SB Nation - Cliff Pennington

Billy Beane Exclusive Athletics Nation Interview: Season End 2009 Part I

Tyler Bleszinski — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 14:00:46 -0000

The A's did make some strides forward in 2009 despite finishing with nearly an identical record the past three seasons. They have a good core of young players who appear primed to only get better, and despite the last week of stumbling baseball, the team was one of baseball's surprises in the second half.

With Brett Anderson, Trevor Cahill, Gio Gonzalez, Brett Wallace, Daric Barton, Rajai Davis and the rest of the team coming back with more experience, 2010 is looking up for us green and gold faithful. Billy Beane is exceptionally busy wrapping up the season and already starting to look ahead, so I appreciate him taking the time out to chat with me this past week. This is the first part of the interview. I will be running the second part first thing Tuesday morning. Enjoy.

Blez: When I talked to you in spring training it looked like you felt like this team could've gone either way. You were hesitant to say it was going to excel. You didn't seem to know what you were going to have.

Billy Beane: If you point to something right away, we had so many young and unproven starting pitchers in the rotation. You just didn't really know how they were going to react and it's hard to predict where you're going to go if you don't know where your pitching is. I think when we spoke it was right around the time when we were just becoming aware of some of the injury possibilities that ended up happening. The two most obvious were Duchscherer and Joey Devine. When you have so many rookie pitchers getting their first taste of the major leagues, it's very difficult to predict where you're going to go.

Blez: What would your assessment on 2009 be then? We're closing in on the final week of the season here.

Beane: It almost feels like two different seasons. I'm very pleased with the second half. I think we've played pretty well and we've surprised some people because we've played so well in particular after some of the bigger name players weren't here anymore. In particular the Holliday trade, and we've made other changes. But I think the most encouraging thing has been the way we've performed in the second half as well as the development of some of these players who I think are going to be here for a long time, which was first and foremost our goal this year. It's been the last couple of years that we've been trying to build that foundation of young talent that people can look forward to seeing for the next few years and creating a winning core for the foreseeable future. For the first time you really started to see that. You can look at some of the young players like Andrew Bailey who made the All Star team as a closer. Certainly Brett Anderson's performance and Trevor Cahill's improvement. Gio (Gonzalez) has made progress this year. Raj Davis, on the offensive side, has come on and shown himself to be a really good major league centerfielder. Ryan Sweeney as well as Kurt Suzuki's continued development and I know I'm going to leave people out. Cliff Pennington has performed very well in the second half. I think if you look around the diamond you'll see that these guys are going to be here for a while and they've proven over the second half that they can perform at the major league level. And as we continue to add guys from our minor league system, guys who are highly thought of, you can start to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Blez: You mentioned people being surprised that the team picked up and became a better team when you ultimately traded away or got rid of some of the "name" guys like Holliday, Giambi and Cabrera. Some of those guys we all expected more from at the beginning of the year. Is there a point where you might've said, "Maybe instead of bringing in some of those guys, maybe I should've just started with the youth at the beginning of the year and perhaps they would've matured and gotten to that point?"

Beane: That's a good question. Personally I always like the idea of if you're trying to rebuild to just got full bore and do it. But there's also a balance as well. In fairness you have to understand a guy like Cliff Pennington probably benefitted from going back and starting the year in Triple-A. What we've seen this year even relative to last year is that he was much more ready to come up this year and contribute than last year. I don't think you could say that that would've been the case in April. But it's a fair question and certainly one that you think about. I do think there is something to be said about having some of those older guys in here so as not to put the pressure on those younger guys to perform. When we made some of these trades to make the commitment to the younger guys it was a different point in the season and I think it allowed them to relax and realize they were going to be able to play every day. They would realize they could make a mistake and still be in there. I'm not sure that that would've been the case had you started that way from the outset. You might've had a different mindset from the younger players. Keep in mind that some of the holdover guys are young too. Those players are different ones than they were in April. Even though we see Kurt Suzuki as the established guy, he's a guy that continues to improve as is Ryan Sweeney. I think having some of those veteran guys gave them the opportunity to continue some of that development. When the baton was handed off to them, they were more prepared then they were in April.

Blez: You were talking about some of those veteran guys you traded away. And obviously it hurt the team quite a bit that Matt Holliday didn't come close to his career numbers with the A's. There was speculation on AN, everything from he knew he was a short timer here in Oakland so he didn't care, to league adjustment, to the adjustment to not being at Coors Field. Why do you think he didn't come close to what he's doing now in St. Louis?

