May Day

by Tyler Bleszinski on May 1, 2006 10:12 PM PDT in News

Celebrate May day, AN. It must be May because Barry Zito decided to leave April Barry behind. At least for one night.

For all the criticism Zito's received both on this site and elsewhere, the guy came up absolutely huge tonight. The A's really needed a great performance from Zito because the offense couldn't hit Hector Carrasco. The A's needed to have the Zito of old tonight to help the bullpen because while Halsey has been brilliant thus far out of the pen, who knows what to expect tomorrow when he makes the start.

Bobby Crosby came through with the one big hit and Swisher thankfully remained hot enough to score the one run. But this offense is just performing ridiculously poorly right now. Thankfully, the Angels offense has almost been as bad.

Kiko Calero deserves some huge props for getting Vlad out in the key situation in the eighth leaving Duke to close it out for the A's.

While the A's won a huge game today and Zito gave Oakland a performance they absolutely needed, remember that the A's won the first game in May last season too. And we all know what happened after that. As a matter of fact, it's the topic of my most recent column at FSNBayArea.com.

It's May and hopefully this start will help Zito springboard to something much better in the coming months. The A's and the Angels played another one-run game and the season series is now tied 2-2. Some things never change.

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I would have killed for tickets to tonights game

I live in Angel territory...walked to the store in A's hat and jersey...people where giving me funny looks ...I love it!

I love the smell of the East Bay in the morning!

by Amnesiac727 on May 1, 2006 10:15 PM PDT reply actions

yea i was

visiting family in santa ana last summer which is like right next door.. and of course i was sporting my A's gear... they gave me dirty looks too..

"A lot of teams don't like our crowds, and that's good for us. I love that other teams find them unnerving." -Bobby Crosby

by TrizzleNizzle510 on May 1, 2006 10:24 PM PDT up reply actions

You're right.

Tonight's win was huge for Zito. I am happy for him... I don't like to be a downer after such a great game but I was very disappointed in the A's hitting tonight. It would have been wonderful to see us click on pitching and click on hitting too.

But no worry, tonight is happy time.

by IM4Oakgal on May 1, 2006 10:17 PM PDT reply actions

Well, that's valid, since there were only 4 hits..

Damn! Street is so imposing, he even causes the earth itself to freeze in fear! - monkeyball

by Jjjsixsix on May 1, 2006 10:24 PM PDT up reply actions

I'm really happy right now

Zito REALLY needed that...for himself and for the team. Just what the doctor ordered.

The A's won this game...so I'm not even going to mention how they should have had more hits off Carrasco...

by Alien @ Athletics Nation on May 1, 2006 10:18 PM PDT reply actions

Lineup tomorrow

I mentioned this in the game thread, but anybody care to speculate on our lineup tomorrow. Day game after a night game. Big Frank on base three times tonight, and Kotsay who already was having a cranky back slammed into the wall in the 9th.

Kielty in RF for sure and JayPay in center. Ellis probably back in the lineup at 2nd. But who's your choice for DH? Perez? Scutaro? A magically healed Milton Bradley?

Is there a doctor in the house?

by LoveDemAs on May 1, 2006 10:19 PM PDT reply actions

Chavvy DH

and Perez at 3B. We might see Scoot in LF <barf>

Can intangibles exist? Only the ones you can touch.

by salb918 on May 1, 2006 10:23 PM PDT up reply actions

Definitely agree

on Chavy for DH and Perez at 3B. But I think Scutaro doesn't start. Outfield is Kielty, Payton, Swish. Frank Thomas is available for one pinch-hit if the situation calls for it, and then Scoot immediately replaces him either on the bases or defensively.

What I'm wondering is whether Melhuse will catch Halsey.

Also, with so many bats out, does Swish get his first shot at the #3 slot? Maybe something like

Ellis
Crosby
Swish
Chavez
Payton
Kendall
Johnson
Kielty
Perez

by iglew on May 1, 2006 10:34 PM PDT up reply actions

Whoops!

Forgot that Swish could play outfield. Your arrangement makes sense.

