SB Nation - Santiago Casilla

Friday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 15:33:52 -0000

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

I've done pictures of Randy Wolf for three straight days, so here's one of LaTroy Hawkins.

Some things to read while compounding the problem.

The Brewer front office staff is back home from the Winter Meetings, so it's time to take a look at the recaps:

MLB FanHouse lists the Brewers as the big winner in the NL Central.
In-Between Hops ranked the Brewers #1 in free agent signings.
Big League Stew ranked the signings of Randy Wolf and LaTroy Hawkins as the meetings' 6th and 7th biggest moves, respectively.
John Steinmiller has a recap with pictures of what the Winter Meetings looked like from inside the Brewers' suite.

For the time being, the title of "newest Brewer" belongs to Rule 5 selection Chuck Lofgren, and he's excited for the opportunity. He's been a starter throughout the minors, but it sounds like he'll be given a shot to make the team as a situational lefty. Don't underestimate the value of having one more guy in the bullpen who could be called upon to make a spot start if needed. With that said, he is at best a complement to Mitch Stetter, not a replacement.

Meanwhile, for the second straight day I'm writing about a pitcher who doesn't actually want to be here. Yesterday, it was LaTroy Hawkins, who was "very disappointed" not to return to Houston. Today it's Randy Wolf, who really wanted to return to the Dodgers. Kudos to these guys for being honest, I guess, but would throwing in a "The Brewers are my team now, and I'll work my butt off for them" be too much to ask for?

We could be waiting a while longer for a decision from Mark Mulder. The Brewer front office staff will reportedly visit Mulder in January. Given the fact that this was being reported as a nearly done deal months ago, I'd guess there's a question about Mulder's health.

With Rickie Weeks, Alcides Escobar and Carlos Gomez all projected as members of the opening day starting lineup, Ken Macha has acknowledged he'll probably have the runners in motion much more often during the 2010 season. That prompted Miller Park Drunk to launch their "RUNNING" series. I'll link to the Ken Macha and Corey Hart chapters here...the other two are a little too obscene to even be linked from this site.

In the minors:

Tom H. has a great look (with a terrible headline) at the situation faced by Jeremy Jeffress, as he prepares to return to the minor leagues knowing that one more positive drug test will be the end of his baseball career. Jeffress, who will spend the first few months of the 2010 season in extended spring training, is saying all the right things, but I'll believe it when I see it.
Earlier this week I mentioned Project Prospect's look at the speed of AFL players, and mentioned the absence of Lorenzo Cain from the rankings. Adam Foster filled in the gap for us by looking back at video and giving Cain a 55-65 rating, which is well above average.

Voting continues for our BCB All Decade Team: You have until 4 today to cast your vote for a shortstop, where J.J. Hardy leads Mark Loretta by 281 votes as of this writing. The voting is much closer at third base, where Bill Hall leads Craig Counsell by 54 votes with Russell Branyan and Ryan Braun not too far behind. Voting for our first outfield spot will open at 4 today.

Around baseball:

Astros: Signed Pedro Feliz to a one year, $4.5 million deal and reliever Gary Majewski to a minor league deal.
Athletics: Released reliever Santiago Casilla.
Nationals: Released pitcher Zach Segovia.
Reds: Signed infielder Chris Burke to a minor league deal.
Rockies: Signed Chris Iannetta to a three year deal worth $8.3 million, buying out his arbitration years.

I've already mentioned the Brewer Rule 5 draft pick, Chuck Lofgren, but he's nowhere near the best name selected in the draft. Those honors go to former National/new Blue Jay Zech Zinicola.

The possibility of winter league injury probably keeps some front office execs up at night during the offseason, and in all honesty I'm surprised it doesn't happen more often. D-Backs outfielder Gerardo Parra suffered a muscle tear in his left thigh and is coming home from winter ball in Venezuela (h/t AZ Snakepit).

If you like charts and graphs and you're looking for something to play with today, you should check out Chartball. I only spent a few minutes there this morning, but they've got some fun interactive tools to work with. (h/t Baseball Musings)

On this day in 1997, the Brewers traded Gerald Williams to the Braves for Chad Fox. The deal worked out pretty well for both sides: Williams hit .286/.341/.475 over two seasons as a Brave, and Fox was healthy for two of four seasons in Milwaukee, including the 2001 season, where he appeared in 65 games and posted a 1.89 ERA.

Happy birthday today to Josh Butler, who turns 25.

Oh, and I'm writing today's Mug before breakfast, so this was fascinating. I'm off to go find food.

Drink up.

