disarcina

ah, looked kinda high -- might have been a strike. oh well.

what is this guys ball to strike ratio? has to be just awful.......be patient.

we've really stung the ball ----- M's runs were on a bunt that should have been played and a seeing eye ground ball.......that's life and baseball......

Furbush seems to have real control issues..........let's be patient here.

ah -- base hit -- Freese couldn't do much more there -- actually played it OK there. seeing eye infield single.....makes our life a lot more difficult in the bottom half of the inning.......

oh , we've had our chances on offense -- to be sure -- but can always come back -- Halos have some bats. starter is out and their pen is in......we can do this -- IF WE HOLD THEM HERE.

where did that pitch miss?

got him -- if we can get out of this inning with no further damage -- Halos offense can pull this thing out. I actually like the Intentional BB here -- hope it does not back fire. a nice 4-2-3 GIDP would be great.

can't lose this guy ---no walks.

bad decision making by Freese at third there........this guy's D does not impress me much and now his basic decision making on D looks weak as well.

One of the A's new rotation guys from the Cubs, Hammel, made his second start for the A's tonight vs. Baltimore. Hammel did not do well in his first start for the A's. Today his line was 2 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, Gave up 2 HR. Shmardija (spelled wrong) has pitched fairly effectively but the second hurler of the duo, Hammel, does not have a quality start for the A's so far.

I'd trade Jepsen but the value you list for him is probably well above what other teams willing to pay. Jepsen probably better on our roster than trading him for whatever we could get for him at this point. Jepsen is a pen depth guy not really even a set up guy........not much value.

pretty solid pen........let's see if everyone can perform well and, actually, as the old saying goes, many hands make for light work........ so if all the pen guys can perform it means none of them should be over-worked down the stretch. and in a game like last night's 16 inning win, we need them all........ this pen line up should allow the Halos to shorten games for the starters the rest of the way which really helps the rotation towards season's end. I am hoping Scioscia will mix and match with this group and not resort to 'formula' managing using this guy in one defined role and that guy in another. with a pen this deep, you can afford to play the match ups and keep the other side off stride and always guessing.......... I am convinced when the other team KNOWS that pitcher X is coming in for the 8th and pitcher Y for the 9th, well, if they make game substitutions the manager does that with that 'formula' and potential match up in mind........when you mess with them and mix it up, the other side will have to guess what's going to happen rather than just KNOW.

thanks, Chuck -- no big deal - also, pleased that you are not laying blame off on a low level staff member in the Cincinnati office...........

I honestly forgot he was on the team and perhaps that because he's been at SLC for the past however many months. I was amazed this guy made the roster out of ST (he did have a good Spring). I would have kept Grant Green after camp broke and placed him on the 25 man roster opening day. But Stewart did help in the early going, was fairly versatile and filled in for Freese at 3B (with some good results at the plate in April) when Freese was hurt. Then Freese returned and we all realized we weren't missing much.........last night's game an example........I thought Scioscia missed some great opportunities from the 7th inning on to pinch run for Freese and send in McDonald or Green as a defensive replacement..........McDonald ended up replacing Aybar when Aybar left in the 9th....... one of the better roster decisions the Halos made was to keep McDonald.......couldn't figure out why guys like Stewart and McDonald were even invited to ST (at that time was still had Romine for D specialist duties at MIF) as we seemed to have no place for them........but McDonald is great with the glove, has actually hit (early on, not so much lately) better than expected, can be called upon to come up and put down a near perfect sac bunt, can pinch run and provides some real veteran leadership almost bench coach like presence in the dugout/ clubhouse........I thought the play he made last night to just hold the glove on Cano at 2B after that 'apparent' double was classic veteran style play that the younger players just miss......it may well have been the difference between an extra winning win or loss........

'Remember the Result of 2002?" Absolutely.......every Halos fan does -- I was at the ALDS clincher vs. the Yankees, the series where K-Rod really emerged on the scene. My point is -- had the current TWO WILD CARD PLAYOFF team format been in place then -- well, the result may well have been different. and the TWO WILD CARD PLAYOFF team format PLUS a potential AL West regular season tie may really complicate things and make the LOSER of the AL West one game playoff a real LONG SHOT.

this is going to shape up a lot like 2002 because I don't see Oakland losing games at a time any time soon. remember 2002 -- we went on a heck of stretch run and still couldn't catch up with the A's. this thing different this time is that a Wild Card spot probably nets us (or Oakland) a one game playoff perhaps against King Felix........and if somehow the A's and Angels are knotted up at the end of the regular season, that ONE GAME playoff for the AL West will be HUGE -- as the LOSER will have to play a SINGLE GAME ELIMINATION game before starting the REAL PLAYOFFs and may have to pitch starter number three not only for the REAL PLAYOFFs opener but twice during that ALDS series.

Haven't read all the posts on this deal but saw the one Jeff Fletcher posted above -- not sure about the inside stuff with the scout (who-ever he is affiliated with) not liking DiPoto -- but the comments Fletcher makes on the trade all make perfect sense to me. Why all the negativity. The scout quoted in the Fletcher post breaks down the aspects of this trade well. Another aspect of this that I think folks (particularly long time, more 'mature' (nice way of saying OLD GUYS) fans like me) sometimes forget is that the baseball time-table of this era is vastly different than 'back in the day' -- with free agency and the MLBPA collective bargaining agreement, look at almost any MLB roster and if you see a team that has even FOUR players that have been with that team for four years, that's almost a rarity. When Jeter retires, he may be the last guy to play his entire (long time) career with one team. Teams are in it, to WIN IT NOW and that's what Arte is saying in this trade. RJ Alvarez is the best of the lot and he may develop into a decent pitcher but right now he just missed a month with an arm issue and has not pitched at the MLB level........meanwhile we have an established MLB closer, late inning guy in Street for the stretch run and for 2015. In MLB today, even 2015 is almost long term........ Needless to say, I like the deal..........when the A's made their deal for the starters, the first thing I noticed is that Beane did not give up (if I recall right) any significant pitching..........we give up Alvarez here for pitching and other position player prospects.......to me the position player guys are fairly easily replaced -- pitching has been proven tougher to get......... This trade gives us a lot of options in the late inning for the pen -- all of a sudden we have a collection of arms down there that we can mix and match into different roles (which is what I would do if I were Scioscia).......I'd mix and match Smith and Street in the set up / closer role and would not go to a 'formula' of this guy always does this role -- I'd keep the opposition off guard and constantly guessing.......La Russa way of managing..........we now have collection of arms of set up and pre-set up guys that can probably shorten the stretch games for our starters to six maybe seven inning games.....that really helps a Weaver, Richards, CJ Wilson et sec. down the stretch run.

TROUT -- geez was I wrong -- glad to be wrong on this one. Selig presenting the award --- thought it might have been a Selig tie -- Trout and Jeter.

FOX analysts -- "Trout could be the next Jeter"

Trout -- ? could be.

MVP -- don't think it wil be Trout. I say either Cabrera OR Jeter. could be a toss up here. Giving it to Jeetz may be a bit too schmaltzy so probably Cabrera......he hit the key dinger. Trout -- maybe -- but the East Coast guys won't vote Anaheim and they don't claim New Jersey........so Jeter or Cabrera.

AL line up is pretty solid.......NL can't match the AL fire-power.

Well, Selig would have called it a tie when it started raining.........

still think that throw from left field to the plate vs. the Halos by Cespedes was one of the best combined catch/ throws I've seen --- not quite the Wertz catch by Mays ---but a darned good play. how come they give out a WWF belt for the HR Derby?