Beane: The first thing I can put to rest is that he didn't care because that was absolutely not the case. Matt was an absolute professional here. If anything he was probably guilty of putting too much pressure on himself than people know publicly. Matt had impeccable work habits and was a pro. There was probably a bit of an adjustment period. But keep in mind even right before he went to St. Louis, he was really starting to get going here.

Blez: His numbers definitely were going up before he was dealt.

Beane: Yeah you could see he was starting to feel more like himself and get it going. The fact that he took off when he went there was not a surprise. Certainly the lineup to hit in around Pujols, I think it became a perfect environment for him. I think had Matt stayed here he would've returned to his career numbers and I think he was headed that way before he left. I can tell you this. He was an absolute professional when he was here and any assertion that he didn't care is not true.

Blez: How do you find enough at bats for someone like Landon Powell who seems like he should get more regular playing time? Do you go into the offseason thinking about how you get more time for him despite the fact that Kurt Suzuki is a fantastic catcher, does a great job with the pitchers and is great offensively? Do you start to look at DH or a different position?

Beane: There's been times where Bob (Geren) has tried to do that. Early in the year he played a few games at first base and it's not something everyone can do immediately on an everyday basis. The other thing too is there were times that Landon was slowed down because he had nagging hamstring issues at different points during the season. Even though there are times when Bob wanted to get his bat in the lineup, Landon's body wouldn't allow him to. One of the things we're going to focus on with Landon is making sure he's as physically prepared as possibly to handle even more than he has. But we see it as a good problem to have. To be able to put in a catcher behind Kurt who has the ability to hit the ball out of the ballpark but is also a good defensive catcher is a great luxury to have. But the fact is, and you alluded to this, Kurt Suzuki is one of the top catchers in the game. Not only that but he's very much become a leader on the team so he's going to get the bulk of time, yet we are aware of the amount of production Landon has given us in his brief amount of time. I think the goal is ultimately to get him more at bats, but for the time being, Kurt is going to get the bulk of them. Part of Landon's responsibility is to make sure he can handle more playing time than he has because that hasn't always been the case this year.

Blez: When someone like Rajai Davis has what looks like a "career year," how do you assess whether a reasonable projection for next year is more like what he's doing, or more like what he's done before? How does the team go about trying to figure this out?

Beane: In some sense you have to take it at face value. He was with Pittsburgh and then San Francisco and now us. He's never really been given a full blown opportunity to prove himself as an everyday player and now that he is putting up the numbers he is, the first question is, can he keep this up? But if you go back and look at what Raj did in the minor leagues, he was a good minor league hitter so it shouldn't come as a total shock. You're not talking about a guy who was a .220 hitter in the minor leagues. He was a good player when he played. Right now we just see it as a guy who has hit well in the minors who has finally been given the opportunity and is carrying it forward. We're going to enjoy it and go with it and try not to overthink. Anyone who has seen Raj with us over the last year and three quarters, when he's played, he's played well. He's one of the unique major league players who continues to just get better. We're going to take it at face value and he's done enough to show that he's a good enough player to play every day at center field. He's such a weapon on the base paths and he gives you such a unique dynamic. If you look at the stolen bases he's had without even having a full season, it isn't out of the question that next year you could see stealing 65-70 bases.

Blez: You reference stolen bases and obviously it's something that has changed quite a bit about the A's. I think you're in the top three in stolen bases and Raj is one of the league leaders in that number and he really makes the overall team number larger. Did you make a decision to be more aggressive on the base paths because of the lack of power? Did you think, we've got to get some offense some way?

Beane: I really think it's Bob (Geren) trying to take the personnel he has and trying to do the best he can with it. He's playing to the strengths. We don't have a lot of power and it's certainly something in order to be a more complete offensive team it's something we need to get. In a perfect world you have both guys who can steal bases and guys who can hit it out of the ballpark. As much as anything, it's Bob really trying to take advantage of what he has. Early in the year we were having trouble scoring runs and he wanted to create a mindset of being aggressive and when you have a guy like Raj doing it the way he's doing it, it has a tendency of rubbing off on everybody. There's a sense of confidence guys have when they get on the bases and they look to steal bases. They're looking for that steal sign. It also has a carryover effect with the rest of the base running. We've been by and large a very good baserunning team and it was just a matter of Bob looking at his personnel and he thought that this is what we're going to have to do to scrape some runs out. The second half we've actually swung the bats really well also and if you combine that with the aggressive baserunning, that's why you're seeing a lot higher run totals. The one thing it really has done is just given the guys a more aggressive mindset. They realize they're not going to win a whole lot of ballgames by getting into home run hitting contests. I give a lot of credit to Bob and his staff as they've really scratched and clawed their way through nine innings of these games.

