The A's and Joe Kennedy with a 7-8 record with a 6.18 ERA take on the Angels and Ervin Santana with a 7-6 record and a 4.94 ERA.
September is here. The last full month of the regular season. Did you ever expect that the A's will end September 1 in first place? But whether it will be tied for first or two games up, it depends on the A's sixth starter, Joe Kennedy.
The murderous month of September starts with the A's suddenly up to their eyeballs in key injuries. The A's have seven games against the Yankees and Red Sox, five games (including tonight) against the Angels, three against the Twins and 12 against the Mariners and Rangers. And that's it.
September also brings with it call-ups. Matt Watson, Juan Cruz and Alberto Castillo joined the A's today. Watson gives the A's an extra outfielder who could help with Kotsay's injury. Cruz is there if Kennedy falters. And Castillo will be insurance in case Macha wants to play both Kendall and Melhuse at the same time.
September also means I'm watching our infield be torn up right now by the Raiders game. Ugh. Let's hope the field isn't absolutely destroyed when the A's play tomorrow night.
The A's lineup looks like this:
Ellis
Scutaro
Chavez
Johnson
Payton
Hatteberg
Kielty
Swisher
Melhuse
Kendall gets a night off, but I would really like to see Johnson batting in front of Chavez in this game. Payton is a natural four hitter right now.
The Angels lineup looks like this:
Figgins
Cabrera
Anderson
Guerrero
Molina
Erstad
Rivera
Quinlan
Kennedy
Let's hope Kennedy (ours, not theirs) has his offspeed stuff working tonight because both Blanton's and Zito's baffled the Angels. If he doesn't, it could be a long night for A's fans.
LET'S GO A'S!!!!!!!
