The A's and Smokin' Joe Blanton with a 1-1 record and a 4.50 ERA take on A's killer Kenny Rogers and the Tigers. Rogers is 2-1 with a 3.26 ERA and has not yet thrown any cameramen this season (that we know of).
And Hallelujah, Ken Macha listened to my advice and is sitting Eric Chavez against a pitcher who has given him fits. Course, Jason "Killer" Kendall is back at the top of the lineup. Yes, he's hit Rogers well, but please let this be a one-game aberration. Please?
The A's actually have an all-righty lineup for the first time since the Carter administration. Hopefully that helps change the team's fortunes against A's killer Rogers.
The A's lineup looks like this:
Kendall
Ellis
Crosby
Thomas
Bradley
Payton
Swisher
Kielty
Perez
The A's offense really needs to pick it up. Granted, having a few players like Swisher, Chavez and Bradley hitting has helped keep the team afloat, but the A's are perilously close to having the worst OBP in the AL. The A's team OBP is hovering around the .300 mark. The A's are hitting .238 as a team. By comparison, the Tigers are hitting .285 with a .326 OBP. Even with all the changes, the offense has still started slowly.
The Tigers send out this lineup:
Granderson
Polanco
Rodriguez
Ordonez
Gomez
Shelton
Guillen
Monroe
Inge
LET'S GO A'S!!!!!!!
