Honestly, this is the type of game I expected to see a lot more of in the course of this so-called "rebuilding" year. It was the type of game where some nice things happened, but you never expected the A's to actually win. And with Joe Blanton leaving some very hittable stuff up-in-the-zone while the A's offense was taking a siesta for the first 4 innings, there was no real threat of the A's actually winning this game...
And yet, some very nice things DID happen tonight...enough of them for me to chalk this one up to the rebuilding gods as a net positive for the team going forward. First off:
AN's OWN INTERNET SUPERSTAR BRAD ZEIGLER MADE HIS MAJOR LEAGUE DEBUT TONITE!
For a 20th-round, previously released, former-starter-turned-submarine-reliever who suffered several major life-altering injuries, we all knew the odds of Ziggy making it to the big leagues were steep...and yet, for those of us on this blog that were privy to Ziggy's work ethic and passion for his craft that he's shared with us time and again, there was no doubt that this day would come! Congratulations Ziggy and your pick-off move was freakin' awesome, so don't even worry about giving up that flukey hit!
Two other good things that happened tonight? Buck, Chavez and Suzuki seemed to have gotten their grooves back as they combined to go 7-for-12 with a double, 2 RBI's and 2 runs scored.
As for the actual team performance...it was uneven and, like I said above, reminiscent of how a rebuilding team would usually play. Blanton collected another loss tonight, but he did the save the bullpen by lasting 6 innings...if "lasting" is even the right word, after allowing runs in half of those innings, for a final line of 6 runs allowed, on 10 hits and 1 walk with zero K's. The offense did wake up a bit, stringing hits together in two separate innings (the 5th and the 7th) to push over what is a virtual Oakland bonanza of 4 total runs!
So, let's just all revel in the good things that come with watching a rebuilding team (Brad Ziegler), and let Geren, Beane and the coaching staff figure out a way to neutralize Brandon "Placido (hat tip mikeA)" Boggs and the rest of the Texas offense.
