Tigers 6, Athletics 3
I'll leave the full funeral for this series to Sr. Raymond. Suffice to say, I really doubt it was the best idea to pitch Huston Street for three consecutive innings.
Cardinals 5, Mets 0
Leshcart Evets. Doesn't that sound nice, Steve? Wouldn't you like to say that? Leschart Evets. Leschart Evets.
I have no real analysis for this game. I didn't watch any of it. That is one ugly box score. Lets try to glean positives. 1) The real players in the Mets bullpen got the day off. 2) Steve Trachsel may be injured. 3) Would it really be the National League playoffs if there wasn't a Game 7 that involved Darren Oliver and Jeff Suppan?
The Mets live on, one thing I've noticed about them this year is that they always do better when nobody thinks they've got any chance. Tommorow will involve Oliver Perez, so I suspect that line of thinking will be prevalent. An interesting fact about Oliver Perez is that he's left-handed, which means TLR will probably start Scott Rolen and relegate Scott Spiezio to the bench. An interesting fact about Scott Spiezio is that his beard is made out of dead animal corpses.
Showing posts with label alcs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label alcs. Show all posts
Sunday, October 15, 2006
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Postseason Recap: Fuck. Also, Fuck.
Satanic Fowl 9, Mets 6 - Okay, well. Lets get this out of the way. Willie made a poor move in the seventh leaving Mota in after the first two runners got on. Mota, throughout the postseason, has pitched HORRENDOUSLY in his second inning of work two of three times he has been summoned. Why you would try to go to the well again, I just don't understand. Theres nothing there.
That said, Wagner blew the game. It's going to happen ten percent of the time, it happened here. I'm not going to Benitez this guy, except to say that despite him being a great closer, he has bad games every once in awhile. When the Mets get to the bullpen with a lead, we should be winning 90% of the games. Well, this is the 10%.
Things to be encouraged by: We slapped around Chris Carpenter. We slapped around Carptenter but not Weaver? The difference is in the strike zones. Last night, Tim Welke's strike zone had it's own tax zone, this game, the umpire called it much tighter, but blew a few more calls (which I'll get into). If we can get their best pitcher down, we should be able to whip the rest of them.
Gotta hand it to the Cardinal relievers, they just keep getting clutch outs. The Beltran double play was one of the turning points of the game. They stranded Lo Duca on second with one out as well. These guys will eventually turn south though, they are pitching over their heads in my opinion.
Okay, John Maine. Not a productive outing in any way, shape, or manner. Heres what I saw: First inning was wonderful. Second inning, he had the 2-2 to Edmonds called a ball, and that call got to him and he started trying to be too perfect. At that point, he kept on getting ahead of the hitters, but he would throw junk pitches from 0-2 to 4-2. That killed him. Then after the Edmonds homer, he just gave up any sembelance of command and started throwing ball after ball and hoping they'd put it in play and get out. Not a great approach. He needs to work on his approach with runners on base, and he really does seem shell-shocked out there. Chillax kid.
Also, I have written a haiku about Scott Spiezio:
Who dyes a beard red?
A white trash cunt haunts Mota.
Start Scott Rolen, please.
Detroit 3, Oakland 0
Well if Kenny Rogers is just going to do this every game, we're not going to have much of a World Series. This wasn't a matter of the A's stranding runners; this was a matter of their asses getting REAMED.
I'd ask the A's to emulate the Boston Red Sox, but then their fans would all turn into smug cunts too; theres no need for more smug cunts in this world.
That said, Wagner blew the game. It's going to happen ten percent of the time, it happened here. I'm not going to Benitez this guy, except to say that despite him being a great closer, he has bad games every once in awhile. When the Mets get to the bullpen with a lead, we should be winning 90% of the games. Well, this is the 10%.
Things to be encouraged by: We slapped around Chris Carpenter. We slapped around Carptenter but not Weaver? The difference is in the strike zones. Last night, Tim Welke's strike zone had it's own tax zone, this game, the umpire called it much tighter, but blew a few more calls (which I'll get into). If we can get their best pitcher down, we should be able to whip the rest of them.
Gotta hand it to the Cardinal relievers, they just keep getting clutch outs. The Beltran double play was one of the turning points of the game. They stranded Lo Duca on second with one out as well. These guys will eventually turn south though, they are pitching over their heads in my opinion.
