Day Off

A's got the day off today, and I'm looking forward to watching Zito and Moyer go at it tomorrow.

That 16-0 game was insane. The team has been a complete turnaround from the start of the season. Not a lot of people are noticing yet - but they will.

Got a bad stomach ache, so I'm not writing much on here tonight. It's probably from watching Stephen A. Smith and Stuart Scott at the same time, during the ESPN NBA Draft preview. That alone made me want to puke.

The New Look A's (In More Than One Way)

Oakland Athletics' Nick Swisher has a "Bazooka Joe" bubble gum comic stuck to his forehead after taking off his batting helmet late in the game against the Seattle Mariners Thursday, June 23, 2005 at Safeco Field in Seattle. It was unknown whether the comic placement was a prank from teammates or intentional. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Yeah, I found that picture on Yahoo! from today's game. Thought it was interesting. I think the bubble gum wrapper definitely brings out Swisher's artistic side. Or something.

Either way, the boxscore I did find was very fun to read. I wasn't able to watch the game today because Extra Innings once again decided to not carry the game, but the guy I had been criticizing, Saarloos, threw a CG 4-hit 7 K shutout. Pretty insane for a guy who usually barely makes it out of five innings. If he can continue to improve like this throughout the season..well, what a steal.

The starting pitching as a whole has just been sick lately. Screw that, the whole team has been sick. Everything's coming together and the team is reeling off wins so fast it's not even funny.

The Gigantes again tomorrow night, with Joe Blanton on the mound. My emotions for that guy have really fluctuated throughout this season. At the beginning, I was excited. Around the middle, I was like, man, I'm not watching this guy get tore up again. Once again, he has become intriguing as heck. I'm praying it remains that way. I'd like nothing more than to see this guy succeed and prove his doubters wrong.

And on a final note, big game by Hatteberg. Even with Dan Johnson showing that he's infact the real deal, he comes out there and has a 4 H, 1 RBI game. Everybody's steppin' up lately.

The "Fit As Many Pitchers Into The Ninth As Possible" Game! Whoo!

Soooo close to removing ourselves from the bottom of the pile..

Street's injury is really hurtin' us, that or Macha's stupid decision making. Even with Duchscherer's frequent apperances, I was almost certain I'd be seeing him out there when the bottom of the ninth came around. The momentum Seattle had once Macha FINALLY decided to put the Duke in the game, well, pretty much dismantled any shot of the save. Not to mention the runners on second and third.

Let me just say, however, Dan Johnson continues to impress and impress some more. His defensive abilities should keep Hatteberg from playing any significant first base time for the rest of the year. Keep Johnson there, and if he needs a day off, stick Swisher at first. He's made some web gems over there as well. Oh, and if Durazo ever comes back, be sure to never have him on the field to play first. His defensive skills are downright sad and pathetic. I don't want to hear about "let's see you..blah blah..do what they do..blah blah". Obviously I'm not going to do a better job, but this guy has tons of time and ability, as well as professional coaches to work with on this kind of thing. Give me a break.

Thanks to Zito for pitching another great game and making it enjoyable for me to stay up till 1 a.m. and watch a game with anybody vs. Jamie Moyer. The curve was sick. It's a shame he was robbed of another win. I saw this funny post on the Scout.com A's board where a guy went ballistic, calling for everytime Macha makes a stupid bullpen decision to cost a game, the pitcher who fails to record the win as a result, gets to smack the, well, you know, out of him. Sounds like a very professional and interesting method to me.

FOX = Aggrivating and Annoying

Yes, I hate Joe Buck and I also hate the FOX Network in general. Not only do they prevent me from watching any games other than the crap that they decide to show, but if I do want to watch some baseball, I have to listen to their idiot commentators blab on about fashion and other assorted fruity discussions.