Evening Prowl: Grandy Talks, Questioning the Plan, and Mark Schlereth Changes Hats

Ian Casselberry — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 02:25:50 -0000

If you haven't seen it yet, Curtis Granderson talked to The Big Lead today. Among the topics discussed was whether he would've been traded if the Tigers had won Game 163, the fan reaction in Detroit to him being traded, and which outfield position he might play next season.

(Thanks to allikazoo for linking to this in a FanShot.)

The Freep's Michael Rosenberg wonders if the Tigers really have a plan right now. If so, why does it seem to keep changing? And how many times did it change throughout the course of this season?

I'd just add this thought, based on a conversation I had with Kurt: If the plan has changed - and it seems to have done so since 2006 - how much of that is because of Dave Dombrowski, and how much is on Mike Ilitch?

As this week's big trade was close to being completed, The Daily Fungo's Mike McClary (an Arizona resident) sent me a text message that ESPN NFL analyst Mark Schlereth attended many Diamondbacks games to see his son, Daniel, pitch. So he could be at plenty of Tigers games.

Sure enough, Schlereth declared a change in his baseball fandom today. "Long live the Detroit Tigers and the English D," he said as he donned a Tigers cap on the "Mike & Mike" show this morning. You can see the video here. (Couldn't ESPN spring for a fitted hat? Or is the former NFL player's head so big that he needs the adjustable?)

Fangraphs' Dave Cameron says moves like the Astros giving Brandon Lyon a three-year, $15 million contract are "why the team isn’t good, and won’t be good any time soon." But Lyon plays with remote-controlled airplanes, man.

According to the Baltimore Sun's Jeff Zrebiec, Fernando Rodney tops the Orioles' list of available free agent closers after meeting with his people in Indianapolis.

I don't usually do this (probably because it doesn't happen very often), but if it turns out that the Tigers sign Scott Podsednik, I would like to channel Tony Kornheiser and say, "I may have had that one right."

Another item on the Tigers' to-do list during these Winter Meetings was to find Tom Brookens' successor as manager in Double-A Erie. But it looks like former Tiger Phil Nevin is the man to take over. The hiring hasn't been formally announced yet, but was reported by the L.A. Times. Nevin played for Detroit from 1995-1997.

(Thanks to KidRick48 - formerly known as granderson28 - for posting this news in a FanShot.)

I know the Tigers have plenty of relievers right now, but when I see that the Oakland A's released Santiago Casilla, I feel like that's a guy Detroit should take a chance on. No, he didn't have a good year (5.96 ERA), due largely to calf and knee injuries. (And an elbow injury put him on the DL in 2008.) But he can strike out some batters.

Could it be...? No, it can't be... OMG it really is! It's a Minor League Update!!!

grover — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 13:00:25 -0000

Hello again.

Work called me away for a while and it’s been tough getting back into the groove of things. For those who don’t know, I’m a wildland fire fighter and August got a little busy for those in my career field. So when I disappear again for a couple weeks just remember… I envy your access to in-door plumbing.

Anyways, I want to focus this week’s minor league update on the 40 man roster and the options that are going to have to be decided upon in the coming months. Why do this now instead of waiting until September 1st? The topic tickles my fancy, that’s why. As I seem to have (once again) misplaced my Cap o’ Omnipotence I’m forced to resort to basic logic and common sense reckoning to try and deduce the future roster.

That’s right… none of what I’m about to tell you is guaranteed!

The way I see it, there are 28-29 spots on the future 40 man roster all but guaranteed. On the pitching side, Brett Anderson, Andrew Bailey, Jerry Blevins, Dallas Braden, Craig Breslow, Trevor Cahill, Joey Devine, Gio Gonzalez, Jeff Gray, Jay Marshall, Vin Mazzaro, Clayton Mortensen, Josh Outman, Henry Rodriguez, Michael Wuertz and Brad Ziegler all seem certain to have jobs in the Oakland organization next year. That’s 16 pitchers of varying combinations of success/cheapness/options that aren’t going to be released just to make room on the roster. (There’s a pretty good chance that Outman will open next season on the 60-day DL, opening up an additional spot on the 40 man.) Santiago Casilla and Edgar Gonzalez are both arbitration eligible next season but neither pitched so well that the A’s are going to be eager to give them big pay raises, which could mean either or both players could end up as trade fodder or possibly even released. Dana Eveland is still on the 40 man roster as well, but his poor performance led to a demotion that will keep him from seeing any arby money next season. Unfortunately, Mr. Eveland’s suckitude forced the A’s to use his last option this season; meaning he can’t be stashed on Sacramento’s roster next season without first passing through waivers. Chances are Eveland isn’t going to be one of the 5 best SP candidates for the A’s come Opening Day 2010 and as a lefty with a pulse he’d probably get snapped up by some other team desperate for pitching. Therefore, I think this is good-bye to Mr. Eveland.

