When You're Going Good...

by Nico on Jun 17, 2006 11:20 PM PDT in News Comment 72 comments

When you're going good, the infield dribblers, the heavy air knocking down deep drives, they all conspire to protect you just enough. When Brad Halsey can parlay a really shaky outing into 5 scoreless innings against the league's leading offense, and when Steve Karsay can fire 2 shutout frames with the game on the line, you know you're going good. It was exciting, it was agonizing, at times it felt undeserved, but in the end it was perfect.

Except Crosby's final at-bat should have been a bunt single. The parallels between this game and the 2003 ALDS were uncanny. You had second and third and one out, with Melhuse failing to get the run home against Derek Lowe, followed by the obligatory walk (with Chavy standing in for Chris Singleton) and then...Bobby Crosby proving, definitively, that he is better than Terrance Long (who knew?). You had the A's closer, having been near perfect lately, one strike away from closing out the inning before that &*$%ing lefty ruined the plan. You had Brad Halsey proving that Steve Sparks was a poor man's Brad Halsey. And in the 17th inning, the A's finally got a measure of revenge on Derek Lowe and the many demons of 2003.

It's waaaay past my bedtime. See you tomorrow for another 17.

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I give Halsey a ton of credit

He had so many jams and just didn't give it up. You have to think that this game just makes up for a lot of the bad luck the A's had earlier in the season too.

by Tyler Bleszinski on Jun 17, 2006 11:21 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Yes

My thoughts exactly.

by indigo on Jun 17, 2006 11:28 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Halsey = insane. Wow.

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

by Kyli on Jun 17, 2006 11:44 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Halsey for MVP!!

The kid rocks. Too bad the A's couldn't pull out a win for him, with his five innings and all in long relief.

"The rain soaked patrons reveled in thier victory and the shortest man on the field stood taller than Randy Johnson." - Saint

by Melody on Jun 18, 2006 1:08 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Also Furcal/Lofton vs Street < Davis/Gibson vs

Eck and Halsey = Micah Bowie and Karsay had a secretary named Seo and Seo had a secretary named Karsay

by WaddellCanseco on Jun 17, 2006 11:23 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

LOL

Actually, Karsay did pitch the 14th inning in an A's 18-inning game, but he pitched it for the Yankees. Then he rejoined the A's and is only Seo-Seo.

by Nico on Jun 17, 2006 11:28 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

why couldn't this game have been on Extra

innings?

"I thought it was cute," Oakland's Nick Swisher said of Kotsay's blast with the petal-colored bat

by larrysgurl on Jun 17, 2006 11:26 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Oh and Grady left Pedro, er Lowe in 1 batter

too long

by WaddellCanseco on Jun 17, 2006 11:26 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

walk off in extra innings

i'm going to take all the credit for this one...

http://www.athleticsnation.com/comments/2006/6/17/122123/478/1#1

A's v Giants "is kind of like the difference between going to see the Ramones and going to see the Bee Gees. A's fans will go see the Ramones." -BB 07/27/05

by xbhaskarx on Jun 17, 2006 11:26 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

<yawn>

Well, that was a long night. I don't know how many times I yelled at the TV for them to SCORE A RUN-- but I'm sure you were all doing that as well. Hooray for a win.

And I hate Derek Lowe.

That is all.

by whiteshoes40 on Jun 17, 2006 11:27 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

best moment of the game

(mentioned in game thread)

As Scooter trots down the line to score the winning run, he looks up and sees a huge mob of pumped-up, giddy A's waiting for him at home plate. Fearing violence, he gingerly trots up to home plate, taps it lightly with his foot and RUNS away back down the third base line. The mob chases him down and catches him near Wash's box.

by Apricot on Jun 17, 2006 11:27 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

That was hilarious.

Didn't Scoot get a little hurt once last year from the pounding he got after a walk-off? Maybe the memories of that made him run away...

by whiteshoes40 on Jun 17, 2006 11:28 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I remember he had a great quote

about how he had to run away, he didn't want to get hurt because he was shorter than so many of the other guys...

