old a's dynasty, see the new one above - making the grade

[rolliefingers08]

Game 2 of 3: Chicago White Sox (2-3) @ Oakland Athletics (3-1)

A's Win Easily Behind Rookie Gem

Left: Crosby drives in a run with a double in the first inning. Right: The A's celebrate the easy victory.

WP: Kyle Davies (1-0) LP: Freddy Garcia (1-1)

Kyle Davies made his first major league start tonight against the White Sox, and looked like a seasoned veteran on the hill, tossing 7 shutout innings and allowing just three hits.

It was the A's turn to start strong as Luis Gonzalez led off with a double, and Bobby Crosby swapped places with him to take an early 1-0 lead. In the bottom of the 3rd, Gonzalez started another rally with a single, followed by a Mark Kotsay single, and an out later Dan Johnson drove in a run with a single of his own.

In the bottom of the 5th, now up 2-0, three straight singles with 2 outs brought in another run, again thanks to Johnson. More runs in an odd numbered inning, in the bottom of the 7th, Gonzalez singled and then stole 2nd. Crosby was intentionally walked, and Johnson delivered his 3rd RBI of the day with a single to left field. Nick Swisher then hit a sac fly to score Crosby from 3rd to make it 5-0.

In the top of the 9th, Huston Street was brought in just to get an inning under his belt, and after retiring the first two hitters gave up singles to Paul Konerko and Frank Thomas. Then Jermaine Dye broke the shutout with a single to center that scored Konerko. Street then struck out Joe Crede to end the game.

Clubhouse Talk:

Macha: "It was nice to have it easy after extra innings two games in a row. Kyle went out there and threw a great game for his first outing and hopefully he can keep it going."

Davies: "I had a lot of butterflies leading up to the first pitch but after that I was in the zone on the mound and felt like nothing I threw was going to be hit."

White Sox Hitting:

Dye - 2/4, RBI

Thomas - 1/2, BB, HBP

Roberts - 0/4, 3 K

White Sox Pitching:

Garcia - 6.1 IP, 14 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 4 K

Sanders - 1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

A's Hitting:

Johnson, 3/4, 3 RBI, K

Kotsay - 3/5, 2 R, K

Crosby - 3/4, 2B, RBI, IBB, R

A's Pitching:

Davies - 7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K

King - 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

Street - 1.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

Injury Report: Eric Chavez returns tommorow for the final game of the series versus the White Sox.

[rolliefingers08]

Game 3 of 3: Chicago White Sox (2-4) @ Oakland Athletics (4-1)

Zito Carries A's To Win In 10

Left: Thomas is frozen by the 12-6 hook of Zito for one of 7 K's on the day. Right:Chavez drives the ball down the line to win it in the 10th.

WP: Barry Zito (2-0) LP: Jason Ginter (1-1)

Two crafty southpaw aces took to the mound in the series finale today in what was sure to be a pitcher's duel between the A's Barry Zito and the White Sox' Mark Buehrle.

The A's scored in the 1st with an RBI groundout by Keith Ginter that scored Mark Kotsay from 3rd, and after that Buehrle only allowed 2 more hits through his 8 innings of work.

Skip to the top of the 7th, with 1 out Aaaron Rowand tied the game at 1-1 with a solo home run to straight away centerfield that just barely missed the glove of a leaping Kotsay. That was the 2nd and final hit of the day for the White Sox, as Zito pitched quite possibly the best game of his career.

Top of the 10th now with Aaron Rowand at the plate. He took Zito to his first 3-0 count of the day, but the defending AL Cy Young award winner battled back to 3-2 and on the 8th pitch of the at bat, Zito caught Rowand looking with a huge curveball for strike three, ending the inning.

In the bottom of the inning, backup catcher Chris Snyder led off with a single, followed by a Luis Gonzalez single to put runners at 1st and 2nd. The White Sox attempted a pick off at second that fooled shortstop Brian Roberts and advanced both runners as the throw went into the outfield. Kotsay was intentionally walked and both outfield and infield were brought in, and on a 2-1 count, Chavez delivered a line drive down the right field line to win the game 2-1.

