SB Nation User Blog: emperor nobody

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

emperor nobody — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 04:30:49 -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 ;)

Open Thread III: Game 160 - A's vs. Chula Vista Cherubim of Cucamonga

emperor nobody — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 04:12:35 -0000

Hey, wait, this is like, 35% baseball at most.

It's 5-0 Angels as we start the 9th, and the stills from the game indicate just how intense the A's offensive attack has been tonight.

Open Thread II: Game 160 - A's vs. Northridge Nephilim of Van Nuys

emperor nobody — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 02:47:00 -0000

Despite 9 Ks from Gio through 5 IP (tying a career high), it's 4-0 Red People halfway home courtesy of a Juan Rivera ball that cleared the fence by less than the amount of fingernail it takes to scratch the blackboard of my very soul. Biff Clankington has also chimed in on my last nerve with an errant throw home allowing Kendry Morales, pictured above at Sea World Anaheim, to steal home even though he makes Bengie Molina seem like Lou Brock.

Open Thread: Game 160 - A's vs. SoCal Seraphim of Santa Ana

emperor nobody — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 21:55:44 -0000

They sold their souls for ~~rock-n-roll~~ first-to-third.

Hello again, RISP-lets of the GDParadigm, and welcome one and all to the final homestand of 2009, as the Athletics, fresh from getting their asses kicked through the goalposts of Hell in Seattle, return home for One More Red Nightmare against the AL West Champion (getting sick of saying that yet? I know I am. I hope Billy Beane and David Forst are.) Angels. The A's send Gio Gonzalez (6-6//5.73) up against Jered Weaver (15-8//3.84) in a rematch of last Friday's boogie-down, which saw Gio prevail 3-0, striking out 7 and walking merely one in 6 1/3 innings of sparkly quicktoss. If Oakland can sweep 3 this weekend they will take the season series from the Halos, who currently hold a 9-7 advantage.

You down with OBP? Yeah, you know me.

Speaking of Mr. Beane, word has it that Tyler Blez has scored a straight-from-the-horse-trader's-mouth interview on the whys and the wherefores of the 2009 season (and more than a fleeting glance at what 2010 may hold for the green-n-gold) with the man himself, so be looking for that coming soon to a front page near you. As for this game, well this is how it sets up, replete with a Matt Carson sighting behind the Magic 8 Ball :

Lineup

Los Angeles Angels @ Oakland Athletics

10/02/09 7:05 PM PDT

Los Angeles Angels	Oakland Athletics
Chone Figgins - 3B	Adam Kennedy - 3B
Bobby Abreu - RF	Rajai Davis - CF
Torii Hunter - CF	Kurt Suzuki - C
Vladimir Guerrero - DH	Jack Cust - DH
Juan Rivera - LF	Daric Barton - 1B
Kendry Morales - 1B	Mark Ellis - 2B
Mike Napoli - C	Eric Patterson - LF
Brandon Wood - SS	Matt Carson - RF
Freddy Sandoval - 2B	Cliff Pennington - SS

This'll be my last supersubby workout on the game threads before I start doing it for reals next spring, so I wanted to thank everyone here again for making me feel welcome and so much a part of the AN-times here... 2010 should be another level of Chaos entirely as I venture forth with the laptop and head for season ticket seats at the RF foul pole, where Tuesday night game threads will originate next season if all goes according to plan.

Can I get a LET'S go OAK-LAND!!??!? Amen and you all have a tremendous winter, and may all your stoves be hot.

Love, Josh.

Do It Like a Gio! Gonzalez K's 7 as A's Shut Down Halos, 3-0

emperor nobody — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 04:20:45 -0000

6 1/3 IP, 0 ER, 1 BB, 24, 5'11", 185 lbs., brown hair, brown eyes. Holla.

The Athletics' train kept a-rollin' as Gio "Long Time" Gonzalez turned in a most masterful performance, with Michael Wuertz striking out the side in the 8th for an even 100 Ks on the season. Andrew "The Old" Bailey lowered the gavel on the punchless Angels in the 9th for his 26th (and 21st consecutive!!!!) save, so an ongoing A's rookie record, well, goes on. Rajai Davis continued hotter than the temperature of the core of the sun, squared, with a double to extend his career-high hit streak to a lucky 13.

Image resized to accommodate how small Jeff Mathis must feel.