Okay, John Maine. Not a productive outing in any way, shape, or manner. Heres what I saw: First inning was wonderful. Second inning, he had the 2-2 to Edmonds called a ball, and that call got to him and he started trying to be too perfect. At that point, he kept on getting ahead of the hitters, but he would throw junk pitches from 0-2 to 4-2. That killed him. Then after the Edmonds homer, he just gave up any sembelance of command and started throwing ball after ball and hoping they'd put it in play and get out. Not a great approach. He needs to work on his approach with runners on base, and he really does seem shell-shocked out there. Chillax kid.
Also, I have written a haiku about Scott Spiezio:
Who dyes a beard red?
A white trash cunt haunts Mota.
Start Scott Rolen, please.
Detroit 3, Oakland 0
Well if Kenny Rogers is just going to do this every game, we're not going to have much of a World Series. This wasn't a matter of the A's stranding runners; this was a matter of their asses getting REAMED.
I'd ask the A's to emulate the Boston Red Sox, but then their fans would all turn into smug cunts too; theres no need for more smug cunts in this world.
Friday, October 13, 2006
Postseason Recap: A's falter, Weaver good?
Detroit 5, Oakland 1
Detroit 8, Oakland 5
In game one, the A's came out a lot like the Twins did in their first couple of games: fighting and clawing to strand every runner possible. They managed to score one on a groundout, but took the dreaded 0-for with RISP that decided this game. The Tigers got three of their runs on two out RBI's as Barry Zito took his potential FA treasure trove from 15 million a year to 14 million a year.
In game two, the Tigers got a career game from the unlikely Alexis Gomez and started Neifi Perez for some reason as they KO'ed Esteban Loaiza. Oh I know Sean Casey is injured. Theres just still no reason to ever start Neifi Perez. The A's stranded eight more runners and couldn't knock out Nate Robertson.
I had an idea that the Tigers may be doing this by putting low OBP/high SLG guys in the lineup, thinking maybe that they were drawing fewer walks, however, they've drawn the second most among teams remaining. Maybe it's just that since everyone in the lineup other than Polanco is a power threat, pitchers still have to pitch carefully. Wheras good pitchers won't walk hitters like David Eckstein in the postseason.
Mets 2, Satanic Fowl 0
I like Carlos Beltran. He hits homers for the New York Mets.
No really, I saw someone on ESPN this morning (Brantley? I think) talking about how stupid it was for TLR to leave Jeff Weaver in to face him. Jeff Weaver had a one-hit shutout and there were two outs. If Tony had taken him out in that instance, it would've been GROSS incompetence. A bigger problem for the Redbirds is that with the Mets' perceived ability to not be able to hit left-handers, they used Tyler Johnson for 20 pitches and this series is going to play five straight games (or four, I wouldn't complain if there were four). The only other left-hander in their pen is Randy "BERMAN THINKS I AM FUNNY" Flores, who had a 5.8 ERA.
My gut reaction when I saw the Mets rotation being put to the test in five straight games was it was going to hurt the Mets because Randolph wouldn't be able to be as proactive. But what about the Satanic Fowl? They have just two left-handers in their pen. Also, their bullpen is horrendous. I don't care what they've done so far in the postseason, the only real pitcher of any competence is Wainwright.
(No Box Scores Yet)
Nippon Ham Fighers 3, Softbank Hawks 1
Nippon Ham Fighers 1, Softbank Hawks 0
In game one, right-hander Yu Darvish turned out to be too much for the Hawks, as he threw a CG and struck out eleven. Darvish allowed his run in the first on a sacrifice fly after back-to-back hits and a bunt. The Fighters took the lead for good on Tsuyoshi Shinjo's two-out single in the third.
Another gutwrenching loss for Kazumi Saito in Game Two, as he went a CG and only gave up the winning run in the ninth off an infield single to Atsunori Inaba. He had walked the leadoff hitter, Hichori Morimoto, on four pitches. He was bunted over, and then they intentionally walked PL HR King Michihiro Ogasawara to pitch to Fernando Seguignol. Seguignol struck out, but the infield single by Inaba won the game for the Figters. Saito was matched by 22-year-old rookie lefthander Tomoya Yagi, who threw the CG SO for the Fighters to send them to their first Japan Series since 1981.
In other news, Chunichi clinched the CL by taking the Yomiuri Giants 9-3 in 12 innings. Fukudome broke the tie with a bases loaded single and then Tyrone Woods put the game away for good with his second grand slam in two days, and 47th of the year (leading all of Japanese baseball). Ham Fighters-Dragons will meet in the Japan Series, and FC will be previewing it here sometime this coming week.
