If the A's have proven one thing in the 21st Century, it's that they are not at their best in series-clinching games. The past week has been a microcosm of the ALDS nightmares that have plagued Oakland, as the A's played 4 games that would have clinched winning a key series...and went 0-4. And so it is the A's who have to play catch up on Labor Day.
Clearly, this team is not the same without its most feared starting pitcher, or the guys who patrol the middle of the lineup and the middle of the field. But who is? If the A's make the playoffs this year, the team MVP is an easy call: it will have to be Larry Davis.
Finally, here's a stat you can't trot out very often. There were 365 pitches thrown in tonight's game, and the A's trailed after every one of them. That, and the 9 walks, were loads of fun. Go get `em tomorrow.