Blez: Two questions. Do you believe in that the stolen bases must be a 75 percent success rate or higher or it's counterproductive and second of all, do you believe that someone like Rajai Davis actually puts additional pressure on the pitcher? The assumption is that the opposition pitcher somehow loses that concentration because they're so worried about the baserunner stealing.

Beane: There is no question that if a guy like Raj gets on base, everyone is aware that he is on base and there is going to be some adjustments to how quickly the pitcher might deliver the pitch and the catcher might call for a different pitch than he otherwise would. So the game calling might change as well. I'm sure you could quantify it. I'm not aware of exactly how to, but you can certainly tell from a game situation how teams react differently if you're willing to steal a base so I do think it does have an impact. The Angels have certainly done that for years and I think it's had an impact on how teams play them. It creates a tense situation for not just pitchers and catchers but defenders because they have to come up with a perfect play. As far as the rate, there is certainly a point where if you're constantly running and constantly getting thrown out it's definitely having an adverse impact and the demarcation line certainly seems to be around that 70 percent area. You also have to keep in mind that it doesn't take into account some of the things teams are doing to adjust to a team that runs a lot.

Blez: Do you think that the stolen base has become a bit of an unvalued commodity in baseball considering how few there are now, especially in the American League, compared to years past?

Beane: What I think I've noticed more than anything is that a lot of the teams that are running have sophisticated coaching staffs and sophisticated ways to apply the running game, and I might not be accurate and this is just my impression, but those teams seem to be successful more often. The percentage at which they are stealing bases just seems to be higher.

Blez: The Rays are a good example from last year.

Beane: The Red Sox, who historically haven't been a running team the last few years, specifically with (Jacoby) Ellsbury at the top of their lineup. Yet they also seem to steal at a very high rate too. I think everyone is just trying to take advantage by making a percentage play as well. That's why the success rate seems higher. It just seems very much a part of the strategy as opposed to just indiscriminate running for the sake of doing it.

Blez: We talked about Raj and his career year. This is similar to that. Does Daric Barton seem like he's finally arrived or do you need to see more than a month of red-hot hitting, especially given that he's done that before?

Beane: I knew I'd forget somebody earlier and Daric has, certainly this last month, been swinging the bat the way we knew he could and very similarly to the first month he came to the big leagues a couple of years ago. One thing to keep in mind with Daric is that he's still extremely young. He came up at an age when many kids are still in college. He needs to be given the benefit of time and we need to do that. Through no fault of his own, he's had a few nicks here and there that have kind of interrupted his development. The biggest thing is this guy has been a very, very good minor league hitter and at times has shown that he can be a very good major league hitter. With young players, you just can't expect they're always going to be Andrew Bailey where they step on a mound and they never look back. Daric's development path is not unlike a lot of successful major leaguers where he shows you something and maybe he goes through some difficult times. That just means we have to be patient and hope that the guy that you saw in the minor leagues ultimately becomes that guy at the major leagues. This last month Daric has made some huge strides and we're not just excited about next year, but the next five or six years. The other thing you can't forget about Daric is how good a defender he has become. This is a converted catcher in the minor leagues. He's become a very good defensive first baseman, not just with the glove, but when needed, he throws very well from that position too. We're excited and it's great to see. We've always had high hopes for Daric particularly after that first month at the big leagues. He's one of the reasons we've played so well.

Blez: Staying with the first baseman theme, you have Barton, Doolittle and Carter as potential first basemen, but Doolittle and Carter also have some OF experience. What does the first base depth chart look like right now, and which of the players might be more likely to end up elsewhere on the field?

Beane: It's a question we may face and face very soon. We played Chris Carter a little in the outfield in Double-A. He's a good athlete. In a perfect world, all those guys become very good major league hitters and you have to find a spot for them. It potentially is something we're going to face. We're going to have to make a decision and it will be made on production first and foremost. Secondly, as you mentioned, it might be based on somebody's ability to play another position. In Chris' case we started to play him some in the outfield and I've even talked to his agent as he's going to play winter ball in Mexico and we've talked about getting him out there as much as possible because we think he's a good enough athlete to do it. We were doing the same with Doolittle in Triple A this year before he had the knee issue. It is definitely something as we go into the offseason and spring training we're going to have to prepare for.

Blez: Would the power potential for the position have a big deciding difference in who you play at first base? It's obviously still a concern with Daric because he hasn't put up much in terms of power numbers, but Carter has and Doolittle has some pop as well. Or do you maybe weigh the defense first?

Beane: Being a regular major league baseball player, the player brings a lot of elements: it's his baserunning, it's his fielding, it's his power, it's his ability to hit for average and it's when you add those things together usually one player is going to be better than the other even if he's deficient in one area because he may do one thing very well. It's not something we have to answer yet and it's definitely getting closer. We think all these guys are major league players, it's just about finding a spot for them.

