KNOWING ME, KNOWING YOU

or

MONEY, MONEY, MONEY

Therefore, the superior militarist strikes while schemes are being laid.
the Art of War

So.

What do you want to talk about?

Oh. We can discuss that.

DEPARTMENT FOR ACQUISTIONS AND DISPOSITIONS

Let's look at the bigger picture for a moment.

The July 31st trade deadline in MLB is a misnomer. Players can be acquired throughout the season. However, after July 31st, players must pass through waivers prior to being acquired or dealt away. Let's not get bogged down by the details of waivers, just now.

September 1st looms as the day a player eligible for the post-season roster must be on a team's 25-Man Roster creates a side issue. Players can be acquired on August 31st, placed on the 25-Man Roster and be placed on the post-season roster. In other words, a player can play for the Montreal Expos for an entire season and then be dealt to a contender and earn a World Series ring for 6-7 weeks of 'work'. Not a bad deal, there.

The July 31st deadline seems rather arbitrary at this point and fiscally irresponsible. This seems like another area of encroachment for Oakland Research & Development/Billy Beane & Co, LLC.

Why acquire a player in July when you can limp along until the last week of August and forego paying six weeks of a player's salary? Granted, MLB players are not paid like the rest of us. Actually they are. Players are paid on a pay schedule, just like the rest of us. Though the direct deposits are certainly with more frequent commas and digits involved.

That being said, a shrewd General manager, can side-step bickering back and forth with another shrewd General Manager about a the salary left on a player's contract. Holding up a transaction over how much each side will absorb could be alleviated. A shrewd General manager culd use the pay schedule to their advantage and miss a payment or two and wait until the last minute to acquire a high-priced player, say Jeff Kent.

MIDDLEBAR:
The A's have been rumored to be acquiring Jeff Kent and dumping Arthur Rhodes off on the Houston Astros for almost six weeks. Rhodes was rumored to be going to Houston just after the deal that brought Octavio Dotel to Oakland.

There are the standard arguments against acquiring Kent:


• he's a guy who is from Orange County who talks with a faux southern accent


• sports a mustache


• rides motorcycles


• drives a jacked up 4X4 truck


• and is a 'clubhouse cancer'


• he's a 36 year old second baseman the A's already have a 39 year old at second



There are the standard arguments to acquire Kent:


• he's only going to cost $1.85 Million for the rest of the year


• he's a solid right-handed hitting second baseman that can also play first


• the A's will get two first round draft picks in 2005 as compensation when Kent leaves for free agency.



The A's ownership does not want to spend a single cent more than have to for the rest of the year and a dilemma is created with the draft picks. If the A's fail to make the playoffs the team is essentially paying $2 million to sign two first round draft picks which could cost them another $4-5 million dollars.

Yah, that's a pretty bad argument.

There is every reason to acquire Kent to get to the post-season and advance. There's every reason to acquire Kent for his bat or even Carlos Lee from Chicago.

There's every reason to acquire Kent just for the opportunity to snare two more first round draft picks in 2005. Kent's contract includes options for the next few years but the contract is not vested if the option is not picked up.

This is a no-brainer situation. Which somehow is hand-in-hand with the A's ownership. It always seems that Schott and Hoffman have no clue what they are doing and then Billy Beane pitches in and they come out smelling like a rose.

The difficulty comes when after 80% of a teams games are played for a season a new acquisition is brought in as an upgrade. At least that would be the case on a 'contending' team. The positive side is that with the September 1st Call-Ups (when teams are allowed to expand their rosters to 40 players within the organization) there does not to be any significant movement on the 40 Man Roster. The 25 Man Roster would not have to be refined until closer to the post-season.

Now, with the A's, September Call-Ups are a double-edged sword. Namely the A's won't have any for a week or two. The A's organization has a solid win-loss record up and down the line.

2004 Pacific Coast League Standings (AAA)

Central	W	L	PCT	GB	HOME	AWAY	L 10	STREAK
Iowa	74	62	.544	---	37-32	37-30	9-Jan	Lost 5
Colorado Springs	73	63	.537	1	37-30	36-33	8-2	Lost 1
Omaha	68	69	.496	6 1/2	37-32	31-37	8-2	Won 5
Albuquerque	63	74	.460	11 1/2	34-34	29-40	2-9	Lost 7
Eastern	W	L	PCT	GB	HOME	AWAY	L 10	STREAK
Oklahoma	79	58	.577	---	40-29	39-29	7-3	Won 1
Memphis	70	67	.511	9	38-30	32-37	5-5	Won 2
New Orleans	63	74	.460	16	36-33	27-41	6-4	Won 3
Nashville	60	75	.444	18	34-37	26-38	3-7	Lost 3
Northern	W	L	PCT	GB	HOME	AWAY	L 10	STREAK
Portland	79	58	.577	---	44-24	35-34	7-3	Won 5
Tacoma	74	60	.552	3 1/2	37-26	37-34	3-7	Lost 5
Edmonton	66	71	.482	13	39-26	27-45	4-6	Lost 2
Salt Lake	54	83	.394	25	31-38	23-45	6-4	Won 2
Southern	W	L	PCT	GB	HOME	AWAY	L 10	STREAK
Sacramento	76	61	.555	---	43-29	33-32	5-5	Won 1
Tucson	70	66	.515	5 1/2	42-30	28-36	7-3	Lost 1
Las Vegas	63	74	.460	13	35-33	28-41	6-4	Won 1
Fresno	60	77	.438	16	29-36	31-41	3-7	Lost 1

On a side note; Mike Rose (catcher) and Dan Johnson (1st base) were named to the All Pacific Coast League Team (sort of like an after season All Star team that doesn't actually exist but on paper - Graham Koonce was named to the team last season).

