New Season, New Story (sort of)
by Tyler Bleszinski on Apr 2, 2007 6:09 PM PDT
in News
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PrintThe A's lost very few games last year because of an infielder's error and going into this year, you'd think that the A's infield defense will be even better with Bobby Crosby back and Nick Swisher back at first. All due respect to Marco Scutaro, but Crosby has better range and has a stronger arm. But that wasn't the case today as Crosby booted not one, but two key plays. The second basically cost Haren the game. Well that and the fact that Felix Hernandez looks to be King Felix once again. He was absolutely dominant, striking out 12 while only giving up four hits.
Haren also only gave up four hits and four runs, all four unearned. He was also dominant, albeit not 12 strikeout dominant, but good enough where he deserved a better fate.
The A's offense couldn't give him that better fate. It was more of the same from the offense, although I'm not willing to jump off a cliff just yet. Hernandez is supposed to be this good and we all know about the saying about pitching against hitting. And at least the A's were playing for the one run as they should've with the Ellis/Kendall combination coming up. King Felix was just that much better. Crosby didn't help things, but sometimes you've just got to say that pitching was awesome, tip your cap and come back and get them the following day.
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better range, my ass...
I've never seen Crosby make a play Marco couldn't have made... period. Never! Ya'll just mass-hallucinate. That's not uncommon on AN, though... It's sorta like I've never seen a play Kotsay has made that Byrnes couldn't have.
Now, I've seen many plays that Byrnes has made that Kotsay wouldn't even try for... given his delicate condition... many!
But, I digress... the ONLY reason I want Crosby in this line-up over Marco is POWER! He's useless, otherwise. If he's gonna make 2 errors a game, play Marco.
Crosby is over-rated!!
I totally agree that Marco Scutaro is far superior at fielding than Crosby. Actually, I've come to expect this sort of play from Crosby. So, an error from Crosby that costs us the game doesn't surprise me one bit. Do you remember that game against the Twins when Crosby dropped that pop-up that cost Mark Redman a win. After that error Redman mugged down Crosby. I loved that! Truthfully, I do hope Crosby get injured again or at least benched. He is way over-hyped and totally over-rated. He has not proved anything. You can only count on Crosby to make errors at pivotal points in the game and to strike out to end the game with runners on base. As far as Scutaro's range, did you all forget that play Scoot made deeeeep in the hole to gun out the Angels' Steve Finley. Scoot doesn't get his rightful respect from "true" A's fans. How many games has Scoot won for us? Lots. Scoot gets the hits when they count. He is clutch. Crosby is garbage. I have been saying that for a long time and games like this just prove it.
BTW Brynes is like a Crosby in the outfield. He might make the occasional spectacular play but, he will muff the most routine play. Consistancy is all I ask for, Scoot and Kotsay provide that. Nuff said.
by br1sk on Apr 3, 2007 5:04 AM PDT up reply actions
Wow, Foolish
What a wasted post.
Crosby is not going to make 2 errors a game for the rest of the season.
And last I heard you still hadn't paid up from your little bet from way back when... that going to happen any time soon?
And besides that...
isn't one of the mantras of the sabermetrician that your memory fails you constantly, but the stats and the math don't lie? I mean, who cares of he says that he hasn't seen a play made by Bones that Marco couldn't have made? All that means is that he can't remember one.
Check baseball-reference.com for Marco and Bobby, one has a range factor above league average and one has a range factor below league average, and the difference isn't pretty. Say what you want about range factor as a stat, but we're better off coming up with ways to measure this stuff than working up into a blind rage and proclaiming that Marco is a better shortstop because you just think he is.
OK, here's another thing. BoCro has 40 errors in 339 games for a fielding percentage of .975. Marco has 30 E's in 442 games for a fielding percentage of .982. These fielding percentages are actually pretty close, given that they've only played a couple of seasons each. And, Oh My Effing God, why does he have 10 more errors in 103 fewer games? Well, their fielding percentages are pretty close, so the only explanation is that Bobby gets a lot more chances. I wouldn't say that any player at the position over the course of several hundred games could be expected to be involved in more putouts, so I think that he probably just reaches a ton more grounders than Marco does.
So given that Bobby has a better range factor, i.e., he gets to a bunch more grounders, but muffs only a small number more of his chances so far than Marco, how could anyone justify playing Marco solely for his defense?
And just for fun, what does it mean for one guy to go .975 and another guy to go .982? One more error for every 142 chances. That's what it means.
so, you are saying that Byrnes is...
better than Kotsay, right?
by FoolshGame22 on Apr 3, 2007 12:46 PM PDT up reply actions
:)
Are you going to make me go back to baseball-reference.com to fight it out some more?
you needn't bother...
comparing Byrnes to Kotsay in CF, I think we both know what the outcome will be... Kotsay loses.
ok, since you pushed back...
Kotsay has a .987 fielding percentage for his career, and Byrnes has a .988. Kotsay's range factor is higher by quite a margin, and it's even better if you throw out Kotsay's 1B numbers.
So it really comes down to whether you believe those stats are real or not.
certainly, you noticed how I cleverly limited...
it to "... comparing Byrnes to Kotsay in CF..."
and, in my initial post, I said "is better" not "was better."
So, let's compare apples to apples... 2006 centerfielder stats:
Pinto's PMR: Byrnes rates higher... in fact, Kotsay is a liability in CF: Probablistic Model of Range, Centerfielders, 2006
Zone Rating: Byrnes = .889 Kotsay = .854 (near the bottom): ESPN
Guess you lose Foolish
Byrnes IS not playing CF anymore, that job belongs to Chris Young.
