(drops head) I feel defeated. I know there are plenty of teams in MLB right now that would gladly trade places with the A's, even with the current struggles, but man, are A's games getting harder and hard to watch these days. Staked to a 3-0 lead, all Dan Straily had to do is stop walking batters to keep the A's in front, and instead, he gives up a 6 spot to the Orioles. And then the A's--they show a bit of grit, pluckiness and resilience--they come all the way back to take the lead, where it is Cook's turn to suck, and give up three runs. Yes, one was on an error by Sogard, and one was technically Chavez' run, but I call 'em like I see 'em. The A's scored SEVEN runs and lost. How are they ever supposed to win again?
Coco Crisp had a great day at the plate, going 4-5. This offense is night-and-day different when Coco is successful in the leadoff spot, and I hope that continues the rest of the season. It's too damn bad he can't pitch. He singled to lead off the game, was sacrificed to second by Lowrie (yes, I don't know either), and Moss singled him in for the A's first run. Off the second baseman, but who cared at the time? The A's had the lead! They would hit 2 home runs in the third, off the bats of Crisp and Moss to stake Straily to a 3-0 lead. Keep in mind, that although Straily had walked 2, he had not yet given up a hit as he entered the fourth. Then, this happened: 4-pitch walk (REALLY!?), 2-run home run, single, walk, strikeout, single, grand slam. And just like that, the A's were down 6-3.
That's not the whole story though. They actually came back! They stormed the castle, rescued the princess, and staked their bullpen to a 7-6 lead, almost immediately! Coco singled, Lowrie doubled him home, Donaldson doubled him home, and Brandon Moss was unlucky enough to smoke the ball...right into a double play. Undeterred, Cespedes walked, Smith singled (and beat the shift), Callaspo walked to load the bases, and Sogard singled in two runs to reclaim the lead. I don't care WHAT it takes, the A's had to hold that lead.
They did not. After nearly three innings of shutout ball (CHAVEZ FOR STARTER OVER STRAILY!), Chavez walked the leadoff batter in the seventh and was replaced by Cook. A single put runners on 1st and 3rd and the run scored on an error. A groundout scored the second run, and back-to-back singled scored the third, putting the A's in a 9-7 hole from which they did not emerge.
At least the A's scored 7. At least their offense looked like a major league club, but they look anything but a playoff team right now. And it could literally change any day, but one day they will run out of chances, so that day would probably be best served to happen soon.
We do this all over tomorrow! 1:05 start time, MLB still lists Milone, but we've heard it will be Parker. I think Bob Melvin wants to win tomorrow.