As it just so happens, it looks as if the A’s are going to need maybe 3 openings on the 40 man roster just to protect some arms that should attract a lot of interest in the Rule 5 draft. Pedro Figueroa hasn’t advanced past High-A ball but he’s a lefty with a low-90’s fastball. Brad Kilby is another lefty who’s put up back-to-back quality campaigns in Sacramento’s bullpen. Fautino De Los Santos is still trying to bounce back from 2008 TJ surgery but he wouldn’t last long if the A’s made him available for the Rule 5 draft. Jason Ray is in the same boat but I don’t think there’s much risk of someone grabbing him and keeping him on a 25 man roster all season.

There’s also a chance the A’s might be interested in bringing back Brett Tomko or Justin Duchscherer next season. Dan Giese should be fully recovered in time for next season; maybe the A’s are still interested in him as a swing man type. Plus, guys like Sam Demel and James Simmons could be knocking on the door next season and they’d need a spot on the 40 man to do so. Like I said, I could see 3-4 spots going to the guys I just listed and we haven’t even looked outside the organization to find help.

The hitting side of things is even more in flux.

Kurt Suzuki, Landon Powell, Eric Chavez (who?) Mark Ellis, Daric Barton, Travis Buck, Aaron Cunningham, Rajai Davis, Scott Hairston, Ryan Sweeney, Jack Cust, Tommy Everidge, Cliff Pennington and Gregorio Petit have spots on the 40 man roster. (Although I’m not sure if Petit has another minor league option available to him in 2010… if someone has a conclusive answer I’d appreciate hearing it.) C Anthony Recker is the most prominent bat in the A’s system that would be eligible for the Rule 5 draft this winter and I’m not sure if the A’s would consider his departure to be a great loss. So any Recker fans out there can protect him on their 40 man lists, but I’m thinking the A’s leave him off the protected roster. Chris Denorfia and Eric Patterson are both out of options, so if they aren’t in Oakland come Opening Day there’s a good chance they’ll be playing for another organization in 2010. I can maybe see Patterson as a back-up at 2B and in the outfield but I’ve got to squint and angle my head to one side to see it. I think it’s more likely that the A’s will try to bring back Adam Kennedy to serve as a deluxe back-up option/veteran mentor type.

The real twist comes when you consider the minor league bats that the A’s have in AA or higher that aren’t yet on the 40 man roster. Sean Doolittle, Adrian Cardenas, Josh Donaldson, Corey Brown, Chris Carter and Brett Wallace highlight the next wave of Oakland offense… which could be much more refreshing than the current ripple in the still waters we’ve experienced as of late. Yet again we haven’t looked outside the current organization to determine if maybe there’s another bat to be had.

So bring back Kennedy, add the newbies and you’re looking at 38-39 players on the 40 man roster before the Rule 5 draft. Does anyone see any glaring omissions?

Until the next time...

8-3 win makes it eight straight

Travis G — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 03:00:03 -0000

More photos » by Frank Franklin II - AP

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Joba Chamberlain had one of his best starts of the year, going seven innings with six Ks and only five baserunners. He was efficient, throwing 100 pitches, including just 26 in his last three frames. His fastball averaged 93 MPH, and he topped out at 96.

Derek Jeter and Melky Cabrera had three hits apiece. The only hitless Yankees were Matsui and Swisher, though they drew one and two walks, respectively.

It looked as though Brett Anderson might pitch a perfect game through the first two innings, as he struck out four with only 26 pitches. It was a seemingly innocent infield single by Robbie Cano that started a two-run rally. The big hit came two batters later when Melky lined a double down the left-field line. Jeter followed that up with a Jeterian single to right, accounting for the Yanks first run.

It was still a fairly close game until the eighth, when the Yanks tacked on four more, beginning with a Jorge Posada homer and assisted by a Santiago Casilla throwing error.

Phil Coke was impressive in one perfect inning, striking out two with just 13 pitches. Yankee pitchers were able to bear down when Athletics got into scoring position, not allowing a hit in six AB.

Andy Pettitte goes tomorrow at 1 p.m. vs. Gio Gonzalez.

It's reunion time in Oakland

Poseidon's Fist — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 18:01:32 -0000

More photos » by Chris O'Meara - AP

Arguably the two most dangerous Athletic bats are former Rockies. But neither have been Oakland's best hitter to date.

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The storyline of this series goes without saying. It is MLB's only primary green team vs. the only team that wears purple. Oh wait - we don't even wear purple anymore. Right - that whole Matt Holliday/Carlos Gonzalez/Huston Street bit.

