On the one hand, I love hate to say I told you so.
On the other hand, maybe there is something to the notion of game-to-game "momentum" in baseball -- at least for Adrian Beltre.
In the final analysis, we might have been left with more questions at the end of the game than at the outset: Is Harden healthy, but ineffective? Is Harden not entirely healthy and therefore ineffective? Will Harden be able to make his next start? Is Harden simply not mature enough to manage his own emotions and mechanics? Is a 2-2/3-inning stint too small a sample from which to draw any conclusions whatsoever? Is the KME simply not strong enough to overcome all of Harden's issues?
Here's what we do know: A matchup of King Felix against the A's offense is just unfair. Chavvy in traction is an upgrade over Scutaro at third. The iNardo may not have much resale value and may be inferior technology, but it's at least sturdy and reliable, if you don't mind a few dropped balls.
We are quickly getting to the point in the A's season where not only does a loss seem a likelier outcome on any given day than a win, but the interesting questions have less to do with the influences on the outcome of the game (no offense, pitching having to live up to an impossibly think margin of error, health impacting the A's defense more than then offense) than they do with tangents and prospects for '08.
