Look, I'm a huge A's fan. But I am not afraid to question, critique or outright lambaste the organization after analyzing and considering any of the actions at any time. They have hit the "PANIC" button for the 2007 season - in April.


The A's have made a few trades in the last week that are starting to clearly reveal that Billy Beane is not in control of the Good Ship Athletics. David Forst took over day-to-day duties of the general manager last year and has been placing his personal stamp on the team. And hopefully trying to clean up a lot of the mess in the minor league system.

April 29
Athletics Acquire:
OF Ryan Langerhans


Atlanta Acquires:
Player to be Named Later


April 27
Athletics Acquire:
OF Chris Denorfia


Cincinnati Acquires:
RHP Marcus McBeth AAA)
Player to be Named Later

The arrogance of these deals is the A's continued stance that they

"wanted Player X for a long time and they finally got an opportunity to acquire him".

What do you think they would say -

"we made a lot of bad decisions to get to the point we are. We have to fill a need very quickly and we're not sure if we even did that with Player X. We're just praying we come out smelling like a flower of any kind."

The A's never admit defeat or fail to hype the BayArea media that is too willing to be their de facto Public Relations depart.


There are several areas of importance we can look at and determine why the A's have decided to start breaking out the inflatable life rafts.

• The Draft

- The A's have failed to draft outfielders that have power to play the corner outfield spots.


• The Player Development

- The A's have failed to develop players that can fill the outfield void.


• The Front Office

- The A's have failed to adequately and efficiently stock the outfield with players capable of playing every day.


• The Management

The managers of the A's have failed to platoon, rotate, rest or otherwise create a situation where players thrive rather than merely survive.


• The Market

- The A's have failed to determine the market price for outfield prospects and until this week make a considerable acquisition.

Everything above is ready for lengthier analysis and discussion. Let's skip that and get right to the quick hit linear reasons why the A's made the deals.

• Mark Kotsay

- The A's took a huge gamble on Mark Kotsay when the extended his contract. His health has more alarms than something with a lot of alarms. His range had deteriorated, due to health or otherwise, over the last two seasons. Further, he has become the Jason Kendall of centerfield in baseball. Kotsay cannot hit enough to justify being in the number 2 spot in the batting order, let alone an every day player. Had the A's developed a single centerfielder in the last 10 years (save Eric Byrnes) they would not be in this quandary.


• Milton Bradley

MB can play centerfield. It doesn't mean he should play centerfield. With his track record of injuries and coming out of Spring Training he should have been given a day off every few games. Bobo seems hell bent on running his players into the ground. Bradley was a great acquisition and if the A's would learn that playing a guy 162 games at 80% is just not worth the risk if they played 140 at 95%.


• Nick Swisher

Swisher is not a centerfielder. He is a passable corner outfielder. Taking Swisher from 1st base and allowing him to play center was a bad idea for several standpoints. Swisher can't read balls off the bat in center and has largely made any ball hit deep to the gaps a sure double. Routine flyballs that should be run down are bouncing before the warning track. This is not Swisher's fault, he shouldn't be out there. Physically he was not up to the task, mentally he was not up to the task - but he sure did get a lot of media play didn't he!


• Shannon Stewart

One of the most horrible things I hear about Stewart is that he should be able to play centerfield. Some fans couldn't quantify that statement. When asked why - they alluded to the fact that he is African American so that he should have the athleticism to play center. That is repugnant thinking but not surprising considering the source. These same fans think Swisher should play centerfield.


• Danny Putnam

I like Danny Putnam. I do. But he is an AA hitter that wasn't ready for AAA just yet and I fear that he might have been slighted by his experience at the major league level. Is there anything worse than reaching the highest level you have in your career and the organization telling you - still isn't good enough, kid?


• Bobo

Bob Geren should have known that part of Ken Macha's dismissal was for his ignorance to injuries, resting players and generally having any relationship with them whatsoever. Bobo should have had a different line-up every night for the first three weeks of the season just as a ramp up to the grind. Instead two weeks into the season and Bob had different line-ups because of creaks, pains, pulls and tears.