2004 Texas League Standings (AA)

East	W	L	PCT	GB	HOME	AWAY	L 10	STREAK
Frisco	40	24	.625	---	22-11	18-13	8-2	Won 3
Wichita	33	31	.516	7	17-10	16-21	3-7	Lost 3
Tulsa	30	34	.469	10	17-15	13-19	2-8	Lost 2
Arkansas	25	39	.391	15	15-20	10-19	4-6	Won 1
West	W	L	PCT	GB	HOME	AWAY	L 10	STREAK
Round Rock	37	27	.578	---	24-12	13-15	8-2	Won 2
San Antonio	34	28	.548	2	20-13	14-15	7-3	Won 3
MIDLAND	32	32	.500	5	18-14	14-18	5-5	Lost 1
El Paso	23	39	.371	13	11-15	12-24	3-7	Lost 3

Another side note: Nelson Cruz was named Player of the week; 12 for 29 3 HR 10 RBI one walk and 5 runs.

2004 California League Standings (High A)

North	W	L	PCT	GB	HOME	AWAY	L 10	STREAK
Modesto	43	20	0.683	---	21-7	22-13	1-Sep	Won 6
Stockton	35	28	0.556	8	16-13	19-15	6-Apr	Lost 5
San Jose	31	32	0.492	12	17-13	14-19	6-Apr	Won 1
Bakersfield	27	36	0.429	16	13-17	14-19	5-May	Lost 2
Visalia	19	44	0.302	24	25-Aug	19-Nov	6-Apr	Lost 1
South	W	L	PCT	GB	HOME	AWAY	L 10	STREAK
Lancaster	39	24	0.619	---	19-10	20-14	4-Jun	Lost 1
Inland Empire	35	28	0.556	4	18-11	17-17	6-Apr	Won 1
Lake Elsinore	33	30	0.524	6	19-17	14-13	2-Aug	Won 5
Rancho Cucamonga	32	31	0.508	7	18-19	14-12	6-Apr	Lost 2
High Desert	21	42	0.333	18	26-Aug	13-16	8-Feb	Lost 5

Yet, another note; The California regular season is over this week so playoffs are set to being next week.

2004 Midwest League Standings (Low A)

Eastern	W	L	PCT	GB	HOME	AWAY	L 10	STREAK
West Michigan	37	26	0.587	---	19-14	18-12	8-2	Lost 1
Lansing	35	28	0.556	2	17-18	18-10	5-5	Won 1
Battle Creek	34	29	0.54	3	14-18	20-11	5-5	Won 1
Fort Wayne	33	30	0.524	4	20-11	13-19	4-Jun	Won 3
South Bend	31	32	0.492	6	14-17	17-15	5-5	Won 2
Dayton	18	45	0.286	19	8-24	10-21	2-8	Lost 3
Western	W	L	PCT	GB	HOME	AWAY	L 10	STREAK
Kane County	37	26	0.587	---	19-12	18-14	5-5	Lost 1
Clinton	34	29	0.54	3	14-18	20-11	7-3	Lost 1
Quad Cities	33	30	0.524	4	17-14	16-16	7-3	Won 3
Beloit	32	31	0.508	5	13-15	19-16	5-5	Lost 3
Burlington-A	31	32	0.492	6	14-17	17-15	6-4	Won 3
Peoria	31	32	0.492	6	16-16	15-16	3-7	Lost 3
Cedar Rapids	29	34	0.46	8	11-20	18-14	3-7	Lost 4
Wisconsin	26	37	0.413	11	15-16	11-21	8-Feb	Won 1

Notey note; Brad Knox and Steve Bondurant were named to the Midwest League Post Season All Star Team. If you were waiting around for the A's next stream of great starters - these guys are on the fast track. Kane County and the A's also renewed their associated through 2006. The Midwest League Playoffs last deep into September. Odds are long that any player from Low A ball would make the cut for Call-Ups

2004 Northwest League Standings (Short-Season A)

East	W	L	PCT	GB	HOME	AWAY	L 10	STREAK
Boise	40	30	0.571	---	17-15	23-15	8-2	Lost 1
Tri City	38	32	0.543	2	22-16	16-16	7-3	Won 1
Spokane	36	34	0.514	4	20-15	16-19	5-5	Won 2
Yakima	32	38	0.457	8	16-19	16-19	3-7	Lost 2
West	W	L	PCT	GB	HOME	AWAY	L 10	STREAK
Vancouver	39	30	0.565	---	24-11	15-19	7-3	Won 1
Everett	38	32	0.543	1 1/2	19-16	19-16	3-7	Lost 1
Salem Keizer	34	36	0.486	5 1/2	20-15	14-21	4-6	Lost 2
Eugene	22	47	0.319	17	13-21	9-26	3-7	Won 2

Note of Importance; Outfielder Javier Herrera was named Northwest League MVP for 2004..

