We all thought it was perfectly likely that a portly veteran would be taking the mound today looking for a series sweep. But only in their worst alcoholic nightmares did CC Sabathia think he would be opposing that pitcher.
557 pounds will go at it, 290 of them belonging to Sabathia and the other 267 to Bartolo Colon. If the A's can somehow pull off a 4-game sweep of the Yankees -- and they've never done it -- they would post a score for the Angels to see before their 5:00pm game against Texas, a score that would say "We're tied with you for the WC1 and for 2nd place in the AL West".
But that is a long way away. Colon either needs to keep the ball in the park, or needs to make sure the HRs are like the 14 he has allowed so far this season: Solo. The A's need to remind Sabathia how he used to struggle mightily at the Coliseum -- his career mark of 8-8, 4.84 ERA against the A's is largely the result of early failures at the "ohdotkoh".
With Coco Crisp getting a rest, the starting lineups show Petaluma's Jonny Gomes batting #2 against Vallejo's CC Sabathia. No word on whether Gomes has guaranteed a 2-run HR this time.
