Reeling from 11 straight losses on the road, the A's are in Atlanta tonight to open a 3-game series with the Braves. This is a rare series between two teams that have recently set the standard for combining regular season success with Division Series futility. The Braves will throw "the guy the A's didn't get" Kyle Davies while the A's counter with "the guy the A's did get" Danny Haren--who, unlike my dog, can go 2 weeks without a walk and still not pee in the kitchen.
Please note that despite officially being "the new Friday/Saturday guy," today's post-mortems, and all of tomorrow's duties, will in fact be handled by Blez. This is because when Blez asked me to take on the Friday/Saturday duties, I said something to the effect of, "Sure, I'd love to, but I actually can't do this Saturday's game. Oh, and Friday's not so good either. How do you like me so far?"
But rest assured, my reasons are pure. Tomorrow, I'm busy hosting the first Chez Nico, and tonight, while you're enjoying the game (or at least paying attention to it), my friend and I will be cooking Thai food for the Chez Nico event. I'm assuming you don't really want to me come on after the game tonight with post-game analysis that begins, "So, did we win?" Nor do you want me to serve inedible Pad Thai tomorrow with the explanation, "I didn't really pay attention to the proportions, but wasn't the fourth inning great?"
All of which brings me to point out something I consider to be a great irony: My very first day on the AN beat, and tonight's game is guaranteed to end in a Thai.
The starting lineups are as follows:
Kendall
Ellis
Kotsay
Chavez
Crosby
D. Johnson
Swisher
Watson
Haren
Furcal
M. Giles
Betemit
LaRoche
A. Jones
Langerhans
Jordan
McCann
Davies