Blez: What will most determine the timeline for when Chris Carter is called up to Oakland? Could he win a job out of spring training if he looks ready?

Beane: It's probably a little early to answer that. The only thing I'll say is that we wanted to give Chris some time at Triple-A and give him some confidence going into next year thinking he's seen the highest level of the minors and he could perform there. I think he did a great job in the few weeks he was there. It's just too early to answer that. I don't like creating definites at this point when you don't need to. A player usually decides when he's ready for the major leagues by performing at the highest level and at that point there's nowhere for him to go but up. Some of these guys are getting close to that.

Blez: Based on what you have seen so far, what's the current thinking on Brett Wallace's chances of being a major league every day third baseman?

Beane: We're going to leave Brett over there. He's played one full season, a total of a season and a half of professional baseball as he's moved very, very quickly because of his bat. We're going to give him the benefit of some time over there defensively and particularly given the long-term need we're going to have at that position, it would behoove us to give him every opportunity to give him the development time defensively to see if he can play the position because it would definitely be a great fit if he can play third base in the big leagues based on the personnel we have here and have coming up. It would be absolutely perfect. Especially given that Chavy (Eric Chavez) is coming into the last year of his contract, the chance that Brett with some further refining would be a very nice fit for us there long term. I guess the question is, is it still a work in progress? And we're going to give him every opportunity to prove he can play that position.

Blez: What do you do about third base, at least short term? I'm not even sure where Eric Chavez stands at this point or if he's a part of the conversation. I've read reports that he could do permanent damage to himself if he plays again. Where does Eric stand right now?

Beane: From a rehab standpoint, he's doing very well. The good thing about him having surgery when he did is that when we get into the offseason, he should have as normal an offseason as any other player. He should be able to start resuming normal baseball activities when everyone else starts. The time that he's had has been good. I think we have to be realistic including Eric because he's faced a number of surgeries and he's been more disappointed than anyone that he hasn't been able to come back completely. We have to be realistic on him coming back and have some short-term preparation as it applies to that position going into next year. I also think that Eric, given his talent level, deserves the respect and the opportunity to get healthy and given the opportunity to get back to doing what he does best. In short, we're going to try to prepare for both sides of the equation.

Blez: Where does Travis Buck stand with the team now as he seems to be caught in an almost purgatory state now between Triple-A and being up with the team but not really seeing much regular playing time? Is it the type of thing where he needs to get in there for a while to get his confidence back as he's seemed to have hit well in Triple-A?

Beane: The one thing about major league baseball is that it's pretty Darwinian. If you hit, you're going to play. Raj is probably the best example of that. When Raj got a chance to play he hit. Since he's been playing, he's looked around saying I'm not going to let anyone else play because I know I have to perform here in order to keep myself in the lineup. Most recently, Ryan Sweeney has done the same thing. With all players, not just Travis, it's ultimately going to be based on performance. Travis has had a couple of years in a row, unfortunately, where he's had concussions that haven't enabled him to even play regularly at Triple A. He's missed some time there because of these injuries. We still think very highly of Travis for the same reasons that most people did when he first came up. We think he's got the talent to be a good major league player. At this point it's when he's given the chance he has to take advantage of it and ultimately hopefully avoiding some of those injuries he's had the last couple of years. But we still think very highly of him and one of the best things about Travis is that when he first came up one of the areas we wanted him to work on was his defense and that was addressed to him and he did. He's improved significantly in the outfield and it was an area of weakness when he first came up. Ultimately when he gets to this level it will be based on performance.

Coming tomorrow: Beane delves into the pitching, the status of the injured A's pitchers and how he sees 2010 shaping up.

Athletics' TeA'se In 9th Falls Short As Halos Roll, 5-2

emperor nobody — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 05:30:22 -0000

Missed it by THAT much. Actually, I missed it by more than that.

Despite yet another attempted Lazarus act in the bottom of the 9th, in which they plated 2 and brought the tying run up in the person of Nomar "Look Back In Ang" Garciaparra, the A's fell to the ALDS-bound Angels, ensuring that they will lose the season series to the LAA. It was an evening of despites as Oakland pitchers managed to fan 14 Halo hitters, including a career high 10 from Gio Gonzalez (who fell to 6-7 to close out 2009); still the A's were effectively nowhere near in the game until the very end.

I couldn't find a pic of Kendry I liked, so I used one of someone named Kendra Morales instead.