No, I don't care about the fact that the Yankees and Cubs haven't played in forever. And I'm sorry, but that noise that came out of Buck's mouth before the start of the telecast was very disturbing. It was almost as if he was having some kind of orgasmic experience over the fact of being there. Yes, I'm sure it's somewhat cool to be in his situation - but don't ever let out that girly pig squeal noise ever again. Thanks.

Yeah, I know it's only one game every week that I may have to miss. I'll have to get over it I guess.

Saarloos ended up getting the win versus the Phillies, with a 2-1 score. Looking at the end of the game pitching stats were surprising - Rincon pitching 2 innings of relief and Duchscherer being put into the game for the save. I've always thought Duchscherer had potential in that role but we all know Huston Street is the closer, so you have to wonder about his availability. Injury troubles? Sickness? Tired arm? What was it that kept him from going out there? And I know my fantasy team certainly could have used the save with Todd Jones as my only closer (who took the loss for the Marlins against the Angels, friggin' Vlad Guerrerro).

Although, the versatility of the bullpen is exciting. Especially the recent callup of Jairo Garcia. I'm hoping it's not to build his trade value for that stupid deal for Rockies starting pitcher Joe Kennedy (they asked for Garcia and catching prospect Kurt Suzuki), because I think he has the potential to be Street's future setup man and/or some other club's closer via a trade to get the A's something sweet. He can throw some heat, although I've heard their are control issues. Nothing that can't be corrected.

And speaking of recent moves, Juan Cruz was sent to the minor leagues. It's time to condition and convert him to the role he wants to be in - a starting pitcher. He's got some sick stuff and velocity to back it up. If we can get his head straight, he can be devastating as our 5th starter. It's definitely a hole in the rotation we desperately need to fill, as Glynn just ain't getting it done.

That Disappearing Offense Trick, It's Getting Old

Well, there goes another series. I'll try hard not to sit on here and female-dog to you guys, the entire time. It's hard, but I'll try not to. The game tonight had me on the edge of my seat at the end though, so I will give credit where it's due, they almost came through on Washington's tough closer. Which, speaking of him, how does he even see? His hat is ridiculously low.

Also, another positive note, the play by Huston Street. The dive and skipping the ball off the ground to make the play was insane. I loved the expression when he got up, like it was just a regular routine play. Actually, I can't believe he trapped the ball on the ground in the first place. What a competitor. Seriously.

So now I won't be making the trip to Atlanta for the upcoming series. Too much stuff to do here at home. It's a shame - I really wanted to go. The pitching matchups look to be pretty good, although it would have been way cooler if Zito was scheduled against Smoltz in the last game. That's what I thought it was going to be a week ago but I guess I counted it up wrong.

Charles Thomas was sent down to the minor leagues, before the game today. Matt Watson is back up. Somebody misinterpreted me last time I commented about Watson, assuming I meant that he's a worthless guy to call up in the first place. That's far from the truth. I definitely approve of bringing him up. What I meant by my comments was that the call up before had no significance, as in he wasn't being brought up to compete for a starting spot or anything, it was basically because of injury, and that's how his chance arose. This time, it seems like he's being given a legitimate opportunity on the big league club. Hopefully Thomas can work out his kinks in the minor leagues and become a decent outfielder for us in the future, but until then, let's see what this Watson guy can really do.

similar to one of the other A's blogs that I enjoy reading, the 7th Inning Stretch, I'm hoping to make a few minor layout changes and additions to the front page of the site pretty soon. Nothing drastic. Just little things here and there to make it a little better looking and also a little more interesting and informative. Honestly, I know this blog isn't the most exciting one out there. I have nothing that stands out. It's just me and my reactions and opinions to the latest happenings that go on. So, hopefully I can make it a little more appealing for the random reader to maybe find a reason to come back. I've never had anybody in Jacksonville, for obvious reasons, to vent my frustrations or release my excitement to, when it comes to A's games and news and etc. It's the main reason I created this blog in the first place. I could reach Oakland fans all over the world and hopefully find some that share similar opinions with me. But, anyway, I'll stop rambling on.

