I don’t know about the rest of you, but pretty much for the whole month of July, I kept waiting for a winning streak. I thought if the A’s could just win a couple of games in a row, then we might have something to build on. Of course, it became inexorably frustrating the more games in a row that they lost, and of course, consistently losing ugly just made it worse.
Somehow, someway--perhaps by playing the baseball that I sometimes think they are capable of (great pitching, great defense, scoring at least four runs)--the A’s managed to stop the insanity and halt their losing streak. Frankly I don’t care if they were on the receiving end of a blatant missed call by the umpire, who probably felt sorry for them; the A’s finally scored with the bases loaded, even via a hit, produced by Marco Scutaro. Scutaro is no Chavez, but he had a stellar game on defense today. Plus, a hit with the bases loaded? I’ll bet he’s one of only a few Athletics to do that.
What a different game it is when they score early. Staking Lenny DiNardo to a four-run lead was more than enough; as he pitched a gem of a game for seven innings, turning it over to the awesome Santiago Casilla for the shutout. How long has it been since we even had a lead to protect?
But the offense didn’t stop at four. The A’s added on, with some late hitting by their offense (good sign), and a homerun by Crosby (not such a good sign).
Call me crazy, but I wasn’t at all excited about Bobby Crosby’s homerun. I mean, we already had a 4-0 lead; why couldn’t he have hit it in a game when it was needed?
I’M KIDDING.
However, in all seriousness, my pet peeve is when Bobby Crosby hits a homerun and the A’s talk about him ‘breaking out of it’. Breaking out of what exactly? Unless you consider him in a career-long slump, Bobby Crosby is not a good hitter. Taking one out of the park every once in a while doesn’t change that; in fact, it may make it worse, because it makes him less likely to change anything about his at-bats. Our announcers can talk about Crosby’s ‘potential’ all they want. I call it ‘wasted talent’.
That being said, I sure like watching Travis Buck, Shannon Stewart and Santiago Casilla. That’s something anyway. I have a tough time analyzing Suzuki yet. He's had a tough time at the plate, but as he’s getting used to major league pitching, I think the jury’s still has to be out.
Injury updates:
The A’s have put Estaban Loaiza on a rehab plan. He will throw a simulated game on the 23rd, will have a side session on the 25th, throw another simulated game on the 27th, and if all goes well, will rehab in the minors on the 30th or 31st. I’ll believe it when I see it.
Eric Chavez had an MRI on his back, and it has shown nothing. Expect him back in the lineup this weekend.
Well, every great journey starts with a single step, and every great comeback starts with a single win. The trick is to get the second.
The A’s try for their second win in a row on Friday against the Tejada-less Orioles. See you back here for all the action.