Detroit 8, Oakland 5
In game one, the A's came out a lot like the Twins did in their first couple of games: fighting and clawing to strand every runner possible. They managed to score one on a groundout, but took the dreaded 0-for with RISP that decided this game. The Tigers got three of their runs on two out RBI's as Barry Zito took his potential FA treasure trove from 15 million a year to 14 million a year.
In game two, the Tigers got a career game from the unlikely Alexis Gomez and started Neifi Perez for some reason as they KO'ed Esteban Loaiza. Oh I know Sean Casey is injured. Theres just still no reason to ever start Neifi Perez. The A's stranded eight more runners and couldn't knock out Nate Robertson.
I had an idea that the Tigers may be doing this by putting low OBP/high SLG guys in the lineup, thinking maybe that they were drawing fewer walks, however, they've drawn the second most among teams remaining. Maybe it's just that since everyone in the lineup other than Polanco is a power threat, pitchers still have to pitch carefully. Wheras good pitchers won't walk hitters like David Eckstein in the postseason.
Mets 2, Satanic Fowl 0
I like Carlos Beltran. He hits homers for the New York Mets.
No really, I saw someone on ESPN this morning (Brantley? I think) talking about how stupid it was for TLR to leave Jeff Weaver in to face him. Jeff Weaver had a one-hit shutout and there were two outs. If Tony had taken him out in that instance, it would've been GROSS incompetence. A bigger problem for the Redbirds is that with the Mets' perceived ability to not be able to hit left-handers, they used Tyler Johnson for 20 pitches and this series is going to play five straight games (or four, I wouldn't complain if there were four). The only other left-hander in their pen is Randy "BERMAN THINKS I AM FUNNY" Flores, who had a 5.8 ERA.
My gut reaction when I saw the Mets rotation being put to the test in five straight games was it was going to hurt the Mets because Randolph wouldn't be able to be as proactive. But what about the Satanic Fowl? They have just two left-handers in their pen. Also, their bullpen is horrendous. I don't care what they've done so far in the postseason, the only real pitcher of any competence is Wainwright.
(No Box Scores Yet)
Nippon Ham Fighers 3, Softbank Hawks 1
Nippon Ham Fighers 1, Softbank Hawks 0
In game one, right-hander Yu Darvish turned out to be too much for the Hawks, as he threw a CG and struck out eleven. Darvish allowed his run in the first on a sacrifice fly after back-to-back hits and a bunt. The Fighters took the lead for good on Tsuyoshi Shinjo's two-out single in the third.
Another gutwrenching loss for Kazumi Saito in Game Two, as he went a CG and only gave up the winning run in the ninth off an infield single to Atsunori Inaba. He had walked the leadoff hitter, Hichori Morimoto, on four pitches. He was bunted over, and then they intentionally walked PL HR King Michihiro Ogasawara to pitch to Fernando Seguignol. Seguignol struck out, but the infield single by Inaba won the game for the Figters. Saito was matched by 22-year-old rookie lefthander Tomoya Yagi, who threw the CG SO for the Fighters to send them to their first Japan Series since 1981.
In other news, Chunichi clinched the CL by taking the Yomiuri Giants 9-3 in 12 innings. Fukudome broke the tie with a bases loaded single and then Tyrone Woods put the game away for good with his second grand slam in two days, and 47th of the year (leading all of Japanese baseball). Ham Fighters-Dragons will meet in the Japan Series, and FC will be previewing it here sometime this coming week.
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Being down 2-0 Sucks
It feels real emtpy. Let me make one thing clear, though: We are NOT out of this. But, if we do in fact want to be in this, the Oakland A's absolutely MUST win Games 3 and 4. No bones about it. For that to happen, we need:
1)Rich Harden to pitch up to his talent level. Pretty simple, he either brings it like we've seen him bring it before, or we're left hoping for a 2004 Red Sox like resurgence.
2)Dan Haren steps up big. The man has the stuff, the poise, and the smarts to put in a huge start against the Tigers. Will he? I don't know, but I know he can, and he knows he can, so we've got a fighting chance.
3)Frank Thomas wakes up. In what might have been one of the biggest blue-ball moments in post season history, Thomas left 3 men on base as he popped out tonight as we sat losing by 3. It had the makings of one of those magical, unforgettable, Kirk Gibson baseball moments. It didn't happen, but make no mistake, this man can still hit. If the sleeping giant wakes up, we're in all that better a position.