Therefore, Kotsay WILL be the better Cfer when he returns from the DL because he'll actually be playing the position and Byrnes won't.
Eric outplayed Mark in 2006, that's all you get to hang your hat on.
yep...
and, Chris Young will be better than Kotsay, too.
by FoolshGame22 on Apr 4, 2007 10:32 AM PDT up reply actions
Chris Young was never an option in Oakland
otherwise my bitching would know no end.
I'm a positive kind of guy
So I'm not going to say anythnig bad, but Crosby makes me want to fucking puke all over.
comment of the day. almost brings me back from
the brink of doom.
Second. Worst. Opener. Ever.
Anyone else hoping Crosby gets injured, for once?
I kid of course, but that was an easy play. I am hoping it is just cobwebs from Crosby not playing very often last year, and I think it is, but it still sucks today. Haren still could have limited the damage, however.
And you can't win games without scoring runs. As good as Felix is, there were plenty of times where it looked like the A's should have swung at close pitches, or shouldn't have swung at stuff out of the zone. Then again, I am not a major league hitter, and have never been close, so maybe Felix was just that good.
Anyway, it's just one game guys! If this happens again tomorrow, then I'd be worried.
For Jason Kendall to be
a good on-field moneyball type of player, which I kind of thought he was (but have no numbers to back it up right now), 3 K's and a 6-3 were pretty disappointing, especially since one of his K's came with a man on 3rd and 1 out.
Quite so...it's the hitting
Even if the A's can get through the Loaizalessness and find a 5th starter solution, they're still gonna struggle without better hitting. It may be easier to blame Crosby for today instead of blaming nine hitters, or crediting King Felix...but easy doesn't mean correct.
Question
If Haren gave up a HR to Sexson, how can his ERA still be 0.00? I can understand the runners on base not counting because they reached on error, but shouldn't at least that 1 run from the HR count as earned?
Because
after Ibanez flied out, the inning should have been over without any runs scoring. Therefore, every run after that is Crosby's fault, not Haren's.
At least, that's what the thinking is.
by Philip Christy on Apr 2, 2007 6:19 PM PDT up reply actions
The theory is, that Sexson
should not have even had a chance to bat.
by BruceBochte on Apr 2, 2007 6:20 PM PDT up reply actions
The HR occurred after two other outs
and the error, so in the official scoring rules the inning should have been over and all subsequent runs cannot be earned.
A weird rule, though, says that if Witasick had come in to give up that HR, one ER would have been charged to Witasick but no earned runs charged to the team--because when a new pitcher enters, his ledger is clean (as if none on, none out).
Because it comes up so often for him?
Good news--or Bad News
Crosby made it through the game without an injury--that is the good news. The errors--that is the bad news.
So,what shortstops will be available next year? Besides A-rod.
MARCO!
SCUTARO!
Who cares about range if you can't make the easy plays. Please get that guy out of here soon.
And Witasick was great
Let's make him the closer!
LOL
by FreeSeatUpgrade on Apr 2, 2007 6:49 PM PDT up reply actions
Crosby has good fielding skills.
These kind of games happen. I think it would be wise to let a few games go by before starting the talk about benching a player.
not to players with good fielding skills
by 3Chavy3 on Apr 2, 2007 6:29 PM PDT up reply actions
Yeah
That could never happen to a player with good fielding skills.
Bad start
Felix was great, but crosby was the reason the A's lost. If he turns that double play, it's a 0-0 game after 9 innings.
Maybe all this time the A's were actually better with crosby hurt. There are a lot of doubters out there, many of which are A's fans. He needs to step it up this season, or he could find himself on the outside looking in next year.
BTW if Haren ends up being hurt on that weird fall off the mound, it's all on crosby.
by mattcschmidt on Apr 2, 2007 6:17 PM PDT reply actions
Croz for concern...
Here’s my 2 cents on the game, doing my best bear88 imitation…
- Felix was simply dealing today and no team would have done a whole lot against him. Today should not be considered any sort of referendum on the A’s offense, just a send-up of a very talented young pitcher.
- Anyway, don’t worry about the A’s because we know they always start slow; they’ll almost certainly score a run after the All-Star Break.
- Haren looked like an ace. He should be considered to have given up one run because any time you give up a HR it’s going to score a run—that’s on Haren. But he was brilliant and should have walked off the mound after his throw to second with 6 innings of shutout ball on three singles and no walks.
- It was irritating to hear Ken Korach make a flurry of excuses for Bobby Crosby after his second error, which had nothing to do with being rusty and nothing to do with his back. Pleasant or not to say or hear, Crosby’s problem is that he is a choke-artist and always has been—from the time he pressed and went 0-for-his-callup in 2003 to his career legacy of failure batting with the bases loaded (a .467 OPS) to freezing like a Little Leaguer while taking a routine chest-high throw on Opening Day. Crosby had a month of brilliance but otherwise he has just not been a very good player, and he refuses to make any adjustments even though he has a career batting average of .244. It’s sad.
That seems a little harsh on Crosby
But you are probably right.
The dude needs to read Moneyball and be more like Dykstra and less like Beanie!
by BruceBochte on Apr 2, 2007 6:22 PM PDT up reply actions
The guy is extremely talented,
and he's probably a nice guy, and he'll do a lot of things right this year and in his career. And he chokes. That's my position.
i like you better as surragate bear 88
I kind of get the same feeling
Crosby is the opposite of "clutch" ("anti-clutch"?).
I'm thinking he's probably still feeling his back, yet telling everyone "it's great, no pain.." but there is pain IMO.