• Bobby Kielty

What the hell is this guy doing on the roster and why is he getting paid so much to do it? Kielty is a platoon player - he should face left-handed pitching and nothing else. He should NOT platoon with Travis Buck as that kid can flat out hit. The A's paid the price for being gentle with Eric Chavez against left-handed pitchers and he has never developed as a hitter overall because of it. Excuses generated before they are needed breeds laziness.


• Jermaine Dye

Beane pulled off a great deal in getting Jermaine Dye. He failed to parlay that by signing Dye to a three year deal before getting a clearance on Dye's health. It was a damn shame that Dye broke his leg. It hurt the A's in the playoffs and probably has shortened his career. It doesn't mean you pay a guy $12 Million a year for $2 Million worth of production. Dye hit 51 homeruns over three seasons with the A's at a cost of $30 Million. With the White Sox over two seasons Dye has hit 75 homeruns at a cost of $9 Million.


• Javier Herrera

I am still waiting for this uber-prospect to come out and shine. He looked fat and lazy in spring training and already has one suspension for 'steroids' under his belt.


• Matt Watson

Just curious if the A's were regretting messing with his career. The A's seem to have a lot of fun screwing with the players under their control; Brad Halsey, Adam Melhuse, Keith Ginter, Erubiel Durazo, Mike Rouse. . .

More on the actual players later.

Bobo (Bob Geren) is skating on thin ice without any skates. The A's have scored two or fewer runs for the fifth straight game. The same problems exist for the A's as they have for the last 8 seasons; getting runners on base and when runners are able to get on base and they are stranded. This is not an Elephants in Oakland 'negative arrogant prick' comment. Oddly, even when I present statistics it is labeled as such. But, look below.


I am not asking you to make an argument. And I certainly am not asking you to start making rationalizations and excuses. I don't even need you to bring up the topic other than raise an eyebrow or nod your head. They A's offense is not good. Okay? Can we just staple that to our foreheads and move on?




Last night the A's started to work Jon Garland on his pitch count early. 27 pitches in the first inning, stranding two runners (Shannon Stewart and Milton Bradley). Nick Swisher started off the 2nd Inning by swinging at the first pitch and flying out to left. Bobby Crosby ground out on two pitches. Travis Buck, who is fast becoming the Oakland Athletic fans want to see up when it counts, walked on 9 pitches. Mark Ellis flew out to right on two pitches. The A's stranded another runner.




Might be something to look at when players from other organizations, or in Buck's case - not in the organization long enough to know better, do not seem to offer the same detrimental effects in the batting orders. The A's players who have been around for a few seasons seem to have a penchant for NOT working the count and an innate ability to fail with their approach at the plate with runners on base.


Let's get to the good stuff. Chad Gaudin has one more start to position himself for the 5th starter slot in the rotation when Esteban Loaiza returns. Gaudin threw 90+ pitches last night, struck out 6, Konerko and Crede TWICE, and allowed only six base runners in 5 and 2/3 innings. Gaudin only allowed a single run on an RBI single to Juan Uribe. It was a faltering spot for Gaudin against the bottom third of the White Sox batting order.




Travis Buck had a great night at the plate, a triple and two walks, but a terrible night in the field. Indecision on his part in the top of the 7th led to Mark Ellis trying to catch a routine fly in rightfield over his shoulder. Jeremy Giambi could have gotten to that ball, but Buck hesitated and Ellis tried to take charge and do more than he should. The ball bounced off his glove and Alex Cintron ended up on 3rd with nobody out. Alan Embree followed up with a ground out, strike out and a batter's interference call to get out of the inning.




In the 8th, Bobo went to Justin Duchscherer. Which was and is a mistake. And Bobo coupled that mistake in the next inning. Duchscherer is best used over multiple innings. Not a single inning. With Joe Kennedy starting today, Duchscherer would be saddled as the long man. Duchscherer is not as effective on back-to-back appearances. Duchscherer got a 1-2-3 8th and Bobo went to Huston Street for the 9th inning.




This is how Ken Macha lost his job.

