A 1-1 tie in the 5th turned into a walkathon, and the Red Sox eased away from there. Final Score: Boston 7, Oakland 3.
Be careful what you wish for. We’ve all been craving a little more consistency from Chad Gaudin, and in the bottom of the 5th we got consistency all right: walk, walk, walk, walk, slow walk to mound to put pitcher out of our misery. The sign of a truly bad outing, or inning, is when you realize that quite literally, you could actually have done what a major leaguer just did. And it’s true: I could walk four hitters in a row and then leave. I’m thrilled that Gaudin wants to get to 200 innings; I’d just prefer that he not get to 200 walks.
Meanwhile, it’s worth noting that while you never want to fall in love in September (at least not with a human), Daric Barton not only now has 3 HR, 11 extra-base hits, and a .344 batting average in 14 games, but he is doing it against accomplished major league pitchers, not against fellow AAA-callups. The A’s end the season against the 3 division leaders/winners, and they are throwing their regular pitchers out there in Carmona, Byrd, Westbrook, Schilling, etc. No, I don’t think Barton will hit .344 next year, but yes I think he’ll be at 1B on Opening Day. And Hannahan will be at 3rd…Which is a shame because until the ball drops you need to stay at 2nd, rook!
P.S. My two new favorite players: Jorge Velandia and Dioner Navarro!