Who doesn't miss the obvious, Tejada? He got an MVP only 4-5 yrs into his career.
Has Crosby ever even hit a grand slam? He is the last player I want up with the bases loaded.
by One won lost won on Apr 2, 2007 7:43 PM PDT up reply actions
Knew there was a reason why
I like you sometimes.
Crosby's abilities
Well said, Nico. He had his moments in 2005 -- recall how overused the statistic about A's wins with Crosby starting that year. His strutting was (as pointed out by someone here last year) pretentious. I was horrified by the non-catch (on top of the previous error), but I have to think this was first-day jitters, and hope, for the sake of his career, that we can forget about them soon.
by FanSinceKC on Apr 2, 2007 9:17 PM PDT up reply actions
No
There is not a scout or player in pro baseball that will agree with your comments on Crosby. He is going to be rusty ater last year. I thing we all should have some patience.
by jarforcefatherofforce on Apr 3, 2007 12:46 AM PDT up reply actions
Crosby not the Goat
When you don't score any runs it doesn't make any difference how many you give up, you will lose. As far a giving up 4 runs, most was Haren's fault. A good pitcher does not allow big innings.
As far as Crosby's error goes, I noticed he made a few in spring training. He may not be fully streached out.
by jarforcefatherofforce on Apr 3, 2007 12:39 AM PDT up reply actions
Hang on
Haren should have been out of the inning, simple as that. He pitched to contact and his defense let him down. Give the other guy extra chances and it's usually going to cost you, see Angels v. 2006.
Tough loss, but Felix is the King
Also, was the dome open at Safeco? They didn't say anything about it on the radio broadcast...
by BruceBochte on Apr 2, 2007 6:19 PM PDT reply actions
First half of the game it was open.
Then they closed it.
Thanks Oz!
by BruceBochte on Apr 2, 2007 6:31 PM PDT up reply actions
Physical errors
Folks, physical errors happen. It's not like Crosby grabbed a grounder with one out and runners at the corners, stepped on the bag, and rolled the ball to the mound because he thought there were two outs.
He screwed up, and he played a really lousy game overall. But no one's ever accused Crosby of not caring, or of not working hard. Physical errors that result from laziness or lack of preparation are a serious, serious problem. Mental errors that result from the same, or from not paying attention, are also very bad. Missing an easy grounder and an easy throw -- sometimes that just happens.
There's no reason to blow one game out of proportion and decide that we need to start Scutaro. The M's outplayed the A's by a pretty wide margin tonight, and absolutely deserved to win. Wear it.
I don't think it was a physical error
It was a guy who had no cause to rush or take his eye off the ball, rushing and/or taking his eye off the ball for no reason. He choked; that doesn't make him a bad person but it looked about like he looks chasing every slider in the dirt with the bases loaded. (And I don't think we should start Scutaro, I just think Crosby is waaaaay overrated.)
I agree that Crosby is overrated.
Screwed his head up getting the ROY IMO. But he's still got more potential than Scut.
Absolutely--Scutaro really isn't
a good SS option for everyday, ever. If I were Geren, I'd start Crosby every day. I'm just irritated that someone who fails so regularly doesn't look to make changes, and as a fan I fear that "choker" isn't the type of problem that necessarily goes away--in fact it tends to get worse and worse as failure begets failure (see A-Rod's defense as a NYY).
Noone has ever said...
that Cros is high I.Q. But seriously? Why don't the coaches push him to change?
Who says they don't?
Coaches can't force Crosby to change. Unless Geren is willing to put Scutaro out there every game he has no choice but to play Crosby.
Crosby has to decide to make the change himself. If he does it just because a coach tells him to, then the first time it doesn't work he'll go back to the old way. He must be committed to the change before it has a chance of being successful. I agree with Nico - why Crosby cannot see this himself is beyond belief. Those hitters who treat it as a craft, and actively try to get better study their failures and look to correct it. From Crosby it's just the same old thing.
by IndianaAsfan on Apr 2, 2007 7:00 PM PDT up reply actions
And in fact the coaches have, publicly
on occasion, urged Crosby to cut down his swing and hit to right-center, and Crosby's reply is, "Swinging hard has worked well for me all my life, so I'm not changing now." Which
a) is a stupid reason not to adjust and improve when you can, and
b) is patently false, as Crosby is hitting .244 for his major league career and appears to be getting worse, not better.
What worked in high school isn't going to cut it in the major leagues.
Ugh, too true
One game in, and we're yappin'. But it's true, the guy doesn't make adjustments. Baseball is 75% mental, and I'd say, Crosby is mentally asunder.
by One won lost won on Apr 2, 2007 7:47 PM PDT up reply actions
re: 75% mental
I'd say that it's a lot more important to have strong muscles and quick reactions than it is to be cool in the clutch.
Stephen Hawking, bad ass firefighters, and diplomatic statesmen all have something in common. They can't hit a curveball. Or a fastball. And they're probably not that good at throwing out baserunners. And I doubt that they can judge flyballs and get to them very well.
A weak .244 at that
you take 2 months out of his carrer and he is a .210 hitter at best.
He had very little spring training after missing a season. You would think smart guys would let him shape up and prove himself everyday at Sacto.
