Final Scores: 6-3 Rangers and 5-2 Rangers
Game 1: Travis Buck hit a 2-run HR in the 2nd and Josh Outman struck out a career high 9 in 6.2 IP of 3 hit ball, but Marlon Byrd's HR off Outman tied the game 3-3 in the 7th and back-to-back HRs off Santiago Casilla in the 8th, by Andruw Jones and Nelson Cruz, gave Texas a 6-3 win.
Game 2: Texas scored 4 runs in the 1st inning off of Edgar Gonzalez, capped off by Taylor Teagarden's bases loaded two-run single, and the A's offense was...well...the A's offense.
This double-header was painful for me to watch, but not because the A's lost twice, not because the A's fell 10 games under .500, not because the A's dropped to 10 games out of 1st place. The most painful part was the occasional shot in the dugout of Ron Washington, whose intelligence, intensity, and high expectations cannot be denied by anyone who has followed his career. The A's aren't going to win the West, so I hope the Rangers do - they were smart enough to hire Ron Washington to manage their team and they deserve, as he deserves, some success.
What's remarkable to me is that a decision Bob Geren made in New York, to bring the infield in with runners at second and third and nobody out in the 2nd inning of a 0-0 game (Brett Gardner vs. Dana Eveland), which I thought was evidence of a manager who had no strategic understanding of the game, is now only the THIRD dumbest decision that I think Geren has made. I thought walking Russell Branyan in Seattle (ahead of Jose Lopez' game-winning hit) to load the bases was even more moronic, but tonight Geren outdid even himself, ordering an intentional walk to Chris Davis to load the bases in the 1st inning of Game 2.
Chris Davis had struck out all four ABs in Game 1, and finished the double-header 0-7 with 6 Ks. He has now struck out a major league leading 77 times, including 23 times in his last 34 ABs. He is batting .194 and will likely be optioned to AAA. In sum, he is essentially, this season and especially right now, the equivalent of a pitcher batting. I was truly in disbelief when I saw this move being made.
I'm sorry. Bob Geren is simply not fit to manage a major league baseball team. Even stupid managers don't make some of the decisions he has made - and it's not like his team plays good fundamental baseball, or exudes any noticeable intensity or joy in the dugout or on the field. A's players - who are both young and limited in talent and need every advantage they can get - and A's fans, deserve better.
{Reminder: If you want to join SoCal ANers for the Dodgers game on June 16th or the Padres game on June 20th, remember to email baseballgirl ASAP. Her email address is: baseballgirl1976@hotmail.com}