YOU DO NOT USE HUSTON STREET AS AN INNING EATER

Street should not be used when down 1-0 going into the 9th at home. Huston Street finishes games one the road and slams doors at home. Bobo had Duchscherer, why bring in Street? Jay Witasick is not an option, but that's Billy Beane's problem to resolve. Further, once the A's into the bottom of the 9th, there was nobody warming up in the bullpen. Bobo used his long man (Duchscherer) and his closer (Street) and if he needed to go into extra innings he did not have anyone warming up in the bullpen.




If you said something about "Geren knew the A's were going to win" I really don't understand that ignorance. If you were joking, fine. But there are way too many A's "fans" who don't think and it drives me up the Jagged Edge.




Yes, the A's won. They also looked very, very pedestrian in doing so.

Team	GP	RUNS	Runs/Game	GDP	LOB
Baltimore Orioles	8	34	4.25	3	55
Boston Red Sox	7	33	4.71	6	51
Chicago White Sox	7	25	3.57	6	44
Cleveland Indians	4	30	7.50	2	35
Detroit Tigers	7	28	4.00	3	42
Kansas City Royals	8	26	3.25	7	57
Los Angeles Angels	8	34	4.25	8	55
Minnesota Twins	7	23	3.29	7	43
New York Yankees	7	51	7.29	3	52
Oakland Athletics	9	25	2.78	10	68
Seattle Mariners	4	15	3.75	3	11
Tampa Bay Devil Rays	7	39	5.57	6	42
Texas Rangers	8	39	4.88	4	60
Toronto Blue Jays	7	45	6.43	4	52

 

1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   R   H   E  Chi White Sox 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 3 1 Oakland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 7 1

Chi White Sox AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG Podsednik, LF 4 0 1 0 0 1 3 .421 Erstad, CF 4 0 0 0 0 0 3 .250 Konerko, 1B 4 0 0 0 0 2 1 .217 Thome, DH 2 0 0 0 2 1 0 .217 Crede, 3B 4 0 0 0 0 2 3 .231 Pierzynski, C 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 .115 Cintron, 2B 3 1 0 0 1 0 0 .111 Mackowiak, RF 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 .167 Uribe, SS 3 0 1 1 0 2 1 .286 Totals 31 1 3 1 3 8 13   BATTING TB: Podsednik; Mackowiak; Uribe. RBI: Uribe (4). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Crede; Erstad; Podsednik. Team LOB: 6. BASERUNNING SB: Podsednik (3, 2nd base off Gaudin/Kendall). FIELDING E: Podsednik (1, throw). DP: (Crede-Cintron-Konerko).   Oakland AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG Kendall, C 4 0 1 0 0 1 1 .167 Stewart, LF 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 .189 Bradley, CF 3 1 1 0 1 1 0 .258 Piazza, DH 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 .361   1-Scutaro, PR-DH 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 .100 Chavez, 3B 4 0 0 0 0 2 4 .278 Swisher, 1B 3 0 0 0 1 1 2 .259 Crosby, SS 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 .190   a-Walker, PH 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 .400 Buck, RF 2 0 1 0 2 0 0 .261 Ellis, 2B 4 0 1 1 0 0 2 .241 Totals 32 2 7 2 4 5 14   a-Singled for Crosby in the 9th. 1-Ran for Piazza in the 9th. BATTING 3B: Buck (1, Garland). TB: Kendall; Stewart; Bradley; Piazza; Walker; Buck 3; Ellis. RBI: Walker (1), Ellis (9). 2-out RBI: Walker; Ellis. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Chavez; Stewart. GIDP: Stewart. Team LOB: 8. FIELDING E: Ellis (1, fielding).   Chi White Sox IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Garland 7.0 3 0 0 3 3 0 3.65 MacDougal (H, 4) 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1.80 Jenks (BS, 1)(L, 1-1) 0.2 4 2 2 1 1 0 3.86   Oakland IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Gaudin 5.2 3 1 1 3 6 0 2.53 Embree 1.1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00 Duchscherer 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2.08 Street (W, 1-0) 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 IBB: Buck (by Jenks), Thome (by Gaudin). Pitches-strikes: Garland 113-66, MacDougal 14-8, Jenks 25-15, Gaudin 91-57, Embree 14-11, Duchscherer 12-9, Street 7-5. Ground outs-fly outs: Garland 8-10, MacDougal 0-2, Jenks 0-1, Gaudin 8-3, Embree 2-1, Duchscherer 1-1, Street 1-2. Batters faced: Garland 26, MacDougal 3, Jenks 7, Gaudin 23, Embree 5, Duchscherer 3, Street 3. Inherited runners-scored: Embree 1-0. Umpires: HP: CB Bucknor. 1B: Joe West. 2B: Ed Rapuano. 3B: Ed Hickox. Weather: 60 degrees, cloudy. Wind: 17 mph, Out to RF. T: 2:37. Att: 15,153.

