Great way to begin the season, taking 2 of 3 from the Bronx Bombers.

New additions Frank Thomas and Milton Bradley are paying huge dividends so far.

Can you believe back-up SS, Marco Scutaro, has 7 game winning hits in his 3 yrs w/the A's. A valuable asset to have when Bobby Crosby goes down w/yet another injury. He's due back in a couple weeks.

As much as I love Zito, and I do LOVE Zito; I am ready to deal him. If the Mets would give up Lastings Miledge and other prospects, I'll take it. He's no longer an Ace IMO, but will command ace dollars. A team like the Mets should be willing to fork it over, plus he'll be reunited w/ pitching coach, Rick Peterson. Z's an innings eater and will bounce back after that horrific outing. Other teams rumored to be interested are the Dodgers, Padres, and Yankees...

Esteban Loiza starts tonight against Seattle. I'm not expecting a whole lot from him. If we're to win, we better score 10 runs b/c he'll give up 7 or 8. He didn't have a good ST.

In other news, the A's traded for Kazuhito Tadano, best known for appearing in a Japanese gay porn video in college. College boys will do anything for a few buckaroos... trust me, I know.

I am not sure why the A's wanted Loiza. Kirk Saarloos was a perfectly adequate 5th starter. Loiza showed nothing in spring and got rocked yesterday.
Not ready to give up on Zito. Frankly, though, if he was in a major market he'd be a mega media star. He has been described as a marketer's dream, handsome, charismatic, personable, comfortable in front of the camera, born performer.
Scutaro ... every time they think about sending him to the minors, he makes it impossible!

Both of you are right... Barry will make a mint next winter, and someone will overpay because he likely is not a Cy-caliber ace. He's already saying nice things about New York, including a possible reunion with Rick Peterson with the Mets!

Barry says nice things about everyone. That is, OUR Barry says nice things about everyone, not like THEIR Barry across the Bay.

Hey, is Kaz going to the big club or will he be in Sac town now that he's in Oakland.

I've had the opportunity to meet and interview him for a local weekly here in Buffalo when he was a member of the Bisons(he has been a mainstay here for the better part of three season while spending significant time with the Tribe).

He's a really nice guy, if not a bit quiet and reserved probably from not speaking the language too well but he is improving on that part.

And yes, the gaydar went off, imho.

Frank "The Big Hurt" Thomas is huge on this team so far!

Despite a mediocre first start, I think Rich Harden is going to be the star of the team this year.

Let me pre-curson what I'm about to type with this:

I've been a lifelong Mariners fan, and thus, have been raised with a hate for the Oakland A's. Granted, it's true, I despise them and relish every M's victory over them.

However, they're going to win the West this year *laugh*. I thought that going into the season, and now after taking 3 of 4 from the M's in which they allowed a mere 10 runs in FOUR games, I would be convinced they're the best team this side of the country...if it weren't just April 10.

Their pitching is absolutely superb. The only problem I can anticipate is their hitting; they seem to be overloaded with mediocre, aging talent (much like EVERY team in the AL West less perhaps Texas) that predicably could struggle against fellow well-staffed pitching clubs.

So there ya have it, I've succumbed to the inevitability of the A's winning the West (as much as I hate to admit it)! Oh, and has anyone commented on how HOT Rich Harden is? Zito's up there too~

Zito's sex appeal has declined dramatically along with his pitching performance.

Harden is one hot Canadian son of a bitch. No problem with crackers in my bed and Rich!

Milton Bradley's basefunning gaffe cost Nick Swisher a double and the A's at least one, possibly 2 runs. For those not in the know, with the bases loaded Swish hit a ball off the top of the wall. Frank Thomas, on 3rd, strolled home. However, Bradley, who had been on 2nd base, forgot to touch 3rd base on his way home. If he touched home before touching 3rd this would disallow Thomas' run, so he ran back to 3rd, and Jason Kendall, who had been on first base when the ball was hit, was just arriving on 3rd base. Two runners on 3rd base meant an automatic (3rd) out. So only one run scored and Swisher was only credited with a single rather than a double.
Fortunately it did not affect the outcome of the game, which the A's won 5-0.
The next day, Bradley found in his locker a gift from Swisher, a base. Welcome to Oakland!