2004 Northwest League MVP -Javier Herrera

Batters	BA	SLG	G	AB	R	H	TB	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	E
Herrera	.343	.573	58	239	44	82	137	14	4	11	44	19	49	21	1	4

A's SPLITS vs RIGHT-HANDED PITCHING

	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	TB	RBI	BB	SO
Mark Kotsay	.304	.357	.444	.801	115	358	42	109	24	1	8	159	36	30	41
Jermaine Dye	.253	.300	.446	.746	118	332	57	84	18	2	14	148	47	19	95
Eric Byrnes	.264	.319	.438	.757	107	322	45	85	18	1	12	141	44	18	71
Bobby Crosby	.266	.334	.442	.776	118	319	36	85	23	0	11	141	39	28	87
Scott Hatteberg	.308	.402	.482	.883	120	299	58	92	19	0	11	144	56	51	19
Erubiel Durazo	.341	.415	.582	.997	113	287	56	98	21	0	16	167	49	33	47
Marco Scutaro	.274	.287	.348	.635	103	270	26	74	17	0	1	94	20	5	38
Damian Miller	.283	.347	.447	.795	88	219	22	62	15	0	7	98	39	21	49
Eric Chavez	.251	.385	.548	.933	93	219	46	55	11	0	18	120	38	49	36
Mark McLemore	.268	.364	.335	.699	60	179	21	48	9	0	1	60	13	26	22
Adam Melhuse	.270	.316	.473	.789	49	148	13	40	9	0	7	70	19	10	33
Bobby Kielty	.165	.292	.235	.527	66	115	10	19	3	1	1	27	10	19	29
Billy McMillon	.196	.281	.304	.585	36	56	7	11	3	0	1	17	5	7	9

A few things come to mind when reviewing these numbers...why the hell can't the A's produce against right-handed pitching? Some of the numbers put up by Skootch, McLemore and Dye are just staggering. Some of the expanded numbers help a bit.

A's SPLITS vs RIGHT-HANDED PITCHING

	G	AB	RC	RC27	BB/PA	BB/K	IsoP	SecA	P/PA	XBH	TPA	AB/HR
E. Durazo	114	288	65.2	8.93	.101	.700	.240	.351	3.7	37	326	18.0
S. Hatteberg	121	300	59.1	7.19	.142	2.68	.173	.343	4.1	30	358	27.3
Eric Chavez	94	220	45.5	6.86	.184	1.39	.300	.541	4.0	30	272	12.2
Mark Kotsay	115	358	57.7	6.01	.076	.730	.140	.232	3.6	33	393	44.8
Damian Miller	89	221	31.2	4.92	.086	.430	.163	.258	3.7	22	245	31.6
Adam Melhuse	49	148	20.6	4.88	.063	.300	.203	.264	3.6	16	159	21.1
Eric Byrnes	108	323	44.6	4.76	.053	.270	.173	.254	3.9	31	356	26.9
Bobby Crosby	119	321	44.8	4.73	.078	.320	.174	.271	4.1	34	361	29.2
Mark McLemore	60	179	23.0	4.53	.126	1.18	.067	.201	3.7	10	207	179.0
Jermaine Dye	119	332	41.4	4.29	.053	.200	.193	.247	4.2	34	357	23.7
Marco Scutaro	104	272	25.6	3.39	.018	.130	.074	.092	3.6	18	279	272.0
B. McMillon	37	58	5.90	3.24	.106	.780	.155	.259	4.1	5	66	29.0
Bobby Kielty	67	116	9.00	2.4	.143	.670	.069	.250	4.1	5	140	116.0

So, let's get down to business. How shold the A's stack their batting order against right-handed starters? If cloning Erubiel Durazo, Eric Chavez and Scott Hatteberg is not an option...or, if it is...

Let's end the Jermaine Dye batting clean-up argument once and for all - bat Eric Chavez in the clean-up spot against right-handed starters.

End of argument.

Oh, and the injury. That adds to the argument.

RANKINGS vs HANDED PITCHING

	OBP	OPS	P/PA	IsoP	BA	BR	TOTAL
Mark Kotsay	5	4	11	10	3	B	33
Jermaine Dye	10	9	1	4	11	B	35
Eric Byrnes	8	8	7	6	9	A	38
Bobby Crosby	7	7	4	5	8	A	31
S. Hatteberg	2	3	2	7	2	B	16
E. Durazo	1	1	8	2	1	B	13
Marco Scutaro	12	12	13	11	5	A	53
Damian Miller	6	6	10	8	4	C	34
Eric Chavez	3	2	6	1	10	A	22
Mark McLemore	4	10	12	13	7	C	46
Adam Melhuse	9	5	11	3	6	C	34
Bobby Kielty	11	13	5	12	13	B	54

1	Kotsay	CF
2	Hatteberg	1B
3	Durazo	DH
4	Chavez	3B
5	Miller	CF
6	Crosby	SS
7	Dye	RF
8	Byrnes	LF
9	McLemore	2B

Therefore, use these assessments for comparison, to find out what the conditions are. That is to say, which political leadership has the way? Which general has ability? Who has the better climate and terrain? Whose discipline is effective? Whose troops are the stronger? Whose officers and soldiers are the better trained? Whose system of rewards and punishments is clearer? This is how you can know who will win.
The Art of War

The MLB.com Tampa Bay version of Sunday's events. Hilarity:

And designated hitter B.J. Upton, a 20-year-old rookie, was ejected from the game in the fifth inning for arguing a strike call by home plate umpire Jim Reynolds.