Clubhouse Talk:

Macha: "Extra innings is getting a little old to us, but as long as we win I'm happy. As for leaving Barry out there, we had the bullpen ready if needed, but whenever I reached for the phone he'd just sit their hitters down even quicker. His pitch count stayed low enough for us not to worry at all."

Zito: "I've become known as a 7 inning pitcher, and everyone attributes it to stamina. It's about keeping the pitch count down and today I was able to do that enough to keep on going, and we got the win."

Chavez: "It felt good to get back out there and drive one in to win it. I know we went through a month of spring training, but it's hard to miss a few days early in the year like this. I don't think I missed a step though and hopefully our winning can continue."

White Sox Hitting:

Rowand - 1/4, HR, RBI

Stephenson - 0/2, BB, K

Roberts - 0/4, 2 K

White Sox Pitching:

Buehrle - 8.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 2 K

Ginter - 1.1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 2 K

Takatsu - 0.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

A's Hitting:

Chavez - 2/4, RBI, BB, K

Ginter - 0/3, RBI

Kotsay - 1/4, R, IBB

A's Pitching:

Zito - 10.0 IP, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K

Next up: The Cleveland Indians come to Oakland for a 3 game set. Game 1 sees Rich Harden (1-0) vs. Sean Burnett (0-1) @ 7:05 PM.

[rolliefingers08]

Game 1 of 3: Cleveland Indians (4-2) @ Oakland Athletics (5-1)

Chavez & Scutaro Anchor Comeback Against Tribe

Left: Gonzalez brings home one of 5 runs (4 earned) against Harden to take big lead. Right: Chavez follows through on his bases clearing double to come within 2.

WP: Brandon League (1-0) LP: Sean Burnett (0-2) S: Huston Street (2)

(A quick warning first, I was kind of daydreaming for a lot of this game after the Indians opening the scoring, and I didn't make note of how they scored their runs.)

Two young guns in Rich Harden and Sean Burnett faced off in Oakland to begin a three game series, but Harden was hit hard and allowed 5 runs, 4 of which were earned, through 5.1 innings of work.

Skip ahead to the 6th with the Indians up, 5-0. The A's have the bases loaded, Eric Byrnes at the dish and his check swing makes contact and rolls down the third base line, and with no play at home the throw goes to first and Byrnes beats it out for an infield single.

Eric Chavez was the next hitter and he smashed a ball off the top of the wall in left center for a bases clearing double, and Marco Scutaro followed it up with a home run off the foul pole in left to take a 6-5 lead just like that.

Perfect through the first 5 innings, Burnett's day is now over and in comes Ramiro Mendoza. Brandon League pitches 1.2 innings for the win, and the JC Romero/Huston Street combo close out the victory and the A's take an early lead in the AL West.

Clubhouse Talk:

Macha: "When we got down 5-0, I figured it was one of those days that comes along to define your team, to see if they lie down or they keep fighting, and these guys kept fighting and won it by playing hard for the full 9 innings."

Harden: "My stuff was awful out there today. I didn't get a couple calls on the corners early on, and I ended up leaving the meaty pitches over the plate to make up for it. I'm just glad we got the win and I'm going to go out there next time around and hopefully have a much better outing."

Indians Hitting:

Broussard - 1/3, 2B, SF, 2 RBI, R

Kendall - 2/5, HR, RBI

Gonzalez - 1/4, RBI, R

Indians Pitching:

Burnett - 5.2 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, 4 K

Mendoza - 2.1, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

A's Hitting:

Chavez - 1/4, 2B, 3 RBI, R, 2 K

Scutaro - 2/4, HR, 2 RBI

Byrnes - 1/3, RBI, R

A's Pitching:

Harden - 5.1 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

League - 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

Romero - 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

Street - 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

Injury Report: Keith Ginter left the game in the 4th inning after suffering a leg injury when he dove for a ball. After the game he was diagnosed with a minor ACL sprain, and was placed on the 15-day DL. Xavier Nady was recalled from triple-A Sacramento to fill the roster spot.