Although a (cheap) Juan Rivera HR, which cleared the wall by the width of a Geraldo Rivera moustache hair, was a factor, it really all came down to a botched throw in the 2nd by Cliff Pennington, which turned an almost-certain Kurt Suzuki pickoff of Mike "taking a quick" Napoli (who was on 2nd) into a double-steal for the Angels, with Kendry Morales being awarded the steal of home on the front end of the play. Replays were inconclusive as to whether Zook tagged him on the shoe before he touched the plate, but it's all academic if Pennington sets his feet before coming home with the throw. So yet another game (a season-high 5th L in a row now for the 2nd time in 2009) turns on shoddy, unfundamental defense... who'd have ever guessed such a thing from a team that may as well have Caroline Kennedy and Chad Pennington filling the left side of the infield at this point, at least in terms of glovework.

We'll try it all again tomorrow afternoon at 1:05 as Nico takes you home for 2009... watch him, he might try to good-night kiss you on the porch ;)

A's Attempt To Sweep Angels Is A Fundamental Failure

Nico — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 22:31:08 -0000

For all the hoopla over hits and diving catches, baseball often comes down to the details in between. In the bottom of the 1st, Mark Ellis had a Bobby Abreu ground ball glance off his glove into short CF. Both he and Pennington went to 2B to cover, while Rajai Davis just stood there like he thought he was Jack Cust getting a 2-strike fastball down the middle. 3 players, all of whom could easily have gone after the ball and held Abreu at 1B, none did. This became even more important when Torii Hunter hit a crisp DP ball to Pennington, but with Abreu at 2B, not at 1B. Singles by Vlad Guerrero and Kendry Morales would give the Angels a 2-0 lead.

In the top of the 3rd, a single by Eric Patterson and a double by Cliff Pennington put runners at 2nd and 3rd with nobody out. Rajai Davis hit a bouncer to 3B. If both Patterson and Pennington both hold, it's 2nd & 3rd with one out, and Daric Barton's subsequent grounder to 1B scores a run. If they both go, then Figgins has to concede Pennington going to 3B in order to cut down Patterson at the plate -- or he can tag Pennington out and allow a run to score. But the A's played it all wrong: Patterson came to the plate, cut down pretty easily, while Pennington held at 2nd. Suddenly, the A's didn't even have a runner at 3B with less two out, nor a run on the board, and they would come up empty in the inning.

Even in the 7th, when the A's, now trailing 5-0, put the first 5 men on base to chase Joe Saunders, with 3 runs in Oakland had 1st & 3rd with nobody out but for the second time in the game, could not get that runner at 3rd home. That's partly because Eric Patterson thought he'd try to bunt on Darren Oliver, but he popped the bunt up to Figgins. After 5 hitters in a row have reached base, you can't hand the other team an out by popping a bunt up. Especially not when you're Eric Patterson, and don't exactly have your defensive skills, your terrific eye, or your HR power to fall back on. Rajai Davis bounced into a DP to end that frame, and would later bounce out to end the game -- and end his hitting streak at 14 games.

Hey, down 5-0 in the 7th, the A's battled again and got as close as 5-4 and that's good. But just with some fundamental play -- the ability to, you know, go get a ball that's rolling nearby, the ability to get runners home from 3rd with nobody out -- we might be celebrating a series sweep right about now. Instead, it's onto Seattle for the A's last off-day tomorrow...and then Felix Hernandez on Tuesday night.

Did Fausto Carmona Run Over God's Puppy?

Nico — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 23:26:17 -0000

More photos » by Dino Vournas - AP

Fausto Carmona promises God he'll drive more carefully in the future.

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Today's game was essentially decided in the bottom of the 2nd inning, when the A's scored 5 times off of Fausto Carmona and never looked back. With a name like Fausto, you have to wonder about sold souls and such, or perhaps my puppy theory has some validity. How else do you explain a pitcher getting high pop fly after high pop fly, only to have one after the other fall into a Bermuda Triangle of "lack of Indianness" -- with one actually clanking off the glove of Trevor Crowe for an error? (If his routes are "as the crow flies," then crows seriously need to lay off the liquor.)

Dana Eveland wobbled a bit, per always, but turned in a solid enough 5 innings of 1 run ball, while the A's picked up where they left off -- and finally actually hit the ball hard off Carmona -- in the 6th inning and finished with a 15-hit attack that included two more hits by "I'm a fluke but I'm also good" Rajai Davis and a 3-hit game by Adam Kennedy that included his 11th HR.

A few more thoughts, "Potpourri style"...

* Travis Hafner's bat looks slow. He seemed to be slapping at the ball just trying to hit it to the left side -- when he didn't swing late and miss completely. Between Carmona (3-12) and Hafner, the Indians may have two highly paid albatrosses on their hands. Remember, A's fans, it could be worse and usually is if you look around the league at other non big-market clubs.