This is my first post on this thread. Hope y'all keep it going.

Long long time fan here who's so happy to have partial plan this year also with high expectations.

FIRST WEEK PLUSES: (better than expected) Blanton, Harden, Scooter, Kennedy (no implosion yet)

MINUSES: (worse than expected)
DJ (still needs to learn not to pull EVERYTHING.)
Loaiza (expect last year's Zito #s)
Street (appears hittable)
Saarloos (can he get the sinker working with sporadic work?)
Crosby (can he stay healthy?) eek!

I went to Fanfest in January and FT definitely tripped my gaydar. Does it need tuning?? Something in what he said about always wanting to come to Oaktown to play, I dunno. Swisher trips my partner's 'dar, but I think Swish just likes to talk.

The key to this team is PITCHING and HEALTH. They have enough hitting to get the job done as long as no more than one key guy gets

At least this time Crosby's injury was just one of those freak things. He seems to be pretty nearly over it.
Errors did not help Huston Street, that 9th inning was unforgiveable!

Huston said he is used to running toward the bag and doing the underhand thing, but that dont work so well with Ichiro's speed.

Let's see what he does next time a ball is hit at him like that.

To be greeted by a blown save by our Mr. Reliable was not the way I envisioned a Huston Street bobblehead giveaway. Huston was the one I predicted would have a sophomore slump this yr. Although DJ is giving him a run for his money starting the season on a 1 for 32 slump and batting a measly .031. I say keep Swish at 1B.

Kaz will most likely begin in Sactown or AA Midland. I don't see him being called up this year.

I was at both games this weekend and yesterday was painful. There we were, all wet and cold. First the freak home run. Then the A's get 2 runs and life was good, they will win game and series and Haren will get the victory after 8 very strong innings. Then every close pitch was called a ball. After ball 3 to Texeira I said, Oh shit, he's going to throw it right down the middle now....

I stayed in my car to listen to the top of the 9th inning yesterday before going about my biz yesterday afternoon.

Boy was I sorry, but I suppose Street had it coming. His pitching has been far from stellar this year. Still it hurts, after we came back to erase the Bradley bizarro gift HR.

I dont blame Macha, since had he brought in anybody else and they had blown it, he'd open himself up to even MORE criticism.

The test will be does Huston stay shaky or get back to last year's form.

The hitting remains pathetic overall. We really need a lot more from Croz (drop him down already), DJ (restating the obvious) and Ellis (reverting to form or no?)

When does Perez get some ABs?

The good news is this is the Haren I had been expecting this year.

Now if Esteban can get into that same form?....

If Street doesn't regain his form, there's a very reliable back up in Justin Duchsherer(sp?), last yr's lone All-Star.

I agree with dropping Crosby in the line-up. He was forced into that role last yr and performed adequately but shouldn't be hitting 3rd right now. I originally thought Bradley was slated to hit 3rd?

And what about Eric Chavez, the notorious slow starter, is mashing the hell out of the baseball. If he keeps this up, he'll see his first AS game. Go Chavy!

Today's game was almost a mirror image of Thursday's loss.. down by 1 in the bottom of the 9th with men on base and a strikeout to end the game. Another slow start to begin the season.

On the bright side, the rest of the division is struggling as well.

DJ got wood on the ball today going 3 for 4. Hopefully, this will get him going.

Swisher is looking more and more like a studly vet than the rookie who tried to take every pitch out of the park last yr.

Chavy should have an AS appearance to go along w/ his collection of gold gloves.

One more game against the Angels before heading off to face the Rangers.

Go A's!

The A's season really start in June according to this article and its month to month break down of the A's record.

The facts don't lie when it comes to the A's and their tough beginnings. Here is the A's record over each month going back to 2000:

April: 83-86

May: 79-83

June: 102-59

July: 98-63

August: 114-55

September: 93-63

For some reason, the A's turn on the lights in June. Usually after many of the bandwagon fans have long since fallen off. The hope is that this year will in fact be different. Things aren't starting well on the injury front, either. Bobby Crosby will soon earn the nickname Fragile Frankie Merman, from Seinfeld.
I'm starting to think that in order to protect himself, he needs to dig a hole in the infield and hide in it. Of course, that's not conducive to turning double plays. Huston Street also has an injury issue. I said before this season starts that the A's absolutely must have Crosby, Harden and Street healthy for the vast majority of the year or the team will not be able to compete. Hopefully, they are getting this out of the way early.

