According to the Associated Press, following the A's loss yesterday, their fourth in a row, Nick Swisher scrawled "Team Meeting: 5 p.m." on the message board in the clubhouse.
The frustrations many of us have felt during this losing skid, which has seen the A's score only 5 runs over four contests, appear to have reached the players as well, who thus far have only offered the typical platitudes, best exemplified by Dan Johnson's, "The other team is just scoring more runs than we do, so we lose..." (Yahoo!) But, not having a backstage pass to this meeting, and not feeling tongue-in-cheek enough to skewer the process using comic software, the idea that the A's players could assemble together and fix what ails them is an intriguing one. Can you imagine the agenda?
Team Meeting
5:00 p.m. (Review minutes of last meeting, take attendance)
5:05 p.m. (Open forum: Are we really as bad as it seems?)
5:15 p.m. (Addressing the offense)
- Is there such a thing as clutch?
- How to stay out of the double play?
- How to avoid taking third strikes...
5:30 p.m. (Open forum: Larry Davis: Friend or Foe? Steps to avoid him)
5:40 p.m. (Leadership presentation by Jason Kendall. Optional)
5:50 p.m. (Open forum: The role of relief pitchers. Back to basics)
6:00 p.m. (Confidence Builder: Jack Cust presentation)
6:15 p.m. (Confidence Builder: Dan Haren presentation)
6:25 p.m. (Household items: Issues with per diem, living arrangements)
6:30 p.m. (Conclude meeting)
Whether this approximates the discussion or not, it's very interesting, at least to me, that it's Nick Swisher seen calling the meeting. Sometimes seen as the party guy or the most talkative male on the planet, Swisher's not often given credit for his leadership this early in his career. Did he call the meeting, or did one of the vets get him to write it on the board? And will this meeting spur the A's to turn their momentum around?
I'd argue the #1 way they can change their momentum is by putting their ace, Dan Haren on the mound, and luckily for us, that's the plan today. At 4:05 PDT, Haren and the A's take on Cliff Lee and the Indians in the second game of the series. We'll be here for our own meeting of sorts. Bring Kleenex and refreshments.
