Well, the A's ace takes the mound tonight, trying to break his own three game losing streak while attempting to help the A's sweep the Mariners.
Not that a Cy Haren would have made much of a difference in the second half, but Haren's lackluster performances over his last handful of starts is disappointing at best, and concerning at worse. Maybe he's tired from innings pitched; maybe he's over the season like most of the rest of the team; maybe he doesn't want to show up the rest of the staff.
But he basically single-handedly put himself out of Cy contention with his last few starts; granted, it would have taken a minor miracle to win as a member of the A's this year, but he definitely had a chance.
His season is still something to feel good about, but I'd feel better if he would finish strong. Safeco seems to be the place for a Haren recovery; he is 3-1 with a 1.93 ERA here.
On the hill for Seattle will be Miguel Batista, and the A's have hit him well.
Can the A's get Danny Haren a late-season win? Can Daric Barton show off a little in the 2-spot? Can the A's take the next step to get back to .500? All these questions...and more...answered in about forty minutes.
Lineups
Seattle
Suzuki (the old one)
Beltre
Ibanez
Guillen
Broussard
Vidro
Betancourt
Burke
Bloomquist
Oakland
Stewart, LF
Barton, 1B
Swisher, CF
Cust, RF
Ellis, 2B
Johnson, DH
Suzuki, C (the new one!)
Hannahan, 3B
Murphy, SS
LET'S GO OAK-LAND!
