Ok, so we lost.  161 to go.

The Good: The little team that could took the World Champion Red Sox to 10 innings and had Francona looking like he was passing a kidney stone watching Papelbon pitch.

The Bad:  Duh

The Weird:

a) Seeing the A's back 1/2 game when the rest of the AL West is still playing Spring Training.

b) No Super-Marco to turn to for a miracle

The Irritating:

a) 6-Time Golden Glove Winner Eric Chavez referred to by ESPN's Underwater Tidily-Winks broadcast team as "one of the better defensive players in the league" (implied: But clearly not on par with any of the Gods of Boston)

b) Bud.  'Nuff said

c) Realizing the only place in the World that the Sox really play an away game is at Yankee Stadium.

Items d) through zzzz):  The disrespectful, damning-by-faint-praise crap that was heard every 30-seconds or so as "commentary".

 

</rant>

 

OK, so I've been pretty quiet for a while, lurking about.  Mostly been shocked into silence by the local baseball team.  Funny, I started to go to their games because I like baseball & hot dogs.  Never thought that they'd become.... interesting.

Poll

Dumbest Rallying mechanism:

23%

Thunder Sticks - Anywhere

19 votes

0%

Other (Write in comments)

0 votes

30%

Cowboy Up! - Boston

24 votes

46%

Rally Monkey - San Dimas Angels of Rancho Cucamonga

37 votes

80 votes | Poll has closed

Continue reading this post »

Having a hard time not feeling a little angry at Kendall.  I mean here is a career .300 hitter who was the posterboy for GIDP while with the A's.  Now what is he doing?

Kendall has nice game as No. 2 hitter
Jason Kendall - C - CHC - Aug. 16 - 1:22 am et

Jason Kendall had a two-run homer and an RBI double as the Cubs' No. 2 hitter on Wednesday.
Perhaps manager Lou Piniella will leave Kendall at the bottom of the order against righties, but it was nice to see him moved up against the lefty tonight. Kendall is batting .311 with 12 RBI and 11 walks in 22 games for the Cubs. Aug. 16 - 1:22 am et

From:

Poll

Why is Kendall hot now?

17%

Regression to mean?

30 votes

18%

Lou Pinella gives good backrubs?

31 votes

5%

He plays better pissed off? ( at A's..... see M. Bradley)

9 votes

58%

NL Pitching sucks compared to AL?

100 votes

170 votes | Poll has closed

I have to admit being a bit of a curmudgeon, and I know there are a few others out there.  Since I have been in Denver, aside from missing seeing the A's, I've been trying to become a Rockies Fan. It has been more difficult than it sounds.  In my world, here's who I root for:

1.  Green & Gold champions of goodness & underdoggedness.

2. <sigh> The Rockies

3.  Whoever is playing the Yankees

4.  Whoever is playing the Angels.  (I know I will be chastised for the obvious reversal of 3 &4, but whatever.)

Anyhow, what joy, on an A's day off to have Todd & the Toddlers SWEEP the Bronx Bombers!!!!  Oh! the wonderful looks of misery on Yankee Fan Faces!  The horror!  The sweet smell of justice!

Ahhh! Spring has Sprung, and the Baseball Gods have decided that work will send me to the Bay Area that week.  I'm just wondering who will be in the bleachers that night?  At least I will get one A's game this year since the A's aren't coming to Colorado for inter-league play.  I'm seriously jonesing for some Green & Gold.

It's been a loooong winter :)

On Pitchers and MVP; Also at the bottom, FT and the HOF:

Thomas was limited to 20 games in 2001 because of injury. And he hit just .252 in 2002 with 28 homers and 92 RBI -- paltry by his standards. There was a belief that he was a borderline Hall of Famer.
http://www.startribune.com/509/story/680508.html

-----------------------------------------------
Twins have "Grit" and "Intangibles" not those "Moneyball A's"

But I love this quote:

Were they really "feel-good" stories, though? The Boston payroll is second only to the New York Yankees, year-in and year-out. The White Sox play in one of the biggest media markets in the country and have a payroll to match. Let's be honest, these teams aren't really underdogs -- they're underachievers.

http://www.sports-central.org/sports/2006/09/15/the_team_nobody_wants_to_play.php

Poll

Who scares you the most in Postseason?

81%

Twins

45 votes

18%

Yankees

10 votes

0%

Tigers

0 votes

0%

White Sox

0 votes

55 votes | Poll has closed

First of all, I have to say from the get go, if there are two fan bases in baseball who deserve each others sympathies its us and the ChiSox fans.

Two teams who share cities where baseball fans as a whole seem to be attracted to the teams who suck.  Southside, Eastbay.  Diminuitives, as it were.  As if some how the mere presence of some idiots in the "senior" circuit <snerk> somehow dimishes what the AL Teams have achieved.  The ChiSox and we are kindred spirits, sharing the memories of *Jermaine* [ed] Dye, Frank Thomas, and others.  The Cubbies and Giants fans can fight over Dusty Baker.

Lets look:

Records (as of right now)
White Sox: 84-65
Cubs:  61-89

Athletics: 86-62
Giants: 74-74

Last World Series Win
ChiSox: 2005
Cubs: 1908

Athletics: 1989
Giants: 1954  (as the New York Giants)

So let me say, while I cannot grieve an A's win or sweep, in this case it isn't as sweet as it could have been.

In point of fact, the ONLY World Champions in either the SF Bay or Chicagoland for ALMOST A CENTURY have been the A's & ChiSox.

First of all, MLB seems to have already picked the manager of the year:

http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060912&content_id=1658547&vkey=news_mlb &fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

But here's one guarantee: no matter what they do, Leyland is the AL's best manager this season.

Oh Ok, glad that resolved.

Finally, Macha has navigated through the usual plethora of injuries.

Usual?????? Give me a break.

And on Rich Harden: What I mean is that I have no idea where the A's starter/reliever/rehabber goes after today. Does he come back into the bullpen to stretch out his arm? Does he come into the rotation, backed up by another starter due to his pitch limit? ...Your guess is as good as mine here, but I'll be watching closely.

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=5517

I don't know is aparently news for BBP. Thanks for that wisdom there...not.

BIG FRANK... please say its true.
General Manager Billy Beane is handling negotiations with agent Arn Tellem, and Wolff said he is confident of re-signing Thomas.

Also the A's are 0 for 10:

If the A's and Los Angeles Angels finish tied for the American League West lead, a playoff game would be played Oct. 2 in Anaheim. The A's lost the coin flip Tuesday to determine the site for the game. The A's have not won a flip in the past four years, going 0-10.
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/baseball/mlb/oakland_athletics/15506795.htm?source =rss&channel=mercurynews_oakland_athletics

No Woofing here.  But at what point do we start thinking about shifting focus to the playoffs?  Not yet, but I would like to see Chavez get some rest before a playoff appearance.  It would really be nice to get Chavy's bat back at full strength.  But I shudder at the idea of Antonio Perez down the stretch.

After the roster expansion, how much time do you think we can afford to do without Chavy?  How much time do you think he needs?

So here is the question?  What is the most unlikely thing that could happen in the next 3 days or so, that you would LIKE to see happen, and is in the realm of possibility.

So for instance:

Halsey pitching a shutout tonight.  That is highly unlikely, but possible.  GOOD

Yankees trade A-Rod and cash to Oakland for Antonio Perez.  BAD