Well, whoever won tonight was going to say, "We dodged a bullet." It seemed as if the worst strategy for either offense was to get the leadoff guy to second--or heaven forbid that a runner should anger mighty Zeus by arriving at third with less than two outs. In the end, though, it came down to a familiar formula: Saarloos wobbles but he doesn't fall down, and Hustin Streetscherer takes it from there.
Ownership. Who knows why some teams own other teams, as the A's have owned the White Sox in the 21st century. It makes no sense, especially in an era where players move around so much. What does Scott Podsednik know, or care, about the history between the A's and the White Sox? But Chicago falls for the 5th time in 7 meetings with Oakland, which means the A's have dealt the White Sox nearly 20% of their losses for the entire season.
For tonight's "discussion question," here's one that has generated many contrasting views: Which is an easier task, passing 1-2 teams but gaining 9-10 games, or gaining 5-6 games but passing 5-6 teams? Y'all can duke that one out while I ponder what will be the largest dead animal at tomorrow's Chez Nico II. Will it be the carcass of a large rat? Leg of yak? A slab of walrus? Palindrome?