This won't be the only game he blows for us because he carries his mistakes all over the field. With all the injuries the choke factor to play is there and the expectations higher than ever. But Wash isn't her to correct his BS footwork and no one can get him to cut down on his back wrenching hack,
Stay warm Marco
BS Footwork
on the first error, did it seem that he was late getting to the ball? Maybe the replay distorted, but it appeared Crosby could have gotten in front of the ball, instead of grabbing toward it beside one ankle, and not getting his glove down.
by FanSinceKC on Apr 2, 2007 9:31 PM PDT up reply actions
His problem, I believe,
is lack of focus. He was rushing that play, and it was pretty easy. He's too amped up or too nervous or something. Major leaguers make that play 99.9% of the time.
by Philip Christy on Apr 2, 2007 6:27 PM PDT up reply actions
I'm not sure I can tell
by watching on mlbtv the difference between a physical error and choking. He missed a grounder in a completely mundane situation, and missed the start of an inning-ending DP in a more critical situation.
As far as his hitting is concerned, it's not like he uses the whole field and lays off sliders in the dirt when the pressure is off -- he's just generally a pretty clueless hitter, from what I can tell. I'm not sure pressure or choking have anything to do with it.
I'm glad he out of the middle of the order -- I basically think it might be a good idea for Geren to have a "Walt Weiss" conversation with him (focus completely on your fielding -- any hitting you do is just a bonus; anchor the infield and we don't care what you hit).
You make a great counter-argument:
In Crosby's defense, he did also muff a routine play in a mundane situation!
<retracts all past criticism of Bobby Crosby>
<drops M & Ms on Nick from above>
For the record, they were peanut
Drunken BoSox fans, right field 2nd deck, circa 1981 or 1982.
See, to prove he's a choker
you have to establish that he's really good in non-pressure situations.
Good luck with that.
I like the pitching this year...
well at least until its Kennedy's turn.
Where is Lee Harvey Oswald when you need him?
He'll be all over Kennedy
just as soon as he lines a single against Blanton and walks off of Gaudin. :-(
Errors? I didn't see any errors.
I just saw WonderBuck crushing one for a lead-off double.
Ah,..
YOUNG BUCK...how deliciously. Let's not forget.
by LilAnnieOaktown on Apr 2, 2007 6:46 PM PDT up reply actions
I like the way you talk. Uh-huh.
I really like that swing.
Ain't it a peach?
And he took that first K well too, considering it was a foot inside.
I hate losing...
But if losing the first game is a prerequisite for getting into the playoffs, I'll take the 4-0 shutout instead of a nationally-televised 15-2 pounding by the Yankees.
Unfortunately, I doubt there is any correlation
But the point is well taken, losing on opening day to King Felix is not even close to the end of the world.
by BruceBochte on Apr 2, 2007 6:35 PM PDT up reply actions
i remember that evening
pretty deflating for 24 hours.
Amen
I wonder if Zito will have an opening game start for the Giants as bad as last year's A's opener.
by jarforcefatherofforce on Apr 3, 2007 12:51 AM PDT up reply actions
Dan Haren looked really good today.
I am feeling optimistic about the pitching. I guess I am elated to have baseball back. A little loopy even. The loss doesn't even phase me.
Do we know yet whether Haren's hurt?
He's error-to-error
by OaklandInvader on Apr 2, 2007 6:34 PM PDT up reply actions
From the A's
this probably means he's somewhere between starting again tomorrow and death.
by IndianaAsfan on Apr 2, 2007 7:04 PM PDT up reply actions
Crap.
I was dreaming about Travis Butt Buck... completely forgot about that. Damn you.
I don't think you can call it a Freudian slip
when it involves coding and html.
Haren jammed his leg, fell off the mound,
entirely due to Crosby's error, but the BuckButt energy radiating from right field helped protect Danny from harm. All will be well.
Butt for President!
i agree with nico on crosby...
he tries so hard that he can't get it done. crosby is going to get pounded with sliders on the outside corner time and again. it's up to him to figure it out.
not to bring down chavez also, but he gets pounded on the outside corner as well. either he's going to go the other way or he's doomed to ground out to second repeatedly.
Chavy is a good hitter with power to all sides
.. he will get going, it's just he usually starts slow ..
by Randy Bell on Apr 2, 2007 6:37 PM PDT up reply actions
and just ONE game ...
by Randy Bell on Apr 2, 2007 6:38 PM PDT up reply actions
in every series you have to concentrate on ..
.. winning the series .. sweeps are unrealistic even for the best teams .. if you win most series, you are in the driver's seat for successful season ..
by Randy Bell on Apr 2, 2007 6:40 PM PDT up reply actions
Yeah, it's so wild that there's such a lack of
parity in MLB, compared to some other sports. When you have a handful of 12-4s and a 13-3 in football, and the Spurs and Suns playing like .800 basketball, it's funny to consider that the best baseball teams go .650 for a season and the worst go like .400.
But I bet on the A's
to go 162-0. Damn...maybe next year.
by IndianaAsfan on Apr 2, 2007 7:05 PM PDT up reply actions
As per usual, everybody is
rushing to blame the wrong the player (as if this were HH and blame need be assigned). Crosby may have flubbed the routine play that led to four runs, but it was Dan Haren - not Crosby - that threw a bad pitch to Richie Sexson. Whether the official bookkeeping counts the runs as "earned" or "unearned" is immaterial. There's no excuse for giving up a two-out bomb like that, not even "Haren's concentration was hurt because he couldn't have confidence in his defenders." That's post-rationalization.
