I went away on vacation the last week of April and missed several A’s games. I pretty much missed the whole stretch against the AL West teams, and was only able to catch the finale of the Cleveland series this afternoon.
Despite the good feelings that came from taking two out of three from the defending AL champions, the A’s continued to be up to their old tricks in the Cleveland series – score a little, and hope it holds up. Unfortunately there are going to be more aggravating games than good ones.
Brett Anderson appeared to have no-hit stuff today, as he didn’t give up a hit until the 5th inning, and it was even on a ball that, if Daric Barton has played it perfectly, he might have been able to get the out. It would not have mattered though as Anderson allowed two runs in his nine innings of work, and the A’s offense scored two runs in their nine innings of work.
But, as usual, there were opportunities squandered. They stranded runners in scoring position in the 1st, 5th, 6th,8th, 10th, and 12th innings. The popups after popups were maddening, especially in the 8th when there were runners on second and third with one out and Kurt Suzuki and Coco Crisp both popped out to end the threat.
That wasn’t the worst of it, though. The A’s had a chance to win it on a big hit in the 10th, and with Conor Jackson running on the pitch, Ryan Sweeney appeared to get that big hit. Jackson was rounding 3rd as Shin-Soo Choo picked up the ball in right field, but third base coach Mike Gallego held him up. Choo has a GREAT arm and the throw was a rocket, but you never know in a situation like that. There were two outs, and Kurt Suzuki, who was working on an oh-fer, was on deck. Maybe he should have sent him, and hoped for a throw that was a little off line or Lou Marson dropping the throw. Jackson isn’t a small guy either – maybe you take your chances with Jackson vs. Marson.
But what’s done is done, and the A’s lost a winnable game and a winnable series. They’re on to Kansas City now, back at a familiar place in the standings – right at .500.
Go A’s!!
May 6th, 2011 - 2:26 am
Without doubleguessing Bob Geren, I couldn’t figure the 2d batting spot in the Thursday lineup. D. Barton is a pitch taker, somebody who has a high on-base percentage because of walks, rather than being a “team guy” who pushes on players ahead of him. Such passive performers are usually left for the tail of the batting order. Now that A’s started hitting, when I saw him in the second spot, right away I felt that he would be a rally-killer. And, regrettably, I was not disappointed in the first inning. If Barton’s doubleplay had not happened (anything, but a doubleplay!!), the A’s would have had one-two runs to start off, and the game would be a different one. Anderson would have taken pride, and only a bad decision on relievers, later on, could have damaged the result.
NOTES:
Anderson seems to need special handling, since he seems to get distracted when he starts tiring in the 6th-7th innings. Geren and Romanick have not been very sensitive to such moments among their starting pitchers – the only one among them who seems to take control of his weak moments is Cahill. The others need an encouraging visit to the mound when they start faltering, though that has never been a guarantee of second wind.
Middle relievers keep being unpredictable, so Joe Devine’s progress is encouraging to all of us. However, I still believe that Geren has not created a team spirit among the A’s, so relievers feel as lone warriors out there. That is a psychological reason for their shaky results.
May 6th, 2011 - 9:18 am
Thanks for the comments, Sergio. I definitely agree with you on the relievers. There is no rhyme or reason to it, just “Go out there,” lots of randomness with lots of lefties. Not encouraging.
Thanks for mentioning Joey Devine as well; he’s doing great in Sacramento and hopefully he’ll be ready to help the A’s soon. He sounds closer than Andrew Bailey right now…
May 6th, 2011 - 5:31 pm
I was watching that game, and Conor Jackson would have been DEAD meat at home. It would not have been close. I’m all for aggressive baserunning, but that doesn’t mean being stupid either. Even though Kurt Suzuki was working on an oh-fer, he is still one of our best hitters. Absolute right call by Gallego.