Upton said it was the first time he had been tossed from a game since earlier this season with Double-A Montgomery.

Really, first time since earlier this season? Isn't that similar to, 'all both of them' or 'the exact same, but different' or 'he literally (not figuratively) chewed my head off'.

This is just chock full or ridiculousness.

Jermaine Dye, the team's biggest power threat from the right-hand side of the plate, had to leave the game in the fourth inning because of his chronically sore left thumb.

Eric Byrnes is the teams biggest threat from the right side of the plate and Bobby Crosby's numbers are just a little off of Dye's.

But, wait, there's more.

Judging by the numbers, McMillon was the unlikeliest of heroes. He began the day hitting just .200.

Yes, because Batting Average is such an accurate assessment tool when judging a player who has 68 At Bats in 38 games and spent a considerable amount of time on the bench or the Disabled List.

Don't these MLB.com writers have to take a sanity or relevancy test or at least know something about the team they are covering?

Susan Slusser leads the Chronicle coverage.

The crap that the A's are shoveling about Mark Mulder's 'rhythm' and 'too much movement with his hands' just doesn't work. You don't lose 6-7 miles per hour off of your fastball due to rhythm or jazz hands. Mulder was not driving off the mound and his arm was lagging behind. He may or may not be hurting. But by the way he was flinging the ball around yesterday he's either got some issues or he is playing things close to the vest with September on the horizon.

Think about how many time Mulder got groundballs when he needed them? How many of the hits the Devil Rays got were groundballs that got through the infield?

The walk total for Mulder this year is just astounding for a guy who is allergic to getting a 3-anything count. Is he just working things out as he goes or is there a method to this madness?



Scott Carter has a short but very good description of what he read about the game. Apparently the only runs the A's got were on the Billy McMillon homerun.

Who hires these people? Who edits their work and slashes it to the bone?

Space must have been expensive this week as nobody seems to want to write more than a hundred and a half words on the game Sunday.

Anytime a sports writer uses 'Thus', head attention forthwith.

It seemed Mulder wanted to get out of town. Michigan is home, so he may have just wanted an early start to see his family prior to rejoining the team in Chi-cag-O.

Tampa Bay 6 - Oakland 9

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
TAMPA BAY	0	3	0	0	0	1	0	0	2	6	12	2
OAKLAND	3		0	3	0	0	0	0	3	9	12	0

Tampa Bay	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K	LOB		Oakland	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K	LOB
J. Lugo ss	4	0	2	1	1	1	1		E. Byrnes cf	3	3	2	0	2	0	0
B.J. Upton dh	3	0	0	0	0	2	2		B. Kielty lf-rf	3	1	1	1	1	1	3
T. Martinez ph-dh	2	0	0	0	0	0	1		E. Chavez 3b	4	2	2	3	1	0	2
A. Huff 1b	4	1	3	1	1	0	0		J. Dye rf	2	0	0	0	0	2	1
J. Cruz rf	5	1	1	1	0	2	3		B. McMillon ph-lf	3	1	1	3	0	0	0
J. Cantu 3b	5	1	3	0	0	1	0		S. Hatteberg 1b	4	0	2	0	0	1	1
G. Blum lf	0	2	0	0	4	0	0		E. Durazo dh	4	0	1	0	0	1	1
T. Hall c	3	0	1	0	0	0	3		D. Miller c	4	0	0	0	0	0	3
C. Crawford ph-cf	1	0	0	0	0	0	0		B. Crosby ss	4	1	1	0	0	1
R. Sanchez 2b	3	0	1	2	1	0	2		M. Scutaro 2b	4	1	2	1	0	0	0
D. Rolls cf	4	1	1	1	0	0	5		Totals	35	9	12	8	4	6	11
B. Fordyce c	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Totals	34	6	12	6	7	6	17

Batting							Batting
2B - J Cantu (12, M Mulder);							2B - M Scutaro (28, S Kazmir); E Chavez (17, T Harper).
D Rolls (4, M Mulder); T Hall (15, M Mulder).							HR - B Mcmillon (2, 9th inning off D Baez 2 on, 1 Out).
HR - A Huff (23, 9th inning off O Dotel 0 on, 2 Out),							S - B Kielty.
J Cruz (19, 9th inning off O Dotel 0 on, 2 Out).							RBI - B Kielty (25), E Chavez 3 (63),
RBI - R Sanchez 2 (25), D Rolls (7),							M Scutaro (37), B McMillon 3 (8).
J Lugo (64), A Huff (83), J Cruz (63).							Runners left in scoring position, 2 out -
2-out RBI - D Rolls, J Lugo, A Huff, J Cruz.							D Miller 2, S Hatteberg 1.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - D Rolls 2.							GIDP - E Chavez.
GIDP - T Hall, J Lugo, D Rolls, T Martinez.							Team LOB - 6
Team LOB - 8.							Base Running
Fielding							SB - E Byrnes (12, 2nd base off S Kazmir/T Hall).
E - G Blum (6, bobble); S Kazmir (1, throw).							Fielding
PB - T Hall.							DP - 5 (S Hatteberg, B Crosby-M Scutaro-S Hatteberg 3,
DP - 1 (T Miller-J Lugo-A Huff).							M Scutaro-S Hatteberg).