Can intangibles exist? Only the ones you can touch.

by salb918 on May 1, 2006 10:40 PM PDT up reply actions

I forgot about poor Melhuse

He's probably the only person really upset that Loaiza is on the DL.

Golly Gee Whiz - Swisher for President in '08.

by TurnTwo on May 2, 2006 5:26 AM PDT up reply actions

Oh no! :-(

Poor critter. I cry for Adam. I'm assuming Mach will give him Saarloos or Halsey. Hopefully.

"This must be heaven," he says.
"No. It's Oakland."

by Kyli on May 2, 2006 6:15 AM PDT up reply actions

honestly, I'll be VERY surprised if Macha doesn't

I don't think there was anything Loaiza-specific to the assignment of Melhuse to catch him; it seems it was definitely more of a conscious play-Adam-more move.

Patterns are their confidence. @('.')@

by monkeyball on May 2, 2006 10:11 AM PDT up reply actions

veteran

Macha wants Kendall catching the kids, so Melhuse got paired up with Loaiza by default, since Loaiza is a veteran.

"Teixeira just missed it enough..." ~Vince Controneo, 4/24/06

by rich @ Athletics Nation on May 2, 2006 10:25 AM PDT up reply actions

good point

What's the verdict on Halsey, then: oldish yet inexperienced, or "new veteran"?

Patterns are their confidence. @('.')@

by monkeyball on May 2, 2006 10:39 AM PDT up reply actions

Going by that logic

I'd pair Melhuse with Zito - the grizzled veteran of the starting rotation.

"No matter what I talk about, I always get back to baseball." -- Connie Mack

by GreenSocks on May 2, 2006 11:49 AM PDT up reply actions

looks reasonable

But I'm expecting Melhuse as well.

(And while I'm not the biggest lineup-sequence geek in the world, but I don't think we'll be seeing Cros batting 2nd.)

Patterns are their confidence. @('.')@

by monkeyball on May 2, 2006 10:13 AM PDT up reply actions

You're expecting Melhuse?

Maybe McFood can be your postpartum roommate!

I just gave birth to twins!!! JayPay and Joe K. are the fathers!!!! ~~ McFood

by Poppy on May 2, 2006 10:21 AM PDT up reply actions

can i breathe now?

by gotgreen on May 1, 2006 10:19 PM PDT reply actions

No.

No breathing allowed from April to October. And in May, you don't even get to be on life support.

by whiteshoes40 on May 1, 2006 10:22 PM PDT up reply actions

Just to make sure I get voted AN most...

unpopular... I will mention that I think Macha managed perfectly tonight. Great use and decisions regarding the pen.

by IM4Oakgal on May 1, 2006 10:24 PM PDT reply actions

tut, tut

I was one of Macha's harshest critics the last couple years, but I've been singing his praises since the first week this year. He's been doing a fantastic job (a couple contentious decisions aside).

Patterns are their confidence. @('.')@

by monkeyball on May 2, 2006 9:59 AM PDT up reply actions

Zito stats since that first start:

5 starts
33.2 IP
21 H
11 Runs Allowed
12 BBs
24 K
2.94 ERA

So that first start is still inflating his ERA by 1.7 Runs per 9.

by jakarta on May 1, 2006 10:24 PM PDT reply actions

that's what the TB start did last year

Games count... but the pattern is pretty clear. He's gonna have one blowout start the first week, and then settle down.

Offense scored 13 on Sunday-- let's see if they bounce back today.

oaktoon

by oaktoon on May 2, 2006 6:11 AM PDT up reply actions

Arise, ye hitters from your slumbers

We'll change forthwith the old conditions
And spurn the dust to win the prize!

Which is Internationale-speak for "someone stir up the bats!"