This was a game that seemed to turn, at least in terms of scoring, on a pair of consecutive errors in the 7th. With Eric Patterson (who continued to tear it up with another couple of hits) on third after he singled, stole second, and took 3rd when catcher Jeff "Chances Are" Mathis' throw went into center field, Mathis attempted to atone with a snap pickoff attempt. Proving once again that two wrongs do not indeed make a right, it sailed down the LF line... Patterson scored for a 3-0 A's lead which they would not relinquish, drawing Oakland one step closer to the (now 7-1) finish we need to end at .500 for the tumultuous 2009 season, which I think we'd all agree would fookin' rawk.

Can't possibly say enough about Gio tonight, who showed a tasty slice of the promise that he has flashed throughout the year, and IMO assured himself of a mighty serious look for next year's rotation with this evening's activities. The A's are officially the hottest team in baseball now, with a 16-7 September mark and a brisk 15 out of 19 and 10 out of the last 12.
So I guess this means we'll see you all tomorrow night? I thought as much. Go !!!!!

Open Thread II: Game 154 - A's @ Anahangeles Angels of Los Osos

emperor nobody — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 03:09:52 -0000

Thusfar it's Kennedy, not Kendrick or Kendry, taking the helm -- Adam is taking it to his former team on both sides of the ball and despite the best CF efforts of Torii Hunter, gatherer (and with a niiiice two-out knock from Daric Barton) we're 2-0 A's with Gio sailing beautifully along through 5 1/2.

Open Thread: Game 154 - A's @ Angeles Angels of Los Anaheim

emperor nobody — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 23:14:49 -0000

You can't lose the car if you park right next to this thing.

Salutations faithful parishioners of the Church of Latter-Day OPS, it's me! Your host the emp of hemp, welcoming you to the opener of the final Athletics roadie of 2009, beginning deep in the heart of Orange County against those hated Halos of Helltown. The A's (73-80) are among the hottest teams in MLB, having just completed a 6-2 homestand which was preceded by a 6-2 road trip. The Angels (90-62) have all but bagged the AL West and if you could see the inner landscape of Mike Scioscia's mind right now, you'd hear him wondering how to keep his team in the playoffs for more than a week this time around.

Hoping to continue this September of Green-n-Golden Goodness is Gio Gonzalez (5-6//6.15), who takes the ball for Oakland and is opposed by Jered Weaver, who sits at 15-7 with a stingy 3.87 earned runs allowed per nine innings. If the A's don't want to see the SlegnA celebrating in their faces (their Magic Number is 4, so if Texas loses a couple of games and the Halos win a couple they'll win the West), they will have to find a way to stem the tide of Kendry Morales, at .303 for the year and an inveterate A's-killer.

You'd be smiling too if you were your team's MVP.

Before yesterday's dismantling of the Rangers, the A's needed to win Nine Out Of Ten to close out the year at .500... just 8 more and the goal is attained. So if our friend pictured above (currently riding a 12-game hitting streak and playing with as much confidence and energy as any player in MLB the last 10 weeks) can Raj against the red Machine and Gio, who has much to prove in these last couple of starts, can keep the ball off the fat part of the Halo bats, tonight can be another step towards the respectability that is the first step towards excellence... in 2010 and beyond.

Of course, without lineups Gio & Jered will just be throwing to an empty batter's box, so::

Lineup

Oakland Athletics @ Los Angeles Angels

09/25/09 7:05 PM PDT

Oakland Athletics	Los Angeles Angels
Adam Kennedy - 3B	Chone Figgins - 3B
Rajai Davis - CF	Erick Aybar - SS
Ryan Sweeney - RF	Bobby Abreu - RF
Kurt Suzuki - C	Vladimir Guerrero - DH
Jack Cust - DH	Torii Hunter - CF
Daric Barton - 1B	Juan Rivera - LF
Mark Ellis - 2B	Kendry Morales - 1B
Eric Patterson - LF	Howie Kendrick - 2B
Cliff Pennington - SS	Jeff Mathis - C

All right, the Drive to 81 is on, lemme hear ya say LET'S go OAK-LAND!!!!

Bailey Notches 25th Save as A's Treat Tribe Kurt-ly, 5-2

emperor nobody — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 04:53:40 -0000

Tonight's stars enjoy a little friendly "whose hand is bigger?" competition, remembering of course it's not the size of the mitt, but how you call the game.