Tomorrow, Danny Haren faces off against Atlanta's great young pitcher, Kyle Davies. Fear our dreaded offense, rookie! Yeah, that's it..scarrrryyy..

Barry the Batting Champ

Where'd the friggin' offense go? Zito pitched a pretty good game and got nothing. The fact that he got a loss on his record for that is a joke. Come on. Honestly, with his early high pitch count (which is not something new with him), he shouldn't have been in the game when he did give up the homerun to Nick Johnson anyway. Yes, he was pitching a good game, like I said. But whenever his count gets that high it shouldn't matter what he's doing. For most pitchers, I don't have the pitch count belief. But Zito does seem to legitimately implode once he gets a little under 100. When I saw his count after five innings I couldn't even believe it, I couldn't understand how he got that high so fast. It didn't seem like he was even having to throw that much.

I wish I could have saw Zito get that hit off of Armas. I bet that was kind of funny.

Once again, I had to get all my updates on Yahoo!'s scoreboard thingy. MLB Extra Innings decided not to show the game. I hate when I spend all day looking forward to a game and then right at gametime, I go downstairs, cut on the TV, flip through every channel, and only then figure out they've decided they'd rather show some other crap. I really wish they'd alter that package where you really can see every game of the week. It's already expensive enough as it is.

I was also very disappointed to see Hatteberg starting over Johnson. I realize Hatteberg drove in our only run of the night, but I really think Johnson needed the AB's a lot more and probably could have contributed a lot more. Johnson did make a PH appearance when Zito was finally pulled. He drew a walk. Demonstrating, once again, his great eye at the plate. I'm really hoping we see Johnson starting tomorrow at first base.

Nice little closers matchup going on in this series also. Huston Street and Chad Cordero. Cordero picked up the save tonight for Washington, so it's time to match that in tomorrow's game. Both of these guys have very similar careers thus far, as far as getting drafted and very soon after ending up in the big leagues. Their success was often being referred to as one of the main reasons for different teams in the draft today selecting closers with high draft picks.

And speaking of the draft, that was a real change of pace, huh? I guess everybody was right as far as finding value in the H.S. players now that everybody has flocked to the college draft philosophy. Sure was a ton of right handed pitchers, though. I guess they're just trying to increase the odds of the success rate at getting a decent righthanded for the future. My only problem with the high school picks is the issues with signings as opposed to the guys heading off to college. I'm sure the later round H.S. prospects won't see much money coming from Oakland because of the low budget, and that could very well turn their attention away to a college career. You know, wasting the pick, in otherwords. It's entered my mind but I'm hoping the front office researched their signability and interest levels.

Ryan Glynn is making his second appearance tomorrow, facing off with one of the Washington starters I happen to like, Esteban Loaiza. Lets just hope the A's bring out the New York Yankee in him as opposed to the Chicago White Sox version.

The Potential Waiting Game

Dan Meyer was one of the main reasons Billy Beane pulled the trigger on the deal to send Tim Hudson to Atlanta. But we're still waiting for the reasoning.

It's safe to say Meyer hasn't lived up to the hype that many A's fans had heard from media sources as well as Braves fans. Many were disappointed over his failure to secure a rotation spot despite Ken Macha giving him every opportunity to do so.

But, it's really too early to judge. He's really early in a transition process between the two organizations. This kid has great potential, that's for sure. While he struggled early in the season, recent injuries have hurt his chances towards bouncing back and emerging as one of the A's top pitching prospects.

I bring him up, most of all, because I received an e-mail regarding him from Tom over at Balls, Sticks, & Stuff (a primarily Philadelphia Phillies blog). They've got a great interview with Meyer up on their site that I recommend everyone check out. You can head over there by clicking here.

According to the interview, he should be back on the mound by mid-June. Great thing to hear. I had already been checking out his statistics constantly when he was pitching. Now I'm interested to see if he'll make that Atlanta trade look at least a little bit better than it already does.

Sometimes, Thomas and Cruz have me thinking about jumping into my bathtub with a hair dryer turned on.