Defeat d'Anaheim!

by FreeSeatUpgrade on May 1, 2006 10:26 PM PDT reply actions

Reminds me of that Bach Cantata 140

"Wachet auf" or in loose singable English translation "Sleepers Awake"

"It was an incredible catch, but I didn't really like his footwork." - Ken Macha

by secret ASian man on May 1, 2006 10:56 PM PDT up reply actions

Random observations while watching SportsCenter:

Bronson Arroyo's hair gets worse every time I see him. Yeesh.
Scott Spiezio is on the Cards? How nice for them.
How are the Reds doing so well? Can we borrow (or steal) their offense?
Jim Thome looks weird in a White Sox uniform.
I just want to see the A's-Angels highlights. We've already heard about Damon's return to Bahston about 2947839 times. Enough.

by whiteshoes40 on May 1, 2006 10:27 PM PDT reply actions

That Payton catch was awesome

Shades of T.Long in Boston, but much less dramatic and spectacular. Regardless, I thought that ball was in the seats. And Kotsay? Huge.

I miss Bill King :(

by gojohn10 on May 1, 2006 10:27 PM PDT reply actions

The beauty of Payton's catch

was his utter calmness. He just darted back to that short fence and waited, as if the situation (with Angel fans right behind him and the game on the line) was perfectly normal.

And then Kotsay's catch... I guess this is what all the hype about our outfielders was about.

by bear88 on May 1, 2006 10:40 PM PDT up reply actions

No Angels fans...

A's fans behind him.... HA!

by Donner on May 2, 2006 7:54 AM PDT up reply actions

Payton's catch

According to Susan Slusser in the Chronicle today the fans behind Payton on that catch were A's fans and kept anyone from interfering with him. Good job to whoever you are.

by skwid on May 2, 2006 8:29 AM PDT up reply actions

Watching the replay several times

on my Tivo, the guy directly behind Payton put an elbow in the chest of another guy who was going after the ball with his glove raised. He must have been an A's fan!

My favorite Japanese A's player you ask? Bari Shitou!

by almostreggie on May 2, 2006 12:10 PM PDT up reply actions

River Cats free on MLB.tv

http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/app/milb/multimedia/video.jsp

Barton is up in the bottom of the ninth, tie game

I miss Bill King :(

by gojohn10 on May 1, 2006 10:30 PM PDT reply actions

great win but.......

Our offense sucks! We can't hit freakin' CarASSco? Not a good sign with Lackey coming in tomorrow. The other bad sign is that the winner of the first game of this series between these two teams traditionally loses the next two. Fortunately, this is only a 2-game series. I'd love to win tomorrow, but I'm not putting my hopes up.

One of these days, I wish we could just shallack this team 12 to zilch! Just one time, dammit!!!!

Blaming the A's for my increasingly receding hairline.

"i hate monkeys"

by BruceBochteBiyatches on May 1, 2006 10:30 PM PDT reply actions

See you at the game tomorrow

I'll be the guy wearing a's gear and standing under the big hats waiting for my angel fan buddy to show up.

by waltweissforever on May 1, 2006 10:33 PM PDT reply actions

Glad I was out for the last

6 innings! Would have taken its toll with stress and the season is long! Sports center just showed a few clips of our game...maybe more with BBtonight.

the great playoff miss of 2004 followed by the good try of 2005 But will 2006 do the trix?

by ak_A on May 1, 2006 10:35 PM PDT reply actions

Apparently, Crosby's nickname is "Bones"

http://oakland.athletics.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060501&content_id=1428137& ;vkey=news_oak&fext=.jsp&c_id=oak

It's Lehmer's Concord Pontiac GMC Broadcast booth!

by OaktownRajah on May 1, 2006 10:44 PM PDT reply actions

cute...

he jinxed himself..

"A lot of teams don't like our crowds, and that's good for us. I love that other teams find them unnerving." -Bobby Crosby

by TrizzleNizzle510 on May 1, 2006 10:50 PM PDT up reply actions

Bones's Girl??

Um, k... If that's how he wants it, I guess I can do that.

"Now, I'm not the guy who's in trouble, it's the guy on the mound who's in trouble.'' Swisher Pics

by BobbyCrosbysGirl on May 1, 2006 11:12 PM PDT up reply actions

Dammit, Jim, I'm a doctor, not a shortstop!

