When Nick hit the wall on Friday and Larry Davis went trotting out there, I thought 'God no, not him.  Not Larry Davis.'  Hopefully Nick went to see a proper trainer so he doesn't end up like, oh, half the team.  When are we getting rid of this cancer?!

I live in Chicago and it was sort of funny listening to Cubs fans call into the radio sports shows regarding the Kendall trade.

You would have thunk the Cubs got the second coming of Johnny Bench. I liked Kendall's competitive nature, but it was very clear that his offensive stuggles may be permanent. I wish him well though.

The realist in me accepts that this season is over playoff wise. I am still excited to see if the A's can play spoiler to BOTH the Angels and Mariners.

To make sure that we don't stumble through another series....

• While I have probably been just about the last person to FINALLY jump off the Kendall bandwagon (though I still appreciated his smarts and game calling), I cannot believe how many balls that guy caught/stopped.  Definitely something I took for granted.  I don't know if it is that Suzuki and the new guy are that bad or if Kendall was that good but there are a number of balls dropped or passed every game since Kendall left.
• Again, I will back a player longer than most (I am still pulling for Crosby) but I was glad to see Milton go...even though he had the biggest bat in the lineup.  And it was not his attitude.  The injuries were just getting tired.  I honestly think he does not wish to play with any pain or uncomfortableness (OK, not sure if that is a word or not).
• I actually had the opportunity to spend a couple hours with Peterson a few years back as part of some credit card promotion where a parent and child spend the afternoon with the A's pitching coach...and it was here in Anaheim.  He brought up that very topic and was very proud of the fact that his pitchers had not experienced injuries.  He went over the whole regimen.
• Gotta at least pull off a series win for pride.  I'll be there all three games.  Hope to see you now that you reside down here.
• Looking forward to AN Day 4 and meeting folks that I have not met yet.  Have not been since AN Day 2.

The two statistics that really trouble me are his walks and his number of pitches per inning thrown (and I'm not saying they're unrelated).  Those two worries are probably enough to leave him in AAA until at least late August.  

The guy I would like to see is Connor Robertson.  If he's healthy, he deserves a shot and at 25, he's starting to get old for a debut.  

If we decide to give lots of our prospects a chance, I really think Donnie Murphy should get some MLB time at SS, and if he was healthy, Kevin Melillo deserved some at 2b. If he pitches lights out in his next couple of starts, Mike Madsen could also be an intriguing September call-up.  Brian Snyder deserves some time at AAA as well.  As for Barton, it's hard to say. If we could get something for DJ I would be willing to call Daric up and pull the trigger on the trade.  If not, let Barton force his way up the depth chart.

+1 on missing mvp baseball

I attended the A's games vs Seattle on July 7 and July 22 vs Baltimore. I saw a total of 4 A's hits and 0 runs in those two losses. One of the hits was a pop up lost in the sun. The most excitement in the games was the A's pitchers getting out of jams with minimal damage.

Will I purchase tickets to more games this year? Maybe a couple and only if Dan Haren is pitching. Watching the A's offense is about as exciting as watching artificial turf grow.

sucks on 360. it freezes all the time and the computer robs every homerun! Boo 2k7!

bring back MVP!

And, to be fari, Blez, you are not the first, or even withint the first dozen people, to comment that Daric Barton is unlikley to develop power.  I checked at the Sac River Cats website, and as of friday, he had hit 31 doubles on the year.  That was a full 12 more than his closest competition.

Ordinarily, doubles in the minors are indicative of home run power in the future.  The kid is 21 years old and in AAA.  Why is it that analysts insist he will never hit for power?

The only explaination I have heard is that his swing is level, aonfering neither loft, nor backspin to the balls.  

I suppose I am an optimist.  The A's tried to teach the kid 3rd base, and I expect that he can learn to hit with a little more upper cut, or that his natural age related increase in strength, will give him reasonable power at his position.  

Thats all.  

The coulda woulda shouldas for Bradley need to stop.  He was DFA'd by Billy and it could not have been easy since Billy was originally behind this FA signing 1000%.  And the move didn't save the organization much money either. The best theory I have heard is Billy DFA'd his rear-end after watching him sit one too many times for a marginal (aka imagined) injury.  The move was done for moral and emotional reasons. Simply put, Billy lost patience because Milt the Stilt was not helping his team when his team needed him most.  

Back in February 2006, Nick Peters of the Sac Bee did an incredible piece on Milt the Stilt - up to that point, Milty had not even suited up for the Green and Gold.  Peters interviewed many from Milty's past, including his high school coach at Poly HS in Long Beach.  For the story, Milt's own high school coach offered that Milt had a reputation for faking injuries and sitting out games.  THIS WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL!  How many high school coaches rip on MLB guys they have coached?  Few to almost none.  Most HS coaches beam at the chance to talk about their alums because making the bigs just doesn't happen every day.  I believe Milty does indeed have a temper - I also think the temper is not his big undoing.  No, I think Milt has the sense to realize he was going to get paid big leage dollars whether he played or not.  And I believe he ultimately chose "not" for half the season in in 06 and half the season in 07, as he did during almost every other year in the bigs.  Billy couldn't take the BS any longer especially since the team was going down the crapper.  Posting Milt's numbers during his brief Friar stint are totally off-base - he would still be limping (possibly on the wrong foot as he did on TV in 2006) if still in Green and Gold.

If we call up Barton, at whatever point, he should PLAY, not sit and watch and, as Blez sez, "get wet."  He is hot right now, and his hotness should be put in the lineup right away and he should play every day until he shows he is in over his head.  I think the same thing should be done with Perry---make room for the guy. He's hot, too! I don't understand how a major league club can call up someone who is on fire and then immediately put out that fire by sitting him on the bench!  REEEEDICULOUS!

That it means anything, but I'll miss his hair.  He was designated today to make room for Street.

in what you would think is an important series for the A's.

wonder what's happening behind the scenes?

changed Rich Harden's mechanics....velocity dropped and injuries followed.

take that walk since you cant do anything else