Tampa Bay	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR
S. Kazmir	3	9	6	5	1	2	0
T. Harper	2.1	2	0	0	1	1	0
T. Miller	1.2	0	0	0	0	2	0
D. Baez (L, 3-3)	1.1	1	3	3	2	1	1
Oakland	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR
M. Mulder	6	7	4	4	6	3	0
C. Hammond	0.2	2	0	0	0	0	0
J. Mecir	0.1	0	0	0	0	1	0
C. Bradford	0	1	0	0	1	0	0
R. Rincon	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
O. Dotel (W, 4-5)	1	2	2	2	0	2	2

WP - S Kazmir.

IBB - E Chavez (by D Baez).

Pitches-strikes - S Kazmir 71-48; T Harper 56-38; T Miller 16-12; D Baez 31-14; M Mulder 104-59; C Hammond 15-9; J Mecir 4-3; C Bradford 8-3; R Rincon 8-6; O Dotel 20-12.

Ground balls-fly balls - S Kazmir 5-2; T Harper 3-3; T Miller 3-0; D Baez 2-1; M Mulder 9-5; C Hammond 2-0; J Mecir 0-0; C Bradford 0-0; R Rincon 2-1; O Dotel 0-1.

Batters faced - S Kazmir 19; T Harper 10; T Miller 4; D Baez 7; M Mulder 27; C Hammond 3; J Mecir 1; C Bradford 2; R Rincon 3; O Dotel 5.

Game Details

Umpires: HP--Jim Reynolds. 1B--Andy Fletcher. 2B--Tim Welke. 3B--Gary Cederstrom.

Ejections: TAMPA BAY's Upton by Reynolds (5th).

Time: 3:12.

Attendance: 30,538.

Weather: 75 degrees, sunny.

Wind: 13 mph, in from left

Let's start this post by saying that most of the email received in the last two weeks has been responded to in due time. Most of it stating that Elephants in Oakland is "too negative" and "bitches too much" about the A's.

Yes, thank you. And how.

Most of you received a response from EIOS that directly refuted your claims and pointed out that, "if you think this is negative - go read what was written about Terrence Long" or "where have you been for the last two years?"...

How soon we forget.

There is no need to point out that a lot of the email seems to be surfacing as if directed by a single source. Conspiracy theories only need an acknowledgment to fester and by then energy is lost searching for truth (that capital 'T' Truth has been found and it's in a college philosophy course). So, girlfriend, let us not 'go there'.

Shall we not.?

We shant.

Then best not.

Proceed?

We shall.

Yes.

Quite.

Indeed.

So, let's get down to business with some more "bitching" and "moaning" about the A's, specifically that of the push for post season awards.

CYRUS DEWEY AWARD

For the last two years there has been a constant dogmatic rant at this blog: awards only drive up the cost of retaining players. If Jason Giambi had won a second MVP (and he very well should have instead of Ichiro - and Terrence Long absolutely should have won the Rookie of the Year the smae year only if to show how staggeringly bad of a player he became) the A's would not even have been given driving directions to the ballpark figure Giambi's agent would have been asking for in free agent dolla$s. Miguel Tejada, too, by winning the MVP, had an icon on his mantle to push for his free agency courtship. Barry Zito by winning the Cy Young ensured himself of employment late in his career by simply having a GM bemoaning "he's a Cy Young winner".

On Friday, there was a complimentary copy of the Oakland Tribune in the Plaza Suite we occupied (hey, we know people). We don't link to the Oak-Tri very often for the simple fact that their website is two to three days behind at times. Currently, the wrap up for Friday night adorns the breaking A's update. Friday's edition did include a fluff piece on Mark Kotsay's defensive prowess. No kidding. We knew that. But, the article is a purpose piece set to start the campaigning for Kotsay's Gold Glove. It didn't help that Kotsay went and missed two balls on Friday night and another on Saturday by diving for balls in the outfield. Kotsay might be pressing too hard now to justify the hype (which is not 'hype' - he is THAT good). Kotsay, as with all outfielders, not named Eric Byrnes know that you increase your chances of getting to a ball in the air by NOT leaving your feet. This is a truism that is being alerted to all young men and women going through two-a-day football practices. Usually, the pot-bellied coach - who looks like the last thing he caught was a half-dozen Krispy Kreme donuts, will surmise a phrase such as

"look at all 'em sprint'rs in them O'Lipics; how many you seen diving across the finish line?"
As crude as the statement might evolve, it is, for the most part, a relative fact.