Jason Kendall dropped his appeal of his 4 game suspension because everyone (Billy Beane, his agent, players union) told him it wouldn't be reduced.

Kendall's response: MLB, a badminton league.

Kendall will be reinstated on Saturday when the A's play the 2nd game of a three-game set against the Yankees.

Mark your calendars: Angels come to Oakland July 6.

Boy, has Jason Kendall been a major disappointment since he joined the AL Athletics. He's one of the fewest used players in Fantasy Baseball now, where just two years ago he was 100% owned and played. What happened? He sucks.

BTW, the A's are bringing the famous Jeremy Brown (made famous by "Moneyball", anyway) up from Sacramento while Kendall serves his suspension.

And for you Jay Payton fans, a yummy pic of him in today's SF Chronicle (scroll down a bit to find it):

Work that treadmill!

[ May 10, 2006, 07:45 AM: Message edited by: RGMike ]

Interleague play is here once again. This time it seems like it's earlier than in previous yrs.

The Giants come to Oakland this weekend. I'm excited as always when the 2 teams face off, but this weekend is extra special as we might see Barry Bonds tie the Babe for 2nd on the all-time home run list or may even surpass him.

FRIDAY

Noah Lowry, LHP - (1-0; 4.11 era) Vs. Danny Haren, RHP - (3-3; 4.40 era)

SATURDAY

Jason Schmidt, RHP - (3-2; 3.20 era) Vs. Brad Halsey, LHP - (1-2; 3.21 era)

SUNDAY

Brad Hennessey, RHP - (3-1; 2.87 era) Vs. Joe Blanton, RHP - (4-4; 5.84 era)

It should be a great series.
Go A's !

Allen, you going? I have tix for Sunday.

You had to ask?
I'm embarrassed to say no, I will miss the whole series. I made plans this weekend w/o first checking the schedule. I'll be recording the games to watch later. I gave my tix away to a friend, who's a Giants fan. But she's always giving me free tix to SBC, so I was glad to return the favor.

If Barry ties Ruth, I hope A's fans don't boo. Regardless of what ppl think about him, I think we should stand and applaud. It's a respect thing..IMHO.

I would have to disagree with you Bill. If you are basing the 'disappointment' on his huge salary and fantasy baseball #'s, then yeah, he has sucked.

For me, he has done an incredible job grooming our young pitchers. 88 wins last yr for a team that was predicted by many to finish last. That was in part due to the pitching staff turning things around in the 2nd half. Particularly, Haren and Cupcakes (Blanton), who gives credit to Kendall's metoring.

Also, you gotta love the guy's grittiness. He has been involved in so many memorable plays the last 2 yrs (Angels/Rangers). His latest tussle with the John Lackey was another example of what he brings to the table. He's no longer a .300 hitter, but he brings so many other intangibles to the game that's not seen in the boxscore.

Wow! Just got done watching. What a showdown to end the game. A nail biting finish. Bonds vs. Street.

The A's are 1 up.. for now.

WTF happened!?!?

I was in a restaurant and we were leading 7-0, came home to find we lost 8-7.

I don't care how many players we have injured, or who's in a slump, I just know we lost because of something Macha did or didn't do.

Billy Beane, why did you rehire that moron of a coach, why?????????????? :mad: :mad: :mad:

Allen, I am still sick from that game.

IMO, the emergency starter was left in too long, but considering the shambles the bullpen is in with injuries, I can sort of see why. Basically, the A's up 7-0, based loaded with 2 outs in the 6th and Steve Karsay (who couldn't cut it when he was young, is no longer young, no longer handsome and still can't cut it) gives up grand slam and then a solo HR. A's up 7-6. In the 8th gives up another HR. GAme tied. In the 9th they brought in Huston Street to hold the tie and he gave up another HR. Texas scored 8 runs on home runs.
With 2 starters out, 2 relievers are now pressed into starting duty and Justin Deuscherer is also out. The team is sorely lacking in pitchers who can come in and eat innings. Just like Zito in Chicago earlier this week, the starters do their job and then the lead is lost. And the whole point of a lot of the offseason moves was to strengthen the bullpen, the worst in the AL last year!