There's not a whole lot to say on that front. It will be the first time the trio play their former team - more of an event for Holliday and Street, who were both celebrated for years as premium players for their former clubs. Street has become a solid if not fantastic closer while Gonzalez furthers his reputation as a possible AAAA player.

As for Holliday, he is still working uphill from that terrible start. His wOBA is lower than every year in his career, including his rookie year, and his OPS+ only exceeds that same 2004 campaign. So it's not JUST being away from Coors. His OPS has not reached .900 and his average have not reached .300 once this season. He is currently on an 18-game, 64-AB homerless drought. He has actually had a worse offensive season than the Rockies' fifth outfielder if you compare Fangraphs offensive value.

Oakland got off to a miserably sluggish start like Holliday - and the Rockies. On June 1, the A's were actually one half game worse (19-30) than Colorado (20-30), but like the Rockies, June brought a bit of a surge. Bob Geren's club reeled off seven straight at the beginning of June to bring them within four games of .500, but they have lost 10 of their last 15 to drop back to earth.

The Rockies last played the Athletics June 18-20, 2006, when they outscored the A's 15-3 at Coors Field. However they haven't played in Oakland since being swept in 2001. In fact, the Rockies won their first ever game in the Coliseum in 1997 thanks to a dominant start by Roger Bailey, yet they have lost all seven games there since. The A's are only 3-8 at Coors Field though, so it evens out to a 9-10 Rockies record all-time vs. Oakland.

Colorado is now 8-4 in interleague play; Oakland is just 5-10 with a modest 17-17 overall home record.

The Rockies absolutely must win this series against an inferior team. After dropping a series in Anaheim in which they outscored the Angels, they can't afford to head to Dodger Stadium needing a sweep for a winning road trip.

Athletics Nation is Oakland's SBNation blog, actually the oldest among us all. In case you missed it in the offseason, here's a classic view on the Matt Holliday trade from AN from January.

Oakland Athletics (31-40, L2, 4th, 8.0 GB)

Friday-Sunday: 3-game series at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum

The Bats: D-

Bob Geren has toyed with the lineup to a great degree trying to spark some offense. Suzuki could bat second, pushing Cust, Holliday and Giambi down one spot. OFRajai Davis (.240/.309/.340), C Landon Powell (.182/.258/.364) and IF's Daric Barton (1-for-14, 2B) and Nomar Garciaparra (.254/.274/.390) fill out the bench.

This is my best guess on the lineup, which is just outright terrible (the guess and the lineup):

LINEUP

Avg

HR

RBI

OBP

SLG

wOBA

Adam Kennedy - 2B
.298

6

24

.368

.474

.369

Jack Cust - RF
.227

13

37

.313

.421

.323

Matt Holliday - LF
.269

8

39

.367

.423

.352

Jason Giambi - DH
.205

10

37

.341

.384

.326

Kurt Suzuki - C
.278

4

27

.325

.400

.320

Orlando Cabrera - SS
.243

2

25

.289

.313

.264

Bobby Crosby - 1B
.190

3

17

.291

.306

.275

Ryan Sweeney - CF
.254

2

18

.315

.320

.289

Jack Hannahan - 3B
.191

1

8

.273

.304

.262

That lineup features your worst offensive 3B and 1B in MLB, plus the 2nd worst shortstop, only to 2007 NL MVP (*cough cough*) Jimmy Rollins. The Rockies can field a lineup with a better offensive player at all nine positions (even left field!) except second base - by wOBA anyway. Speaking of which, utilizing that, this lineup has two solid above average hitters (Kennedy and Holliday), three a bit below average (Giambi, Cust and Suzuki), one very below average (Sweeney) and three don't belong on the field, let alone an MLB starting lineup (Cabrera, Crosby, Hannahan).

Overall, the Athletics have the lowest batting average in the majors (about Torrealba level), the 6th least runs scored, 6th least HR, and are dead last in wOBA at .299. I know I know, sample size. But I can't resist pointing out their team wOBA is 8 points worse than Ubaldo Jimenez'.

Should we treat their lineup like nine Ubaldo's? Obviously not. They get a significant disadvantage playing at the Coliseum, but still, their roster OPS+ is just 82, worse than every Rockie except Quintanilla, Gonzalez and Atkins. Any way you slice it, this is a terrible offense. Those big offseason additions of Cabrera, Holliday, Giambi and Garciaparra have done very little.

The Arms: C+

The Rockies draw the top two Oakland's starters. Gone are the days of the big three, but Dallas Braden and Trevor Cahill are still solid young arms with upside. Brett Anderson's scheduled start tonight has been pushed to Monday due to biceps inflammation, so Braden and Cahill will each move up a day; both have an ERA+ of over 112. Vin Mazzaro moves into Sunday's spot - the 22 year old righty has been impressive in five starts this season. Rookie Andrew Bailey has stepped in to be a dominant closer in place of Brad Ziegler, who still gets an opportunity now and again.