* On the A's radio broadcast, Ken has been talking about Jim Skaalan's work with Cliff Pennington, getting him to turn on inside pitches. We saw a specific example of this today when Pennington pulled a double one-hop off the RF wall. One reason I think Skaalan is the best hitting coach the A's have had in years is that when we hear about specific work he is doing with a player (a toe-tap timing device, turning on inside pitches, a slight change in stance or approach), we tend to see results soon after that relate directly to what has been worked on. That's a good sign, and in this case gives at least a glimmer of hope that Pennington may be able to improve a bit upon his low slugging percentage in the minors.

* It will never happen. It just won't, burned bridges being what they are. But if the Cubs release Milton Bradley (who is now suspended for the rest of the season for trashing the Cubs in a media interview), any team will have the chance to pick up Bradley for two years while the Cubs pay his salary sans the major league minimum. Insta-clean up hitter at league minimum; kind of a Frank Thomas like opportunity. You'll never see this, but could the A's contend in 2010 if they could insert Bradley -- while paying him the same salary they're paying Pennington -- into the OF, platoon Sweeney and Hairston, and put this lineup out there?

Davis - CF
Cust - DH
Sweeney/Hairston - RF/LF
Bradley - LF/RF
Suzuki - C
Chavez --> Wallace - 3B
Ellis - 2B
Barton - 1B
Pennington - SS

Ah, Milty. Sigh.

Bailey Sets A's Save Record After Anderson's Strong Start

baseballgirl — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 20:41:44 -0000

More photos » by Ben Margot - AP

RECORD!

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Andrew Bailey struck out Cabrera and Mauer in the ninth inning en route to his 24th save of the season--most ever for an A's rookie--as the A's beat the Twins for the second straight day. Bailey made a winner out of another Rookie of the Year candidate, Brett Anderson, whose seven inning, five hit, two run, zero walk, four strikeout day led the A's to yet another second half win powered by the rookies. Cliff Pennington went 3-3 in today's effort, as a different A's team than we have seen in the past put together traditional baseball fundamentals to score four runs, all without the benefit of a big hit.

The A's took full advantage of Mike Redmond filling in for Joe Mauer as the catcher today (Mauer DH'd), as they recorded five steals in the game (Ellis, Davis, Patterson, Pennington, Kennedy). We have certainly seen a shift this year in the importance of the running game, and I have to say I kind of like it. Rajai Davis (batting .304) has 36 steals in a season where he didn't even start the year as a full-time player.

But most impressive in today's game was the way that five of the six runs were scored. With the exception of a Pennington RBI double, all of the other runs in the game were scored via the sac fly; three by the A's, and two by the Twins. Both teams had only six hits on the day, but the difference in the game was the six walks that the A's received.

The A's took an early 2-0 lead in the second on an Ellis walk, a Barton double, a Patterson sac fly and a Pennington double, but the Twins came right back to tie it with single runs in the third and fourth. But the Twins' pitching loaded the bases with walks in the fifth, and the A's made them pay with the game-winning sac flies from Rajai Davis and Kurt Suzuki.

Cust went 0-4 with three strikeouts and did not look good doing it.

After Anderson breezed through his seven innings of work, Wuertz threw a scoreless eighth inning to set the stage for Andrew Bailey's big moment. Bailey's ERA is now at 2.03, and knowing the Baseball Writers, if he can get his ERA under 2 and his save total over 25, it might be the edge he needs over Niemann or Andrus for the ROY. The A's got Anderson the win today, but I think it is probably too late for Anderson this season. He'll have to try for the Cy starting next year.

With today's win, the A's have won the season series against the Twins, and considering how this season started, I'm calling that a victory. I wasn't sure we'd beat anyone. There is a lot to love about the young A's pitching, and their running game is masking their lack of real offense, at least for now.

The A's look for the sweep tomorrow in the very last A's game EVER at the Metrodome. For some reason, that makes me nostalgic.

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...

A's Beat Tigers 9-4

Nico — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 23:16:40 -0000

More photos » by Tony Avelar - AP

Jack Cust HRs.

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By the time the A's finished bombing two 3-run HRs and another two solo HRs, it was hard to remember that for a while it looked like the offense was in "create mode."

Down 1-0 the A's got even in the 3rd against Rick Porcello when Cliff Pennington singled, alertly and daringly tagged up on a medium-deep fly ball to left-center field, then got a great read and scored on a soft one-hopper to RF by Rajai Davis. Exciting, resourceful, good baseball to be sure...But there must be an easier way...

