That’s all she wrote, folks. Games don’t come much uglier than this one. Today’s frustration obviously piled up for Blanton, set off by a bases-clearing hit by Seattle, after the A’s failed to score with the bases loaded and no one out, yet again. Aside from Chavez’ homerun (solo, of course, is there any other kind?), the A’s offense did zip, nada, nothing the rest of the game, despite opportunities all over the place. Seattle even gift-wrapped a couple of runs, and it still wasn’t enough.
And not to single anyone out in what was truly a team effort in the loss, but today the Bobbys were about as bad as it’s possible to be and still play at the major league level. You would think that nothing could surprise me about Bobby Crosby, but he had one of the worst at-bats I’ve seen from him, and that’s saying a lot. No one was very excited to see Crosby at the plate with two outs and the bases loaded, but after the batter in front of him had just been walked, and the first pitch was a ball, what in the world was he doing swinging out of the zone on the next pitch, popping up with a 1-0 count and much-needed potential runs on the bases? Likewise, Kielty (who was somehow hitting fifth his first day off the DL), had a similarly awful at-bat with the bases loaded and no one out, grounding into the worst possible outcome; a 1-2-3 double play.
I think our reaction to this team right now is about on par with Blanton’s. They just aren’t playing well, and nothing seems to be working. And yes, Ichiro was standing right on top of a ball in play, but Blanton seemed less interested in getting the ball than shoving Ichiro. And of course, Jason Ellison absolutely, 100% should have been kicked out of the game for his attempt at shoving back at Blanton, but really, it didn’t matter much. When you can’t score more than one run via a hit, you don’t deserve to win. And the A’s don’t right now.
If there was ever a need for a break, this is it. Go play some golf or something, little A’s players, because you all need a break from baseball.
On a brighter note, congratulations to Danny Haren for being our sole All-Star representative. No one deserves it more than you do, Dan, and we are proud of you for a tremendous season.
Let’s hope that the A’s can regroup during this week and come out strong in Minnesota on Thursday. Enjoy the break, enjoy the ASG, and we’ll see you back here soon.