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2009 - Andrew Bailey	4-1	2.23	1.04	50	18

Overall, the club has an 97 ERA+, which is a tick below average, but some of the deadweight pulling that stat down are not on the roster or won't be starting in the series.

The team is 13th in ERA (13th for starters, 15th for relievers) and 11th in FIP (15th and 2nd), so despite lacking big names, the Athletics continue to put forth an above average staff. Other arms Bob Geren leans on in the pen include Michael Wuertz, Russ Springer, Santiago Casilla, and Craig Breslow.

The D: C-

The A's have a UZR/150 rating at 1.6, slightly better than average. They 50 errors (8th in MLB) and are 8th worst in fielding percentage. That washes out to a slightly below average defense.

The Ballpark: Pitching Park

The multi-year park factor is 93, giving a pitching advantage over the last few years equivalent to the offensive advantage at Coors the last few years. This year, it is at 97, mirroring Coors' migration to average, so it is still as much of a pitching park as Coors is a hitting park this year.

Probable Pitchers:

Tonight, 8:05 pm MDT

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2009 - Jason Hammel	4-3	4.41	1.50	46	17

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2009 - Dallas Braden	5-6	3.26	1.29	62	25

Saturday, June 27, 7:05 pm MDT

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2009 - Jorge De La Rosa	3-7	5.85	1.51	82	36

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2009 - Trevor Cahill	5-5	3.68	1.34	41	33

Sunday, June 24, 2:05 MDT

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2009 - Aaron Cook	7-3	4.00	1.33	46	30

	W-L	ERA	WHIP	K	BB
2009 - Vin Mazzaro	2-2	2.56	1.07	20	8

Dallas Braden and Trevor Cahill have each thrown 7 consecutive quality starts, though Oakland is only 7-7 in those games. Vin Mazzaro has four QS's in his five starts this season - in his only non-quality start, he allowed four runs to just miss the qualification. Andrew Bailey has been unscored upon in 10 of his last 11 outings. Ryan Sweeney is 6 for his last 17 and Orlando Cabrera has a .855 OPS in his last 6 games.

Matt Holliday is 12 for his last 58 (8 singles and 4 doubles) for a .208 average since June 7. He only has two more home runs than Adam Kennedy this season. Jack Cust is only 4 for his last 24, Bobby Crosby just 1-for-10 and Jason Giambi has scratched out just three hits in his last 15 trips.

Pitcher Josh Outman (best name for a pitcher ever) is on the 15-day DL with an elbow injury. Dan Giese (elbow) is on the 60-day DL, as are four very prominant names on the roster: 3B Eric Chavez (back), 2B Mark Ellis (calf), and pitchers Joey Devine (elbow) and Justin Duchsherer (elbow). The elbow epidemic in Oakland is killing them.

Poll

How will be rebound from consecutive losses in Anaheim?

We won't. This team is fragile and is affected by streaks too much in both directions. We'll struggle to hit in the Coliseum and get swept.

3 votes

The doubt is there, and we manage to win just one game, probably while outscoring Oakland for the series

11 votes

A solid road series win against a mediocre home team and terrible offense sounds reasonable

53 votes

Matt Holliday doesn't get the Monforts' green, but he does match his uni with envy after watching his former club sweep his struggling team.

20 votes

87 votes | Poll has closed

A's 7-Game Run Ends as Twins Pound Oakland 10-5

louismg — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 05:17:00 -0000

More photos » by Ben Margot - AP

Santiago Casilla seems surprised at how badly he is pitching here in the 7th inning of tonight's game.

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For what has seemed like a week of dreams, the A's have done little wrong. Their pitching staff, led by newcomer Vin Mazzarro, has been practically untouchable, as the squad has clawed their way back from being deep in last place to ... let's call it only slightly embedded in last place - making the march toward .500 and respectability possible. But tonight, in a game that was honestly closer than the final score, the Twins did what the Orioles and White Sox could not, - finding a way to come out on top.

Starter Brett Anderson did not have his best stuff tonight. As BBG sent me midway through the game, he kept everything up, giving up two singles in the first, and getting in trouble in the second inning, leading to the game's first run. But a key play in the sixth set things in motion Minnesota's way.

After Morneau homered to lead off the inning and make it 2-0 Twins, Kubel singled. With one out, Cuddyer hit what looked like it could be an inning-ending double play to Adam Kennedy, but Kubel stopped in his tracks and stalled Kennedy enough that he was only able to get the force. That small play, not an error, of course, because you can't assume the DP, soon ballooned, following a single and then two razor-thin doubles that just painted the lines to both fields, putting the Twins up 5-0 at the end of the frame.

