Sweet little piece from our old pal Milton Bradley.  I guess there's some mixed feelings about him here, though it seemed like people were pretty gung-ho on him for the most part.  The part about the hug from Ron Washington is one of the more poignant things I've read recently, certainly on the sports page.  Good to see him doing well (as long as the Rangers keep pitching like the Rangers, that is.)

http://bats.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/07/milton-bradley-what-have-i-done-now/index.html?hp

I've long theorized that part--not all, but a part--of the A's success over the past decade has been an intangible:  a good clubhouse vibe.  Obviously the construct can be attacked historically:  note the success of the Bronx Zoo teams of the 70s, for example.  Massive talent can overcome chemistry issues in baseball and other sports (Kobe/Shaq being another), but when you can't overwhelm opponents with a talent discrepancy, I think the vibe does come into play, in two ways.

First, the good clubhouse vibe carries teams through some of the bad days instead of having them implode when the going gets rough.  Compare the Yanks of the late 90s, with a young Jeter and Tino/O'Neill/Bernie in his prime, with the ego-celebs of today (A-Rod and OldJeter.)  As much as I despise the Sox, Varitek, Damon, and the Cowboys or whatever the hell their names were--they clearly had some good mojo there.  They held it together when a lesser team would have folded.  When the press, the fans, and of course let's now add the blogs are down on you, you've only got your teammates, and with a bunch of young guys in their 20s and early 30s, it's hard to believe that this doesn't make a difference.

Secondly, I've just always sensed that the A's seem less stressed than some of their opponents.  Maybe that comes from not having too many big contracts that become psychological albatrosses as players fail to live up to them, maybe ironically it's the small crowds, maybe it's the weather, which during baseball season is pretty sweet for a player (if a bit chilly some nights for a fan), maybe it's living in one of the coolest places in America if you've got $ in your pocket, maybe it's just the assortment of guys that have been there (clearly Giambi and Swish were pretty fun-loving guys.)  I don't know.  But on the whole, when I look at the people who've moved through Oakland's roster, I sense that most of them look back pretty fondly on it.  And when you like the guys you play with, I'd guess it's worth a few wins.  It can't mask a pitiful team, but it can carry a solid one a little further than otherwise.

That said, hats off to Sweeney, who personally could have much to lose from Frank's arrival, of whom he said:  “Frank Thomas is a great player—one of the best players to ever play this game.”  Sweeney's a class act.  Here's to the good vibe continuing!

Last year Murphy had 6 HRs in 118 ABs with the A's.  In the minors he hit low double digits each year from 2004-2006.

H2N3A3 has never, at any level, hit close to the 1HR/20AB that Murphy achieved last year .  Granted, he's had a higher OBP than Murphy.

On the other hand, Hannahan is 3 years older, and Murphy is at an age where he appears be able to add some muscle au natural to his frame. 

Hannahan  is on pace for a 30-error season or something like that as well.

Obviously we're in small sample land, but I've just never taken Murphy very seriously (something about the "Donnie" makes him seem a little like "Opie," perhaps.)  But I'm curious about the pop that he's shown (and that Hannahan hasn't.)  Given that we've got Barton at 1st, Suzuki at C, etc., we're going to need all the pop we can get, and maybe this is one place that there's an upgrade.  Maybe.

The Gamer was everything we could have hoped when he came over for Ethier.  Unintimidated, confident, executing, he was the guy who tried to put us on his back and carry us across.  The guy who the opposing teams hate, who gets into the heads of the pitchers.  Of course I'm disappointed--Frank without a hit?--but the Gamer showed that he has the personality and talent to be a real star.  I hope he can stay happy enough and healthy enough to capitalize on this performance.

Thanks for a great season, everyone.  This community made it my favorite baseball season ever.

Peace, Peter

I started getting antsy when I saw Kendall and JPay moving into the .290s.  Last night, JPay ends up at .300, and part way through today's game, Kendall's there.  Takes away some of our charm, I think.  What happened to the 5 hits, 6 runs, no errors by-line?

Get the Rangers out of town, quick!

In Frank We Trust!

Can anyone describe what our MVP looked like on his run?  Did he slide?  How long did it take him to get up?  Did Mirabelli poop in his pants at the sight of the Big Hurt that he (and probably Frank too) was about to get?  And then he works the count and gets the possible insurance run, except that Kotsay gets nailed at the plate.  Man, I haven't felt like the A's have had a hitter like this since Giambi.  Dont' get me wrong, I LOVED Tejada, but Thomas seems to be able to get into others' heads when the pressure is on.  It always seemed like Miggy got out whenever people shouted "MVP".  Frank is just one dangerous dude with mystery rebar. Holy Toledo, I love this guy!

All season, glancing across the .220s-270s, with the occasional .280 hitter.  Funniest damn line-up, really.  Suddenly, or I guess gradually, in truth, JPay and Kendall, pushing .300.  It will be so strange, so assymetrical (unless we have Perez out there with the
.090).  Wow......

Hey, anyone else notice how Kotsay always seems to get one hit a game, but rarely more?  Can anyone run a stat sheet on how often he has had 0, 1, 2, and 3 hits a game?