A QUICK ONE WHILE HE'S AWAY

The A’s look to a possible sweep today. And we look for the winning Super Lotto numbers. Hunches and research to back them up beats talking heads any day (not the Talking Heads, they rock).

The silent benefactor has more calculations for you:

Pct of A's Wins -v- Boston Wins
32.911%    3 A's wins - 0 Sox wins
22.080%    3 A's wins - 1 Sox wins
30.967%    3 A's wins - 2 Sox wins
14.042%    2 A's wins - 3 Sox wins


Probability A's Advance:
85.958%


Probability of the A's winning the ALDS with the following sequences:
32.911% W-W-W
22.080% W-W-L-W
30.967% W-W-L-L-W


Probability of losing the ALDS with the following sequences:
14.042% W-W-L-L-L

WHICH LEADS TO

The A’s won’t clinch today. Ted Lilly has ignorantly shrugged off Rick Peterson and is going back to his whip arm angle, which doesn’t necessarily mean poor pitching, though it doesn't help at all. The delivery raises the possibility of injury to a high degree and will result in a lot more pitches missing. Lilly is still not allowed to shake off Ramon Hernandez, not that it will make a difference.

Ted Lilly is also using this playoff run to position himself for an off-season trade as reported by the L.A. Times and the New York papers. Good to know Ted Lilly is all about that team focused priorities thing. Yah, Ted Lilly isn’t stubborn and he’s above board, and all that. Glad to know when we post in the Fan Forums and anything about Lilly, even just his stats, we get blasted and the media backs us up.

As for today’s game we’re predicting 14-4 with Lilly getting a three inning quick hook. Harden and Sparks follow. See how much babying Hernandez and Macha try to give Lilly.

A’s clinch on Sunday.

Hey, we would love it if Lilly were not such a stubborn JACKASS (horse’s ass if you prefer) and willing to accept coaching. But he is uncoachable. Rick Peterson lengthened his stride in the off-season and tuned his mechanics last fall. Lilly performed well until playoffs last season when he couldn’t get an out (reverting back to his old whip-like motion). Again this season he got out of the gate well after A’s tutelage. Then he decided he knew more about his pitching ability than a pitching coach with a psychology degree and years invested in bio-mechanics and decided to start shaking off Ramon Hernandez and using his own mechanics. His fastball lost 2-3 mph and his breaking ball hovered. He got pounded to the point the A’s were going to trade him or possibly even release him at the deadline.

The A’s were able to come to an agreement; Lilly doesn’t shake off Ramon and he gets to pitch. E shakes off Ramon and Macha gives him the hook and he gets buried in AAA. That is freaking sad that a MLB player, a 27 year old, has to be forced to follow the simplest instructions or risk ruining his career.