This is almost getting to be laughable. I seriously just kind of chuckled when I heard about Frank Thomas. The A's now had Thomas go down with some kind of leg injury running to third in the eighth inning of a six-run game. Probably not a wise choice to have him running the bases on that field turf in a game that was unlikely to go into extras. Bad call on that one, Mach. Then again, Thomas has shown no signs of being the fragile player he's been the last two plus seasons so far. Still, it would seem like a wise choice to get Antonio Perez out there running.
Still, that makes it Chavez, Thomas, Bradley, Kennedy, Duchscherer, Harden and Loaiza as all injured players. Did I miss anyone? Probably. The worst part is that many of these guys aren't injured badly enough to put on the DL, so the A's are now dealing with having like a 20-man roster. All due respect to Jay Payton, Bobby Kielty, Kirk Saarloos and Marco Scutaro, but the A's roster is starting to resemble something from the minor leagues. Especially if Thomas is out for a little while. That "depth" is really being tested immediately. What is it about the month of May?
Regardless, that's no excuse to get blasted 8-3 today in Toronto as Los Kirk gave up three long bombs. The A's have to just hope to survive this stretch and keep in the hunt while Chavy and company get better. If Swisher were to go down now, you'd know this team was just jinxed in 2006. Swisher is really becoming the most complete and valuable player on the A's roster. A switch hitter who can mash from both sides of the plate? All I can say is...WOW.
Thankfully the AL West has shown to be a relatively weak division thus far this season so there's no reason to pack it in, but it does make one wonder, how many injuries can one club sustain and still compete with other big league clubs? The A's now go into New York where the weather is predicted to be terrible this weekend. I, for one, wouldn't mind a few rainouts to help Oakland get back to health. We'll see if the weather gods cooperate.
