SB Nation User Blog: Nico

A's Chooed Up And Spit Out, Fugly Style

Nico — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 01:59:34 -0000

Ha ha! Shin-Soo Choo is so bad he can't even hit a triple!

Perhaps the best motto for tonight's game would be: "If at first you don't fail, try try again." Because back when the game was close, the A's needed to choke like the Doublemint twins on an oversized piece of gum in order for the game to get out of hand.

The A's actually led 2-0 once upon a time, and had a 2-1 edge in the 3rd when Bobby Crosby betrayed Trevor Cahill throwing away a routine ground ball to start the inning. Yet the A's still held the lead 2-1, with the bases loaded and two out, when Cahill coaxed a weak bouncer to third from Jhonny Peralta. Crosby threw that one away too, the Indians scored twice, tallied another in the inning, and took a 4-2 lead.

Even when a 4-spot in the 4th chased Cahill and made it 8-3 Indians, the A's had a shot. Cleveland saw to it. Peralta threw away Crosby's grounder to start the inning and so Adam Kennedy, dutiful Athletic, made his best attempt to bounce into a DP. Luis Valbueno (low shovel to second) and Asdrubal Cabrera (oops, me no catchy) managed not to get any outs and the A's had two on, nobody out, and ~~the heart of the order~~ some other hitters coming up. That's when the other Doublemint twin, Orlando Cabrera, vowed to hit into that DP, damn it, and showing impressive efficiency did it on the first pitch with a tailor-made two-hopper to SS.

Meanwhile, Cahill, Casilla, Breslow, and Springer combined to allow RFer Shin-Soo Choo to post the old 5 4 4 7 line in the box score. That's the result of an RBI single, a 3-run HR, a 2-run double, and a solo HR. Had Choo decided not to touch home plate after the solo HR, he would have had the cycle, but unlike Eric Byrnes he found home plate and unlike Miguel Tejada he chose to go there. No cycle for you!

One final complaint: Trevor Cahill was squeezed many times in his 3.2 IP and I just want to inform all the umpires that it's the same strike zone for rookies and veterans. Obviously, in a 15-3 game this wasn't "the difference" between winning and losing, but Cahill deserved better tonight, both from his defense and from the home plate umpire.

Other than all that, though, I thought tonight's game was just ducky.

Open Thread: Game 78 - AAA's at Cleveland (cont.)

Nico — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 01:24:23 -0000

They really need a "10 runs up" rule in the big leagues (except when Boston is at Baltimore). 14-3 Indians going to the 7th.

Open Thread: Game 78 - A's at Cleveland

Nico — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 15:45:49 -0000

The A's have searched the land far and wide, on buses and on planes traveling east, west, north, and south, and they have finally found it -- an American League team with a worse record than the Oakland A's!!! In the American League, only the Indians sport a winning percentage under .400 -- .388, better only than the Washington Nationals, whose .289 mark would still lead the A's in batting.

The A's send Trevor Cahill to the mound tonight against David Huff (pronounced "ha-OO-gah-huh"), not to be confused with Charlie Hough. Or with Aubrey Huff. Or certainly not with Melvin Mora, because that would just be weird.

Today's "fun fact": At home so far this season, Cahill has walked 13 batters in 59.2 IP. On the road, he has walked 21 batters in 29.2 IP.

Lineup

Oakland Athletics @ Cleveland Indians

07/03/09 4:05 PM PDT

Oakland Athletics	Cleveland Indians
Adam Kennedy - 2B	Asdrubal Cabrera - SS
Orlando Cabrera - SS	Grady Sizemore - CF
Matt Holliday - LF	Victor Martinez - C
Jason Giambi - DH	Shin-Soo Choo - RF
Kurt Suzuki - C	Travis Hafner - DH
Nomar Garciaparra - 1B	Jhonny Peralta - 3B
Jack Cust - RF	Ryan Garko - 1B
Ryan Sweeney - CF	Luis Valbuena - 2B
Bobby Crosby - 3B	Ben Francisco - LF

Locus Of Control

Nico — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 01:52:20 -0000

For those unfamiliar with this ~~psychobabble~~ psychological term, an "internal locus of control" refers to the belief that you have the ability to impact the events around you, while an "external locus of control" refers to the belief that events are controlled by outside forces -- be they other people, circumstances, God, or chance. In a given situation, or in general, do you determine your fate or does life just happen to you?