9 ARPIL 2007 WHITE SOX (CONTRERAS) vs ATHLETICS (HARDEN) 7:05pm

Bobo (Bob Geren) is fast becoming Ken Macha without the gum. How fast? Last night's Ken Macha moment came in the 8th inning within a sequence of three batters and a grand total of 7 pitches; four of them intentional balls.


Many fans can step out on the porch and challenge Geren for allowing Jay Marshall to pitch in the 8th after retiring the side in order in the 7th inning. However, I would ask that you to take a step back and look how the 8th transpired and question if it was Marshall who is the culprit.

Scott Podsednik was putting the finishing touches on his AL MVP reel with a lead-off single in the 8th. The A's pitched him poorly all night; 3 for 4 with a double, HR and a stolen base.

Pitch 1.

Darin Erstad is a left-handed batter and Marshall is a left-handed pitcher. So the A's seemingly have the advantage in that match-up. The situation is not THAT simple. Podsednik can run. And Ozzie Guillen, the White Sox mouthpiece/manager likes to be squirrelly with the small ball. Erstad is used to laying down bunts and moving over runners from his time with the Los Angeles Orange Counties of the Angels.


At this point, with the threat of a bunt and/or a possible steal the calls of pitches, pitch location and defensive alignment are all coming from the bench. Bobo was calling the show. There are a lot of options when you KNOW a team is going to try and advance the runner with a bunt or a steal. The obvious is a throw-over to 1st base. Another is a pitch-out. The A's did neither. Erstad dropped a bunt on the first offering from Marshall.



Pitch 2.

Bobo had every opportunity to shake that off. Instead he ordered Marshall to intentionally walk Paul Konerko. Walk Konerko, a right-handed hitter, to face the left-handed hitter in the on-deck circle. Might seem like a good idea with the lefty/lefty match-up.

Pitch 3,4,5,6.

Of course,
when there is a Hall of Famer in the On Deck circle, you don't walk a guy ahead of him and challenge his manhood. Jim Thome singled in Podsednik and Erstad went to 3rd base.

Pitch 7.

Game over.

April 9, 2007 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Chi White Sox 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 2 0 4 9 0 Oakland 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 0