Patterns are their confidence. @('.')@

by monkeyball on May 2, 2006 10:01 AM PDT up reply actions

The problem is, our shortstop always seems

to need a doctor.

by theblackpearl on May 2, 2006 10:21 AM PDT up reply actions

2002 hair cut

and a 2002 like start for Barry Zito. Maybe Mr.Zito is like the opposite of Samsun and when his hair is too Rockin, he loses his stregth and the pop on his curve. Now I have been working alot, so im not sure when Zito first cut the rocker hair, this game tonight reminded me of 2002 era Cy Young Zito. maybe it was just the short cut that he used to rock during those glory days, but maybe now that he is Rockin the hella short cut again, he will pitch with the devastation prowess that he did during that historic 2002 season... and also mad props to Swisher for almost tyeing the record for home runs hit by an Oakland Athletic in the month of may (Mcguire 11, 1997) Nick Hit 10 Home Runs in April to start the 2006 season, keep it up Nick!!!!(Holy Teledo!!!)

Bring back the Bash! Bring back the Mustache! Go A's in 2006!!!

Death To The Angels!!

by Shippee33 on May 1, 2006 10:50 PM PDT reply actions

Blez! Seriously!

You really have a way of saying "Life is great! Things are fabulous! Oh wait, here is a swift kick to the shins!"

I thought tonight was a great game. A bit on the stressful side, but a great game. Zito really stepped it up and showed us what he is made of. Great timing considering the current state of our pitching staff.

Even though the offense was asleep, Other than my boy of course, I never really expect the offense to do much against the Angels.

So tonight really made me happy, once my heart started again!

"Now, I'm not the guy who's in trouble, it's the guy on the mound who's in trouble.'' Swisher Pics

by BobbyCrosbysGirl on May 1, 2006 11:07 PM PDT reply actions

yea i think 5th spot suits hims....

too bad about that line drive to short though...

Bring back the Bash! Bring back the Mustache! Go A's in 2006!!!

Death To The Angels!!

by Shippee33 on May 1, 2006 11:13 PM PDT up reply actions

I think we can forgive him for the error

considering he drove in the ONLY run tonight!

"Now, I'm not the guy who's in trouble, it's the guy on the mound who's in trouble.'' Swisher Pics

by BobbyCrosbysGirl on May 1, 2006 11:14 PM PDT up reply actions

yea

I just hope he can stay off the D.L for the greater part of the season...

Bring back the Bash! Bring back the Mustache! Go A's in 2006!!!

Death To The Angels!!

by Shippee33 on May 1, 2006 11:19 PM PDT up reply actions

Well

If the A's beat Carrasco and the Halos 13-0 tonight, I would've been all sunshine and roses. But they didn't, so the offense is concerning me. I love the Zito performance, but the A's absolutely need more offense ;-)

by Tyler Bleszinski on May 1, 2006 11:21 PM PDT up reply actions

So much happening here

I mean, WHAT is that A's fan doing???

"Did we save 15% on our shortstop insurance?" FormerHuntsvilleStar

by eamb on May 1, 2006 11:27 PM PDT reply actions

Slusser's article in Tuesday's Chron

"I turned around and there were a couple of Oakland fans there,'' Payton said. "It worked out well, they kept the other fans away.''

"When you see a wall that low (4 feet), interference is always a possibility,'' Zito said, "but there were some A's fans there and that was great for us. There were some A's chants out there, I've never heard that here before.''

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/05/02/AS.TMP

Go A's fans!

by Rickeyfan on May 1, 2006 11:29 PM PDT up reply actions

That is absolutely awesome.

Awwww. A's fans, protecting their boys. :-)

Apparently Zito hasn't paid attention... seems like every year there's a game or two where A's chants are clearly heard in Anaheim! Always warms my heart.

"This must be heaven," he says.
"No. It's Oakland."

by Kyli on May 1, 2006 11:51 PM PDT up reply actions

I'm I the only person who thinks that picture

shows otherwise.

