Can you remember the last time the A's had a bad start from a starter (I know there has been, I just can't remember it off the top of my head which is amazing)? And even then, Blanton didn't really start giving it up until the sixth.
The A's offense scored five runs thanks to Nick Swisher, which is good considering the fact that Swisher has been in a slide. I believe he was something like 2-19 coming into the game. I'd check the stats, but I'm about to put my daughter to sleep.
Eric Chavez had a pretty bad night, although he did give the A's a chance to bring the tying run to the plate in the ninth inning with a key hit. It's just too bad that he didn't do it earlier in the game.
I mentioned before the game started that I really liked the lineup and I did, but it also made managing against the A's pretty darned easy when you line up Swisher, Johnson, Cust and Chavez in order. You simply need to call on your best lefty reliever and there ya go. Diffuse the rally. This is where the absence of Piazza and Bradley is the most tangible. I did have a feeling that Scoot might come through in the ninth, but that's just watching it happen so many times over the past couple of years.
The A's also didn't just lose a game tonight. They've lost Travis Buck, possibly Robertson and Flores (I didn't catch why he left, perhaps someone could enlighten me). The A's are reaching depths of injuries that I've never seen before. We're traveling down a hole in sports that I just couldn't imagine. Have you ever seen anything like this? I mean we all know that players like Bradley and Kotsay and even Duchscherer have histories of problems, but for it to grip guys like Robertson, Buck and Flores now? I wonder who Geren or Beane pissed off in the grand scheme of things?
Perhaps the injuries will wind up helping the A's realize what they have both in the minors and in terms of reclamation projects like Snelling and Cust? Or maybe I'm just trying to comfort myself on a night that was frustrating both on the field and off?
Well I'm off to put my daughter to bed. If I don't show up on Thursday, it's because I pulled a hammy in the rocking chair reading Clifford the Big Red Dog to her. That's how deep the A's injury issues run these days...