The Swingin', Pitchin', Runnin', Streakin' A's undressed Cleveland starter Justin "from my hand to your bat" Masterson in a 4-run 3rd, punctuated by a Kurt Suzuki three-run HR. And Thursday makes Four in a row for Oakland, quietly putting together another more-than-respectable second half here in the Days of Oughty-Nine.

not pictured: an Indian

Well it looks like 67MARQUEZ got his miracle ticket's worth tonight, with the Athletics continuing the trend of there-is-an-A-in-Awesome with another workmanlike effort in support of Clayton "Le Not-So-Petit" Mortensen, who went a solid and exceptionally tall 5 for his 2nd win, and yet another in a long series of utterly delectable, gourmet, even-better-than-those-veggie-tacos-at-Herbivore bullpen workouts featuring Brad Kilby, everyday Craig Breslow & Michael Wuertz. Wuertz was best yet again as he struck out a couple to get the ball to the AL's most satisfying after-dinner digestif, who proved a liqueur too strong for the tepid Tribe bats and authored his (ongoing Oakland rookie record) 25th save. So Andrew Bailey's ridiculous, eye-popping, and all-around glittering ERA drops to 1.95, and he is clearly qualifying himself more each day to be placed among MLB's ROYalty come this off-season.

Not much else to say about it all, other than

Rajai Davis legged out another hit and sits at .313... if you'd have told me 10 weeks ago, hey Joshy! Raj is gonna hit .300, whaddaya think of that? I'd have politely requested a taste of whatever it was you were having, and to be honest it would have brought to mind this classic exchange, early 2000s, between Ken Korach and the late Bill King:

BK: This guy is on fire, he is really smokin'.

KenKo: Oh yeah, Bill? What's he smokin'?

Open Thread II: Game 146 - Cleveland Indians @ A's

emperor nobody — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 03:21:16 -0000

As we turn unperturbed to the last third of our Thursday excursion -- the Mastersons vs. the Mortensens -- Kurt has hurt the inert Tribe with a 3-run blurt, part of a murderous 4-run spurt in the third. Add a Sweeney Squirt in the first and we are 5-2 two thirds immersed.

Word.

Open Thread: Game 146 - Cleveland Indians @ A's

emperor nobody — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 01:17:26 -0000

Seriously, you haven't won squat in 60+ years, is it time to ditch the logo yet?

Shalom WHIP-lets, and please join me in welcoming your 2009 Athletics back to the Coliseum, fresh from ruining the summers of the White Sox, Twins and Texas Rangers, who were in the race when we arrived but are now a combined 2,188 games back and 2,186 1/3 in the Wild Card. I am your host tonight, emptastically subbing for the historically awesome 67M, as he scored last-minute tix to tonight's extravaganza.

Thursday brings in those Cleveland Indians, victims of an injury tally that makes recent A's seasons look like a Whole Earth Expo by comparison. The Injuns have fallen far far out of it (not unusual for them since Manny was in town and Bill Clinton was President) and sit at 61-84, 25 1/2 games out of 1st in the Central, and rumor has it they are seriously considering giving 90-something fireballer Bob Feller a look as their #3 starter in Spring Training next year.

On the hill this evening for the Golden Green is the tall one Clayton Mortensen, 1-2 with a hefty 6.75 ERA, opposed by Justin Masterson (4-7//4.25), traded to the Tribe by the Red Sox earlier this year and in all likelihood wishing he was still in Boston and looking at October baseball. At any rate he has the most Western-sounding name in MLB, so hopefully the A's bats can knock him off his horse tonight as our boys, who are playing smooth and loose with Rajai Davis going absolutely off the chain and leading the way with an a-s-t-o-n-i-s-h-i-n-g .314 average (a sick .347 since the All-Star Break) with but a couple weeks to play here, come home to begin an 8 -game stand... will he make it to a .300 season? If I were a Magic 8-ball I'd say

Ah, yes, batters batters and more batters:

Lineup

Cleveland Indians @ Oakland Athletics

09/17/09 7:05 PM PDT

Cleveland Indians	Oakland Athletics
Michael Brantley - CF	Adam Kennedy - 3B
Jamey Carroll - 2B	Rajai Davis - CF
Shin-Soo Choo - RF	Ryan Sweeney - LF
Jhonny Peralta - 3B	Kurt Suzuki - C
Travis Hafner - DH	Landon Powell - DH
Matt LaPorta - 1B	Jack Cust - RF
Luis Valbuena - SS	Mark Ellis - 2B
Lou Marson - C	Daric Barton - 1B
Trevor Crowe - LF	Cliff Pennington - SS

Enjoy the game and LET'S go OAK-LAND!!!!!!