Our bald-headed guy only hit one HR today but his team won! And all the A's had to do was to get Albert Pujols out in a crucial 8th inning situation (1st/3rd, two out) and survive more inane decisions by their manager (sending up Eric Patterson to pinch-bunt, pulling Craig Breslow when he had retired all 5 in favor of Michael Wuertz, who promptly issued a walk, using double-switches to pass on Mark Ellis on defense but put Jack Cust, not Gabe Gross, in RF), and so on.
But no matter. Today is a happy day, as the A's are now 2-0 on "Parent Day" holidays -- and yes, that's the only spelling of that word you will ever see me use on AN -- thanks to an outstanding start by Trevor Cahill (6 IP, 2 ER, 7 K), stellar relief by Breslow, and a 4-out save by Andrew "I'm to be used strictly to get 3 outs plus or minus 3 or so" Bailey.
If the A's are going to salvage the first half of the season, they will need to do it these next 2 weeks as the schedule, and pitching matchups, promise to be more favorable. Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Baltimore, Cleveland, and the DH is back to stay the rest of the season. Now or never, guys -- at least today wound up being a step in the right direction.