I am just glad I had an evening appt and had to turn off the radio with one out in the bottom of the 6th.

Usually my timing isn't so good. Amazing how that makes me feel so much more benign about our troubles.

We sorely miss an effective Duke. Street's performance is troubling as well. I half expected him to blow last Friday's 1-0 save too.

Can't blame Macha for this one. We are forced to rely on guys who shouldnt be in these roles. We are hoping Gaudin, Karsay, Flores and Casilla will be effective, and they are marginal ML pitchers.

Was anyone else as ecstatic as I was to see Kendall hit his 1st HR in nearly 2 years ending the longest homerless streak in the majors? I couldn't believe I was there to witness it. Got to see the game for the first time in a luxury suite. I could very eeeasily get use to that - all you can eat and drink; and drink we did.

The next longest homerless streak belongs to, correct me if I'm wrong, Tony Womack, who last I heard was w/ one of the NY teams.

You're lucky, I was stuck at work. I have yet to even see a replay!

Okay, we're 3 and 1 in June. This has been around the time when this team starts to heat up and taking off on one of their amazing 2nd half runs.

And the starting pitching has been the key: Barry Zito has been lights out surrendering 1 run in his last 28 or so innings. Canadian hunk, Rich Harden is back from the IR, and pitched well in his last start. The Big Hurt looks like he finally found his stroke. The bullpen is still a work in progress.

Here's the pitching match-up for the series at The Jake:

Gm 1: LHP, Barry Zito (5-3, 2.87 ERA) vs. RHP, Jake Westbrook (5-3, 5.00 ERA)

Gm 2: RHP, Joe Blanton (5-5, 5.21 ERA) vs. RHP, Paul Byrd (4-4, 5.43 ERA)

Gm 3: RHP, Kirk Saarloos (2-4, 5.04 ERA) vs. RHP, Jason Johnson (3-5, 5.92 ERA)

I'm going to go out on a limb and say we take 2 of 3 from the Indians and finish the road trip with a 5 and 1 record, which will bring us back over .500

Need I say more...

Nice call Allen.

Let's hope all the guys step it up in the absence of Ellis, Big Hurt, (not for long) Keenedy, and Duke being out.

Last thing I want to hear at this point is excuses because of injuries. We just did something that hasnt happened in 12 years for g-d's sake

I'll be ther Wed and Sunday. We need to keep it up at home. Interleague is coming, and that is OUR time.

I'll go out on a limb and predict 4-2 stand.

I'll be there Saturday too.
The A's will never use injuries as an excuse. They have won too many times with subs and fill ins. From Troy Neal to Marco Scutaro.

I heard the Duke will be pitching in AAA pretty soon. So, we should have him back by next week. I'll be there for all 3 w/ Seattle. I'm hoping to catch either the Friday or Sunday Dodgers' game.

It's nearly impossible for me to go to weeknight games since I start work at 6:30 AM and have a long commute. Only exceptional things like the 20th consecutive win.
But in late July I am taking a week's vacation and plan to go to the games every day.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but look what I came across...
Our Ace might be out for the entire season.

Saw that, Allen. Look at the bright side. They are really unlikely to trade Zito now.
Poor Harden, if he could stay healthy he'd win a Cy Young.

Good news, Harden does not need Tommy John surgery.
A's are now in first place after 7 consecutive wins.
Only 13 more to go to match The Streak!

Where did you hear this. Is there a link? I'm a pessimist when it comes to Harden. He's becoming more and more like Prior and Wood. I'm sure Beane will try to snag a SP by the trade deadline if one can be had.

Wouldn't it be something if we could somehow land Oakland native, Dontrelle Willis?

Okay, so I must interject here because I'm curious...