Scutaro Showin' Off

Another huge offensive game to end the latest series. Toronto really fell victim to the A's current offensive hot streak.

It's great to see Eric Chavez turning his season around. I doubt we'll hear many people voting to trade Chavez to some random team anymore. I figured if he was given time he'd turn it around. Definitely was not one of the people jumping on that stupid bandwagon. He's already shown he is, infact, a superstar caliber player. He's not just going to suddenly become god awful out of nowhere. You can tell, after each of his latest big hits, that when he gets into the dugout he's having fun now. That's more than likely what it takes for Chavez to really produce. He needs to actually enjoy being out there and that's only going to happen if the team is winning. You could tell by his comments after the Hudson/Mulder trade that the guy is absolutely against playing for a non-contender.

It's no question to me that the heated offense has influenced his recent ourburst as well. Which, then again, that can go for anybody right now.

Dan Johnson is beginning to assure his roster spot upon Durazo's return from the DL. Johnson has walked his tail off and is finally starting to really hit. You have to assume the power will be coming soon.

Up next is another interleague series, against the Washington Nationals. It's basically two very hot teams going head-to-head so it's a tossup as far as who has the advantage. I'm thinking Oakland's overall pitching edges their pitching by a bit, so hopefully that carries the A's to a few wins. Washington is now in first place in the NL East, but honestly, that's liable to change everyday with those teams. The Marlins went from first place to last place in what seemed like a week.

After that it's to Atlanta for a series against the Braves. The reason I mention this so early is because I'm hoping to head up there. It's about an eight hour drive or so, but it's rare they're around that often other than games against the pathetic D-Rays. Hopefully I'll get some decent seats and I can take a few snapshots for the blog. We'll see how that works out. If anybody's got any ticket connections as well as the predicted pitching matchups for each game, let me know.

Oakland has the day off today and I'm hoping that helps in the healing process of Mark Kotsay. The A's have fared well in his absence but I really believe he is one of the main keys to our future success. Big props to Marco Scutaro for stepping up in his place. God knows Jason Kendall hasn't provided anything, so Macha stuck Scutaro in the leadoff spot and we all proceed to watch Scutaro have one of the best games of his career. I always enjoy watching teams, particularly the A's, make interesting lineup choices like that. Some fans really get mad about it though, for some reason. Rather than dissing it before you've had the chance to see it in action, how about waiting for the outcome first. It won't take that long, trust me. Not all out-of-nowhere moves like Scutaro at leadoff turn out fine, but man, some of those A's fans out there need to chill out.

First of Many Saves

Another good win last night. Bobby Crosby continues to swing a hot bat. Eric Chavez is slowly turning his season around - a grandslam in the bottom of the fifth inning. And Huston Street picked up his first save as a major league closer.

The plate-patient A's even caused Jason Towers to surrender four walks. He only had given up five the entire season, before last night's game. Towers was clearly effected by it. But was it just me, or in the first inning did you just kind of figure he wouldn't walk more than one guy the whole night? It seemed almost as if the plate umpire was extremely hesitant to give the base on balls. I figured it would be a tough night in that regard but turns out, I guess he noticed that everybody noticed his predetermined calls. Especially Kotsay - he looked like he was going to rip his head off.

The eighth and ninth innings were fun. Got to see Jason Frasor pitch for Toronto, who I watched pitch here in Jacksonville for the AA Affiliate of the L.A. Dodgers a season or two ago. I head out to the minor league games here as much as I can, and it's always fun to watch the different players develop and spread throughout the major leagues. Then, in the ninth inning, Street finally got an opportunity to show his stuff in a pressure situation. The guy is so young and confident, it's insane. As I said in one of my earlier posts on here, I was not much of a Street-4-Closer supporter simply because of the fact that if he failed at such a young age, it could possibly ruin him, mentally, for the rest of his career. I didn't want to waste the great potential on such a quick move to get him into the big leagues. But there is something to him. Nothing seems to faze him. He's mature beyond his years and then some. If you want proof of that, just check out his new diary he opened up on ESPN.com. My favorite part is his definition of what a closer truly is - a symbol of trust. The last paragraph of that entry, and everything he's done so far on the mound for Oakland, has me believing that this kid will eventually become one of the better closers the baseball world has ever seen.

