Kudos to Scott Hatteberg and the A's for their timely offensive resurgence. For those who worried that Hatty was done, remember that only three things in life are certain: death, taxes, and Hatteberg will hit around .277. And that's exactly where he is after a 3-5 night at the plate, featuring a single, double, homerun, and a slide that would make Jeremy Giambi proud (or at least make him go, "Hey, you're allowed to do that?").
Haren, bothered by spotty command and the worst home plate umpiring this side of Angel Hernandez, still managed to shut the Yankees out for 6 innings, with back-end relievers handling the final nine outs. Now if Saarloos can just match Aaron Small for 5 innings tomorrow, options abound for Macha, who should have Duke and Street available for up to 2 innings each, plus Witasick and Calero at the ready. For the first time, it really feels like "crunch time," that (shorter than most fans think) period where you pull out all the stops to win a key series, or to keep pace or stay ahead. Crunch time: I think we're finally there.
One other note. Yes, the Angels won but was it possibly at a cost? Mike Scioscia chose to use K-Rod for a 4th consecutive day, even though the Angels had a 3-run lead going into the 9th. Let's watch how K-Rod looks the next couple of weeks, while appreciating the sensible approach the A's take with their golden arms.