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

by Kyli on Jun 17, 2006 11:45 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

they better have a clip of this on the official

site

"I thought it was cute," Oakland's Nick Swisher said of Kotsay's blast with the petal-colored bat

by larrysgurl on Jun 17, 2006 11:29 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yes, that was so cool!

And I also remember the game against the Indians last year where he hit the walk off hit and got (slightly) injured during the celebration so I can understand his hesitation!

That said, I LOVED the celebration and loved the A's being so positive and up on the top step of the dugout during the last couple of innings.

by indigo on Jun 17, 2006 11:36 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Especially significant to me,

I saw Saarloos, Street, and Calero--who had already pitched--Kotsay and Bradley...No one icing in the clubhouse, or pouting about their earlier failures. Just 25 guys rooting for a team win.

And Mike Rouse going, "Can I join?"
"No!"

by Nico on Jun 17, 2006 11:39 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

So adorable, watching them all together and

cheering.

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

by Kyli on Jun 17, 2006 11:45 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

That was awesome!

When I saw Kirk out there, I just had a feeling we were going to win. Don't know why.

"There's not a moment of peace and quiet in this damn clubhouse." ~~ Nick Swisher

by luvsthecurveball on Jun 17, 2006 11:47 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

As opposed to Lowe

Did you see him? When he was pulled from the game, spitting and sputtering like a spoiled camel, he didn't even make it into the dugout... headed directly down the walkway to the clubhouse.

At least on TV I didn't see much of that 'team spirit' on the blue side of the field.

Can we have iceplant behind the bleachers in the new ballpark?

Go A's

by NomAd on Jun 18, 2006 1:01 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

WHOOOO.

Awesome game to have caught out here, half a world away. It's now 2:30p... wasted the entire morning.

"The hard... is what makes it great."

by Jjjsixsix on Jun 17, 2006 11:28 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

What are you talking about?

2:30... the night has yet to begin!!

"The rain soaked patrons reveled in thier victory and the shortest man on the field stood taller than Randy Johnson." - Saint

by Melody on Jun 17, 2006 11:30 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

2:30pm...

I'm in Taiwan.

I'll do a WinExp plot later this afternoon. That one should be fun.

"The hard... is what makes it great."

by Jjjsixsix on Jun 17, 2006 11:31 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

that should be an interesting winexp graph

did we ever get one of the 18 inning game against the twins from last year?

A's v Giants "is kind of like the difference between going to see the Ramones and going to see the Bee Gees. A's fans will go see the Ramones." -BB 07/27/05

by xbhaskarx on Jun 17, 2006 11:32 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

And interestingly,

for a long time the game was a Tai, but eventually we Wan.

by Nico on Jun 17, 2006 11:33 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

i thought you went to bed?, sheez

no rest for the pun weary.

the great playoff miss of 2004 followed by the good try of 2005...in 2006?...prove it.

by ak_A on Jun 17, 2006 11:35 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

that was a good one

A's v Giants "is kind of like the difference between going to see the Ramones and going to see the Bee Gees. A's fans will go see the Ramones." -BB 07/27/05

by xbhaskarx on Jun 17, 2006 11:36 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Oh Taiwan!

I've been there. It's been six years though.

"The rain soaked patrons reveled in thier victory and the shortest man on the field stood taller than Randy Johnson." - Saint

by Melody on Jun 18, 2006 1:10 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

jjj is busting it taipei style

I believe.

by Apricot on Jun 17, 2006 11:31 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Long Night's Journey to Almost Day

I left a dinner at nearly 10 my time (Central), with a 2 hour drive home.

Popped on the cell phone for scores, and saw the A's were trailing 2-1 which soon became 3-1 with Lowe throwing a 2 hitter. Streak to end? Well, no as A's pound out 3 to take lead. but huston finally gives up a run, and 3 hours later I was easily home and watching on cbssportsline.com.
im;

Unreal.

