The only way this day could've been better by Danny Haren was if he conserved his pitch count and pitched all nine innings. Then again, against the Red Sox, that's a nearly impossible order.
Haren did exactly what the A's needed him to do today. He pitched beautifully against a murderous offense, allowing one run in seven innings and giving the beleagured bullpen a rest. The A's only need to use Calero and Street, the two pitchers who had the day off yesterday.
And what more can be said about Frank Thomas? He's got a .976 OPS in July and has been everything the A's could've ever wanted. Thomas and Loaiza are pretty much at the opposite end of spectrum when it comes to offseason moves for the A's. It was the best of Thomas and the worst of Esteban.
Now, granted no one should be jumping for joy that the A's beat Royal castaway Kyle Snyder, but regardless the A's are 4-3 on the season against the Red Sox. They're also weathering this storm of a schedule and hanging right in their with the Halos from Hollister. And on top of it, Bartolo Colon left the Angels game today with irritation in his elbow. Who knows the extent of the injury, but the A's are hanging onto that first place position despite everything.
On the other news front, Jason Windsor was sent down, so he will not be the starting pitcher on Sunday for AN Day. From that same article, the holdup on the lineups today was Eric Chavez who was having MRIs on his forearms. He actually had two hits today. The last time he had more than two hits in a game was June 16th against the Los Angeles Dodgers. So maybe he's getting a little better. He's actually consider acupuncture as a solution. Ouch.
Still, the day today belongs to Haren and Big Hurt. It was a game the A's really needed and they got it. It doesn't get any easier tomorrow with the Blue Jays coming in. I'm sure we'll see an inpired Ted Lilly on the mound tomorrow night facing Smokin' Joe Blanton. I wonder who we're going to see for AN Day this year? Will it be Kirk Saarloos again (he's pitched five of the last six times I've been to the Coliseum, so I'm betting it's a good chance)?