[rolliefingers08]

Well after this great start, I figure I will play this series and the next series which I think is against Boston, and if I'm still having it easy, I'll bump up the skill level to MVP. For sliders right now I've got my contact and power down around -15 on the sliders, so it's probably time to bump it up.

[rolliefingers08]

Game 2 of 3: Cleveland Indians (4-3) @ Oakland Athletics (6-1)

Error Costs A's In Extras

Left: This defensive gem by Gerut robs Johnson of extra bases in the 9th. Right: Kendall hits a blooper off his hands to score the winning run from 3rd base.

WP: Paul Shuey (1-0) LP: JC Romero (1-1) S: Bob Wickman (3)

Luis Gonzalez led off the 2nd game versus the Indians with a double, and a sacrifice and flyout later, he was scored on a single by Eric Chavez to open the scoring. In the top of the 3rd the Indians got a rally going after Jason Kendall singled. Danny Haren through the ball away on a pickoff attempt that advanced Kendall to 3rd with nobody out. Bobby Hill grounded out to score Kendall and tie the game at 1-1.

In the next inning, Grady Sizemore gave the Indians the lead with a solo home run on a 3-2 fastball, but the A's replied in the bottom of the inning. Joe Mauer and Dan Johnson singled, and with 1 out Xavier Nady singled to score Mauer and tie the game.

Great defense and pitching held the game scoreless again until the top of the 10th when Jody Gerut singled to left and Ryan Church overthrew Gonzalez at 2nd, advancing Gerut to 3rd with the huge foul territory at the Coliseum. With the infield in and one out, Kendall turned a fastball in into a bloop single off the hands that scored the go ahead run.

In the bottom of the inning, Kotsay got it started with a bunt single with one out, then stole second, and Bobby Crosby walked to put 2 on for Eric Chavez. He struck out on a fastball up, and Joe Mauer grounded out to third to end the game, 3-2 Indians.

Clubhouse Talk:

Macha: "Extra innings is getting a little old, and our team needs to find away to win it in the first 9 or it's going to be a long season."

Church: "I rushed the throw when I saw Gerut rounding first and totally blew the play. That stuff can't happen late in a ballgame."

Indians Hitting:

Kendall - 2/5, RBI, R

Sizemore - 1/4, HR, RBI

Gerut - 2/4, R

Indians Pitching:

Day - 6.2 IP, 9 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

Mendoza - 1.2 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

Shuey - 0.2 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

Wickman - 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

A's Hitting:

Chavez - 1/5, RBI, 3 K

Gonzalez - 2/5, 2 2B, R

Kotsay - 2/5, 2B, SB, K

A's Pitching:

Haren - 6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K

Calero - 0.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

King - 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

Duchscherer - 2.2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

Romero - 0.2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

[rolliefingers08]

Game 3 of 3: Cleveland Indians (5-3) @ Oakland Athletics (6-2)

Chavez Busts It Open With 3-Run Jack

Left: The beautiful swing results in a 3-run homer and a 4-0 A's lead in the 5th. Right: Former teammates Kendall & Scutaro play hard no matter what the score.

WP: Joe Blanton (1-0) LP: Daniel Cabrera (1-1)

The rubbermatch of the 3 game set between the Cleveland Indians and Oakland A's featured Daniel Cabrera and Joe Blanton on the mound respectively.

Cabrera pitched well through the first 4 innings allowing 2 hits, while Blanton was perfect through 5 until Jody Gerut broke up the no-no with a single up the middle.

The A's opened the scoring in the bottom of the 5th when Luis Gonzalez and Mark Kotsay started off with singles. Bobby Crosby came up after that and smacked another single to score Gonzalez and make it 1-0 A's. Eric Chavez stepped up after that and he took a changeup high in the zone into the 2nd deck of the Coliseum for a three run homer and a 4-0 lead.