Most of all, Street probably has the support of the entire clubhouse. I've yet to find one reason for anyone not to back him at every single opportunity. It's really a mirrorimage of teammate Octavio Dotel, who's basically abandoned and given up on the entire team by opting to have surgery despite four legitimate doctors telling him it wasn't necessary. It is extremely rare for a pitcher to simply give up on the type of injury Dotel has, so it really speaks volume on where he's at mentally. He's throwing up the white flag. He's scared. He's struggled early on this season and is basically saying "Forget it, I'm done trying". The injury is his way to drop off the face of the Earth and still gain a nice little paycheck for himself. What a loser. Seriously. Odds are if he came back, Ken Macha would have given him back his closing role anyway. If you didn't think Dotel was mentally fragile based on his ninth inning failures alone, you really know now.

What a way to ditch his teammates. Yeah, they'll support him and his decision for surgery. But you really know it's killing each player that he's so eager to quit on them. That or they're laughing because Dotel's decision occurred at the very moment Oakland's season looked like it was full-speed-ahead in the right direction. In otherwords, it's "jackass" or "dumbass". What a choice!

Game two of the series looks tough. Halladay vs. Etherton. Toronto's ace versus Oakland's last guy in the rotation. Really gotta hope the offensive hot streak carries over tonight, Halladay has been tough all season long. And please Macha, no more of Hatteberg hitting cleanup. That's the one of the most confusing things I've ever read/seen.

Offensive Explosion

Finally, we swept a team. What an extreme turnaround compared to the previous series in Tampa. The last two games were massacres to say the least.

Big pitching performances and props to Danny Haren and Barry Zito. Haren got his first complete game this season and Zito actually, gasp, got some run support to do a little pitching with.

The offense has been clicking to perfection since the return of Nick Swisher and Bobby Crosby. Ever since those guys came back, and the A's began giving Dan Johnson significant playing time, I've actually been excited to watch the games. Can't say that for the first part of the year.

The adjusted hitting lineup has been great too. Putting Jason Kendall back in his natural leadoff position was an excellent move. It's an idea I've been supportive of before the season even started. For some reason, I've never really been that fond of Kotsay hitting leadoff anyway. He can do way more damage lower in the order.

Everything that's happened..well, it's hard not to be excited. But we do have to keep things into perspective. Oakland wasn't expected to have the record they do, at this point in the season. Tampa Bay, on the otherhand, was expected to have their current record. Probably worse, actually. In all honesty, we're better. We should have won. We should have dominated. The friggin' Tampa organization is a joke - it rubs off on the field and creates a fragile team that's just asking to get beaten on. The sleeveless jerseys alone are reason enough to beat the crap out of them.

Tonight, we face a team that's significantly better. They're not a powerhouse, or a legit playoff team, but they are more of a challenge. The Toronto Blue Jays. Ricciardi's team. And tonight, it's Jason Towers on the mound to face us. We might have a lot of discipline at the plate but this guy walks nobody.

I have confidence that the team's current hot streak will carry over. Yahoo! Sports always features Favorable/Unfavorable matchups for the night's games and Eric Chavez's name was the first that came up. "Eric Chavez OAK Career vs J. Towers - 2 HR, .500 AVG, 3 RBI (16 At Bats)". Sounds good to me. Sure, it's obviously a small sample size, but I got the guy starting on my non-power-hitting fantasy team. In otherwords, I'm desperate for something.

Meaningless fantasy perspective aside, let's go for 10+ runs again. Saarloos might need some help - he's on a two-game losing streak and his last outing against Toronto lasted all of 3.2 innings.