Of course, why actually discuss the key play of the game? Blaming Bobby Crosby for everything from global warming to ants in the backyard is apparently in vogue.
i'm not blaming crosby for this loss...
i just think he's overrated. all this high ceiling crap from the a's brass is not based on his mlb actuals. if he delivers, i'll admit i was wrong. but i can't stand all this hope that crosby is part of the team approach to overcoming frank thomas' lost bat.
what was wrong with that pitch?
it looked to me like sexson just drilled a good pitch. hit or miss with that guy, literally, and he happened to hit that one out.
by fadedash on Apr 2, 2007 6:54 PM PDT up reply actions
Kendall was set-up outside
and the pitch came down the middle. It did look like a good pitch, a breaking ball that was probably below the knees, but it was right over the middle of the plate, while Kendall wanted it outside. While I doubt many major league hitters could hit that out to center field in Safeco Field, Kendall might have known that Sexson could. Either way, Haren didn't put it where Kendall wanted it.
by Philip Christy on Apr 2, 2007 7:00 PM PDT up reply actions
Well
people (read Nico) are being pretty silly, but blaming Haren is even sillier. He pitched great, and threw only a few bad pitches the entire game. I would retire the "no excuse for" formulation, too. No excuse for the HR, no excuse for the error: doesn't mean anything to me.
Well, you're right.
There's no excuse for saying "there's no excuse for."
Still, insofar as people are interested in assigning blame and credit, it's crazy to think that Haren gets a pass. But he did pitch very well; an encouraging outing from a key player is the lesson of the night.
MikeA, I really think you're missing my point
I'm not particularly upset about losing today (I'm a "it's a marathon, not a sprint" guy), I think Crosby is our best option at SS, and I'm sure Crosby will do plenty of good things at various times this season.
I have ALWAYS felt Crosby tended to choke--he presses constantly--and his stubbornness about improving his weaknesses just leaves him destined to repeat his mistakes over and over and over. But I've been saying that for years, not just today. And I find that frustrating. And Crosby is among my least favorite players (we all have those).
Talented player, good team, go get 'em tomorrow. And I continue to find Crosby to be an extremely frustrating player to have on "my side".
No, I got your point:
Crosby is a choker.
Those are perfectly reasonable points with regard to his hitting (although I'd say he's just not a very good hitter. If he can't tell the difference between a fastball and a slider, changing his swing is not really going to help).
Attributing the (very uncharacteristic) error to his being a choke artist is just nonsense. Even if it is not, in fact, nonsense, you still just made it up. And was he "pressing" as he tried to catch the ball? Did he stubbornly ignore Wash's entreaties to "watch it into his glove"?
Hmmm, I'm a little worried about Casey Kotchman.
Interestingly enough,
you've just described my feelings for Chavez EXACTLY! Seriously, it's good to know you understand how I feel. Probably a great guy -- baseball has nothing to do with that -- but vastly over-rated offensively.
This is the most inane post
I've read in a while. Haren pitches a brilliant game, makes a great pitch to induce a double play to end the inning (which Crosby boots), then gives up some runs on a homer to a power hitter, and you blame Haren for the loss? Haren should have been in the dugout thinking about how he was going to pitch to Sexson with no one on in the next inning at that point. Instead, he had to get five outs to end the inning. There's a reason that all of those four runs are unearned and aren't counted against Haren's stats.
Uh-oh
Does this mean Jim Inhofe is going to try to schedule hearings where Michael Crichton testifies that there's no such thing as ants in the backyard?
Thoughts:
-Felix was filthy. No team is going to hit that. I'm a bit worried about Chavez, Piazza, and Crosby all of whom I think might be overmatched by good pitching.
-Haren looked great, which is a good sign. His curve looked much better than it did last year.
-The error: eh, short spring training or just a concentration lapse, those things happen. He's a great fielder.
Felix Hernandez:
Her Flax Denizen
Hazel Fern Index
Her Daze Flex Inn
Ex-Fern Hind Zeal
And, anyone see Kendall strike out thrice today? I thought he was one of the tougher guys in the league to strike out...
Travis Buck had a terrific opening day.....
how about saying some positive things about our hot new rookie in right field. He made no errors and had a solid double against a dominant pitcher that made most of the rest of the A's look feeble.
Go Buck. Congrats to Beane and Geren et al on a good decision.
BREAKING NEWS: Bobby Crosby killed Jesus
and single-handedly built Mt. Davis. In that order.
If Bobby Crosby is still on the roster tomorrow,
the terrorists win.
actually you're right because I heard that
Bobby Crosby was actually responsible for 9/11 so the terrorists really would be winning if we continue to let him make millions hiding out as an MLB player right here under our noses.
Beautiful job!
I get the feeling this is our current government's idea of "fair and honest" reporting.
by One won lost won on Apr 3, 2007 12:51 PM PDT up reply actions
Given the above
You say he killed Jesus, but singlehandedly built Mt. Davis. Are you arguing that he had help killing Jesus, and who helped?
Small sample size
Can't judge Crosby on these two actions alone. Now if you tell me he was also responsible for JFK, that's another issue altogether....
by IndianaAsfan on Apr 2, 2007 7:08 PM PDT up reply actions
I accuse my parents. But Judas and Celine Dion
may have also had a hand in it.
I witnessed Crosby slapping a 94-year-old lady...
and taking her purse. He then sent Granny's money to Al-Qaeda.
You have an odd definition of a slap...
considering he ran her over with his car, got out and then took her purse.
I didn't think
Crosby hit anything(one) today...
by IndianaAsfan on Apr 2, 2007 7:11 PM PDT up reply actions
"Crosby couldn't hit an old lady" should become
a new AN catchphrase.
Pulling a CTM...
Maybe that should be string of the month, the post only makes sense when you referrence the whole spiel.
Granny was wearing a MaEl costume.
Granny with a tranny?