Blanton fatigued in the 6th and 7th but got out of the inning and the game having allowed just 3 hits, striking out 3 but walking 2. In the 8th, the A's gave Blanton and the bullpen a lot more padding for the win when Marco Scutaro walked with the bases loaded. After that, Gonzalez hit a single to score Nick Swisher and Xavier Nady and make the score 7-0.

That's how it finished as Kiko Calero and Ray King pitched the final two innings allowing a hit each, and finishing off another series win for the A's.

Clubhouse Talk:

Blanton: "After the long 5th inning, I got tired on the mound a lot quicker, and it's a really humid day for this time of year, so that all contributed to me having to leave inthe 7th. With our great bullpen and the big lead, it was really not an issue for me."

Chavez: "Being in the middle of the order, I've got to take those pitches into the seats or for extra bases, and it was nice to get the first homer of the season out of the way."

Indians Hitting:

Sizemore - 3/4, 2B

Kendall - 1/3, BB

Hafner - 0/4, 2 K

Indians Pitching:

Cabrera - 4.2 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K

Stark - 3.1 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K

A's Hitting:

Chavez - 2/4, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, K

Gonzalez - 2/4, 2 RBI, BB, R

Crosby - 1/4, RBI, R, K

A's Pitching:

Blanton - 7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K

Calero - 1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 0 K

King - 1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

Next up: An off day and then a 3 game series at Fenway. There might be some news on the off day, wait and see.

[robskicks]

GREAT DYNASTY.

[rolliefingers08]

I've got an idea for a story on a certain A's player who has fallen out of favour with me very quickly, and it may turn out to get pretty interesting.

I think I'll save it for the next off day however, as it's still pretty early in the season for a story like this.

Feel free to take any guesses though on what it might be, you may even give me some ideas.

Well, go on. Do it. I dare you. I triple dog dare you.

And as for moving up to MVP - this Boston series will decide it. They lost some guys in the winter but as far as I know they are still a high ranked team. If I win 2 or 3 games in this series, I'll bump it up.

[rolliefingers08]

As it turns out, Boston is a pretty bad team this year, so I'll see how it goes.

Game 1 sees Kyle Davies (1-0) vs. Bronson Arroyo (1-0), game 2 is Barry Zito (2-0) vs. Curt Schilling (0-2), and the finale has Rich Harden (1-0) vs. Tim Wakefield (0-1).

[rolliefingers08]

Game 1 of 3: Oakland Athletics (7-2) @ Boston Red Sox (5-4)

Branyan Hits A Bomb For Walkoff Win

Left: There was no doubt about it when Branyan connected with his 450 foot walkoff shot to win the game. Right: Street is never pleased when he can't finish the job.

WP: Abe Alvarez (1-0) LP: Huston Street (0-1)

Kyle Davies was on the mound coming off 7 shutout innings in his first major league start, and he cruised early striking out the side in the first inning, but only whiffed one more hitter for the rest of the game.

Bronson Arroyo got into trouble early for the Red Sox. The A's rallied for a run with two out in the top of the 1st. Mark Kotsay singled and stole second on a 1-1 count. Eric Chavez then singled to center to get the A's on the board and take a 1-0 lead. Top of 2 now, on a 2-0 pitch Xavier Nady hit a homer into the green monster seats, making it 2-0 A's.

Skip to the bottom of 7 with Davies out of the game and JC Romero in, and Kevin Youkilis leads of the inning with a home run to cut the lead in half. Romero was fine after that pitching the rest of the 7th and the 8th and only allowing a walk after the homer.

In comes Huston Street to close it out for his 3rd save of the WRONG! David Ortiz was intentionally walked to start the inning, and Jason Varitek grounded into an easy double play for 2 out. Bill Mueller singled hard up the middle, and the first pitch to Russell Branyan has no question about it, a 2-run walkoff blast to win it 3-2 for the Red Sox.