Chi White Sox AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG Podsednik, LF 4 2 3 1 0 0 1 .467 Erstad, CF 3 0 1 0 0 2 2 .300 Konerko, 1B 2 1 0 0 2 2 2 .263 Thome, DH 4 1 3 2 0 1 2 .238 Dye, RF 3 0 0 1 0 0 3 .100 Crede, 3B 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 .273 Pierzynski, C 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 .136 Cintron, 2B 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 .167 Uribe, SS 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 .278 Totals 31 4 9 4 3 6 12 BATTING 2B: Podsednik (1, Harden). HR: Thome (2, 4th inning off Harden, 0 on, 0 out), Podsednik (1, 5th inning off Harden, 0 on, 2 out). TB: Podsednik 7; Erstad; Thome 6; Crede; Pierzynski. RBI: Thome 2 (5), Podsednik (2), Dye (1). 2-out RBI: Podsednik. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Dye 2; Konerko. S: Erstad. SF: Dye. GIDP: Crede; Cintron. Team LOB: 5. BASERUNNING SB: Podsednik (2, 2nd base off Harden/Kendall). FIELDING DP: (Uribe-Cintron-Konerko). Oakland AB R H RBI BB SO LOB AVG Kendall, C 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 .156 Stewart, LF 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 .182 Bradley, CF 4 0 1 0 0 1 1 .250 Piazza, DH 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 .375 Chavez, 3B 3 0 1 0 1 0 0 .312 Swisher, 1B 3 1 0 0 1 1 4 .292 Crosby, SS 3 0 1 0 1 1 0 .222 Buck, RF 4 0 1 1 0 1 2 .238 Ellis, 2B 3 0 0 0 0 1 2 .240 Totals 31 1 5 1 4 5 11 BATTING 2B: Buck (3, Contreras). TB: Bradley; Piazza; Chavez; Crosby; Buck 2. RBI: Buck (1). 2-out RBI: Buck. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Ellis 2; Swisher 2; Buck. GIDP: Piazza. Team LOB: 7. FIELDING PB: Kendall (1). Outfield assists: Buck (Thome at home). DP: 2 (Crosby-Ellis-Swisher, Ellis-Crosby-Swisher). Chi White Sox IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Contreras (W, 1-1) 6.0 4 1 1 4 4 0 10.29 MacDougal (H, 3) 1.2 1 0 0 0 1 0 2.25 Thornton (H, 2) 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 0 9.00 Jenks 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 Oakland IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Harden (L, 1-1) 6.0 5 2 2 2 6 2 1.38 Marshall 1.1 2 2 2 1 0 0 4.15 Calero 0.2 1 0 0 0 0 0 15.43 DiNardo 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 IBB: Konerko (by Marshall). Pitches-strikes: Contreras 105-66, MacDougal 19-13, Thornton 6-4, Jenks 7-6, Harden 102-68, Marshall 23-14, Calero 7-5, DiNardo 8-6. Ground outs-fly outs: Contreras 6-8, MacDougal 3-1, Thornton 2-0, Jenks 1-1, Harden 5-7, Marshall 3-1, Calero 0-1, DiNardo 2-1. Batters faced: Contreras 26, MacDougal 5, Thornton 2, Jenks 2, Harden 24, Marshall 7, Calero 2, DiNardo 3. Inherited runners-scored: Calero 2-1. Umpires: HP: Ed Hickox. 1B: CB Bucknor. 2B: Joe West. 3B: Ed Rapuano. Weather: 62 degrees, clear. Wind: 16 mph, Out to RF. T: 2:38. Att: 35,077.

Labels: 2007 GAME RECAP

The A's limp back into Alameda County with a 3 and 4 record having lost the opening series to the Mariners and splitting a four-game set with the Halos. Tonight Rich Harden will lock-up with Jose Contreras. Contreras lasted but an inning in his opening start of the season so he should have a lot in the tank.

Game 8
Contreras	v	Harden
Game 9
Garland	v	Gaudin
Game 10
Buehrle	v	Kennedy

The White Sox have a habit of getting pushed around by the A's. Who knows why. The A's record against the Mariners last season was an oddity. It's not too frequently that the A's command a little of an edge in history against a team. Except the Giants, the A's own the Bay Bridge Series.




The Silent Benefactor and I will be out in right field tonight with the "PLAYER TO BE NAMED LATER FAN CLUB" banner at our feet. The In-Game WEBCHAT starts a few minutes before the first pitch.

Chad Gaudin was called to take the bump and sling the pill last night. This was Gaudin's first regular season start since 2005 and only his 10th start in 101 appearances at the big league level. There are some pitchers that have eye-popping stats and project well. Gaudin does not. He has a terrible K/9 rate. He has a terrible groundball/flyball ratio. He walks too many batters.


Gaudin is only 24 years old. The same age as Jason Windsor. A year younger than Shane Komine, the Hawaiian Punch-Out. Windsor and Komine have better numbers but have not been able to stick at the big league level.


So how is it that this guy is successful?


Gaudin keeps the ball in the yard, opposing hitters had a Jason Kendall like .330 Slugging Percentage against him in 2006. He didn't keep the ball in the yard last night. Both homeruns he gave up were solo shots, not that giving up homeruns is a good thing.


This is one of those areas where sabermetrics and statistical analysis don't match up. The numbers all point to a pitcher who would be, at best, AAA fodder. Gaudin grinds and grinds and he gets outs. That is why he has stuck at the major league level. He doesn't try to do too much. He's effective in that he gets ahead of hitters and makes them pay for their aggressiveness by skirting the plate with movement on his fastball and a slider he can control.