This is for Nico
Regarding our discussion about the radio delays: I "kept score" during today's game. I was listening to the TV broadcast, but at the end of each half-inning on TV, I would mute the TV sound, listen to Ken and Vince call the last couple of pitches on radio, then listen to the radio commercials and make a note of who the advertisers were. I thought they had about 8 or 10 radio sponsors but the list is way, way longer than I thought.
Yesterday we mentioned:
Coors Light
AAAAA Rent A Space
Shed Shop
Round Table Pizza
Now add all of these to the list:
BART
Ford
Supercuts
AM-PM
Corona
Chevrolet
US Bank
Speedee Oil Change
Kragen Auto Parts
Aloha Airlines
Comcast
Valero
Chevron
Bay Alarm
Cache Creek Casino
Granger (construction equipment? dunno)
Motel 6
Pepsi
John Muir Health
Alta Bates/Summit Medical Center
GoKart Racer
Men's Wearhouse
Kelly-Moore Paints
American Airlines
Thank you, Soaker!
Look for my front page post tomorrow morning, where I'll try to get the ball rolling on Operation Bombarding CBS Radio With Fan Complaints. The more specific contact info (email ideal, fax next best, address third best) we can get for a given sponsor--such as the Regional Director, etc.--the better, but we won't need that stuff right away; first we need to send initial correspondences to CBS Radio and its A's affiliates. Stay tuned...
Radio lagging way behind TV
hard for those of us who'd rather hear Ken/Vince. See this Soaker comment for one recent discussion.
by FreeSeatUpgrade on Apr 2, 2007 7:20 PM PDT up reply actions
I'll Never Know . . .
. . . the effect of the radio delay. I love 18 miles from the A's stadium and I can't get either radio station.
by jarforcefatherofforce on Apr 3, 2007 12:58 AM PDT up reply actions
Re: Bombarding CBS Radio
I think it'd be a better use of AN's collective time to track commercial sponsors, and the A's outcome in the following inning (or at-bat, if a pitching change). Over time, with enough data, we can know whether or not the Men's Wearhouse reall is a guarantee, or if Valero gives you VRoooom.
Who's up for keeping those stats? Anyone? Bueller?
Sort of agree
I feel like we're probably tilting at windmills here. As far as I can tell this is an issue which concerns me, Nico, FSU, OaklandSi and nobody else. I actually browsed for Tivo/DVR equipment today, thinking, screw it, I can resolve this problem at my end, but I was alarmed at how much money I was considering spending to resolve a problem that never should exist in the first place.
The whole matter is just ridiculous, an embarrassing commentary on what issues our society considers important today.
Gosh I hope not--I'm counting on
it being an issue for enough people that tomorrow's post will generate a response.
As the embarrassing commentary on society: Kids can buy CDs that are filled with cuss words and which glorify suicide, but we need to protect listeners from the possibility that Ken Korach might decide to unleash a profanity?
I hope you're right about the response
I understand why the CBS lawyers are concerned, given the political environment...though I think the grave concern about the damage that will be caused to our children if they hear one of the seven dirty words in the background audio of a sports broadcast is a bit overstated.
I've certainly heard some cussing on radio/TV broadcasts of games, and 95% of the time the source is field personnel...either a manager or coach yelling "Where the f*** was that pitch?" or a player celebrating with a "F*** yeah!!". The solution to this issue is to move the field mikes far away from the dugouts so that those sounds are not captured.
Well, in defense of CBS and the FCC
there was that unfortunate incident a few years back when Korach bit the head off a bobblehead and the live mic caught his scream of "F#&% you, Alice B. Toklas" before he was dragged off by an ashen faced Ray Fosse.
by FreeSeatUpgrade on Apr 2, 2007 8:03 PM PDT up reply actions
Let's face it, religion is behind it all
..and the Bible is the worst offender!
Where else can you find stories of fathers (Lot) fathering children with their daughters?
You know this as well as anyone, Nico. Go to any schoolyard today, and you can hear any profanity you can think of, in the space of half an hour.....
So, who are we protecting? They should just have a "warning" ahead of each game start.
PS, don't visit my backyard. The neighborhood cats are providing "Sex Education 1A" hourly for anyone who wants to watch.
by One won lost won on Apr 3, 2007 12:58 PM PDT up reply actions
AN redesign help vis Firefox
I asked this in the game thread, which in retrospect was kinda silly of me. But thanks anyway, Nick, for your "helpful" reply.
When using IE I get the new feature where the "One New message by Nick" message will appear in the bottom right corner of the browser. But I do not get this when using Firefox, which I prefer. So, question 1: what is that feature called, anyway; and 2: how can I make it work in Firefox?
I'd ask this in the DLD, except when reading that at work I (am forced to) use IE, so thus hard to enact any solution one might propose.
Many thanks for any suggestions...actual, helpful suggestions.
re: firefox
the game threads kept freezing my browser and i had to force quit and restore multiple times. quite annoying.
Bobby Crosby designed the
new version of AN.
OT: kenny lofton just stole his 600th base
against the angels. he's the leader among active players. you know where i'm going with this: bring back rickey!!!
And enroll him at Ohio State
quick, before the second half starts.
by FreeSeatUpgrade on Apr 2, 2007 7:16 PM PDT up reply actions
I'm glad that the M's weren't stealing any bases.
Cuz Kendall would only have embarrassed himself further with his diminished arm strength and accuracy.
And Fosse was saying he was ready for the season!
After the LAA series, the A's might have to call up Kurt.
See Crosby, thats how you turn a clutch DP!!
GMat Jr. saves a run in Texas. And I still hate
the Florida Gators.
or in Analheim.
Holy crapola...
now I wish we had Kotsay.