Clubhouse Talk:

Street: "Blowing a save isn't something I take lightly. If I can't close out a lead then I'm not doing my job. I have to go out there now and pitch 30 perfect innings for saves to make up for something like this before I can be satisfied."

Macha: "Huston is one of the most competitive guys in our clubhouse. He knows what went wrong and there isn't a need to discuss it because he's not going to let it happen too often."

A's Hitting:

Kotsay - 3/5, SB, R

Mauer - 3/4, 2B

Nady - 1/4, HR, RBI

A's Pitching:

Davies* - 6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K

Romero - 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 K

Street - 0.2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

(* 13 straight shutout innings to begin MLB career)

Red Sox Hitting:

Branyan - 2/4, HR, 2 RBI, K

Youkilis - 1/4, HR, RBI, K

Renteria - 1/2, 2B, 2 BB

Red Sox Pitching:

Arroyo - 6.2 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K

Alvarez - 2.1 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

[rolliefingers08]

Game 2 of 3: Oakland Athletics (7-3) @ Boston Red Sox (6-4)

A's Rip Schilling In Beantown

Left: Gonzo makes contact with a hard liner that would bounce off the green monster. Right: Schilling gets the hook earlier than he'd like.

WP: Barry Zito (3-0) LP: Curt Schilling (0-3)

Skip to the bottom of the third inning with Curt Schilling pitching for the Red Sox. Marco Scutaro hits a ball into the bermuda triangle in centerfield that gets him to third, up steps Mark Kotsay with one out, and he hits a home run into the bullpens to make it 2-0. Bobby Crosby homers on the very next pitch and just like that it's 3-0.

Barry Zito was having trouble with his control, walking 3 batters in the 4th, but then gets a strikout and a line drive double play to get out of the inning unscathed.

In the 5th there is more bad news for Schilling. With Mark Kotsay on first base, Eric Chavez delivers a two run homer to straight away center, and gives the A's a 5-0 lead. It didn't stop there though, as Joe Mauer doubled with 1 out, and Nick Swisher drove him in with a single to right, making it 6-0.

Schilling finished the inning, but was replaced by Manny Delcarmen for 2 innings before Ryan Wagner finished the mop up job in the A's blowout win.

Zito had control problems throughout his 7 innings of work, walking 7 batters, but still got out of the jams striking out 5 and only allowing 5 hits and no runs. Brandon League pitched the final 2 innings, and the A's won easily 6-0.

Clubhouse Talk:

Zito: "It was a cool night out there, and that didn't help my curveball at all. I couldn't drop it in for strikes, but that was just a small setback and we got the win."

Kotsay: "We could tell Schilling was having a lot of trouble on the mound today. He's still a great pitcher, so we knew we had to get our runs in bunches because it'd be tough to scratch them out over 9 innings, and luckily we did that well."

A's Hitting:

Chavez - 1/4, HR, 2 RBI, BB

Crosby - 1/5, HR, RBI, 4 K

Swisher - 3/4, RBI

A's Pitching:

Zito - 7.0 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 7 BB, 5 K

League - 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K

Red Sox Hitting:

Varitek - 2/4, 2B, BB, K

H. Ramirez - 0/3, BB, SB, K

M. Ramirez - 0/4, BB, 2 K

Red Sox Pitching:

Schilling - 5.0 IP, 12 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, 4 K

Delcarmen - 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 0 K

Wagner - 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K

[rolliefingers08]

Oh, I screwed up and read the schedule wrong. This Red Sox series is actually 4 games, not 3.

[rolliefingers08]

Game 3 of 4: Oakland Athletics (8-3) @ Boston Red Sox (6-5)

Mueller & Youkilis Put A's To Bed

Left: Mueller and Marabelli hug after Mueller's solo homer in the bottom of the 2nd. Right: Snyder chases down a wild pitch from Harden that scored 2.

WP: Tim Wakefield (1-1) LP: Rich Harden (1-1)

It was a windy night in Boston that instantly swirled into knuckleballer Tim Wakefield and the Red Sox' favour against Rich Harden and the A's.