Finally...
4)The defense shows back up. Play Mark Kiger at second if you must, because D'Angelo Jimenez is a joke. Nick Swisher, you need to smarten up yourself, both at the plate and on the field. Eric Chavez, be the gold glover you are. Tonight you couldve made a play that you had no real business making, that could very well have saved the game early on for us. When you're on your best, you're talented enough defensively to make that play and shift the game. We need that out of you.
Again, it's only 2-0, and I like Harden vs. Rogers, and Haren vs. Bonderman. We are not done by any means just yet.
In the meantime, the Sharks look good so far, at least. And there's always the Warriors coming up. They never let you down. Nice consistent suckery. (Although now that Donnieboy's back, we may actually have a shot there too.)
Again, don't count out these A's just yet. They're a resilient bunch.
1)Rich Harden to pitch up to his talent level. Pretty simple, he either brings it like we've seen him bring it before, or we're left hoping for a 2004 Red Sox like resurgence.
2)Dan Haren steps up big. The man has the stuff, the poise, and the smarts to put in a huge start against the Tigers. Will he? I don't know, but I know he can, and he knows he can, so we've got a fighting chance.
3)Frank Thomas wakes up. In what might have been one of the biggest blue-ball moments in post season history, Thomas left 3 men on base as he popped out tonight as we sat losing by 3. It had the makings of one of those magical, unforgettable, Kirk Gibson baseball moments. It didn't happen, but make no mistake, this man can still hit. If the sleeping giant wakes up, we're in all that better a position.
Finally...
4)The defense shows back up. Play Mark Kiger at second if you must, because D'Angelo Jimenez is a joke. Nick Swisher, you need to smarten up yourself, both at the plate and on the field. Eric Chavez, be the gold glover you are. Tonight you couldve made a play that you had no real business making, that could very well have saved the game early on for us. When you're on your best, you're talented enough defensively to make that play and shift the game. We need that out of you.
Again, it's only 2-0, and I like Harden vs. Rogers, and Haren vs. Bonderman. We are not done by any means just yet.
In the meantime, the Sharks look good so far, at least. And there's always the Warriors coming up. They never let you down. Nice consistent suckery. (Although now that Donnieboy's back, we may actually have a shot there too.)
Again, don't count out these A's just yet. They're a resilient bunch.
Monday, October 09, 2006
I was asked to make a post about the ALCS
So, as an A's fan, what's it feel like being one day away from watching my team play in the deepest playoff game it's played in during my relevant lifetime? (They last played in an ALCS in 1992. I was 5 years old. Suffice it to say, I wasn't quite aware it was going on.)
Honestly, I have no freaking idea.
Let me explain. In light of the debacle that was A's postseason baseball 2000-2003, all I've come to want, to hope for, out of the playoffs is that we'd just get past the first round. Really, that's all I've ever wanted. Now that we've actually done that, I don't know how to take the next step. I'm rather relaxed about this series, when I feel I ought to be tense in ways unimaginable. Maybe if we were playing the hated Yankees instead of the feel-good Tigers. Maybe if they were saying the A's had no chance in this. I dunno. Don't get me wrong. I am, by all humanly measures, as excited as can be to see them playing on such a grand scale. But, where I feel awkward about the whole situation, is that I just don't have that "omigodomigodomigodomigod" tension in me right now. Who knows, maybe by game time it'll come. I've never been in this position before. But, there you have it. I'm excited as hell that we're here, but I'm really not nervous at all for some reason. I just feel too good about this team, this year.
With that in mind, I'm now going to follow up my Reasons Why The A's Can Beat The Twins with a Reasons Why The A's Can Beat The Tigers:
1) The lucky Bill King shirt: I bought this shirt in the wake of longtime A's radio man Bill King's unfortunate death before the season, when they went on sale at athleticsnation.com. Around mid season I finally decided to just start wearing it under my Nick Swisher jersey to every game. I went to 8 games with that shirt on, and the A's went 8-0 in those games. I wore that shirt (under other shirts) again on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. They won on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. This shit's gold.
2) The Tigers will help our pitchers out: Like the Twins before them, Detroit's free swingers will do the job for Zito, Loaiza, Haren, et al. If they're smart, they'll be working the counts and making guys like Zito (especially Zito) work out of tough jams. I have a feeling they'll be too swing happy though against the soft stuff most of our guys throw.