In football, there might be instances where a player on defense (or offense) makes the dive or jump a necessity. However, a dive or leap in baseball, particularly in the outfield, is a desperate measure to make up for taking a bad line toward the ball, getting a poor jump or really not having a chance to catch the ball at all. Of course, if there is a polyurethane covered wall in the way - leap, boy, leap!

It is a matter of training over instinct. A player is trained over the years to NOT leave his feet during practice and drills. When push comes to shove, though, it is hard to turn that corner where training becomes second nature and instinct takes a back seat.

Watching the replays of Kotsay's efforts Friday and Saturday night it appears that at least two of the balls could have been caught if Kotsay kept his feet and one could not have been caught no matter what Kotsay did. Which is a very odd sight to see Kotsay dive for a ball. Suddenly, Friday, there he is; not once but twice getting dirty for balls.

Odd. Is this Gold Glove Rush Fever?

Jermaine Dye, too has been able to swing the banter of "gold glover" around as he won the award in 2000 - and thinks he should have won the award in 1999 and All-Star. But, Kaiser 'Bud' Selig has taken a lot of the shine off the banner of All-Star and added some tarnish, to boot.

The push for Jermaine Dye's newer gold glove for 2004 started earlier this year when Dye was approaching the Oakland A's record for consecutive games without an error. The cause celebre was begun by Ray Fosse of A's TV Broadcasts and homerist shrine. This is a rather meaningless 'record'. Errorless chances would mean more than games, particularly if a player was an infrequent outfielder or even a defensive replacement in the outfield. But, there is a subtle reason to push such a 'record'.

Dye is not a bad outfielder, he is just not the outfielder he was in Kansas City or in Atlanta and much of that has to due with the limitations of the injuries he has suffered over the years. Not technique. Save Friday night when Dye dropped a routine flyball in rightfield with one out and a runner on second base in a two run ball game. Dye was getting his body in position to throw to third base if Geoff Blum had tagged up and gone to third and took his eye off the ball for a split second. CLUNK. Hey, we could blame Arthur Rhodes, but that just wouldn't be fair.

Why would the A's broadcast team have Fosse pushing a rather trite accomplishment? It's something to add on a 'resume'. With Dye headed for free agency in the off-season the A's are going to have to hustle to get two A compensation draft picks for Jermaine Dye. The more added to the 'resume' the more the A's could dress up the limited numbers Dye has put up over the last three years.

The draft compensation process is sometimes convoluted as are the arbitration and free agency rules. To the best of our knowledge the compensation for a player lost to another team via free agency is dependant on the cumulative previous three seasons prior to filing for free agency. With two injury plagued seasons and basically two good months for the 2004 season; it does not make the A's compensation outlook very bright for the 2005 draft. At best, based on Dye's statistics the A's could hope for a single B pick (second round compensation pick).

Too harsh?

Well, when it happens, don't come bitching at us.

The point is, adding little things like Player A led the team in 9th inning doubles in the month of August adds to a 'resume'.

Does Kotsay deserve a Gold Glove?

Does Dye?

Who the hell cares? The post season awards are as meaningful to a team winning baseball games in August and September as the bumper plate for a 1978 Dodge hatchback. Though, that bumper plate might be useful against right-handers in short relief down the stretch or off the bench as a pinch-runner...

All of this dialog about MVP candidates, too, needs to be flushed like fresh Astroturf wounds. Let the talking heads on TV and sports writers worry about stuff like that. The only way players or managers can have any affect on the post season awards is by their performance. So why don't we all just shut up, watch the games, write some silly comments and let the players concentrate on winning games instead of individual achievement. You've seen what happens when you go it alone.

BUILDING A BETTER LINEUP

WAIT, THERE ARE NUMBERS?

	G	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	TB	RBI	BB	SO
Eric Byrnes	58	.355	.409	.621	1.030	124	28	44	10	1	7	77	22	12	17
Eric Chavez	71	.326	.426	.558	.984	138	23	45	5	0	9	77	22	22	33
Marco Scutaro	56	.292	.341	.513	.855	113	16	33	10	0	5	58	16	9	12
Jermaine Dye	69	.281	.380	.468	.848	139	23	39	4	2	6	65	24	23	23
Erubiel Durazo	66	.295	.346	.475	.821	122	12	36	7	0	5	58	27	7	38
Bobby Kielty	47	.243	.328	.476	.803	103	17	25	9	0	5	49	14	13	15
Mark Kotsay	66	.297	.366	.432	.798	118	20	35	2	1	4	51	18	13	11
Damian Miller	49	.308	.374	.423	.797	104	13	32	6	0	2	44	11	10	20
Scott Hatteberg	70	.295	.357	.403	.760	129	17	38	5	0	3	52	19	9	15
Bobby Crosby	63	.200	.313	.418	.731	110	21	22	4	1	6	46	10	18	22
Adam Melhuse	18	.158	.333	.316	.649	19	5	3	0	0	1	6	5	5	8
Mark McLemore	18	.105	.292	.105	.397	19	2	2	0	0	0	2	0	5	2
	G	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	TB	RBI	BB	SO
A's	103	.278	.356	.457	.813	1329	205	369	64	5	55	608	197	154	231

Let's be a little realistic. Above are the splits for the Oakland A's hitters in 2004 against left-handers.