Bill Mueller got the scoring underway with a solo home run to lead off the bottom of the 2nd. In the top of the 3rd though, the A's got the lead when Mark Kotsay singled to score backup catcher Chris Snyder and Luis Gonzalez, making it 2-1 A's.

In the bottom of the 4th, Mueller got it started for the Red Sox again, hitting a single with 2 out. Kevin Youkilis followed that with a home run of his own and the lead switched hands again.

It stayed with the Red Sox however, as in the top of the 5th with the bases loaded, Rich Harden uncorked a wild pitch to score Hanley Ramirez. Snyder had problems with the throwback to Harden, and the throw went into left field for an error and Edgar Renteria plated to make it 5-2. An out later with a runner on 2nd, Doug Mirabelli doubled to centerfield to score Manny Ramirez and make it 6-2.

Wakefield's knuckleball was dancing away from every A's bat, and he ended up pitching into the 7th before running out of gas after allowing just 2 runs on 4 hits, walking none and striking out 5. Ryan Wagner came into the game, and stumbled with 2 out in the 9th when Bobby Crosby hit a home run over the green monster to make it 6-3.

Keith Foulke came in after that with Eric Chavez coming to the plate, just to be sure of the lead, and that was it as Chavez grounded out to 3rd to end the game, 6-3 Red Sox win.

Clubhouse Talk:

Macha: "Rich was hit hard out there, and you could just tell it wasn't his night with the wind, because his fastball was down a few miles per hour. His stuff compliments the heat and if the heat's not there, he's going to have problems."

Harden: "I'm not sure what it was, but something was missing out on the hill. When I reared back to blow somebody away, it ended up a line drive somewhere in the outfield."

A's Hitting:

Crosby - 2/4, HR, RBI, K

Kotsay - 1/3, 2 RBI, K, CS

Gonzalez - 1/3, 2B, R

A's Pitching:

Harden - 5.0 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, WP

Duchscherer - 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K

League - 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

Red Sox Hitting:

Mueller - 2/4, HR, RBI, 2 R, K

Youkilis - 1/4, 2 RBI, K

M. Ramirez - 3/4, R

Red Sox Pitching:

Wakefield - 7.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K

Wagner - 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

Foulke - 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

Injury Report: Justin Duchscherer will miss the next 5 days with a pulled groin. He suffered the injury on his final pitch of the 7th, a groundout, when his right foot slipped off the side of the mound on his follow through. No callup will be made, and his workload will just be spread to the other middle relievers.

[AstroEric]

WP: Rich Harden (1-1) LP: Tim Wakefield (1-1)

Um....

But typos aside, Rollie, I really enjoy skimming through your dynasty. It's the only one I keep up with on here -- really well done.

--Eric

[rolliefingers08]

Hahahaha. Whoops.

Now that I think of it, I may have done that more than once. Thanks for noticing.

[rolliefingers08]

Game 4 of 4: Oakland Athletics (8-4) @ Boston Red Sox (7-5)

Kevin Youkilis - A's Killer

Left: The only thing of interest in the game for A's fans, Varitek is hit and charges the mound. Right: Nobody knows what's happened this weekend.

WP: Matt Clement (2-0) LP: Danny Haren (0-1) S: Abe Alvarez (2)

This series was just not meant to go the A's way. Anyone in the lineup who isn't Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz seemed to kill the A's.

This game kicks off in the bottom of the 2nd with 1 out, Jason Varitek homers to opposite field and it's 1-0 Red Sox. Top of the 4th, the A's tie it at 1-1 when Joe Mauer singles home Eric Chavez from 2nd.

Bottom of the 4th now, and with 2 out Kevin Youkilis hits a 3-run home run that lands on one of the buildings behind the green monster, making it 4-1. In the bottom of the 6th, Youkilis brought home Varitek on a single to left field, and the runs didn't stop there.

