The A's and Simmerin' Joe Blanton with a 1-5 record and a 6.14 ERA take on the Nationals and Livan Hernandez with an 8-2 record and a 3.45 ERA.
Blanton finally got his first victory the last time out. I know pitchers can't take momentum from start to start, but it'd be nice if his slider made the trip to Washington with him.
As for the missing offense, the rumors are true and Matt Watson has indeed been called up and finally, Charles Thomas has mercifully been sent down to Sacramento to get some regular at-bats. I really like this move because Thomas can be a good player, he just never had a chance to get in the groove. Hopefully, he'll do so in Sacramento and then make Billy Beane's job tougher in deciding who to move later this year.
Watson is right into the fire as he's in tonight's starting lineup:
Kendall
Crosby
Kotsay
Chavez
Johnson
Swisher
Watson
Ellis
Blanton
I like this lineup, but then again, you already know that.
The Nationals counter with this group:
Wilkerson
Church
Guillen
Johnson
Castilla
Baerga
Schneider
Guzman
Hernandez
LET'S END THIS ROAD MISERY!!! LET'S GO OAK-LAND!!!!!!!