Let's write the line-up and batting order according to a few factors for the A's when facing a left-handed starting pitcher:

• On Base Percentage: this is rather a no brainer as you want players who get on base as much as possible and limit the number of outs they create.



• On Base Plus Slugging: the players who post higher OPS number are hitter you want in the meaty part of the batting order, 2-3-4-5.



• Pitches Per Plate Appearance: A crucial statistic that is neglected by a great many baseball fan since it is hard to find the data (it's not on the back of a baseball card) and relate.



• Isolated Power: a not so complicated statistic, but easy to relate to if you just remember that Isolated Power = Slugging Percentage - Batting Average (base hits that were not singles).



• Batting Average: The overrated and misunderstood statistic, but still valuable tool if used correctly.



• Base Running Ability: Cannot be judged accurately by current available statistic formulas and relatively useless as the A's don't rack up steals so secondary average is moot, too (and stolen bases are a poor reflection of true base running ability or speed) - this will be a judgment call.
  
  NOTE: We could devise a formula based on runs scored and On Base Percentage based on league averages and slugging percentage of hitters behind the batter...but then, there is sanity to consider.

RANKINGS VS LEFT-HANDED PITCHING

	OBP	PPA	ISO	BA	BR	TOTAL
Byrnes	2	12	1	1	A	16
Chavez	1	4	3	2	A	10
Crosby	11	3	5	10	A	29
Durazo	7	8	7	6	B	28
Dye	3	2	6	8	B	19
Hatteberg	6	10	11	4	B	31
Kielty	9	5	2	9	B	25
Kotsay	5	11	9	5	B	30
McLemore	12	7	12	12	C	43
Melhuse	10	1	8	11	C	30
Miller	4	9	10	3	C	26
Scutaro	8	6	4	7	A	25

Well, based on those gross totals, you can tell who should not be in the line-up against left-handed starters. Namely Mark McLemore and Adam Melhuse. Which is fine, since they can be in a platoon. Scott Hatteberg's numbers suggest he should be dropped in the batting order if he must be in the line up. Mark Kotsay and Bobby Crosby might be considered candidates for a day off, too when a left-hander comes around...but, wait a minute. Shouldn't these rankings be weighted? How much more important is On Base Percentage to Batting Average and how much more important is working the count (PPA) to Isolated Power?

Hmm.

And are these statistics just for 2004? Should we look at career numbers or just numbers over the last three years? What about Crosby and Skootch, are their rookie numbers really enough to make such decisions on numbers?

Uhm.

And who cares about base running ability - who can go from first to third on a base hit or who can score from second on a base hit? If they get a decent lead and run hard any player should be able to avoid being nailed (that would be the old wisdom - new knowledge suggests players hug the next base and NEVER stray lest the base paths open up swallow the runner hole into a pit of despair never to be seen or heard form again, sort of like Gil Gerard or Shelly Long).

Without an extensive database with statistics to refer to or decent coffee, let's just stick with some relative numbers; On-Base Percentage and Slugging Percentage and refer only to the other numbers if we hit a problem.

1	Byrnes	CF
2	Kielty	2B
3	Chavez	3B
4	Dye	RF
5	Miller	LF
6	Scutaro	CF
7	Durazo	DH
8	Hatteberg	1B
9	Crosby	SS

From the looks of things, the A's don't necessarily need a right-handed hitting threat to compensate for left-handed pitching. They have that in Eric Byrnes and Jermaine Dye and (eek!) Skootch. What they do need is a 1st Base/DH type that can hit left-handers...and don't say Eric Karros.

Honestly, if Bobby Crosby's numbers improve, which they should, the A's should be okay in the last six months of the season, oops six weeks. There are no vast, lurking crafty left-handers to spoil their run. Oh, except Kenny Rogers in Texas and Ted Lilly in Toronto and C.C. Sabathia and Cliff Lee in Cleveland and Jamie Moyer in Seattle...and Scott Kazmir in today’s' game. The A's will most likely face all of these pitchers and possibly Rogers and Moyer twice down the stretch. Luckily for the A's Jarrod Washburn of the Angels is still on the Disabled List.

Otherwise the A's have six and possibly seven games against very tough left-handed starters were the offense will have to get the A's pitchers at least 4 runs to have a chance of winning. Anything less than 4 runs a game and the A's facing a left-handed starter the odds become very slim the A's can manage a win.

Looking at the other top teams in the American League; Minnesota has Johan Santana. Hey, there really is a shortage of quality left-handed pitching in the major leagues! The problem for the A's is some of the top left-handed starting pitching stands between them and another American League West title. Good thing the A's have Mark Mulder, Barry Zito and Mark Redman on their staff, otherwise we'd start to worry.

Maybe Jeff Kent wasn't such a bad idea. Kent could play 2nd, Skootch could move to shortstop. Or Kent could play first base.

Of course, if you have $1.8 million the A's would have to spend to lease Kent for the rest of the year contact Steve Schott and Ken Hoffman at (510)638-4900. Call them collect.

It looks like Mark Kotsay will start in center tonight and resume his usual place in the leadoff spot. Keep an eye out for any extraneous grimacing or movement in regard to his right shoulder. Skootch is on the bench and Mark McLemore will be playing 2nd base and batting in the two hole (we don't know why - the numbers just don't match up).

