ED NOTE: Box score of the game.
ED NOTE: Win 12 of the 20 Game Winning Streak.
Good evening, it's a pleasure to serve you, again. Would you prefer your crushing defeat upfront or would you care for a devastating blow to come from behind? Excellent choice, we are always happy to comply with your requests. We have arranged for excellent bullpen work and several extra-base hits.
Boom Not Good, Boom Bad
Aaron Harang stunk up Comerica Park last night and did something virtually impossible with the Detroit Tigers: he walked five. More than that, he walked five in 3 2/3 ineffective innings. He walked five to a team that is dead last in MLB in walks...by 50.
Aaron did what he does too often, he threw too many pitches. Boom has shown some flashes of brilliance in getting out of jams. Jams he creates. How about just throwing up some zeroes?
Should we be hard on Boom?
No.
Remember, he is basically a AA pitcher in the bigs on an extended cup of coffee. He was called up for a spot start and just kind of hung around.
He replaced stopgap Mike Fyhrie in the makeshift rotation and didn't disappoint.
When Erik Hiljus (remember him?) was just bloody awful and having injury trouble Corey Lidle was coming off the DL.
Hiljus was sent down.
It was thought that Aaron would challenge for a spot on the rotation.
- Then the A's acquired Ted Lilly.
- Aaron was the odd man out and spent some time in the A's bullpen.
- Sort of.
- He didn't see action for two weeks and was sent down in an effort to get some regular work.
- Lilly went to the DL, Harang was recalled.
- Harang spent less than 24 hours in Sacramento.
Boom*vang
Connects the boom and mast and controls the main's leech tension by preventing or permitting the boom to rise.
With the asinine September schedule, the next time the A's need a fifth starter won't be until September 10th.
Boom*er*ang
A bent or angular throwing club typically flat on one side and rounded on the other so that it soars or curves in flight; a statement or course of action that backfires.
Hey, Stop That
The Tigers had the nerve to try and score more runs than the A's yesterday. Shame.
Art Howe had enough of the A's Sunday afternoon playtime and sent order to the plate in the form of Greg Myers. Crash smacked a solo shot in the eighth that essentially smacked the A's around, as any big brother would do.
The A's batted around in the inning highlighted by a Eric Chavez broken bat double and a John Mabry RBI double. Chavy worked a full count against a lefty and Art made a good move with Mabry and Justice on the bench. Figuring that Justice would be walked he sent up Mabry.
Mabry was looking for a first pitch fastball that he could drive. He drove it 370 feet into right center. 5-10 more toward the right field foul pole and the ball might have been out.
Jermaine Dye added the exclamation point in the 9th with a two run homer to left.
The bullpen was outstanding, with apologies to Micha Bowie. Micah gave up the Randall Simon grand slam in the 4th. It wasn't a bad pitch to any other batter in MLB. But, Simon is from the Vladimir Guerrero school of hitting: If it's in your eyes smack it like a piñata, if it's within reach put it in the seats, if it's in the dirt give it some vert.
Simon hit a homerun off Hudson that was out of the strike zone on Saturday.
Chad Bradford, Ricardo Rincon, Jim Mecir and Billy Koch pitched scoreless baseball the last five innings Koch got another 3+ out save. Sure, he had to earn it, too; 38 pitches in 1 2/3 innings.
Because You Wanted to Know
The A's lost another streak yesterday. The A's had 12 consecutive games that were played in less than three hours. The Detroit going away game lasted three hours twenty-eight minutes.
Table Setting
Ray Durham at the top of the order has solidified the A's line up. Durham may have not felt as comfortable at the top when he first came to the A's, but perhaps his outlook has changed since the philosophy of the A's for a leadoff hitter is vastly different than with most teams.
With the A's, a leadoff hitter is expected to get on base.
The general consensus for a leadoff hitter is limited power, basically a slap singles hitter who takes walks only when forced.
With the A's, a leadoff hitter is expected to get on base.
A conventional leadoff hitter steals bases to get into scoring position and use speed for taking extra bases.
With the A's, a leadoff hitter is expected to get on base.
A typical leadoff hitter is supposed to bunt, and bunt for singles occasionally, to advance runners for the middle of the order.
Just get on base.
The philosophy is not highly complex.
During the three game series with the Tigers Durham went 8 for 13 with 5 runs scored, 2 RBI and a walk.
Art Howe moved Mark Ellis from the top of the order down to the 7th spot, just prior to the 12 game winning streak in an order to get more production from the back half of the batting order.
In reality it was a defensive move not to send a mid-season rookie out on his second time around against teams. Ellis was up to the leadoff challenge in July though he did not excel. It was apparent that Ellis was making the necessary adjustments to seeing pitchers the second and third time through the batting order. But the success was on the level of a rookie in his first go 'round in a pennant chase.
With Durham manager Art Howe has an advantage he hasn't had in years, line up depth. Durham found his legs after a nasty medical scare and has revived his approach and expectations to the leadoff spot. Durham seems to relish in the leadoff roll and those expectations are not to carry the workload at the top of the batting order.
Suddenly, Last Summer
Going into yesterday's game with the Motor City Kitties the A's had matched an eleven game winning streak from last summer. The A's went 94-43 after an ugly 8-17 start last year. The impressive stretch was their July (19-8), August (22-7) September (23-4) surge going 64-19 for a .771 winning percentage. To put that in perspective, over a 162 game season that's 125 wins.
With yesterday's seemingly improbable, yet glaringly resounding, comeback 10-7 win over the Tigers the A's now have a 12 game winning streak. The last time the A's had a 12 game winning streak was on their way to a 14 game winning streak way back in April-May of 1988. How long ago was that? Billy Beane was a Detroit Tiger, Don Baylor was DH'ing with Dave Parker for the A's and Mark McGwire was just beginning his mullet. That's how long ago it was.
So, what now?
The A's are in an patch of uncharted waters. In 2000, it was a frantic finish to beat the Mariners in the last days of the race and culminated with Jason Giambi's quest for the AL MVP. In 2001, it was the second half binge the A's went on that was much more telling than the Mariners' early season antics.
The A's have already displaced the memories of running the table last summer as last summer rewrote the A's as not a contender, but the favorite.
The 2002 A's are a different team with a different identity. Last year was about setting the tone for their coming era and revenge on the Yankees would mean throwing down the gauntlet of a coming dynasty.
The current tone is that they are a team bigger than the sum of their parts. Humbled. They are no longer a team willing to repeatedly take its punches, wait in the lurch and then hammer away when the opposition lets its guard is down.
The current streak finds the A's offense to be its defense, getting quick runs and then unleashing its pitching staff to devour the opposition bats. Occasionally the A's resort to taking to the bats and thrashing the oppositions bullpen with savage blows to drive any vestige of hope for the remainder of the series.
Now, the A's find themselves bobbing in a quickening current that takes them deeper and deeper into the vast oceans of the late season. The storm fronts of a labor strike chortles and huffs in the distant horizon. The A's turn their ship, with scruff Skipper Art Howe at the helm, toward a challenge they've always knows to be there. The Yankees, the post-season and reinventing themselves.
The course is set and the calm of the storm has passed. The waters run quick with savage beasts teaming with froth in the foam.
With the frenzy fast approaching which A's team will emerge? The unsure lads of a passed Spring, the young brash bunch of a recently soured Fall or a new cocksure veteran band seemingly hell-bent on sending the rest of MLB into an early Winter deep freeze just for good measure?
You go in the cage.Cage goes in the water.Sharks in the water.Our shark.
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