Frank Thomas is big.

by robber23 on May 2, 2006 12:57 AM PDT up reply actions

Watch the video replay at mlb.com

'Payton robs Anderson'

It's clear that the guy in white shirt set a beautiful pick on the Angels fan in the red cap.

"Meanwhile, Kirk Gibson's a coach with Detroit and I'm in the Hall of Fame.'" - Dennis Eckersley

by El Payo on May 2, 2006 8:33 AM PDT up reply actions

it looks like

he's holding a capri sun or something and he got really excited that he squeezed it really hard, thinking he might catch the ball. either that, or his cell phone is projectile lactating again...

great find eamb.

By Postmaster Poppy's orders, <<SIGLINE RETURNED TO SENDER>>
My Blog.

by rungood on May 2, 2006 1:11 AM PDT up reply actions

I tbhink that's actually ...

... a curved structural element some distance behind him, that's lined up fortuitously with the top of his cell phone. If it was indeed some ejaculate coming out of his cell phone, it would be going in front of his big yellow foam novelty hat, not behind it.

Patterns are their confidence. @('.')@

by monkeyball on May 2, 2006 10:40 AM PDT up reply actions

batting cage

by Jennifer on May 2, 2006 10:41 AM PDT up reply actions

I think it's the battting cage, actually

oaktoon

by oaktoon on May 2, 2006 10:42 AM PDT up reply actions

on second thought ...

... maybe it's the batting cage!

Patterns are their confidence. @('.')@

by monkeyball on May 2, 2006 10:57 AM PDT up reply actions

Maybe the St. Louis Arch?

by Jennifer on May 2, 2006 10:59 AM PDT up reply actions

Back spasms?

"We're pretty damn good". -- Jason Kendall, January 28, 2006.

by Englishmajor on May 2, 2006 11:21 AM PDT up reply actions

whatever he's doing...

his glove is four feet away from Payton and the ball. So what's the fuss?? Maybe he's pretending to try to catch the ball to dupe the other side into thinking he wasn't really protecting JayPay.

oaktoon

by oaktoon on May 2, 2006 6:14 AM PDT up reply actions

Jay Pay

Gotta love him... New sig time :)

"I turned around and saw there were a couple of Oakland fans...I think they might have held the other fans off."Jay Pay

by 510inDenver on May 2, 2006 8:27 AM PDT up reply actions

Woo!

As fans, we definitely needed this game.

As pitchers, the guys definitely needed this game. Zito let most of the 'pen rest, going deep to show that the recent starter problems don't mean a thing. With Halsey going tomorrow, it's quite nice.

And Bobby Crosby getting that hit makes me forgive him for the error.

The offense should have done FAR better against that kid than they managed, which is worrysome, but the win occurred and that's what counts.

Besides, the team is just so in love with 1-run games, why not one more?

"This must be heaven," he says.
"No. It's Oakland."

by Kyli on May 1, 2006 11:56 PM PDT reply actions

Kid?

Last night's Angels starter, Hector Carrasco is 35. Just saying.

by Aaron C on May 2, 2006 12:00 PM PDT up reply actions

FITZ kicking in...

Just in time too.

"Meanwhile, Kirk Gibson's a coach with Detroit and I'm in the Hall of Fame.'" - Dennis Eckersley

by El Payo on May 1, 2006 11:56 PM PDT reply actions

I was at the game...

In right field, in foul territory near the foul pole.
It was sweet to join in the Let's Go Oakland chants...
Very exciting game and yeah, the offense is anemic right now, but a W is a W.
I can't recall who, but someone posted a prediction and called back to back shutouts on one of the threads...looking good.

"I got skillz" - Tim Hardaway

by Erik being Erik on May 2, 2006 12:13 AM PDT reply actions

The Rev is all-wise.

From his wrap-up;

"This was not a bad loss at all. This in fact may have been our best loss of the season.

We outhit the A's, with Barry Z. dealing. Meanwhile Oakland hardly did anything against Carrasco and Esteban Yan - think of how pathetic that is.

They are the team running on fumes, we are the team putting the pieces together."