Far too often this season I have seen the A's, led by their skipper, attributing an external locus of control to their fortunes -- as if gosh darn it, bad stuff keeps happening to the Oakland A's and there's nothing they can do about it. And I think this mindset is dangerous and destructive. It scares me to think of a young team falling prey to this way of thinking, because an external locus of control will breed excuses, apathy, and a lack of resiliency, where reflection, adjustment, and resolve are needed. Let me offer a few examples of the "external locus of control" mindset at work with our beloved A's...

* From the players...

Jason Giambi has responded to a .200 batting average by lamenting that he's hitting a lot of balls hard and they just aren't finding holes. This is not chance; this is the result of hitting sharp ground balls right into a defense that has 150% more employees than average stationed on the right side of the diamond. Bad luck isn't happening to Giambi; Giambi is choosing to hit into a shift that is likely to turn most of his well hit balls into outs.

Consider what would happen if Giambi backed off the plate a hair, so that he knew all the pitches that are tying him up inside were balls. This would, of course, leave him "vulnerable" to the outside half of the plate. But in fact, with a "don't try to pull it, just swing" approach he would hit those outside pitches away from the shift -- all while being in a position to mash anything on the inner half of the strike zone.

Some of the outside pitches Giambi connected with would, of course, be fouled off, some hit right at the lone defender (3Bman) or back to the mound, a few others lofted to LF. What is it reasonable to think Giambi would hit if he set himself up to stroke outside pitches away from the shift (it involves the same swing, but less accompanying body torque as the bat comes forward), could still mash pitches on the inner half, while knowing he could lay off anything that might tie him up inside? I figure, giving the very high BABIP you can expect when hitting towards an infield defense that is literally at 50% capacity, and given the need pitchers would have to pitch Giambi away, maybe .300/.380/.420? Who wouldn't want that right now?

And of course the kicker is: If Giambi hit a few singles and doubles to the 3Bman's left and right, they'd stop shifting and Jason would be in a far better position, no matter what his approach, than he currently faces.

* From the manager:

Just last Sunday, Geren bemoaned the third loss to the Rockies with, "If only that drive by Ellis had stayed fair -- and it was just inches foul -- the game might have been tied, and we might have won it." Well yeah, Bob, but what about the previous 8.5 innings? The ones where the team couldn't score, couldn't catch pretty routine fly balls and pop-ups, all backing the A's into a wall where they needed to rely on the fortunes of a single "fair or foul" line drive? Those three hours are worth focusing on, too.

When you focus on one moment of bad luck, you ignore the many, many aspects of the game the players can control, and you lead them to believe they are constantly snakebit, rather than feeling they are capable of setting themselves up better for success and "good fortune."

* From the fans:

I've seen fans fall prey to this way of thinking a lot, too. In May, I read a lot of this: "Holliday's not hitting well, but he's been really unlucky -- his 2009 BABIP is way below his career BABIP." Folks, the first two months of the season, Matt Holliday was not unlucky. His BABIP was low because he was hitting a boatload of weak and routine ground balls and routine fly balls, the result (I felt) of lunging at pitches and not letting the ball get in deep. For every line drive that was caught, a bloop fell in. The problem was not chance; the problem was that Matt Holliday was simply not having the quality of at bats he had, home and away, in 2004-2008.

What might have been accurate was to say, "His career BABIP suggests he's a much better hitter than he's shown, so it's pretty much assured that he'll figure it out, hit the ball better, and improve his numbers." But Holliday's performance was not going to improve on its own, like some unlucky craps player waiting out a run of 7s and 11s. Holliday's performance was going to improve only because he made adjustments, changed the things that were wrong with his approach, and had different at bats.