Enter Jack Cust, exit baseball. Cust's 3-run bomb to left-center capped off a 4-run bottom of the 3rd, which Brett Tomko held through his 6 solid innings of 1-run ball. Meanwhile, Cust HRed again as part of his perfect 3-3, 1 BB, 2 HR, 4 RBI day.

The Tigers would rally against the A's bullpen, nicking Brad Ziegler for a run in the 7th, and two more off of Michael Wuertz in the 8th courtesy of Miguel Cabrera's 200th career wap-a-pap (note the all lowercase for an opposing hitter).

So it was 5-4 A's going to the bottom of the 8th, until Big Green & Little Gold found a lovely spot just inside the right-field foul pole. First it was Landon Powell with a 3-run HR off Ryan Perry, and then two batters later it was Cliff Pennington keeping it just fair off of said Perry.

4 HRs, tying the A's season-high, accounting for 8 of the 9 runs -- and a win that sends the Tigers away having lost their 11th consecutive series on the road, and that pulls the A's to within 19.5 games of first place. Well it does.

Terrible Roster Management Catches Up To A's In 3-2 Loss

Nico — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 05:11:02 -0000

More photos » by Kevin Rivoli - AP

Defensive replacement? Pinch runner?

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The A's bench tonight was Bobby Crosby (bad calf), Scott Hairston (bad quad), and Nomar Garciaparra (bad body). That's it. Two guys who can't run or play the field due to injury, and one who can't run or play the field due to the fact that he retired two years ago but nobody can find the paperwork.

Now it didn't help matters that in the top of the 1st inning, with a runner at 3rd and one out, Mark Teixeira hit a one-hopper to third and got an RBI thanks only to the worst Kennedy decision since Chappaquiddick. Yet a 6th inning Cust HR and 7th inning "tremendous AB" RBI single by Mark Ellis would get the A's to within 3-2 in the 7th, and that's when a 3-man bench called "Cripples Row" caught up to the A's.

Two on, two out in the 7th, Phil Coke in the game to face Ryan Sweeney, and the A's couldn't pinch-hit because they didn't have a single player available to play the OF. Sweeney bounced weakly to 2nd.

Two on, nobody out in the 8th, and Nomar pinch-ran for Landon Powell. That's right, Nomar Garciaparra, pinch runner. After Everidge bounced into a 5-3 DP, the A's couldn't pinch-hit for Cliff Pennington because they didn't have a player available to play SS. Pennington popped out to LF.

That's right: The A's played a game in which they literally only had defensive replacements possible at 1B and C (and that meant giving up the DH, which the A's ended up doing), in which they couldn't pinch-hit for anyone, and in which they had to put a gimpy player with chronically bad hamstrings in as a pinch runner because he was the most mobile of the three players on the bench.

I'm thinking maybe Cunningham or Buck or Patterson might have been ever so slightly useful tonight, but apparently Bobby Crosby is far too valuable to lose for 15 days and Nomar needs a roster spot because perfect pinch runners are hard to find.

I've volunteered at assisted living centers where there was more mobility than you could find on the A's bench tonight.

Nice job by Brett Anderson tonight (7 IP, 3 ER, 1 BB, 6 K) and I hate the Yankees. That's all.

A’s use Five-Run Fourth to Flush Royals, Hold on for 9-4 Win

67MARQUEZ — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 03:19:25 -0000

More photos » by ED ZURGA - AP

4 months ago: Oakland Athletics' Cliff Pennington drives the ball into right for a two-run double in the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals Friday, Aug. 7, 2009, in Kansas City, Mo. Tommy Everidge and Mark Ellis scored on the double. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)

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Cliff Pennington made up for an early blunder with a pair of key doubles to lead the A's to a 9-4 victory over the league-worst Kansas City Royals.

After the A's took an early lead on a Tommy Everidge single, Pennington helped to give it back. With two Royals on base in the bottom of the second, the recently-promoted shortstop bobbled a double-play grounder just enough to prolong the inning (though he was not charged with an error). One batter later the game was squared at one on a base hit by Yuniesky Betancourt to score Mark Teahen.

Pennington partially repaid his debt with a double leading off the third, eventually scoring on a short sacrifice fly by Rajai Davis, to give the A's a 2-1 lead.

Kurt Suzuki preserved the slim advantage with some gorgeous glove work in the Royals' next turn at bat. Teahen's two-out single with two men on threatened to tie the game, but Suzuki reached high and wide to field Ryan Sweeney's throw to the plate, and tagged a surprised Billy Butler as he tried to score to end the inning.