Hell, even Kots couldn't do that. Yeesh.
We're doomed!
This is a sinking ship.
[fires up "We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank"]
It's gotta be tough to have only 6 games
under your belt going into the season. All the other regulars saw about 3x as much game action as Crosby. Not that he shouldn't make the routine play (like he does 99/100 times), but I do think it's only fair to see these first few weeks as the tail end of Crosby's accelerated rehab. I'm sure it took everything going right for him just to be physically ready for the season, let alone get his baseball work in. Just look at his footwork on the first error – terrible. He didn't center himself and get in front of the ball at all, even though he had time. That's not normal for Crosby, and it won't continue. I'd be extremely surprised if these bad habits continue into May.
Just curious. rebus: What's your prediction
on whether, in May, he'll be committing early and overswinging at bad balls or shortening his swing and looking to drive the ball to right-center?
oh, I imagine
he'll still be hitting too many ground balls to his counterpart and putting an inside fastball swing on an outside slider on occasion. he's certainly got lots (and lots) of room for improvement there. but i don't question his reliability or abilities on defense.
my full prediction on Crosby this season:
550 ABs .350/.430/.780
Uh...you're kidding right?
I mean, there's drinking the Kool-Aid and then there's diving into a fucking swimming pool of it with nothing but goggles and a curly straw. If Crosby puts up 65% of that projection, I'll be happily surprised.
Uh
I think he means: .350 OBP, .430 SLG, .780 OPS. I'm pretty sure he's not thinking that Crosby hits at a .350 batting average.
by Philip Christy on Apr 2, 2007 9:00 PM PDT up reply actions
yes, exactly.
Crosby would probably hit around .270 with that projection.
Someone's a little upset right now.
In poker, they call this "on tilt." I'm upset at some things Crosby does too but you can't take it too far. Time to take a deep breath, relax and imagine A's games in late October.
by Philip Christy on Apr 2, 2007 7:41 PM PDT up reply actions
LOL, I'm just debating--
I'm not upset, I just think that little of Crosby. But probably better to express it on an ordinary day than right after he has embarrassed himself.
It's OK, I just saw
a lot of Crosby-hate from you in this thread. I agree, he's not that great, and then when you see a day like today from him...
I do think, however, if he had never gotten injured he would have had been better able to adjust to the league; however, it may be too late for him now. If he doesn't get injured this year though I would expect some improvement.
by Philip Christy on Apr 2, 2007 8:05 PM PDT up reply actions
Felix Hernandez looks to be King Felix once again
sorry blez (and AN), BUT HE AINT NO FUCKING KING YET! god, wtf has he done? the woods are full of guys who won less than 50 games in their career with bad eras. don't get me wrong, i was there today, he dealt! but why the hell do we have to give in to the "labeling as gods" of rivals? he's a prince at most right now, you know the one in the movies that knows the throne is his, and is therefore vain, selfish, vain, cocky, and great. god, i know i wasn't the only a's fan there today, but mariner fans are the worst, Idiots all of 'em! "you're gay" and "a's suck" were the most intelligent comments i heard all day. not worthy or response of course, but it just kills me that no one else has ANY hate for a rival that will beat us for years (when felix pitches). STOP CALLING HIM KING!
by goldglovercf on Apr 2, 2007 8:18 PM PDT reply actions
This is our short-attention-span Media!
They do this with everything!
How else do you think reality-TV survives?
Creating the idea of SOMETHING out of Nothing.
The idea of applause for simply being mentioned. Completely illogical, except to Media.
by One won lost won on Apr 3, 2007 1:05 PM PDT up reply actions
What happened last year.
A's lost opening day. Went on to have their best season since 1990. (In playoff terms)
Lost 1st game to M's. Went on to go 17-2 VS M's
It's one game, which was decided by two plays.
Everyone should chill.
by Mr C on Apr 2, 2007 8:19 PM PDT reply actions
Official scorer's correction.
Bobby Crosby is now 0-1 on the young season, and Dan Haren has his first no-decision.
Now that we have that out of the way, I think it's worth noting that if this game by Crosby happened in July, and was sandwiched around a very productive offensive season, we'd be a lot more forgiving of it. It's a little early to write him off.
Yes, things are magnified game 1 and yes,
if Crosby had a good offensive approach it would help us forgive his shortcomings, but...
If we had some ham, then we would have ham and eggs, if we had some eggs.
Personally, I'm not writing Crosby off, but only because I never wrote him on. In other words, I never thought he was very good and nothing he has done in his career has changed my opinion. (I do think he's an above-average SS defensively, though--just not today, obviously. But even defensively, he does stupid fundamental things--like hurry for no reason or press for no reason--that guys like Ellis and Kotsay just don't do.)
But I do apologize for over-ranting about Croz--I'm just awfully tired of his act.
I disagree
I think the A's should have written Crosby off months ago and found another option.
The Good News / Glass Half Full Approach
I'm glad Rich Harden didn't start tonight. He could have thrown a complete game shutout, and we probably would have lost (or would still be playing).
Sounds like Loaiza is going to be out for at least a couple weeks (2 Starts Min.) That usually turns into 1 months for the A's. So, I think we're going to see a competition between Gaudin & Kennedy for the #5 Starter (Until Loaiza returns). Competition is a good thing, and if Gaudin pitches better than Kennedy, (and I think he will), our rotation will set for the next 3 seasons (Including this one).
At this rate...
Loaiza's either going to end up dead or deported.
This will probably be in tomorrow's DLD...
but I'm still thinking about it right now, so here it is right now. Because Crosby could go errorless for the next 161 games and it won't mean doodley shit if we lose another starting pitcher.