3) Marco Scutaro: Dude's been coming up big this October, and I only expect that to continue. He's one of the few guys on this team you can expect to turn a potentially great situation into a great situation. Frank Thomas also fits this description.
4) Home field advantage: The Oakland Coliseum is a tough place to play for a team like the Tigers. They make a lot of contact, and with all our foul territory, they're likely to find themselves making foul outs at a rate they just aren't used to. Also, center field, butchered by the Raiders, will be much more navigable for someone like Mark Kotsay who's used to it than it will be for young, inexperienced Curtis Granderson or whoever else may be out there. Also, A's fans can bring tha noize.
5) Rich Harden: The unknown quantity. He's had enough rest since his last outing in Anaheim, and if he can make a start and last 6 or 7 healthy innings, it'll be VERY hard to beat us in that game. Also, if he starts Game 3 and we're looking at a Game 6 or 7 in which he doesn't start, he could be an absolute shut down reliever outta the pen for those games as well.
6) Smart baseball: The A's exemplified it in the Twins series, taking the extra base at the right time, playing clean defense, managing well. If they run this efficiently again in the ALCS, the Tigers will have their hands full.
So there you have it. If we come back next week and the Tigers are in the World Series, look for posts by me to abruptly cease. Forever.
Honestly, I have no freaking idea.
Let me explain. In light of the debacle that was A's postseason baseball 2000-2003, all I've come to want, to hope for, out of the playoffs is that we'd just get past the first round. Really, that's all I've ever wanted. Now that we've actually done that, I don't know how to take the next step. I'm rather relaxed about this series, when I feel I ought to be tense in ways unimaginable. Maybe if we were playing the hated Yankees instead of the feel-good Tigers. Maybe if they were saying the A's had no chance in this. I dunno. Don't get me wrong. I am, by all humanly measures, as excited as can be to see them playing on such a grand scale. But, where I feel awkward about the whole situation, is that I just don't have that "omigodomigodomigodomigod" tension in me right now. Who knows, maybe by game time it'll come. I've never been in this position before. But, there you have it. I'm excited as hell that we're here, but I'm really not nervous at all for some reason. I just feel too good about this team, this year.
With that in mind, I'm now going to follow up my Reasons Why The A's Can Beat The Twins with a Reasons Why The A's Can Beat The Tigers:
1) The lucky Bill King shirt: I bought this shirt in the wake of longtime A's radio man Bill King's unfortunate death before the season, when they went on sale at athleticsnation.com. Around mid season I finally decided to just start wearing it under my Nick Swisher jersey to every game. I went to 8 games with that shirt on, and the A's went 8-0 in those games. I wore that shirt (under other shirts) again on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. They won on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. This shit's gold.
2) The Tigers will help our pitchers out: Like the Twins before them, Detroit's free swingers will do the job for Zito, Loaiza, Haren, et al. If they're smart, they'll be working the counts and making guys like Zito (especially Zito) work out of tough jams. I have a feeling they'll be too swing happy though against the soft stuff most of our guys throw.
3) Marco Scutaro: Dude's been coming up big this October, and I only expect that to continue. He's one of the few guys on this team you can expect to turn a potentially great situation into a great situation. Frank Thomas also fits this description.
4) Home field advantage: The Oakland Coliseum is a tough place to play for a team like the Tigers. They make a lot of contact, and with all our foul territory, they're likely to find themselves making foul outs at a rate they just aren't used to. Also, center field, butchered by the Raiders, will be much more navigable for someone like Mark Kotsay who's used to it than it will be for young, inexperienced Curtis Granderson or whoever else may be out there. Also, A's fans can bring tha noize.
5) Rich Harden: The unknown quantity. He's had enough rest since his last outing in Anaheim, and if he can make a start and last 6 or 7 healthy innings, it'll be VERY hard to beat us in that game. Also, if he starts Game 3 and we're looking at a Game 6 or 7 in which he doesn't start, he could be an absolute shut down reliever outta the pen for those games as well.
6) Smart baseball: The A's exemplified it in the Twins series, taking the extra base at the right time, playing clean defense, managing well. If they run this efficiently again in the ALCS, the Tigers will have their hands full.
So there you have it. If we come back next week and the Tigers are in the World Series, look for posts by me to abruptly cease. Forever.
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