Scarlet colored lens do wonders I suppose

"ET TU, DAMON?" 4/4

by FireballerHARDEN on May 2, 2006 12:17 AM PDT reply actions

Whatever problems we have

The Angels have them tenfold. Their offense is more anemic than ours (if that's possible) and while many of our big hitters have underachieved big time, I think you're seeing expected performances from the Angel hitters.

Their rotation is supsect, or at least as much as ours. Though their bullpen looked really solid tonight.

If I were them, I wouldn't be tooting my own horn. Whereas I'm pretty sure we'll turn it around and soon, the Angels look an awful lot like a .500 team to me.

by Crosbino on May 2, 2006 12:21 AM PDT up reply actions

And how much

are they paying that offense?

by gimpy989 on May 2, 2006 8:25 AM PDT up reply actions

Outhit?

double, walk, single = run

single, out, out, out
out, single, out, out
etc. = no run
= NOT outhitting anybody

CONGRATULATIONS on your singles, guys.

Oh, and on being "close" too. That must be nice.

by gimpy989 on May 2, 2006 8:50 AM PDT up reply actions

One Vlad away...

from being the Royals.

"If you're surprised by getting the job done, that means you didn't expect it out of yourself." -Huston Street

by ohtobe21likehuston on May 2, 2006 10:22 AM PDT up reply actions

I was there, baby!

Yeah, the offense sucked, though when you're actually there, you don't seem to notice. You get all caught up in the tension of a 1-0 game.

Nothing sweeter in all the world than watching a stadium full of Angel fans get excited for a long fly ball, only to see it fall harmlessly into an outfielder's glove.

That ball Vlad hit in the 8th SOUNDED like a hit to the crowd (and to me) and Anderson's shot sure looked gone when it left the bat. Ah, but the beauty of hindsight. Those stupid, gullible Angel fans ...

by Crosbino on May 2, 2006 12:18 AM PDT reply actions

The TV view

Anderson's hit looked like a home run, until I saw Payton appearing to have a bead on it.

Vlad missed a very hittable pitch by Calero, who hung a slider. That looked like an easy out the moment it was hit.

It sounded like there was a fair amount of pro-A's noise in Anaheim.

by bear88 on May 2, 2006 12:50 AM PDT up reply actions

Vlad's hit

May have looked catchable on TV, but live, it sure looked like a gapper.

There were quite a few A's fans at the game. Nice to see. It's a good rivalry and, at least at the stadium, there's no nastiness to it. Everyone at the stadium was extremely nice to me, even as I was decked out in A's gear. Granted, I wasn't acting like a jackass, which I'm sure some A's fans do ... but on the whole, nice environment down there for a game.

It DOES feel good to kick their asses on their own field, though ...

by Crosbino on May 2, 2006 12:54 AM PDT up reply actions

Have to agree with BearBryant

It was clear that Vlad took a huge cut and missed a hanger. I actually when he hit it I thought it was a sure dunk single (definitely not a line drive gapper). Thing is vlad is so strong that what looked like a dunk single carried out all the way to Swisher...

"Macha, Howe...whatever." --salb918

by BruceBochte on May 2, 2006 10:58 AM PDT up reply actions

Did anybody see this funny Zito quote from ESPN...

Commenting re: Jay Payton's catch...

"Whenever stuff like that happens, I just watch the outfielder," Zito said. "Jay had a bead on it, and I was just hoping that no fans interfered with him. When you see a wall out there that low, you always think about that happening. But apparently, there were some A's fans out there and they were probably ready to beat up whoever was going to try to mess it up."

You gotta love A's fans.

by joshers on May 2, 2006 2:24 AM PDT reply actions

Hell yeah. The fans got your BACK, Barry.

"This must be heaven," he says.
"No. It's Oakland."

by Kyli on May 2, 2006 6:17 AM PDT up reply actions

I want to buy that guy a beer.

It's pretty obvious in the replay that the guy in the white shirt/A's cap blocked out the dude in the Angel's cap... if he hadn't it looked like there would have been glove contact between Payton and the Angels dood.

So if anybody knows that guy, I owe him a beer.