Gaudin is one of the few examples the Oakland A's can currently point to that a player's "performance" takes precedent over how the player "looks" and "projects". Don't be fooled, though. Gaudin is one player out of hundreds who has managed to avoid comparison with other player's with similar statistics.


Gaudin did his job; he got the A's through five innings. He might have been able to pitch into the sixth inning, Bobo (Geren) was leaning on the side of caution. Gaudin made an emergency start last Thursday and threw fewer than 60 pitches. Last night Gaudin was cruising until the 5th when his pitch count burped.


Can Chad Gaudin become the next Aaron Harang or Corey Lidle? Guys who the A's "found" to be back of the rotation filler, but became solid starters. No. Harang and Lidle were quality pitchers. In 2003 Billy Beane panicked to get Jose Guillen, in part because he would not take Terrence Long off the 25-Man Roster and play Eric Byrnes on a regular basis. The A's offense was terrible in 2003 and Joe Valentine, Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2002, was a bust. Minor League closers usually are.


Lidle, on the other hand (actually Gaudin, Harang, Lidle - right-handed pitchers), the A's traded to Toronto for Mike Rouse. Remember when the A's released Rouse in September last year and he signed with the Indians? And how the A's needed a 2nd baseman when Mark Ellis got hurt and instead were stuck with D'Angelo Jimenez? It all links together if you look at it long enough.


The A's played Oakland Athletics baseball last night; get a lot of guys on base and make sure they don't score. Sure, they are only a few games in, but the A's already lead the American League in runners Left On Base (LOB) and are just one off the lead in all of MLB.


THE GOOD STUFF: Gaudin, Piazza multiple hits, Swisher getting on base (four times but only scoring one run - not his fault), Mark Ellis with another RBI (nice counting stat but doesn't really matter).

Labels: 2007 GAME RECAP

A BALK IN THE PARK

Goose: It's the bottom of the 9th, the score is tied it's time for the big one. Iceman: You up for this one, Maverick? Maverick: Just a walk in the park Kazansky.

The A's came up big against Miguel Batista who helped by giving up a snowman (8 runs) in 4 innings plus of work. Batista was all over the place, on the mound, with the strike zone, in the dugout. He didn't look all together there in any sense of the word. Or the phrase "all together".



Bobby Crosby was lifted in the 7th and whenever there is a late game substitution you have to start looking for your curiosity hat. The A's are always very indignant about verbalizing their in game moves due to injuries or injuries in general. It used to be that reporters would just hang out in the trainer's room to get their info. I suppose that would require actual leg work and take time away from getting the "one game at a time", "pitch, play defense, hit the ball" quotes.



Milton Bradley is talking a lot with the media and having a good time. If the A's can stay consistent then he'll continue to do that. If they struggle and he struggles, he'll get grumpy. And we all have layers and levels of grumpy and how we react with our blood pressure rising. MB's just happens to have a threshold of grumpy that would kill most men in their 40's. You don't want to see him get angry. He's wearing green and gold. Maybe he will turn into the Incredible Hulk.



Rich Harden was very good. That is good, that he was very good. Not great. Do it for 30 consecutive starts and I will get excited.



THE GOOD STUFF: MB, Crosby and Piazza getting on base, Mark Ellis' clean-up hitter impersonation, and Sean Marshall.

AND SO IT CONTINUES
Two games into the season and Bob Geren has already been Macha'd. I think 'Bobo' is going to be Geren's nickname from here on out. It fits.

ELEPHANTS IN OAKLAND MANTRA

THERE'S NOTHING IN THE RULE BOOK THAT SAYS AN ELEPHANT CAN'T PITCH!

There were lots of things to second guess Bobo about last night. And some things he did that were just wrong.

First, starting Eric Chavez agianst a left-hander. Specifically Jarrod Washburn.

Eric Chavez	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
Jarrod Washburn	64	15	2	1	1	4	3	21	.234	.269	.344	.612

Yah. That's what I want out there in the lineup.

