
by MobiusKlein on Sep 12, 2011 11:58 AM PDT up reply actions
I don't like the second sentence either
We yet enjoy little to be envied, but endure much to be pitied.-Thomas Dudley
I'd rather lost 16 in a row at this point?
Nope, not ok… He is talking about the next 16 games…
by Billy Frijoles on Sep 12, 2011 12:23 PM PDT up reply actions
but what’s really funny here is that i really truly didn’t mean to put typos in my own sentence… new mnemonic for my benefit: coffee before snark, what a lark! snark before coffee, pretty gaffey…
It's funny when kids create Twitter accounts for people that don't even exist and try to get others to believe they're joining the A's
http://twitter.com/JZimmAthletics
Could the photoshop job on that pic be any more fake? It’s just a shame he actually got McCarthy to wonder if he’s real.
Last of the Ninth - Photography
We shall all pelt this kid with invectives
by jeffro on Sep 12, 2011 4:46 AM PDT via mobile up reply actions
Sadly the upside for next year is only marginally better than this year...
It’s time for fresh blood in the front office.
I'll buy the former,
but not the latter.
Re-sign Josh Willingham now!
by sf drift king on Sep 12, 2011 3:59 PM PDT up reply actions
I would like for Melvin (he better get signed) gets a chance to see who he might have for 2012
(Of course, I want to see the A’s win all the games. I always want them to win.)
Skip the A's for a week ... Let's watch the Rivercats
Congratulations to Sacramento. The A’s top minor league team came from down two games to take the next three from Reno and advance to the PCL championship series against Omaha. The five game or first to win three series starts tomorrow. Green called up for the playoffs from Midland has been on a major hitting streak, batting over .500 in the games against Reno. Go Rivercats!
From MLBTR Crisp is the last type B, Matsui is way out of type B, and DeJesus looks to be a solid type B, and Willingham is a borderline type A
Coco is injured so he will not make type B. So no point in playing him at all or trying to play him. So I say play Jai Miller the majority of time in CF for the rest of the year, we know what we’re getting out of Sweeney and Sweeney will almost certainly be back next year.
Willingham should keep playing, either DH or LF. We need to secure his type A status.
Matsui doesn’t need to play. He is not part of the future and his season has been a disappointment this season anyways. Play him in the last series if you want as this might be the end to a storied career.
DeJesus should play here and there to make sure he keeps his status, maybe half the games.
I think Taylor in RF/LF, Willingham DH/LF, Carter DH/1B, Allen 1B, Miller CF, DeJesus RF/LF, there seem to be enough ABs to go around here for the young’uns.
I think Sogard should be getting looks at SS and 3B pretty consistently to see how he can field those positions. Weeks needs to of course continue to play every day at 2B. I know Carter’s first stint at 1B was abysmal but Allen isn’t hitting right now and I wouldn’t mind giving Carter a couple more looks at 1B in the middle of a meaningless stretch of games.
by Billy Frijoles on Sep 12, 2011 10:39 AM PDT reply actions
I'm for the following...
Play Carter/Taylor/Allen/Miller the rest of the way and see what we’ve got.
Play Sogard at 3B the rest of the way to see if he’s an option over there. We know who Sizemore is.
What you said with DeJesus
What you said with Hammer
If we can’t sign Willingham in the offseason, sign Matsui for one more year. I don’t like having quite so many unprovens in the lineup next year, and Matsui’s 2nd half was tolerable.
I'd rather see Jermaine Mitchell than see Jai Miller
I think Mitchell still has a shot at being a “good late bloomer,” while I suspect Miller is just a strikeout machine who hits well when he’s old for his league.
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
You guys were right about J(eye) Miller
his ABs did not look good at all. He’s as you guys predicted a strickout machine, and nothing more.
Re-sign Josh Willingham now!
by sf drift king on Sep 12, 2011 3:50 PM PDT up reply actions
yeah this is true, I'd like to second Nico's comment, would rather see Mitchell than Miller.
by Billy Frijoles on Sep 12, 2011 5:18 PM PDT up reply actions
I think Mitch Miller is a little old to be a Prospect

We yet enjoy little to be envied, but endure much to be pitied.-Thomas Dudley
the best thing about the end of the season
is that this will be the last time I’ll see Matsui in an A’s uni.
Re-sign Josh Willingham now!
by sf drift king on Sep 12, 2011 3:56 PM PDT up reply actions
Hey the A's may be done...
But their AAA team just completed an amazing comeback in the first round of the playoffs. They were down 0-2 to the Reno Aces and came back in dramatic fashion to win the series 3 games to 2. Capping it with an absolute shellacking yesterday afternoon with a 13-2 win. Now they move on to the PCL championship series against Omaha.
Landon Powell and Jai Miller
OK, I was out of the loop this weekend as usual. What’s up with Landon and Jai being brought up. There’s still one more round of playoffs for the Sacramento team, right? So if this isn’t routine meaningless September callups, were these guys needed in Oakland for some reason? Did Recker not work out? Are we short an outfielder?
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
Beat the slegnA
so they do not make playoffs.
And put a decent lineup out there so we have a chance.
Please no DDJ
A decent lineup would not include DDJ. We need to look at the future not a .238 sordid
past.
tonight's starting lineup just announced
according to @susanslusser:
Weeks 2b, Pennington ss, Matsui DH, Willingham lf, DeJesus rf, Sweeney cf, Suzuki c, Allen 1b, Sizemore 3b
except for Coco (injured) it looks like the pre-September callups lineup.
Great. We're already making Taylor a platoon player
when he could be helping Sacramento in the playoffs.
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 makes you wonder if we had
5 Aces and 9 hitters who were the best in baseball, the A’s would still fail and fuck it up
Hate DeJesus
Bad trade just gets worst. They better not offer him arbitration because he would be lucky to get any offer over 3 million next year.
Yeah, seriously.
“Good trade just gets worse,” maybe.
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 then Green wouldn't be playing probably
Honestly I’d rather make sure Green has playing time over Taylor.
I can't believe I'm asking this question,
what’s Daric Barton’s status? Has he had surgery yet and will he be healthy by ST 2012?
Re-sign Josh Willingham now!
I believe the correct answers are "yes" and "probably"
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
Shocking news from Rotowire
Andrew Bailey was hit in the face by a Kurt Suzuki line drive during batting practice on Monday, but he appears to be fine.
That’s right, Kurt Suzuki hit a line drive! Kurt Suzuki!
"Some of us know him as the a-hole who piled into Ray Fosse in an All-Star game (it's why Ray is the way he is folks)" - OptimistPrime
Bailey's giving up hits to Suzuki? He must be injured (speculation: labrum)
I hope Bailey will be all right.
by player20 on Sep 12, 2011 6:23 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
oh that’s a different story. i was wondering how bailey could be as OK as he’s reported to be if he’d taken a ball in the temple from 60 feet. this makes more sense. still painful though!
by AV on Sep 13, 2011 1:16 PM PDT up reply actions





























