Open Thread: Game 6 - A's at Angels

A 3-game lead with 157 to play? No, I'm not ready to call it yet. Plus, the A's have a history of winning big in the opener of in a series with the Angels only to lose the remaining games.

Tonight, Oakland gets its stiffest challenge since Felix Hernandez as the A's go up against Angels' Opening Day starter Jered Weaver. Oakland counters with its own Game 1 hurler, Ben Sheets, whose debut featured a mixed bag of 5 innings and 3 runs, 2 earned. In Sheets' debut, two negatives growth opportunities (good LORD, I hate report card writing) stood out as he scraped the rust off the edges: He was more wild than you can usually expect him to be going forward, and his curve didn't have the sharp bite you would ideally want to see.

Worth noting about the sweeping breaking-ball artist, Jered Weaver: Not surprisingly his career L/R splits are significant. To lefties, he has allowed 351 hits in 338.2 IP, and has sported a WHIP of 1.37. To righties, he has allowed just 295 hits in 339 IP with a WHIP of 1.12.

Susan Slusser reports that Daric Barton says his hip and leg feel better than they did before yesterday's game. Eh? Great, Daric -- slip on a wet infield more often! Talk about shallow waters, though.