A few thoughts:

Bullpen huge tonight with Halsey and Karsey simply out of this world;
Macha handled Nomar dead right in the extras-- wasn't gonna let him beat us;
Bradley and Kotsay injuries sure constrained our player movement-- Antonio Perez??? why not Rouse??
scoot had 30% of our hits tonight-- including a huge hit in the 8th inning rally and the leadoff single 9 days--- er, innings-- later to start the winning rally.
You know Texas and the A's are slowly and surely starting to push in wild-card contention.

Here are the 4 game totals of the Oaktoon challenge (I predicted A's would be 4th in Al runs scored over the final 98 games). And yes I'm hardly going to crow over a team that scored 5 runs in essentially two games, except to say they got one more than the opposition:

CWS and OAKLAND: 28 runs
NYY: 26
TB 24
Tex 23
MINN 22
Det and Sea 21
KC, Clev and Bal 15
LAA, Tor and Bos (!) 13

Just for the record-- lots of games left, obviously.

oaktoon

by oaktoon on Jun 17, 2006 11:30 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

A Rouse consperacy theory

I have a theory on the Rouse thing. First off, Antonio Perez, if he can turn his game around, could be on our team for the next few years, he also playhed for the Dodgers last year giving him inside knowlege.

Now for the juicy consiracy theory. Rouse had a great series against the Yankies, but during the last game it almost seams like he was figured out. What if Beane is trying to keep Rouse's trade value high by not playing him and keeping his Yankies series fresh in peoples minds? If he and another player could net us a blue chip prospect from a team in desperate need of infield help he would be MUCH more usefull to us then creating an even deeper logjam in the infield then there already is.

by Threepwood XX on Jun 18, 2006 12:17 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

%#&! KICU

So KICU decides to drop the game at 11 . Then Gameday froze, which got me looking like this...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=egXwP_622gg&search=german%20kid

All I have to say is thank goodness for the game thread to let me know what happened.

by casey. on Jun 17, 2006 11:31 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

huh

I got the game all the way up to the end on KICU...

There's no crying in baseball!

by gigglingone on Jun 17, 2006 11:49 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I did too,

on their Sacto affiliate. It froze for a bit with technical difficulties, but it came back. And they kept the audio going.

"There's not a moment of peace and quiet in this damn clubhouse." ~~ Nick Swisher

by luvsthecurveball on Jun 17, 2006 11:51 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

must be an area thing

down here in the monterey county at 11 the game got blacked out.

by casey. on Jun 17, 2006 11:52 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

FCC and Comcast have a deal in MoCo

Some broadcasters or station don't want programming to be repeated on KICU. I don't what is the usual programming on 11pm Saturday that these stations don't you or anyone else want to see. These deals are stupid who really cares if the same episode of the "That '70s Show" are at the same time on KCBA-Salinas (former A'S TV affiliate with Craig Kilborn as postgame host then became a Giants affiliate after signing of Bonds) or KICU.

Macha is a great manager. -Ron Washington

by pachydermOAFC on Jun 18, 2006 6:49 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Halsey was extra ballsy tonight

The Dodgers got a guy to 3rd with 1 out 3 times in extra innings and scored never.

Karsay looked good as well, getting that double play after Furcal a)was clearly out at first on the replay as DJ's glove beat him to the bag and b)pushed him down and nearly stepped on him.

Maybe my favorite part tonight was watching Lowe cussin' and pissin' after Bobby (who was awesome tonight) gave us the lead in the 8th. Couldn't happen to a more Lowe-thsome individual.

If we can be this resilient without the vital cogs like FT and Duke and King Richard, when those guys make it back we are gonna have a lovely summer around these parts, I do declare.

Let's make it double digits... and halfway to our previous record streak... tomorrow!

1972...1973...1974...1989...2006

by emperor nobody on Jun 17, 2006 11:33 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

And...

I'm sure it's been said, but the guys were absolutely adorable in the dugout in the last inning. On the top step, backwards caps, getting all excited...

I love this team. <sigh>

by whiteshoes40 on Jun 17, 2006 11:41 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

ITA!