"Meanwhile, Kirk Gibson's a coach with Detroit and I'm in the Hall of Fame.'" - Dennis Eckersley

by El Payo on May 2, 2006 8:29 AM PDT up reply actions

Totally

When I become rich and famous, that guy can handle crowd control for me anytime. Nice job, Mr. Anonymous RF A's Fan!

by LoveDemAs on May 2, 2006 10:32 AM PDT up reply actions

Well, since I'm often critical of Barry Zito...

...today I think it's only fair for me to say WHEW! Great job!

Because I love last night's Barry.

I just gave birth to twins!!! JayPay and Joe K. are the fathers!!!! ~~ McFood

by Poppy on May 2, 2006 6:31 AM PDT reply actions

we were very lucky

to win this one. Calero especially got lucky: Vlad isn't going to miss that pitch twice in a row, and I'm sure Kiko knows it. Also, in an earlier at bat against Z Vlad missed a homer by inches, and Anderson's was only short by about five feet.

Thank you, gods of baseball, for this one.

by Brian in 317 on May 2, 2006 6:39 AM PDT reply actions

VERY LUCKY

We had outstanding defense in the outfield; not to mention solid pitching.

But everyone's acting like we thoroughly cleaned the Angels clock. We didn't. They still outhit us 6 to 4.

I'll take the win, don't get me wrong; but this one very well could have gone the other way. And it would have once again been the fault of the offense

by Rob @ Athletics Nation on May 2, 2006 7:16 AM PDT up reply actions

Crosby's hit was lucky

He hit a medium hard groud ball that found a hole. He didn't look good in his other at bats. Should I be worried?

by McBain on May 2, 2006 7:32 AM PDT reply actions

yes

the great playoff miss of 2004 followed by the good try of 2005 But will 2006 do the trix?

by ak_A on May 2, 2006 8:09 AM PDT up reply actions

Crosby is reminding me of Byrnes Spaso

at bats. Both had a period when someone else was in their uniform but they always return to rather spastic, lunging at bats. They never appreciated patience and waiting for the ball.

Crosby with the bases loaded is as sure an out as there is in MLB. Batting .076 the last two years with the bases loaded
Swisher has learned more and advanced more in one year than Crosby in two plus.

by Carerra on May 2, 2006 9:04 AM PDT up reply actions

Crosby looks a LOT better this year

He's looking as if he's seeing the ball and recognizing pitches earlier, and laying off the slider away a lot mroe than he used to.

Last night, at least, when he swung and missed at the sliders, it looked like he was guessing fastball in counts when a fastball would have been a conventional pitch to call.

I'll grant that he's not going up the middle or to the right side as consistently as I'd like to see, but again that's better than last year.

He's getting there.

Patterns are their confidence. @('.')@

by monkeyball on May 2, 2006 10:05 AM PDT up reply actions

Guessing

I would say 90% of hitters always look fastball, and adjust accordingly. Problem is, Crosby hasn't adjusted in his 3 years, or he simply will never adjust...similar to E. Byrnes.

Some guys (AAAA and Career Minor Leaguers) seem to never be able to adjust. Either they can't see the "Red Dot" when it's a slider, or, they can't keep their hands back and adjust accordingly. I hope Crosby can learn to adjust to what he sees. It's very, very important to layoff of "out-of-the-zone" sliders, and fouling off good sliders "in-the-zone", and crushing "hanging sliders" over the middle of the plate.

June 19th - June 21st, 2006 ** Oakland Athletics @ Colorado Rockies ** Lets Go Oak-Land!

by Colorado Fan on May 2, 2006 10:31 AM PDT up reply actions

A big tip of the hat to Zito

I'm one of his biggest critics here, so it is only fair he be given his due. I, for one, don't think the importance of this start can be underestimated. The rotation is in disarray right now, and this start will hopefully serve to settle things down a bit. Also, it gave some rest to a bullpen that has been used more than anyone would have liked so far. Well done Barry. This was a big game outing that was Ace worthy.

by IndianaAsfan on May 2, 2006 7:55 AM PDT reply actions