Now there is no question that as long as the A's keep running out Crosby, R. Davis, and Hannahan against superior hitting, Oakland will lose more than it will win. But at the same time, Jason Giambi doesn't have to be hitting .200, a given game does not necessarily have to come down to a single bounce or a single call, and neither the baseball gods nor Lady Luck has any standing vendetta against the Oakland A's.

The serenity prayer asks, "...grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can change, and the wisdom to know the difference." Let's just work on the second part, and the rest might start to take care of itself.

It Was Little League Day Today? How Ironic

Nico — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 22:58:27 -0000

More photos » by Ben Margot - AP

NOW you make contact. Thanks a bunch, Jack.

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It seems like each game lately, the A's try harder to prove to the apologists that no, they really are that bad. Friday night, Oakland hit "rock bottom for now" when neither Jack Cust nor Adam Kennedy showed much interest in a pop fly, but in front of a group of Little Leaguers today, the A's put on multiple clinics about what not to do.

Boys and girls, on a pop fly to shallow right, if the second baseman goes out, calls for it, and camps under it, the right-fielder should not -- repeat, should not -- tackle the second baseman from behind as the catch is being made. I know you saw "major leaguers" do it today, but it's not correct form. And when the ball is popped up near the second base bag, the correct play is not for the second baseman and shortstop to look at each other and then watch the ball land on the infield, even if that's what the green guys in cool uniforms did today.

That's right, folks. These days the A's are playing a brand of baseball we need to make sure Little Leaguers don't emulate.

Vin Mazzaro wobbled around early again today, surrendering 2 runs in a 2nd inning that also drove up his pitch count, but by the end of his 5+ innings of work Mazzaro had amassed a career high 8 Ks. Aaron Cook breezed through 8+ innings of shutout ball before leaving one batter into the 9th as the A's offense made the requisite attempt to wake up at the 11th hour. The 9th started with singles by Suzuki, Cabrera, and Sweeney, but ended with strikeouts by pinch-hitter Garciaparra and by Ellis -- whose shot down the left field line landed less than a foot foul, in a bid to tie the game or at least move the tying run to third with one out -- and a routine fly ball out by Kennedy.

Huston Street saved all three games in the series, and Carlos Gonzalez, with his two singles, a double, a triple, two walks, two OF assists, and silky smooth coverage of CF and LF, looked like the best player on the field this weekend. Meanwhile, Travis Buck, Daric Barton, and Aaron Cunningham are now together again -- in Sacramento.

And with each passing day -- each yet worse played game by a group devoid of any apparent energy, spirit, or high standards, and each platitude offered in monotone by a manager whose expectations sound as low as the standings look, and each non-move by a General Manager who appears to feel this is "good enough," I feel like I finally understand what it's like to root for an organization that is not committed to winning.

Why they aren't, I don't know, but I have just never seen an A's team that seemed to expect, and accept, play that would embarrass Little Leaguers. You can only talk so much about young pitching, and the somewhat distant future, when the now is so bad that it simply cannot be ignored -- except, apparently, by those whose job it is to notice.

Open Thread: Game 74 - A's vs. Rockies (cont.)

Nico — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 21:41:02 -0000

Rockies 2 as we go to the 6th. (To put the A's score down would be redundant.)

Open Thread: Game 74 - A's vs. Rockies

Nico — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 19:32:17 -0000

The "Yee haw, put in your hours and it's ice cream for everyone!!!" crew is at it again, sending Vin Mazzaro to the hill against Aaron Cook. The A's have made bad pitchers look good so far this weekend, so maybe they can make a good pitcher look bad.

Because he hates me, 67MARQUEZ informed me this morning that in 12 Sundays this season, the A's will have now spent 6 of them trying to avoid a sweep. Oakland's record so far in these exciting broompreventionfests is 2-3.