I had to grab my camera and start snapping screencaps. ha ha

"There's not a moment of peace and quiet in this damn clubhouse." ~~ Nick Swisher

by luvsthecurveball on Jun 17, 2006 11:45 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

i had the entire game

recorded on tivo... good think too that was soooo cute... heheh

"I was excited," Crosby said, "I love stealing bases"

by CrosbysGirl510 on Jun 18, 2006 12:00 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

i hope it's available to download on mlb.com

"I thought it was cute," Oakland's Nick Swisher said of Kotsay's blast with the petal-colored bat

by larrysgurl on Jun 18, 2006 12:03 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Caption This

"Belliard is a pain in the ass" ~ Blez

by eamb on Jun 17, 2006 11:41 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

"Hey look--

We're slow dancing in middle school!"

by Nico on Jun 17, 2006 11:43 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

"I want you to wear my class ring."

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

by Kyli on Jun 17, 2006 11:46 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I heard

about that home run you hit a few weeks ago...

are you really Jason Kendall?

by gimpy989 on Jun 18, 2006 12:02 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Sign my glove?

SIGN IT!!!!

There's no crying in baseball!

by gigglingone on Jun 18, 2006 12:25 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

LOL

Kettlecorn! Swishercorn!

by TurnTwo on Jun 18, 2006 8:34 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

What is the velocity of an unladen sparrow?

Kendall sez: "What do you mean, African or European?"

"Death awaits you all with nasty, big, pointy teeth!"

by Lanway13 on Jun 18, 2006 1:09 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

10 points........

for that one. If you're keeping sore at home thats 8 earned, 2 unearned and an E 510.

you keep on drumming you hot little pieces of OAKLAND man candy!!!! - Batgirl

by Duke of left field on Jun 18, 2006 1:14 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Kendall sez:

"Just stick that fuckin' glove out there"

"If you're killed, you've lost a very important part of your life" - Brooke Shields

by Philip Christy on Jun 18, 2006 3:00 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Your dog left this on my lawn last night...

"I realize that I'm generalizing here, but as is often the case when I generalize, I don't care." -Dave Barry

by tmail on Jun 18, 2006 8:47 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

"I want to defect!"

Cotton Candy

by Ice Cream on Jun 17, 2006 11:44 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Kendall

He gets top credit from me. Kept on catching to the glorious end. That was a painful inning plus after he caught the ball too far inside if you know what I mean. The man is rugged.

Location, location, location. This fan is happy to live in the Oakland, Sacramento, Stockton triangle.

by LibrariAN on Jun 17, 2006 11:59 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

When I look

At everything, this is in my top memories for A's games right next to Hudson's clinching in 2000 against the Rangers. It had anything you could ask for, good hitting good bullpen and disputes from managers. Ah yes how about Chavez drawing 4 walks even though 2 were intentional I think, anyway Karsay proved me wrong.

"Talk about impressive. My point is this: Break's over."- Josiah Bartlet

by doublehustle22 on Jun 18, 2006 12:08 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

goodnight fans and players...

"I was excited," Crosby said, "I love stealing bases"

by CrosbysGirl510 on Jun 18, 2006 12:12 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Divine Intervention?

Is that Gaudin on the far left of that picture, and what the hell is he doing? Praying to the Spirit of Extra-Inning Games to make Seo throw 2 more balls to Crosby? Next thing you know he'll be praying to a big set of moose antlers on a hotel wall.

But whatever he was doing, evidently it worked.

"And Julio Franco is batting right-handed!" -- Wayne Hagin, A's radio play-by-play, mid-80s

by Nick on Jun 18, 2006 6:24 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

It's Calero, and he was

rolling baseballs on each palm as some sort of "rally-raindance-mating" ritual.

by Nico on Jun 18, 2006 9:25 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Do we get a double

post of ANtics tomorrow (today?)

by schnucken on Jun 18, 2006 12:19 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

We shall see...

Let me ask the guy who makes them. I understand he was at all 17 innings and forced his wife to sit there the whole time until the A's won. He's a mean one.

More ANtics: http://www.louisgray.com/live/ | Archive

by louismg on Jun 18, 2006 1:12 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

A fitting end...

