Allow me to recap the last 48 hours:
Blanton & bullpen threw a two-hitter, Zito & bullpen threw a one-hitter. The A's pitchers have held Seattle to three hits and zero runs over the last 20 innings, with no relief in sight. I'm sure the Seattle batters would have gladly seen anyone other than Rich Harden in the game today, and unless they choose to patiently wait it out against our flame-thrower, look for them to swing early and often, which is a dream come true when you're concerned with pitch-count.
If you're looking to schedule baseball around your life (and yes, this is different than scheduling your life around baseball), here's some free advice. If there's an A's game you don't want to miss, it's when Harden's on the mound, especially against a team that is frustrated offensively.
Standing in the way of the A's and their second consecutive series win is Joel Pineiro, or `Jooooooeeeeelllllleeeee', if you prefer the Seattle announcers' four-syllable pronunciation. After coming off a pretty uninspiring 2005, Pineiro beat the Angels last week, going 6+. He's beatable. (If this was last year's A's team, I would add, `but don't worry; we'll make him look Cy Freakin' Young', but since the additions of Do-Not-Pass-Go and Don't-Make-Any-Sudden-Movements, I feel pretty good about our chances.)
Today's lineups:
Seattle
Suzuki
Lopez
Ibanez
Sexson
Everett
Beltre
Reed
Betancourt
Quiroz
Your 2006 Oakland Athletics
Ellis
Kotsay
Crosby
Chavez
Thomas
Bradley
Payton
Kendall
Swisher
Dan Johnson is sitting today, despite some success against Pineiro. That might not be a bad thing.