There might be some extra curricular activity tonight with Dewon Brazleton starting. Brazleton hit Erubiel Durazo with a pitch Sunday that started some odd reaction from the pitcher and Tampa Bay. Will there be any pitches above the neck tonight? Probably not.

Justin Duchscherer nailed Toby Hall last night in the top of the 5th. Hall is a catcher. There were two outs. Duchscherer had smacked down the Devil Rays after Mark Redman did his best Mark Redman impression at the Coliseum. It was a safe time to hit a batter with the 9th place hitter coming up after Hall...though, Geoff Blum didn't act like a No. 9 hitter last night (3 for 5, 3 RBI, two runs a 3 Run HR and a double).

You don't think Duchscherer was hitting Hall intentionally?

The A's exploded for four more runs in the bottom half of the inning.

Maybe it was just poetic justice, then.

A few quick notes before the rundown and such;

Mark Kotsay looking like he was working his right shoulder and fidgeting last night after diving for two low liners in center. More so after the second sprawl in the 6th off the base hit by Aubrey Huff. It looked like he rolled over his right shoulder with his arm under him. A little awkward, but not too awkward. He still went up hacking during his at-bat in the bottom of the 8th and he didn't seem too concerned with it. But it is something to note since he does have a history with his back (who doesn't have a history with their back?). With a night game Saturday he may or may not start. Call it 6-4 and pick 'em.

Lou Pinella set the American League record (again) for slowest stroll back to the dugout after arguing a call with an umpire in the 6th. A 34 step walk turns into a 3 and a half minute amble for Lou and he never seems to take a straight line back to the dugout.

Marco Scutaro did a little extra flexing of his knee after snaring a ground ball in the 9th. He was most likely going to be out of the lineup on Saturday with a right-handed pitcher starting, anyway.

More…

The UV rating for yesterday's game was 8. Very HIGH.

Pfft.

Wasn't that high. The sunburn is only kind of purple, but mostly red.

The final game of the season series with the Orioles was fraught with delectable tidbits to mentally munch on over the weekend:

• The A's swept the season series with the Orioles 7-0.


• Miguel Tejada was held in check, though he denies he was pressing too hard to perform well.


• A's starters got the win in 6 of the 7 games.


• A's hit 12 homeruns in the seven games; 4 by Erubiel Durazo, 2 by Jermaine Dye and 2 by Eric Chavez.


• The A's outscored the Orioles 41-14.


• Bobby Crosby went hitless the entire season series (but walked five times).

A disturbing note for those of you who come to the ballpark early; yesterday's pregame PA music included a selection that might cause harm and irreparable damage. Paula Abdul - Straight Up, Taylor Dayne - Don't Rush Me, Bobby Brown - My Prerogative, Billy Ocean - Get Outta My Dreams (and Into My Car)...the horror....the horror...Can you hear me all the way back in 1989?

THE SERIES AT A GLANCE - HITTING

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	BB	SO
BYRNES	7	32	4	9	1	0	1	5	13	0	4
DURAZO	7	27	5	12	2	0	4	11	26	3	6
DYE	7	26	6	4	0	0	2	7	10	4	7
HATTEBERG	7	26	7	11	3	0	1	8	17	5	3
CHAVEZ	6	25	6	9	2	0	2	2	17	4	7
KOTSAY	6	23	4	4	1	0	0	1	5	5	1
SCUTARO	7	23	1	7	0	0	1	3	10	0	3
CROSBY	6	17	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	7
MILLER	4	12	1	4	0	0	0	0	4	4	3
MELHUSE	3	10	3	5	1	0	1	3	9	3	2
MCLEMORE	4	14	1	3	0	0	0	0	3	1	2
KIELTY	2	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
MCMILLON	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	OBP	SLG	AVG	OPS	TPA	NP	PPA	XBH	G0	AO	GO/AO
BYRNES	.281	.406	.281	.687	32	96	3.00	2	6	13	.540
DURAZO	.500	.963	.444	1.463	30	130	4.34	6	3	6	.500
DYE	.267	.385	.154	.652	30	122	4.07	2	7	7	1.14
HATTEBERG	.516	.654	.423	1.170	31	116	3.742	4	6	6	1.00
CHAVEZ	.448	.680	.360	1.128	29	106	3.66	4	2	7	.290
KOTSAY	.321	.217	.174	.538	28	102	3.64	1	7	11	.640
SCUTARO	.304	.435	.304	.739	23	79	3.44	1	4	9	.560
CROSBY	.261	.000	.000	.261	24	114	4.75	0	4	7	.710
MILLER	.500	.333	.333	.833	16	60	3.75	0	3	2	1.50
MELHUSE	.615	.900	.500	1.515	13	56	4.308	2	1	2	.500
MCLEMORE	.266	.214	.214	.480	16	66	4.125	0	7	3	2.33
KIELTY	.000	.000	.000	.000	5	13	2.6	0	3	2	1.50
MCMILLON	1.000	.000	.000	1.000	1	5	5.00	0	0	0	000

THE SERIES AT A GLANCE - PITCHING