Jay Payton came up with 2 runners on, and hits what would be a single that fools Mark Kotsay in center field and ends up as a triple, driving in 2. Hanley Ramirez was the next batter and he hit an opposite field homer over the monster to make it 9-1. One more in the bottom of the 7th as Payton hits a fly to center that scores Varitek, and it's 10-1.

Haren was yanked after the Ramirez homer, and in came Brandon League. He made it through the rest of the inning and the 7th after giving up a run. In came Ray King for the 8th, and A's fans who had fallen asleep woke up to see a little fireworks.

Varitek was hit right in the ribs by King on a first pitch fastball, and that set off the Red Sox captain as he charged the mound. Dugouts cleared, and at the end of it all, King, Varitek, and Bobby Crosby were all ejected.

The A's managed a bit of action in the 9th, when Pete Orr hit a triple down the right field line, and Chavez scored him on a sac fly to left field. The game finished 10-2 Red Sox.

Clubhouse Talk:

Macha: "This was an awful weekend for us, not only losing, but being embarrassed on the field. This entire clubhouse has to pick it up a notch tommorow, or changes are going to follow."

King: "How do I explain hitting Varitek in a blowout game? Ask the guys in their clubhouse how to explain a rough takeout slide in a blowout game. There isn't room for that kind of thing in this game."

A's Hitting:

Chavez - 2/3, SB, R, SF, RBI

Mauer - 1/4, RBI, CS

Johnson - 0/4, K

A's Pitching:

Haren - 5.1 IP, 8 H, 9 ER, 2 BB, 5 K

League - 1.2 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

King - 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

Calero - 0.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

Red Sox Hitting:

Youkilis - 2/4, 3 RBI, R, K

Varitek - 3/3, 2B, RBI, BB, 4 R

Payton - 1/3, 3B, SF, 3 RBI, R, K

Red Sox Pitching:

Clement - 6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K

Alvarez - 3.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

Next up: The A's travel to Cleveland for a 3 game series against the Indians. Joe Blanton faces Zach day on the hill.

[punishher]

wow i love ur avatar rolliefingers.haha.

astroeric's one is also great.ur dynasty is pretty well done.been keeping up and you've done well mate.

[rolliefingers08]

dankeschon.

[rolliefingers08]

Game 1 of 3: Oakland Athletics (8-5) @ Cleveland Indians (7-5)

Bullpen Holds Strong After Blanton Goes Down

Left: The bullpen pitched 8 innings for the A's, striking out 7 including Bobby Hill above. Right: Street gets his 3rd save of the year.

WP: Kiko Calero (1-0) LP: Zach Day (1-1) S: Huston Street (3)

For some reason when it comes to the A's, they'll either score early, get scored on early, or do both. This time they only scored early, and it started with a leadoff double by Luis Gonzalez. Mark Kotsay laid down a bunt single, and Bobby Crosby hit an infield single to score Gonzalez from 3rd, all with none out.

Top of the 2nd now, Xavier Nady singled with 2 out, and Marco Scutaro stepped up with an average hovering around .200. Whispers of him losing his starting spot were put to rest for the time being as he jacked one into the home run porch to make it 3-0 A's.

In the bottom of the 2nd inning, Joe Blanton had a line drive hit right back at him and didn't even have time to react before it hit him right on the shin. He broke a bone in his leg and team doctors evaluated him after the game, more in a bit.

With Justin Duchscherer still on the shelf, Kiko Calero was given the ball in the 2nd and pitched 3 strong to earn the win. In the top of the 6th, Joe Mauer doubled with 2 out, and on the next pitch Dan Johnson doubled to nearly the same spot to switch places and make it 4-0 A's.

Ray King took over in the bottom of the 5th, and in the 6th he ran into problems. Bobby Hill singled to leadoff the inning, and 2 outs later Juan Gonzalez showed some of the power of his glory years for a 2 run home run to put the Indians within 2.

The deficit was 3 runs when Gonzalez singled to right field with Nady on second, and Nady ran over catcher Jason Kendall, forcing him to drop the ball, and make it 5-2 A's.