Santiago Casilla, who relieved Anderson, didn't offer much relief to the A's or their fans, as in the 7th, he walked Mauer to start the inning, gave up a single to Morneau, and then a bomb to Kubel (yes, he of the previous inning's play) to make it 8-0, Twins. A run here and a run there, and pretty soon, it was a 10-0 ball game.

Meanwhile, as all the fun was happening when the Twins were batting, the A's were extremely quiet the first eight innings, posting only two hits and no runs.

It wasn't until the 9th, down by 10 runs that the A's bats woke up. The Twins' Scott Baker did his best Casilla impression, letting three reach base, all of whom later scored. Jesse Crain didn't do much better, letting three more reach base, including one via the error. While not making any big hits, the A's managed to stretch the Twins' bullpen to the point they brought in the closer, Joe Nathan, in a save situation, as Hannahan came to bat for the second time in the inning. Hannahan and Rajai Davis, with the bases loaded, were the only hopes for the A's as they stared hope in the face.

And as you would anticipate, they struck out (both) and the A's fell short. One big inning did not a win make, just like one loss cannot undo the benefits of the seven wins that preceded. Did the A's get outplayed today, for eight full innings? Absolutely. Did they get some bad breaks with balls hit by the Twins that just eked in the line? Sure. But it only counts as one loss, and tomorrow, we play again to possibly start an even longer streak. Game time is 7:05 p.m. locally, from the Coliseum.

4 HRs Off Haren, 2 Runs In The 11th...And A's STILL Manage To Lose

Nico — Sun, 24 May 2009 05:10:23 -0000

More photos » by Ben Margot - AP

Jason Giambi doffs his hat to the crowd - I think it was after his infield single.

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This is one of those games where if you weren't a fan of either team you'd describe it as a great game. Which doesn't really explain the hole in the wall in my living room right now, but that's ok - because at this point, with the A's officially on pace to lose 100 games, their best rebuilding plan might be to avoid winning games...Hey, I think we finally stumbled on the one thing the 2009 A's are good at.

Jack Cust, Jason Giambi (#400 career), Adam Kennedy, and Nomar Garciaparra all took Haren deep for a total of 5 runs, while Edgar Gonzalez pitched well (1 run) but not deep (5+ innings) - and the "not deep" proved to be a big factor, because while the A's took a 5-1 lead into the 8th, they also needed to find relievers for 4 innings and that led to Russ Springer starting the 8th. Three line drives later the bases were loaded with nobody out, and by the time Andrew Bailey remembered how to dominate 4 runs were in (3 charged to Springer) and the game was tied.

Springer is nothing if not inspirational. Santiago Casilla, in relief of Craig Breslow in the 11th, thought he'd give "being greeted by three straight searing line drives" a whirl, and as a result the A's came to bat in the bottom of the 11th trailing 8-5.

With one out, Giambi singled. Then Nomar singled. Then Adam Kennedy, now a .400 hitter in 50 A's at bats, doubled home one. Then Ryan Sweeney's infield single made it 8-7 with runners at first and third and one out. It took Jack Hannahan one pitch to restore odor to the situation, as he bounced into a game-ending (and spectacularly turned) 6-4-3 DP. Spectacularly turned, with a barehand catch, turn, and throw, by Ryan Roberts, who was only in the game because Felipe Lopez had left earlier with a tight hamstring. Lopez doesn't make that play.

And so here the A's stand at the 1/4 mark, 15-25, having been dealt devastating extra inning losses in 14 innings at New York, 15 innings at Seattle, and having dropped an 11 inning affair tonight in which so many things went right except for the important stuff.

Devine, Casilla Told To Bow Out Of WBC

Nico — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 18:13:47 -0000

The A's have told relievers Joey Devine and Santiago Casiila "Ix-Nay On The Uhbulewe-Bee-See-Way," because they are recovering from injuries. Now whether it's safer to pitch in competition earlier than usual or to be monitored by the A's training staff is another question, but the idea is that the A's come before the WBC.

As an opponent of "the WBC in March," who would like to see roster filled exclusively with Angels and Yankees, I'm thrilled. However, Devine and Casilla - while saying all the right things publicly - probably aren't. Brad Ziegler (USA) and Chris Denorfia (Italy) become the only two A's who might play in the WBC if they make the final roster cuts.

Should patroitism trump "management" - should a player get to decide if he's ready, willing, and able to participate in the WBC? Or should teams get to interfere in the best interests of the organization, even if it undermines this new and exciting tournament that combines a player's love of baseball and love for his country?