Marco Scutaro	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
Jarrod Washburn	19	6	3	0	0	2	3	2	.316	.409	.474	.883

I like Skootch, but I also know his limitations. But when Marco Scutaro is a better option than a guy you are paying $12 Million a year, you really need to take a few m o r e steps back and figure out why people still think Eric Chavez is anything but a 'veteran'. I'll put this all together in an Eric Chavez post later, but if your only argument is defense, then trade for another shortstop and put that guy at 3rd base. Eric Chavez was supposed to be a .330/.430/.500 hitter. He's not even close. He's not even the best 3rd baseman in the AL West. He's not the second best 3rd base,an in the AL West. . . Do you get where I am going with this?



I can understand letting Bobby Kielty start in rightfield. Fine. But in the 7th inning Bobby Kielty came up to bat against Ruben Mateo. Why? Kielty simply should not hit left-handed. At all. Bob Geren should have watched that be another nail in Ken Macha's coffin the last few seasons. Kielty does not get to bat left-handed.

		G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
vs. Left		323	653	104	195	53	0	30	107	84	96	.299	.383	.518	.900
vs. Right		533	1055	144	243	49	6	22	134	155	250	.230	.333	.351	.684

Now Kielty was able to move the runner to 2nd base on a ground out to the 2nd baseman. Swisher eventually scored and the A's tied up the game. The A's added Todd Walker to the roster for a reason. They have Adam Melhuse on the bench. More over, they have Travis Buck, the doubles machine on the bench.

• Buck pinch hits for Kielty, goes into right field.



• Walker pinch hits for stays in the game at 1st base, Swisher to right.



• Walker pinch hits for stays in the game at 1st base, Buck to right.



• Melhuse pinch hits for Kielty stays in the game at catcher, Buck to right.

Later, the same opportunity came up in a crucial situation, in the 9th down by four against a pitcher who could not find the strike zone. Kielty squibbed a hit to left. Good. Tactically the better move was to sit Kielty against a right-handed pitcher. There's a reason the A's have other players on the roster. Sometimes they are a better option.



Bobo also made the wrong decision to pull Joe Blanton after 81 pitches. Blanton was at 69 pitches through 5 innings which is great for him. Fat Joe was dealin' in the 6th inning, his best of the night and got through with only 12 pitches. He had at least another inning and 5 batters left he could have faced. Blanton is not a top of the rotation pitcher. He will eek out 13-15 wins a season with an ERA in the 4.50 arrea. That's just who he is. Or he isn't. Blanton is Dr Jekyl and Dr Jekyl. 2005 he was unlucky. 2006 he was lucky. So, 2007 is still a toss up but the number project Blanton as a solid number 4 starter.



Many will point to the box score and say that Kiko Calero cost the A's the game. Yah. Bobby Crosby and the strike zone helped, too. Calero got screwed on the 0-1 pitch to Jose Guillen. Guillen at 1-1 is a hell of a lot more dangerous than with an 0-2 count. Guillen hit a routine grounder to short which Bobby Crosby then attempted to through into short right field. They called it a hit. Sort of like Patch Adams was a hit.



Yuniesky Bettancourt hit a fat pitch out and the 0-1 pitch that was called a ball was a bit close, too. Jose Lopez cranked a hit six inches off the plate and Calero did a nice job of jamming him. But, that was the end of the line for Calero and the A's. Justin Duchscherer, who had been warming up for about 12 minutes came into the game and threw his own brand of gasoline onto the smoldering rubble.



The game wasn't over as Brandon Morrow did his best to try and get J.J. Putz into the game. But the A's blew it.



THE GOOD STUFF: Milton Bradley, Fat Joe Dealin', Swisher getting on base 3 times.

AND SO IT BEGINS - "THE NEGATIVITY SCENE"


Bob Geren took all of 5 innings before he was second guessed as the Oakland Athletics manager. Look, I am a Bob Geren fan. But he is still the manager of the beloved A's. Therefore, the gloves were off in the Top of the 6th inning Monday night. Travis Buck, in his second major league At-Bat, smashed a double over the head of Ichiro Suzuki. Ichiro was playing a shallow center most of the night (make a note of that). With Buck at 2nd base, and decent speed for an outfielder, Geren had Mark Ellis square around to bunt. This makes me want to kick Geren and Ellis square in the nuts.