Here's today's group of players assigned to make me feel like kicking innocent puppies:

Lineup

Colorado Rockies @ Oakland Athletics

06/28/09 1:05 PM PDT

Colorado Rockies	Oakland Athletics
Dexter Fowler - CF	Adam Kennedy - 3B
Clint Barmes - 2B	Jack Cust - RF
Todd Helton - 1B	Matt Holliday - LF
Brad Hawpe - RF	Jason Giambi - 1B
Troy Tulowitzki - SS	Kurt Suzuki - DH
Ian Stewart - 3B	Orlando Cabrera - SS
Chris Iannetta - C	Ryan Sweeney - CF
Carlos Gonzalez - LF	Landon Powell - C
Seth Smith - DH	Mark Ellis - 2B

4 In The 9th! 7 Unanswered Runs At The End! (A's Lose)

Nico — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 04:53:09 -0000

More photos » by Jeff Chiu - AP

I have the player in the background narrowed down to one of four people.

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The A's had a game plan and they executed it, yet things still didn't work out. Perhaps that's because the game plan included Trevor Cahill allowing HRs in each of the first 4 innings, spotting the Rockies an 11-2 lead, and having Jack Hannahan, Bobby Crosby, and Rajai Davis up as the tying runs against Huston Street. The game plan might need some work.

Anyhoo, the first 6 innings saw the A's fall behind 11-2 and ended with a play that seemed relatively insignificant at the time -- Matt Holliday, trying to score from second, was gunned down on a perfect throw by one of the men for whom Holliday was traded, Carlos Gonzalez. By the time the A's scored 1 in the 7th, 2 more in the 8th, and 4 more in the 9th (clearly positioning themselves to score 8 in the 10th), that lost run looked more meaningful, as did the excused absences, in the late innings, of Holliday, Garciaparra, Giambi, and Cabrera.

Leave it to the 2009 squad to score 9 runs and lose. But at least the A's battled in the end, I suppose. Yay!!!! Ice cream for everyone!!!!

Open Thread: Game 73 - A's vs. Boredom (A's losing)

Nico — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 03:26:25 -0000

More photos » by Ben Margot - AP

Orlando Cabrera lays an egg as fellow countryman Edgar Renteria yells "Balk!" The issue is moot as the whole thing is ruled fowl.

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11-2 Rockies going to the 7th. Things have generally not gone well.

Open Thread: Game 73 - A's vs. Rockies

Nico — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 23:57:52 -0000

More photos » by Morry Gash - AP

Seth McClung throws up a little in his mouth upon seeing the A's team batting average.

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Let's just hope that Game 73 brings a more crisp brand of A's baseball than Game 72 offered. Following an error by Jack Hannahan, a strangely casual errant flick to 1B by Dallas Braden on a bunt, and a baserunning blunder by Matt Holliday, Oakland finally earned a chorus boos from their own fans -- and even from the consummately professional and generally measured Ken Korach -- when a high pop-fly somehow fell between Adam Kennedy and Jack Cust, neither of whom appeared to find the pursuit of the ball to be especially urgent or interesting.

This last event inspired Bob Geren to rip into his team's effort and play, saying, "Neither one could get to it. I thought that off the bat." Oh wait, that's not conveying high expectations, it's suggesting, "It's ok, guys -- I didn't think anyone would catch it. I expect you to suck and I don't really mind." Clown. No wonder your former players are extolling the virtues of firing old managers.

Trevor Cahill takes the mound tonight against lefty Jorge De La Rosa. De La Rosa is no Jason Hammel -- whatever the f*** that even means. He's 3-7 with a 5.85 ERA, so the A's ought to be able to cough up five hits and a hairball. Hello, Nomar!

Lineup

Colorado Rockies @ Oakland Athletics

06/27/09 6:05 PM PDT

Colorado Rockies	Oakland Athletics
Seth Smith - LF	Adam Kennedy - 2B
Clint Barmes - 2B	Kurt Suzuki - C
Todd Helton - 1B	Matt Holliday - LF
Brad Hawpe - RF	Nomar Garciaparra - DH
Troy Tulowitzki - SS	Jason Giambi - 1B
Ian Stewart - 3B	Orlando Cabrera - SS
Garrett Atkins - DH	Jack Cust - RF
Carlos Gonzalez - CF	Bobby Crosby - 3B
Paul Phillips - C	Rajai Davis - CF