JUST WHAT THEY DIDN'T NEED

Pitchy Rich has thrown 29 pitches in the first innings and blown the one run lead he was spotted with in the top of the 1st. After Todd Walker singled and walking Manny Ramirez, Harden left a forball that didn't fork out over the plate that landed out in the cheap seats in rightfield.

Eric Byrnes is in the lineup tonight. It looks like Byrnes has become Macha's whipping boy since Adam Piatt went to Tampa Bay and they A's got zero, nada, nothing in return. Byrnes got a start last week against a knuckleballer and was set to start tonight against Pedro Martinez. Then Macha will complain Byrnes isn't producing. Sort of like Piatt didn't produce when Macha was giving out at bats to Piatt like a fat kid giving up Halloween candy.

Well, Byrnes just doubled with two outs and Scott Hatteberg on first, but Chris Singleton couldn't come through.

The A's are doing everything they can to stay in the ballgame. Harden is hurting the A's more than he's helping at this point, giving up four runs on 49 pitches through two innings. Another Mark Ellis double led to an RBI single by Eric Chavez. 4-2 Sawx in da thoyd.