In other news, not satisfied to aim as low as Crosby, Matt Holliday has been working with Eric Patterson on his swing. {Waits for laughter to die down.} I'm envisioning "Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego," only with Carmen replaced by the baseball, because Patterson has a nice enough swing - it just never seems to be where the ball is when the ball is passing through the strike zone. (Honestly, anybody can tell you where the ball is when it's in the catcher's glove, which is around when Patterson seems to swing). If Holliday can introduce Patterson's bat to the actual baseball, he's worth two Carlos Gonzali. Don't wait up, though - the wind in Phoenix is blowing out because Eric just took another swing at a letter high fastball.

Time to Get Your A's...or Not

Tyler Bleszinski — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 07:13:32 -0000

Yes, folks, it's that time of year again. Time for me to hand out my half year grades for our Oakland Athletics. I'm going to do it a little differently this year. In past seasons, I'd give it out to individuals, but I'm going to give it to the different portions of the team. I'm going to break it out into starting pitching, relief pitching, offense, managing and front office. I'll give my grade and my thinking as to why that grade applies and then standouts and disappointments.

As always, this is not scientific by any means. Much of it has to do with the expectations that I had for that aspect of the A's I mentioned.

Starting pitching - A: The A's started the season with a lot of question marks in their rotation. I honestly thought that the rotation would include Lenny DiNardo and Kirk Saarloos right about now. I figured Harden and Duchscherer would not have lasted and the emergency plan of DiNardo and Saarloos would be in full motion while we were waiting for Brett Anderson and Trevor Cahill to make it to the pros. Granted, both have missed time with injuries in the first half, but they've also pitched a lot more than I thought they were. As a matter of fact, the A's starting pitching team ERA is 3.48, the best in the entire majors. The starting pitching has been absolutely, positively stellar and probably the biggest reason the A's are still within shouting distance of the division-leading Angels. They've also been able to do it with two rookies in Greg Smith and Dana Eveland. It'll be interesting to see how those two guys hold up over the second half. The irony of all this is that the pitcher who the A's tagged with the "ace" tag before the season started happens to be their worst starter statistically right now.

Starting pitching standouts: Rich Harden, Justin Duchscherer, Dana Eveland, Greg Smith

Starting pitching disappointments: Joe Blanton

Relief pitching - A- : If the major reason the A's have been winning is their starters, the relief pitching is the minor reason. The A's have the sixth best ERA out of their relievers in all of baseball. They've also done it with a cast of largely no names and folks that people didn't expect to be as good as they have been. Santiago Casilla had a Dennis Eckersley-like start to his year. Andrew Brown was fantastic. Joey Devine was spectacular. Brad Ziegler came from Sacramento to become integral. The known quantities like Embree, Foulke and Street suddenly seemed to be the ones that made me more nervous than the less proven guys. Still, the pen has been relatively solid. Huston Street hasn't been as good as I'd like but I do suspect that he's been pitching through various injuries this year.

Relief pitching standouts: Joey Devine, Brad Ziegler, Andrew Brown, Santiago Casilla, Chad Gaudin (he also could've made the starting pitcher portion too), Keith Foulke (yes, he's been good even though he scares me to death at times),

Relief pitching disappointments: Huston Street

Offense - D+ : The A's have the 25th best batting average in all of baseball. A team that prides itself on having patience at the plate is 16th in all of baseball in on-base percentage. And let's not talk about power. The team is 26th in all of baseball in slugging percentage. Not surprisingly, the team is 10th in the AL in runs scored. If this team had just average hitting and the starting pitching continues to prove its might, the A's could truly be a contending team this year. Now I suspected we'd have this issue, especially with a lot of very young guys getting their first true extended major league experience. Carlos Gonzalez, Daric Barton, Kurt Suzuki and Travis Buck were all likely going to be a foundation of the A's offense. I expected them to have ups and downs, but for Barton and Buck, it's mostly been downs. Jack Hannahan was getting his first extended experience. Jack Cust really only had last season in the pros. So a lot of the offense was built on wild cards. One major known entity was Frank Thomas who the A's picked up for a piece of Hubba Bubba and a used Hyundai when the Blue Jays dumped him. Not surprisingly, the Blue Jays are one of the teams who has scored fewer runs than the A's in the AL. Still, I suspected the A's hitting was going to be mediocre, but it's been downright bad at points. There are a few guys who've been right about where I expected them to be, such as Mark Ellis and even Bobby Crosby (although he has been a bit better than I expected).

