Wake Up, Little Snoozies

If anyone can find the team that won an American League record 20 straight games, please inform them another team in Oakland is sullying their name.

The A's are playing as if they were already post-season bound and that the regular season, day-to-day grind takes care of itself.

Last Friday they were in 1st place in the AL West by a half game. Entering play tonight they are in second place, three games back.

Their only defense can be the unusual media attention with Moneyball and the Twins series.

Really, though, for a team that's gone to the post-season the last three years, the A's are criminally under covered by the national media and the local media, to boot.

That Ain't Dancin', Sally

So what's wrong?

Well, did you ever think there would come a point where you would have to take a step back and utter, "where would this team be without Eric Byrnes?"

That's exactly the situation. Byrnes has as many RBI as Eric Chavez. That's pathetic. Sure Byrnes is playing well, but not too far over his head. Chavez is a 'slow starter', but he's been given days off to rest and that hasn't seemed to help. His approach against left-handers has changed. He no longer attacks the pitch form a left-hander and merely tries to flip the ball into left-center with a 70-75% swing.

With Jermaine Dye making noise about returning in two weeks there will be a spot needed to slide all $12 million of him into. Erubiel Durazo and Dye platooning at DH for a few days and Byrnes and Singleton platooning in center is the most likely scenario.

The other scenario is going to be what happens to Terrence Long.

Rumors to the extent that some in the front office are making a floatation device on which Long can be sent out to drift are untrue.

T Long and Eric Byrnes might begin a platoon in left. Byrnes would play left or center depending on Singleton, essenatially making Byrnes the full time outfielder and Terrence Long the 4th outfielder.

That's still a few weeks away, but it needs to be appraoched. Long hasn't had an extra base hit in over a week and is in danger of going hitless this week.

Long's last homerun was an inside the park job, and hit his last homerun over a wall in April. His play in the field has been unspectacular with ten hop throws into the infield and failing to throw behind runners when he has no chance of getting them at the plate.

Ted Lilly needs a fourth pitch. That's a whole 'nother post we'll get to, but his three and half pitch repitoire is not holding up.

We do need to ask, what are Jason Grabowski, Frank Menechino, Ron Gant and Adam Piatt doing on the roster if they are NEVER if RARELY going to see the lineup, let alone the field, and why isn't Jim Mecir in Sacramento until he is ready? 100% is never going to happen for Jim, but if he can't pitch in back to back weeks, what's the point?

On the subject of the bullpen, Ken Macha is over-working Chad Bradofrd and destroying what little confidence he posesses. Keith Foulke can get 5 out saves and should have been on the bump after Ricardo Rincon allowed a runner to get to second with less than two out on Wednesday.

In short, this team could very easily go into a downward spiral in a hurry.