A group weblog for Oakland A's fans
Saturday, July 03, 2004
Rhodes to the DL
LHP Arthur Rhodes' continued back problems have forced the A's to place him on the 15-day disabled list. To replace him on the roster, the team recalled infielder Ramon Castro (who was sent back to Sacramento on Sunday to call up Kirk Saarloos) and started him at third base last night. With Mark McLemore and Esteban German also ailing, the A's vaunted organizational depth has been put to an even sterner test. But so far they seem to be handling every situation with aplomb.
First pitch vs the Giants in about 10 minutes. Let's go A's!
LHP Arthur Rhodes' continued back problems have forced the A's to place him on the 15-day disabled list. To replace him on the roster, the team recalled infielder Ramon Castro (who was sent back to Sacramento on Sunday to call up Kirk Saarloos) and started him at third base last night. With Mark McLemore and Esteban German also ailing, the A's vaunted organizational depth has been put to an even sterner test. But so far they seem to be handling every situation with aplomb.
First pitch vs the Giants in about 10 minutes. Let's go A's!
Friday, July 02, 2004
Sweep!
Last time the Anaheim Angels were in town, they swept the A's in a three-game series. The A's then went to New York and got swept again by the Yankees, sending the team into a free-fall that didn't really end until the beginning-of-June homestand that saw the green and gold win 11 of 12.
This week, the A's returned the favor to the finally healthy but suddenly struggling Halos. Octavio Dotel finished all three games, striking out 8 in four innings of work. Wonderful stuff. The bullpen as a whole was very good, and Kirk Saarloos filled in admirably for Rich Harden, tossing five-plus scoreless innings. That marked the first time all year that the A's started anybody other than their 5-man rotation, but the team didn't really skip a beat. Also, great clutch hitting in the first two games against the league's best bullpen gave the A's the go-ahead runs. It's tough to ask for more than that.
This weekend the A's cross the Bay Bridge to take on San Francisco, who won two of three last weekend at the Coliseum. Let's try to return the favor.
Last time the Anaheim Angels were in town, they swept the A's in a three-game series. The A's then went to New York and got swept again by the Yankees, sending the team into a free-fall that didn't really end until the beginning-of-June homestand that saw the green and gold win 11 of 12.
This week, the A's returned the favor to the finally healthy but suddenly struggling Halos. Octavio Dotel finished all three games, striking out 8 in four innings of work. Wonderful stuff. The bullpen as a whole was very good, and Kirk Saarloos filled in admirably for Rich Harden, tossing five-plus scoreless innings. That marked the first time all year that the A's started anybody other than their 5-man rotation, but the team didn't really skip a beat. Also, great clutch hitting in the first two games against the league's best bullpen gave the A's the go-ahead runs. It's tough to ask for more than that.
This weekend the A's cross the Bay Bridge to take on San Francisco, who won two of three last weekend at the Coliseum. Let's try to return the favor.
Barry Zito on the Radio
Barry Zito was on 610 KFRC's Extra Innings show last night. It was live from the Pyramid Alehouse in Berkeley from about 8-10 pm. Barry talked about which players in the clubhouse were getting into guitar, he mentioned Hatty, Hudson, said Harden has made great progress. He said Crosby shouldn't take up guitar, because the girls are already crazy for him. Barry said Byrnesy should play percussion, something he can hit.
Barry answered some questions from the fans and from email, then he played guitar. He played well for a guitar player, for a pro baseball player, he was phenomenal. He played a Flaming Lips song and then he played a song he wrote for the David Letterman show that he had wanted to play on the Letterman Show, but wasn't able to. The whole event was great, just what you'd expect from Barry Zito.
Barry Zito was on 610 KFRC's Extra Innings show last night. It was live from the Pyramid Alehouse in Berkeley from about 8-10 pm. Barry talked about which players in the clubhouse were getting into guitar, he mentioned Hatty, Hudson, said Harden has made great progress. He said Crosby shouldn't take up guitar, because the girls are already crazy for him. Barry said Byrnesy should play percussion, something he can hit.
Barry answered some questions from the fans and from email, then he played guitar. He played well for a guitar player, for a pro baseball player, he was phenomenal. He played a Flaming Lips song and then he played a song he wrote for the David Letterman show that he had wanted to play on the Letterman Show, but wasn't able to. The whole event was great, just what you'd expect from Barry Zito.
Wednesday, June 30, 2004
Octavio "shhhhh" Dotel
That Bermanism came from Chirs Berman's daughter. Now we have the Octanater and his wicked pitches. Dotel's slider looks particularly nasty, a real hard pitch with sharp bite near the plate. Last night he looked great out there, getting the Angels like "the taking of Pelham" 1,2,3. And how about Crosby's clutch 2 out 2 stike hit off of K-Rod's hanging curveball? Beautiful. Crosby is getting better daily. Anyone else notice Crosby's batting stance and swing look a lot like Byrnes? I can hardly tell who is up when they swing. And both of them, when they hit the ball best, it is a liner over the 3rd baseman's head down into the left field corner. Byrnes had a double earlier in the game that looked just like Crosby's game-winning hit. It feels like the start of another A's hot streak.
That Bermanism came from Chirs Berman's daughter. Now we have the Octanater and his wicked pitches. Dotel's slider looks particularly nasty, a real hard pitch with sharp bite near the plate. Last night he looked great out there, getting the Angels like "the taking of Pelham" 1,2,3. And how about Crosby's clutch 2 out 2 stike hit off of K-Rod's hanging curveball? Beautiful. Crosby is getting better daily. Anyone else notice Crosby's batting stance and swing look a lot like Byrnes? I can hardly tell who is up when they swing. And both of them, when they hit the ball best, it is a liner over the 3rd baseman's head down into the left field corner. Byrnes had a double earlier in the game that looked just like Crosby's game-winning hit. It feels like the start of another A's hot streak.
Tuesday, June 29, 2004
Barry Zito in Wired Magazine
My favorite player is Barry Zito, and my favorite magazine is Wired. I never really expected to read about Zito in Wired but here it is in a story called "The Ultimate Pitching Machine". The story is about how the Rick Peterson and the A's use research at the American Sports Medicine Institute in Birmingham, Alabama to improving athletic performance. They do things like put ping-pong balls on pitchers to locate flaws in a delivery and correct them before those flaws become injuries. Like I needed another reason to love this team. I was futily trying to make my friends in Boston understand that the A's are obviously the correct team to root for. If someone was objective about it, the A's should be everybody's favorite team. Now we gotta get Zito to work some more ping-pong ball improved mechanics and turn them into some more wins and we'll be set.
My favorite player is Barry Zito, and my favorite magazine is Wired. I never really expected to read about Zito in Wired but here it is in a story called "The Ultimate Pitching Machine". The story is about how the Rick Peterson and the A's use research at the American Sports Medicine Institute in Birmingham, Alabama to improving athletic performance. They do things like put ping-pong balls on pitchers to locate flaws in a delivery and correct them before those flaws become injuries. Like I needed another reason to love this team. I was futily trying to make my friends in Boston understand that the A's are obviously the correct team to root for. If someone was objective about it, the A's should be everybody's favorite team. Now we gotta get Zito to work some more ping-pong ball improved mechanics and turn them into some more wins and we'll be set.
