<sigh>
It's going to be okay.
As your game thread moderator today, I feel compelled to reassure you, but as an A's fan on the roller-coaster ride with the rest of you, let me tell you that the A's don't have to win today, but they probably should win. Silver lining is that the Rangers still feel like they're in the race, and as far as I'm concerned, that's nothing but a good thing for the A's...starting tomorrow.
But for today, the A's need to do something different. May I suggest not getting behind by a four-spot at any point in the game? Blanton needs to be on his game today, and Vicente Padilla needs to be a different pitcher than the last time he faced the A's. I'd predict a pitching duel, but Blanton vs. The Rangers' Offense doesn't seem to shape up that way. The A's offense needs to show up in full-force, not just Frank Thomas, and the rollercoaster (or the Little Engine That Could, if you prefer) needs to start climbing back up the hill...starting now.
Today's lineups:
Rangers (BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO)
Matthews
Young
Teixeira
Lee
Blalock
DeRosa
Kinsler
Laird
Cruz
A's (YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY)
Kendall
Kotsay
Bradley
Thomas
Chavez
Payton
Swisher
Ellis
Scutaro
Interesting that Kielty isn't in there. He has a small sample size worth of success against Padilla.
