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Game Eight Impressions

Oh where oh where could our little offense be? Danny Haren pitched beautifully tonight. His second straight good outing with little to no offensive support.

Apparently, Haren is our new Hudson.

How weak has the offense been in the first week plus?

  • The A's are last in extra base hits in the American League.
  • The team is fifth lowest in the AL in team OPS.
  • The A's have also scored the second fewest runs in the AL.
  • Not surprisingly, our team is hitting .203 with RISP. Only the White Sox have a lower batting average. The A's and White Sox are the only teams with an OBP below .300 with RISP.
Now, the A's pitching, minus last night and Zito's Tampa Bay performance has been great. Haren quieted a very hot-hitting team.

Yes, it's still very early and perhaps the A's offense will awaken from its slumber very soon. Offenses usually pick up the pace once the weather heats up. But it's got to be troubling for the kids to pitch well and get no offensive support.

Our boys also haven't exactly been lucky. During the day, Swisher's hit in the ninth inning is a home run. Thomas's slicing drive in the seventh was run down on an outstanding play by Reed Johnson. That hit would've tied the game.

Part of me believes that a team takes the personality of its leader. And Eric Chavez is a second-half player. He's always been that way throughout his career. So, I'm not going to let this get me down.

Yet. But because of the seemingly softer schedule at the beginning of the season, these losses hurt.