The A's broke it open in the fourth. Brian Bannister bounced a wild pitch to bring in Jack Cust who had singled to start the frame, went to second on a passed ball, and took third on a groundball out by Suzuki. Everidge walked, and Mark Ellis followed a Sweeney out with a single.

Then Pennington took over.

His second two-bagger of the night went to nearly the same spot as the first, over the head of Teahen in right, as Everidge and Ellis scored easily. Kennedy walked, and Davis legged out an infield knock to load the bases, bringing up Scott Hairston, whose seeing-eye single plated Pennington and AK to make it 7-1.

Staked to a large lead, starter Vin Mazzaro hardly shut ‘em down, allowing an RBI-triple to David DeJesus, his league-leading seventh three-base hit of the season.

Kansas City crept closer with a run in the latter half of the fifth, but Everidge dove to spear a would-be hit to keep the score at 7-3, ending Mazarro's night. The young right-hander flirted with danger throughout the evening, but allowed only three of the dozen runners that reached base against him (four walks, eight hits) to score. Overall, there were 25 hits in the contest, eleven by the A's. The Royals left twelve men on base.

So enamored was Pennington with second base that he singled in the sixth, stole that sweet bag, and snuggled with it while Kennedy and Davis struck out.

Santiago Casilla took over for Mazzaro and promptly surrendered back-to-back two baggers, bringing the Royals to within 7-4.

They would draw no closer.

Ryan Sweeney's no-doubt-about-it homerun in the eighth and Hairston's RBI double in the ninth concluded the scoring while Craig Bleslow, Michael Wuertz, and Jeff Gray teamed to keep the Royals from making a game of it.

Jays Jump Out Early, Take Rubber Game: Jays 7, Oakland 2

hugo — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 00:07:33 -0000

More photos » by Ben Margot - AP

4 months ago: Toronto Blue Jays' Alex Rios swings for a three-run double off Oakland Athletics' Vin Mazzaro in the first inning of a baseball game Sunday, Aug. 2, 2009, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

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The Jays beat Oakland this afternoon, 7-2, to take the series, with a strong team effort.

On the Mound: Ricky Romero had some trouble locating his secondary pitches today, but he got some strikeouts with his fastball and battled, though admittedly against a less than stellar Oakland offense. With a better offensive team today, the game could have looked different. That said, Romero did a very nice job, going 7 strong and striking out 5 while walking 1 and giving up 8 hits - 5 singles and 3 doubles - and both Oakland runs. He did more than enough to put the Jays in the driver's seat today.

At the Plate: The Jays jumped out first thing - right in the top of the first inning. Jose Bautista (1-4 with a walk) drew the leadoff walk and Aaron Hill rocketed a Vin Mazzaro pitch over the left field fence to give Toronto the quick lead. Adam Lind, Lyle Overbay, and Vernon Wells all reached base and Alex Rios cashed them all with a 3-run, bases-loaded double before Mazzaro ever recorded an out. The Jays had plenty of chances for the rest of the game, but scored just two runs - one on an Adam Lind 2-strike RBI single he pushed through the infield, and one on a Rod Barajas line-drive home run. New guy Edwin Encarnacion (0-4, 2Ks) looked like he was pressing just a bit at the plate.

From the Bullpen: New guy, Josh Roenicke, however, showed no jitters in his Jays debut. Roenicke came in and got Kurt Suzuki to ground out, then struck out Scott Hairston, using his mid-90s fastball to set up his cutter/slider (he grips it like a cutter but it moves like a slider), a very good-looking pitch with a lot of movement. He lost the patient Jack Cust on a 3-2 count, but came back to strike out Tommy Everidge on the same pitch. He looks like a credible late-inning option to me. Not to be outdone, Jeremy Accardo pitched the ninth and looked extremely sharp, striking out Bobby Crosby, getting Mark Ellis to pop up, and and retiring Cliff Pennington on a groundout for a 1-2-3 ninth.

Overall, it was great to see the Jays win the road series, something they hadn't done since mid-June. Ricky Romero did a nice job and put himself atop all AL Rookies in both wins (10) and strikeouts (87). And although I don't have an "in the field" section (maybe I should), John McDonald (1-4 with a line-drive double) had a sparkling defensive play to set up an inning-ending double play and looked very at home at shortstop the entire game.

Jays of the day: Aaron Hill, Ricky Romero, and Adam Lind. Honourable mention to Josh Roenicke for an impressive debut and especially to Alex Rios, who dragged down what looked like a sure JotD performance with a couple of pop ups with runners in scoring position and less than two outs. No suckage awards, which is the way it should be. The Jays have the day off tomorrow before starting a 2-game midweek series at home against the New York Yankees, which will begin 14 straight games against AL East opponents. Buckle up, B^3 ers.