"My plant leg gave out and I came down on my right leg," Haren said. "I thought my hip flexor tweaked and I kind of overreacted, got a little nervous that I'd hurt something. But I got it iced and it's OK."
The A's certainly hope so. First baseman Dan Johnson said he had tweaked his hip flexor one week earlier -- and he now might miss three months with torn hip cartilage.
{THINKS HAPPY THOUGHTS, HAPPY THOUGHTS, HAPPY THOUGHTS}
well if the A's lost Haren
Beane's really gonna have to get creative to keep 2007 interesting
How about the decision
to let Haren continue pitching, when he was only going to be kept in for one more strike anyway? (There were two strikes, two outs, and Haren's pitch count meant he wasn't going to pitch the 7th.) Hello, he's not invaluable enough to say "I don't care what you say, you're done"?
another eyebrow raised at the medical staff
The fact that the A's medical staff has been questioned endless times over the past few seasons should raise enough concern about their overall effectiveness.
by fadedash on Apr 2, 2007 10:23 PM PDT up reply actions
Late to the party...
...but let me say that I don't think the A's would have won tonight's game even without The. Error. That being said, I was as frustrated at Crosby as anyone, mostly for the sole reason of 'if you can't hit, you better be able to field'. That's why Chavez got a pass all last year. His defense truly did make up for his lack of offensive production.
All Crosby has is his defense. Sad, but true. I don't expect him to hit; I am pleasantly surprised when he does, but when he muffs a perfectly awesome DP chance to help send our new ace to a loss, I am less than thrilled. Sure, everyone has bad games. Really great fielders make two errors in a game sometimes. But this is not the first time Crosby's defense has broken down in a pressure situation. If there were ever two outs, and the bases loaded, and we needed the game, I would want the ball to go to Chavez or Ellis, and stay far away from Crosby.
Yes, it's one game. Most likely, Crosby will not make another error in weeks. But he has to expect that he will feel the heat when he fails to do the one thing he is on the team for. It's not just this game that people are frustrated with Crosby about; it's the seeming inability to adjust to major league pitching, the refusal to try his swing a different way, and mostly (at least for me) the confusion of looking at a ballplayer who should be SO good, yet somehow...isn't.
Like it or not, Crosby is our shortstop. I don't have another suggestion. But I don't have to like it. But I want him to prove me wrong. I badly want that. I want this whole thread to seem ridiculous at the end of the season because of Crosby's year.
Ahem.
However, I love me some Travis Buck, and what a huge deal for him to say that his first major league hit came when no one else could manage to make solid contact! (Well, I guess I love Shannon Stewart's debut too :))
I want nothing but the best for Buck, and I hope he finds a permanent home in RF for us.
And for the love of all things baseball and holy... good thoughts, warm fuzzies, prayers, and a very heartfelt PLEASE BE OKAY, DANNY HAREN to Seattle tonight.
exacto-mundo
and of course the hope would have been a close game (like still no score if only crosby came through) until we got to the relievers.
LOL
I want this whole thread to seem ridiculous at the end of the season because of Crosby's year.
It's flirting aggressively with "ridiculous" now.
Felix
I'm sorry that happened to you guys and not to a team more deserving of being annihilated. As a Mariners fan, that was quite easily the most dominant pitching performance I've ever seen.
But hey, Cupcakes will get us tomorrow, never fear, and then you'll win like 15 in a row against us.
Thanks for your pity
A loss like this to the M's is not as painful as a loss to a team with more asshole-ish fans. If we have to lose like we did tonight, I'm glad it's to you guys (as long as we end up ahead of you in the standings).
by Philip Christy on Apr 3, 2007 2:13 AM PDT up reply actions
We're all going to die!
Hah! This was a somewhat better opener then last year, no? Crosby was obviously a little rusty and it will never happen again. The boys will come back and return to beat the M's business as usual tonight. Go A's!
Boring.
Nothing like being shut out on opening day for the second time in three years.
Seriously, how many of you knew that there was no way in hell the A's were gonna drive Buck home from 3rd? To win when it matters you have to beat the good pitchers, the A's are not able to do that on a consistent basis.
I see Jason Kendall went from being a useless player who at least had a decent eye to an even more useless player (with no power, no speed, but grit) with a bad eye.
Why is he leading off?
The question, unfortunately,
is what would be a better 1-2 than Kendall-Stewart? Against RHP, Ellis isn't really good enough to bat at the top of the order, so then...who?...Jump everyone up a spot and drop Kendall to 9th? Maybe, but given Kendall's solid OBP I think they have it right.
Disenchantment with Kendall
I am getting increasingly disenchanted with the guy, but the Athletics pitchers give him high marks for his game-calling.
I think, compared to even 1999, the video study of players can affect their ability to "come through" in a tight situation, as pitchers and catchers have a lot more 'situational info' to work with. Some batters adjust, but I think Kendall is (ironically, see catcher) one that is not successful at adjusting his approach at the plate to create success in crucial situations. Old dog=no room for new tricks.
I heard he def tries "adjusting". But I do not see enough results.
by One won lost won on Apr 3, 2007 1:14 PM PDT up reply actions
Pitching Rotation???
Why is Blanton starting tonight and not Harden? I have been out of the loop for two weeks or so but what the hell is going on???
by HardenForCy on Apr 3, 2007 3:44 PM PDT reply actions
Think it's so
Harden gets the home opener. But I could easily be wrong.
by Graham MacAree on Apr 3, 2007 5:26 PM PDT up reply actions
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