The A's and Smokin' Joe Blanton with a 5-8 record and a 4.64 ERA take on the Rangers and Camera-shy Anger Management Rogers with an 11-4 record and a 2.54 ERA.
At stake? Second place in the division and better positioning in the wild card race. Texas is a scary place for pitchers. So we'll see how young Joe deals with the sandbox in Arlington.
By the way, for all the criticism the A's offense has received, guess what? Since May 30, the A's have scored a major league-best 248 runs over that time span. The A's also now have the best ERA over that time span at 3.02. Not surprisingly, the team has risen from the dead.
I can't tell you how bad it looks for major league baseball that Kenny Rogers is still allowed to pitch. It will be even more pathetic if MLB shortens his suspension.
The A's lineup looks like this:
Kendall
Kotsay
Crosby
Chavez
Kielty
Payton
Swisher
Ginter
Ellis
Ginter plays third and Swisher plays first as Chavy is the DH tonight. Let's hope Crosby comes out of his mini-funk. Texas is the perfect place to do it.
Texas counters with this lethal lineup:
Dellucci
Young
Teixeira
Blalock
Soriano
Mench
Matthews
Hidalgo
Barajas
The A's battle Texas in a four-game series with only one appearance in Arlington by Harden and no Zito. The bullpen could be taxed.
LET'S GO A'S!!!!!!!