Offensive standouts: Kurt Suzuki, Ryan Sweeney, Jack Cust (he does have an .823 OPS even if his BA isn't impressive), Frank Thomas

Offensive disappointments: Travis Buck (possibly my personal biggest disappointment), Daric Barton (yeah he's really young, but he raised hopes of something special at the end of the year last year), Emil Brown (I expected him to at least hit left-handed pitching), Chris Denorfia (I thought he was going to be the regular guy in center field)

Managing - B : I still hadn't made up my mind about Geren before this season started. He hasn't done anything patently stupid and he's more flexible with his lineup card than Macha could've ever dreamed of being. The problem is that when he's filling out that lineup card, he's often dealing with many of his best hitters not being there. Ryan Sweeney has been arguably the A's best hitter this year and yet, he's been in and out of the lineup due to injury issues. Mike Sweeney was hitting well and now he has injured knees. Frank Thomas was getting in a groove and then he went down. Eric Chavez has just recently become a regular in the A's lineup and he doesn't look 100 percent yet. Still the starting pitching has made Geren look good. He's made smart decisions for the most part with the bullpen. Although I would really like to see him start to trust some of the younger guys a little more. Foulke always looks like he's about to give up a bomb. And Embree is always all about the heat, it's just a matter of whether someone gets geared up enough for it. One thing that I'm sure is a popular topic of discussion these days among the A's front office and Geren is what to do about Joe Blanton. After yesterday's performance, I really think the A's have to think about replacing him as a starter, at least temporarily, with Chad Gaudin. Still, given what the A's have had to deal with this year in terms of the injection of youth, unexpectedly bad struggles of guys like Buck and Barton, the myriad of injuries in the bullpen and to key offensive pieces, Geren has done a nice job of keeping a team that wasn't expected to compete in the running. Much of that has to do with the starting pitching, mind you, but Geren has also done a pretty damn good job of handling the bullpen.

Front office - A- : I know a lot of folks are going to automatically charge me with just giving Beane some undeserved praise here, but I honestly think that this could be the best job Beane has done in his time with the A's. Yes, the team is still offensively deficient. But it also has the best starting pitching in baseball right now and that's WITH the "ace" being the worst statistically on staff. Danny Haren was awesome. No one can dispute that. But the A's have three significant chips already contributing at the major league level. They also have a ton of talent in their minor league system now. I'm not sure there are too many other front office groups in baseball who could simultaneously rebuild a farm system while keeping the major league team competitive for a division crown. The biggest thing Beane has done is to build a team with depth. So when an Eric Chavez can't play for months at a time, Jack Hannahan is waiting to take over. Earlier in the season when Barton was struggling at first, Mike Sweeney saw some time there. Greg Smith stepped into the rotation when Harden and Duchscherer went down. Gaudin would probably be a top three starter for most rotations. Yet he's sixth on the A's depth chart. Brad Ziegler is there when the A's have bullpen issues. Beane is nothing if not adaptive. Yes, Emil Brown is seeming like a mistake right now, but he also had a ton of key RBIs at the beginning of the season when seemingly no one was batting in runs. And Beane deserves a ton of credit for getting Frank Thomas for nothing. Is the offense still a gong show? Yes. But Beane has done enough to cover up for the shortcomings by building the best rotation in baseball and a very steady bullpen to back it up.

Overall - A- : Honestly I wrestled with this one for a while. I wavered between a B, B+, A- and an A. But ultimately for me it came down to expectations. I did not expect this team to be here halfway through the season. I expected them to be in a distant third or even last place in the division. But the starting pitching has kept this team afloat and right in the thick of the AL West despite low to no expectations from most folks. And my expectations were pretty low heading into 2008. I thought I'd just enjoy watching some young kids come into their own. Instead the team has fought and scrapped its way into second place in the division.

So there you have it. My first half grades for our Oakland Athletics in 2008. What grades would you give and why? Who has been a disppointment so far and who has been a standout?

Better yet, give me some predictions for the second half of 2008. Will the A's hang with the Angels or will they fade? Will Harden and/or Duchscherer be sent to a contender for a truckload of quality prospects? And maybe you even want to throw in the win total for 2008. If I had to guess, I think the A's wind up around 86 wins and I do think either Harden or Duke will be dealt.

LINEUP	Avg	HR	RBI	OBP	SLG	wOBA
Adam Kennedy - 2B	.298	6	24	.368	.474	.369
Jack Cust - RF	.227	13	37	.313	.421	.323
Matt Holliday - LF	.269	8	39	.367	.423	.352
Jason Giambi - DH	.205	10	37	.341	.384	.326
Kurt Suzuki - C	.278	4	27	.325	.400	.320
Orlando Cabrera - SS	.243	2	25	.289	.313	.264
Bobby Crosby - 1B	.190	3	17	.291	.306	.275
Ryan Sweeney - CF	.254	2	18	.315	.320	.289
Jack Hannahan - 3B	.191	1	8	.273	.304	.262