Enough. Enough with the sacrificing already. I understand that we are looking at inning six of at least 1458 innings. Still. One is enough.

ELEPHANTS IN OAKLAND MANTRA

When you sacrifice bunt in order to move a runner up a base to score one run, a high percentage of the time you will score none. If you are going to bunt, squaring around on the first pitch makes absolutely zero sense. Take a pitch. If it is a ball, the odds of reaching base as a hitter on a 1-0 versus a 0-1 count are fantastically, drastically, dogmatically different.



In this scenario; Buck at 2nd base Ellis at the plate against a right-hander, Felix Hernande, has a lot of movement on his pitches. Tactically it's better to take a strike, and open the batter's stance and then try to hit the ball to the right side. Situational hitting. If you can not expect your hitters to control the strike zone, then they should not be in the lineup.



Why not just let Mark Ellis put up a quality At-Bat together and live with those results?



This is NOT singling out Ellis (singling out, punny), however, following the sign given to bunt you can always "miss" the sign or just fail at dropping down the bunt. Remember this stuff because it will come back up. Back to the negative vibe merchant's ranting and/or raving.

I know it's easy to harp on Bobby Crosby because of his poor play. But the blame lies with the A's front office of Billy Beane and David Forst. Really Forst. Beane has largely taken a role as the guy who is more interested in his ownership stake and researching and analyzing soccer. You read me; Billy Beane is out of the office a majority of the time. David Forst is the De Facto General Manager of the Oakland A's.



Back to Crosby.



Crosby is a head case. A stubborn, stubborn player who tries to do too much with the bat and in the field doesn't know how to make the routine play look routine. He carries around an undue sense of entitlement and does not take to being told that he is a pile of weaknesses harnessed within a body of moderate talent. Talent and ability, can they ever meet for Crosby?



Can we come back to this as the Eric Chavez effect?



Determination is one thing, focused play is another. Crosby sternly looks like he is trying to keep coins magically floating in front of him; he's in some sort of inferior professional athlete trance. He looks tight, wound up and yet, out of control.



Crosby is a better fielder that Marco Scutaro. He has more power. But, statistics aside, for now, I trust Skootch more than a player who is more concerned with appearance than performance. That's just me. Most know I have never been a fan of Bobby Crosby. Until he gets on base at a .360 clip and has 25-30 doubles to right field and less than 100 K's in a FULL SEASON...I simply won't be a Crosby fan. Worse, Crosby continues to undercut his trade value.



No, I'm not insane. The A's can't package an oft injured wash-out shortstop. Angel Berroa was another A's product at shortstop who was rookie of the year. Look where he is (AAA - for the Royals). The A's have nothing at AAA to replace Crosby. What they do have is a terrific opportunity for a Mike Bordick-like entry. Mark Ellis goes to his left better than any 2nd baseman in baseball. True, the A's need him to cover up Nick Swisher's inability to play 1st base defense with any consistency, but Ellis was a great shortstop in college. His double play partner happened to be David Eckstein at Florida and at the major league level their roles switched. Bit o' trivia.



Years ago with the A's Mike Bordick subbed at 2nd base and shortstop and eventually took over at shortstop for the A's and then, Cal Ripken, JR in Baltimore. Bordick was a favorite player of mine and still a bone of contention with Tony LaRussa pinch hitting for him in the 1992 ALCS.



Danny Haren was very Danny Haren like in Game 1. Pitched well but once trouble came up it ate him alive. Bobby Crosby didn't help matters when he dropped a sure double play to end an inning. But the responsibility lies with Haren getting outs. Until Crosby's errors Haren was very economical with his pitches. Crosby forced his hand into pitching to at least three extra batters, and cost him an extra inning. Still, Haren threw the pitch that (Richie Sexson) Big Sexy nailed.



It was a bad night of baseball for the A's who made Felix Hernandez look good. Jason Kendall's K rate was up in the spring and it looks like he has added that out making process to his regularity of groundball outs and double plays.



Ugh.



Good stuff was Travis Buck, Milton Bradley and Sean Marshall.