After a 10-game win streak, the A's have been blanked by The Rockies in consecutive games (yes, the ROCKIES, even if they are an abbarition so far this season). Even though they have won 9 consecutive games against Seattle, they are only 3.5 games ahead of them in the division, I believe.

And, yes, I live in Seattle and am wondering the take on them outside the Northwest. Their staff ERA and batting average are amongst the top 10 in the AL (not saying much, but still), despite being shutout 8 times so far this season.

Are they a potential threat after having won 10 of their past 14 games (sans the Oakland sweep, that's 10 of 11)? The bulk of their schedule is yet to approach, but hey, that's why there's the dog days of summer, right?

*Crosses fingers* Be kind.

The AL West is pretty close. But my money, if I had any, would still be on the A's with their history of second half surges. And this time they won't be starting from way out.
I don't have a link to the Rich Harden non-surgery, it was in the Chronicle.

The team overall have been ravaged by injuries to key players: Harden, Kotsay, Frank Thomas, Milton Bradley, The Duke, Mark Ellis, and Joe Kennedy are all on the DL (did I miss anyone?). Billy Beane must have foreseen this because the team is stocked with reliable back-ups, while players like Zito, Swisher, and Chavez (playing hurt) have stepped up their games.

Overall, I have to credit our recent success to good starting pitching, which has allowed us to stay in and eventually win games that we’ve been losing earlier in the year. I think our team ERA is #2 in the AL behind Detroit’s. Even Esteban Loaiza has pitched well after his return from the DL, minus his last start of course. The bullpen is still patchwork, but Huston Street has returned to form and Chad Gaudin has been a good fill-in for the Duke in long relief.

If we’re winning with this group, I can’t wait to see what we’ll do once everyone is healthy again. For some strange reason, we’ve had Seattle’s # all year. But my main concern is still Anaheim. It’s way too early to count them out. Texas will eventually fade into the sunset due to their weak SP.

I saw us possibly struggling against the Rockies, Jason Jennings in game 2, but getting blanked by Lil Kim in game 1 was inexcusable. :confused:

Jepson,

I'd say yes. Seattle is playing really well right now, so this A's fan is not taking them lightly. But for some reason you all have laid down for the A's so we'll see. I like our chances as long as the pitching holds up. And as along as we can play at 500 with thomas and Bradley out we should be OK.

This division is still too tight to count anybody out. But withthe Angels recent Div winning history, most A's fans' concerns are arround hem rather than the M's.

It's starting again...

Although the A's traditionally catch fire and establish playoff berths beginning in July, how long can it last? The Mariners are now 2 games back of Oakland after winning their fourth in a row and 9th of 11. Ichiro has 121 hits, 11 ahead of his 2004 hit-smashing record at this time that year. They are 12-2 in Interleague play and finally over .500 for the first time since April 15. So, where's the respect?

The AL West is going to be a dogfight to the end, as usual. Although I am worried about the A's because they tend to pull away in July, it seems that they are similar to the Mariners in terms of good starting pitching, good bullpen and underachieving hitters. So, how's it gonna end??

A's at Redsux, first meeting of the season. Let's hope our bats come out of hibernation. No Chavez tonight - replaced by Antonio Perez.

RHP, Esteban Loaiza (3-5; 6.43 ERA) opens the 4-game series 2nite against rookie LHP, Jon Lester (4-0; 3.00 ERA,) who's been quite impressive since being called up. Currently trailing 3-1. The lone run came off a solo homer from Nick Swisher.

We should also see Milton Bradley back in the lineup very soon.

The weekend games as follows:

Fri: 7/14 A's (Zito) vs. Bos (Beckett)

Sat: 7/15 A's (Haren) vs. Bos (Schilling)

Sun: 7/16 A's (Blanton) vs. Bos (Wakefield)

Let's Go OAK-LAND!!!

Jim Allen writes on Outsports today that the A's are "second half chokers". Has Mr. Allen looked at the A's second half record for the past 5 or 6 years? Only the best in baseball.

I am seriously worried about the A's 15-2 blasting of the Dead Sox. That is a month's worth of runs in one game for Oakland! They may be shut out 5 consecutive days, having used up their full quota of runs for July.