...to five hours of frustration, and nine innings without beer.

by Mission1929 on Jun 18, 2006 12:47 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I went to a baseball game this evening......

and a cricket match broke out. ( I would do a rim shot, but I'm tired and I don't know where I put my drum). I would like to offer a mia culpa for starting the extra "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" in the bottom of the 14th - it was a long game and we did one in the middle of the 14th too. I like to think that my "The Wiener Dog Needs to Pee" beat put it in the bank, but I know that this team is just rolling. Even when they look bad, they look good. Let's keep that up! Go A's.

you keep on drumming you hot little pieces of OAKLAND man candy!!!! - Batgirl

by Duke of left field on Jun 18, 2006 12:52 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I know it's pointless to say

I saw you on TV! But I did and I waved in spirit and wished that I could have been there with y'all :D

"The rain soaked patrons reveled in thier victory and the shortest man on the field stood taller than Randy Johnson." - Saint

by Melody on Jun 18, 2006 1:15 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Dude!

Who started it prior to the TOP of the 14th? There was one at the top, and I was like wait... it's not the middle. But that was pretty freakin classic. See you in a few hours, I guess.

Stephen Colbert: "Kids who look up to athletes become athletes themselves."
The Word: Or bitter sports journalists.

by JLaff on Jun 18, 2006 1:23 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

That was me....

My comment should have said top of the 14th, not bottom of the 14th. It was a long game.

you keep on drumming you hot little pieces of OAKLAND man candy!!!! - Batgirl

by Duke of left field on Jun 18, 2006 8:19 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Huzzah!

Eight is great, but nine would be fine.

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

by El Payo on Jun 18, 2006 12:53 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

<Rubs eyes>

So this game really happened, huh? I thought I was dreaming. Less than 4 minutes after I left the game thread, the A's scored. Coincidence?
What a crazy game! The game thread was AWESOME! I was laughing/crying the througout the extra innings. Unbelievable.

According to ESPNEWS, this ties the second longest interleague game ever. I love setting these kinds of records. :-D

Good night, AN! There's another game in less than 12 hours. :)

"Huston actually bakes real cookies. Which is why Swisher bakes better cookies than Huston." ~ Sharon

by AsGirl on Jun 18, 2006 1:16 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Was there tonight...

Had an 8 year old with. Tonight, she learned to both love and hate the game of baseball.

by Boonee on Jun 18, 2006 1:17 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Yay! Random Steve Sparks mention!

Okay, geek moment over. I just got home from the game, wow. Just wow. I wore my freshly-made Jeremy Brown shirt, but he didn't get to play, much to my chagrin. I really loved being a part of left field today. As the game wore on, it really felt like family.

Lanway, I think I saw you there. I saw a guy in 116?(this was like, 30 mins before the game, which seems like yesterday) with a "Lanway" jersey, hat full of pins. I was too scared to like, say anything, but yeah.

Stephen Colbert: "Kids who look up to athletes become athletes themselves."
The Word: Or bitter sports journalists.

by JLaff on Jun 18, 2006 1:22 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Great game tonight

And Ballsy was awesome. Does anyone think Juan Cruz could have gone out for 5 shutout innings tonight?

"If you're killed, you've lost a very important part of your life" - Brooke Shields

by Philip Christy on Jun 18, 2006 3:03 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

No, he's on the dl.

"Don't you play the flute, Huddy?"

by capper3 on Jun 18, 2006 3:17 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

WOW! what a nite! has anyone tried to re-load

17 innings-worth of a game on their cell? it was a nightmare! i stood up and screamed "WALK OFF F*^&*NG WALK" in the middle of a crowded restaurant, which, not only got me 17 dirty looks from 75+'ers, but also managed to annoy the shit out of the come-to-find-out-dodgers-fans that was our server.

i wanted so bad to ask if i can borrow the restaurants internet to get on AN.. it was killing me, not being apart of this thread during this game!!

"When I'm doing well, it's like I'm in a nice little ballet. Everything is going slow all around me. It's very peaceful." ~ Barry Zito

by digsthelongball on Jun 18, 2006 3:31 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs