SB Nation User Blog: louismg

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

louismg — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 05:13:21 -0000

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

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.

Matthew and Sarah debate the Infield Fly rule. (More discussion on FriendFeed)

louismg — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 23:53:47 -0000

Matthew and Sarah debate the Infield Fly rule.

(More discussion on FriendFeed)

Right Now, Extra Innings Sound Pretty Good! (Rays 6, A's 5)

louismg — Thu, 21 May 2009 23:46:35 -0000

More photos » by Steve Nesius - AP

Braden often wondered if he should throw the ball directly into the A's dugout, would it be more helpful to his cause?

Browse more photos »

Split. Split second decisions. Splitting line drives between the fielders. Split series. What could have been a three-game winning streak, a solid close to a difficult road trip, and a pick me up for a team that hasn't had many of those this year fell apart in a few quick minutes in a disastrous bottom of the ninth which followed an agonizing top of the ninth which saw the A's storm out to a 5-3 lead despite more antics of baserunning tomfoolery, as Rajai Davis tried to singlehandedly make us forget about Jack Hannahan.

The A's were behind or tied practically all game, having falling back 2-0 in the second, tying it up in the 4th, falling behind in the 6th, and tying it one last time in the 8th. The momentary 2-run lead in the 9th seemed like a mirage to us run-starved win-hungry fans, and it was. To paraphrase one of the game thread memes, it was the Crystal Pepsi of leads.

Dallas Braden, who pitched like a "solid #2", according to Nico, pitched 7 strong innings of three-run ball, getting the quality start, and flashing the leather when he needed to. But the bullpen, one aspect of the A's that has been strong practically all season, collapsed faster than this week's ballot issues - as Bailey surrended a 2-run home run to tie the game in the final frame, and Ziggy let home the final tally.

Fittingly, the game-winning single bounded into Rajai's glove, and then out, as he stood in shallow center, watching the Rays put an exclamation point on their victory. And like that, the game was complete, and the A's tempting us with their promise was all hollow, for naught. The Crystal Pepsi of promise.

Open Thread: Game 38 - A's at Rays (cont.)

louismg — Thu, 21 May 2009 22:58:59 -0000

9th Inning drama thread (to be open for potential extras, of course)...

The A's, having never led in the game, are now knotted at 3-3 with the Rays, following an RBI single from Orlando Cabrera that plated Bobby Crosby. Hannahan, unclear what to do in his rare appearance on the bases, was unable to extend the lead to 4-3, so we head to the 9th frame with the game up for grabs.

Braden, though he pitched well, has left the game, and will gather a much-desired no-decision.

Open Thread: Game 38 - A's at Rays (cont.)

louismg — Thu, 21 May 2009 21:54:05 -0000

After five full innings, including a thunderstorm-related power outage, the A's and Rays are deadlocked at 2. Highlights thus far have included Braden's Ryan Sweeney impression to snag a failed bunt attempt, an RBI single by Adam Kennedy, and a sac fly by the aforementioned Sweeney. Despite the tie, Garza is racking up the K's, with 7, and has claimed Hannahan, Suzuki and Cust twice each.

Should the A's capture today's game, it will make for the season's first three-game win streak. Go A's!

Open Thread: Game 38 - A's at Rays

louismg — Thu, 21 May 2009 17:49:46 -0000

More photos » by Jeff Chiu - AP

Dallas Braden has been feeling the pain of his last three starts.

Browse more photos »

There's something pure about weekday baseball. And there's something refreshing about knowing the A's have put up a crooked number, not just in a single inning (or game, mind you), but in terms of the consecutive wins column. It's a rarity this year, as the team, as you know, has more than its fair share of disappointments. Yesterday, too, could have been slotted in that disappointment column, had it not been for the otherworldly levitating leapitude of one Ryan Sweeney who snatched victory from the jaws of what looked like an inevitable late-innings collapse on the part of Oakland.

But baseball is one game at a time, one day at a time, or so the platitudes tell me, which leads to this afternoon's matchup, featuring two pitchers going in opposite directions. The A's will post southpaw Dallas Braden, with his 3-5 record (including three straight losses), against the Rays' Matt Garza, who is 3-0 in his last four decisions, sporting a 4-2 record. Braden, who surprised us all by recovering from his being nailed by a line drive in the first inning during his start on May 10th, leads the team not just in fortitude, but ERA, wins and innings pitched.

As you may have already heard, lefty reliever Craig Breslow, acquired from the Twins, has joined the A's on their roster. To make room, OF Aaron Cunningham is headed down to Sacramento. On the pre-game show, Geren intimated Nomar could rejoin the club tomorrow, at which point a pitcher would likely be sent down.

We'll bring you the purity of weekday baseball from the decidedly unpure Tropicana Field, starting at 1:08 Pacific.

Lineup

Oakland Athletics @ Tampa Bay Rays

05/21/09 1:08 PM PDT

Oakland Athletics	Tampa Bay Rays
Orlando Cabrera - SS	B.J. Upton - CF
Kurt Suzuki - C	Carl Crawford - LF
Jack Cust - RF	Evan Longoria - 3B
Matt Holliday - LF	Carlos Pena - 1B
Jason Giambi - DH	Jason Bartlett - SS
Adam Kennedy - 2B	Willy Aybar - DH
Ryan Sweeney - CF	Akinori Iwamura - 2B
Bobby Crosby - 1B	Gabe Kapler - RF
Jack Hannahan - 3B	Dioner Navarro - C

Cahill's 1-Run Gem Not Enough as A's Come Up Empty, Sealing M's Sweep

louismg — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 22:44:51 -0000

Final Score: Mariners 1, A's 0

I was hoping that this Easter would be a lot more "Holliday" for the A's offense and not one full of goose eggs, but it was not to be. While the team has certainly struggled to push runs across the plate in the early season thus far, no more was this fact evident than today, as the A's truly failed to threaten the Mariners in any way until the "tease me, but don't please me" 9th inning, which had Jack Cust a few feet left or right away from tying or winning the ball game.

What initially looked like could be an outing of shaky control by Trevor Cahill as he posted three walks turned into what could easily be deemed the best A's pitching show on the early campaign. He went into the 7th inning without giving up a single base hit, and gave up his one run thanks to Rajai Davis' Byrnes-like approach to a center field drive which fell for an RBI double off the bat of Mike "didn't he use to play for us?" Sweeney.

As impressive as Cahill was in forcing 12 ground ball outs to go with 6 fly outs and 3 K's was the A's early defense, who turned a pair of double plays when runners reached. But Cahill would likely have needed to complete his no hitter to keep the A's in the ballgame, as the offense notched a measly three scattered singles and a pair of walks against the M's slingers.

Yes, the A's only have one home run on the season (Cust yesterday). But they didn't even post a double today, and they only got two runners to second base all game. (Holliday in the second and Sweeney in the 9th) The equation of no power, plus a low average, and outs in the few situations that had potential, sent the A's back to the dugout not having scored, completing the Mariners' 3-game sweep.

As for Cahill, despite early misgivings within our initial game thread, he leaves with an accumulative ERA of 2.25 (and a Loss).

Open Thread: Game 6 - A's vs. Mariners (cont.)

louismg — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 21:36:05 -0000

After having some control issues early in the game, Trevor Cahill has settled down, keeping the Mariners off the board. In parallel, the A's hitters are making Bedard look like something special, matching Cahill zero for zero.

We head on to the 7th inning with the two teams scoreless, and the A's needing to go out on top to avoid being swept on Easter Sunday. Let's see what Cahill has in mind for our heros...

A's Star Pitchers and Opening Day Starters

louismg — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 16:32:32 -0000

With Justin Duchscherer making his time on the disabled list official, and with seemingly every A's pitcher struggling through the last few weeks of Spring Training (including 4 losses I saw in person which had them outscored 47-26), we are poised to start the year with a less than proven hurler taking the mound on Opening Day. Whether it's Braden, Gallagher or Eveland who starts us off, none of those guys are going to instill a level of fear that once was common in Oakland, whether that was in the time of Hudson/Mulder/Zito, or further back, when Dave Stewart and Bob Welch roamed the Coliseum.

But between the glory days of the late 80s and early 90s, and our run earlier this decade, the team saw a serious deficit in the pitching department, one I hope we're not repeating, but has me feeling a bit of deja vu. Take a look at these recent starting pitchers in A's Opening Day history (borrowed from Wikipedia):

1988 - 1995

1988: Dave Stewart
1989: Dave Stewart
1990: Dave Stewart
1991: Dave Stewart
1992: Dave Stewart
1993: Bob Welch
1994: Bobby Witt
1995: Dave Stewart

2001 - 2008

2001: Tim Hudson
2002: Mark Mulder
2003: Tim Hudson
2004: Tim Hudson
2005: Barry Zito
2006: Barry Zito
2007: Dan Haren
2008: Joe Blanton

They look great, don't they? In those sixteen seasons, the A's put up star-quality pitchers (with the possible exception of Witt in 1994), even though they had an average Opening Day record of 9-7 between them, including six straight wins from 1988-1993, and four straight losses from 2005-2008.

But between 1995 and 2001, you had a grab bag of starters on Opening Day, including some of the most mediocre "aces" you'll ever see in Green and Gold. Take a look:

1996 - 2000

1996: Carlos Reyes
1997: Ariel Prieto
1998: Tom Candiotti
1999: Gil Heredia
2000: Kevin Appier

Of those five, only Dr. Gil, as we called him, won his opening day contest, in what was a dark time for the franchise. Of course, this was when I was in college at nearby Cal, and saw my unfair share of losses, and half-price bleacher tickets while Mount Davis was under construction...

So why bring this up? Because even with the changes on the offensive side, the names being tossed about in our proposed rotation, and especially for opening day, have me feeling a lot more like 1996-2000 than it feels like 2001-2008, or anything like 1988-1995. Nico may believe that the A's rotation matches up well with the Angels and other division foes, but ... I have concerns.

Does Dallas Braden make you think of Tim Hudson or Dave Stewart, or is he just a reincarnation of Ariel Prieto? Is Gallagher the next Gil Heredia? And Eveland another Carlos Reyes? Or is this our big three of the future?

4 Days, 3 Ballparks, 2 Twins, 1 Experience

louismg — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 17:34:16 -0000

The twins' A's gear for the trip...

Although it looks like we missed BBG and others in the AN crew by a week, wifethereof and I have arrived in sunny Phoenix with the now nine months old Matthew and Sarah. We'll be at the Cleveland Indians game today, followed by games at the Mariners, and then home at Papago for games against the Sox and Cubs to close out our four day, four game swing.

Going to Spring Training is the one annual vacation my wife and I have made a tradition in our home, and while Matthew and Sarah might not remember it, they've already attended. But last year, they were only able to hear the games, being upside down and in the dark...

The twins' arrival pretty much put a stop to our season ticket tradition. Last year, the third year we had partial tickets, we only attended one ballgame with the kids after June, even if we watched along from home or on the radio for the rest. And we've even told Matthew and Sarah that the only TV they are allowed to watch until they are two is A's baseball and the MLB network. We're going to raise these kids right.

So... we're down here in Arizona, the four of us. We're going to be eating and breathing baseball for four days, and hope to see any of you there should we run into each other. It should be pretty clear which group we are. We're the tired-looking parents each dragging around A's clad 9 month olds.

Go A's!