That was all they needed as JC Romero and Huston Street got back to their 8th and 9th inning routine to close it out.

Clubhouse Talk:

Macha: "Well, we won this game but we may have lost a starter for a long time. It's not really worth the price to pay this early in the season."

Calero: "I haven't been on the mound in the 2nd inning since I was a starter in the minors, and it wasn't the situation I wanted to be in with Joe going down, but I had to make the best of it and I think I did that."

A's Hitting:

Gonzalez - 4/5, 2B, RBI, SB, R, K

Scutaro - 1/4, HR, 2 RBI, K

Nady - 2/4, 2 R

A's Pitching:

Blanton - 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

Calero - 3.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

King - 1.1 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

Romero - 2.1 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

Street - 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

Indians Hitting:

Kendall - 3/5, 2 K

Hill - 3/4, SB, R, K

Gonzalez - 1/4, HR, 2 RBI

Indians Pitching:

Day - 5.2 IP, 10 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

Mendoza - 3.1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K

Injury Report: Continuing from above, as Blanton was hit by a line drive in the leg, he was taken to hospital overnight and will be re-evaluated in the morning.

[rolliefingers08]

Blanton Diagnosed With Fractured Leg

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Big Joe out 2-3 months.

After being struck in the shin by a line drive last night in his start vs. the Cleveland Indians, Joe Blanton has been diagnosed with a fractured leg.

He will miss 2-3 months with the injury which he suffered in the 2nd inning of the game. Doctors originally examined him and believed it was only a deep bruise, but after thorough testing, they found that numerous bones in his shin are broken.

Blanton was placed on the 60-day Disabled List this morning, and Dan Meyer has been recalled from triple-A Sacramento to take his place in the rotation.

[AstroEric]

If I made my own dynasty I would have a lot of fake news articles with headlines reading, "Ausmus suffers inflamed elbow while being an asshole and chasing runner back to dugout after groundout."

--Eric

[rolliefingers08]

Game 2 of 3: Oakland Athletics (9-5) @ Cleveland Indians (7-6)

Overworked Pen Gets Mashed At The Jake

Left: Macha isn't usually one to argue, so when he comes out you know you've blown a call. Right: The Indians celebrate the high scoring victory.

WP: Ramiro Mendoza (1-0) LP: Brandon League (1-1) S: Bob Wickman (5)

Kyle Davies began his major league career with a shutout streak of 13 innings, but it ended at 14 as in the bottom of the 2nd Adam Everett singled home Juan Gonzalez from 2nd to take a 1-0 lead. Two batters later, with 2 on Jody Gerut took a high changeup for a ride into the right field seats, a 3 run jack making it 4-0 Indians.

In the top of the 4th, the A's got themselves back in the game with an RBI double out of slumping Nick Swisher. Xavier Nady then stepped up and singled through the hole on the right side to score Swisher and cut the lead to 4-2.

Skip to the top of the 7th, with 1 out Eric Chavez singles up the middle, and Joe Mauer reaches first on an error by Ronnie Belliard to put runners on 1st and 2nd. Dan Johnson steps up and lines it down the first base line to score Chavez and put the A's within one. An out later, Nady delivered again, this time a double off the right field wall that scored Mauer, but Johnson was thrown out at home by the cutoff man to end the inning.

Normally in a tie game, the A's would turn to Kiko Calero or Justin Duchscherer in the 7th inning, but due to pitching 3 innings the day before and an injury respectively, Brandon League was thrown into the game to try and hold the Indians bats. However, the complete opposite of that happened and a tie game went to being a 6-4 lead just like that. Jason Kendall led off with a single, and Bobby Hill tripled to left centerfield to make it 5-4. The next batter, Travis Hafner hit a sac fly to center, scoring hill and giving the Indians a 2 run lead.

League was pulled after that, but Ray King was able to do no better. Grady Sizemore doubled, and Eric Chavez through away the ball at first base on Juan Gonzalez to score Sizemore and make it 7-4.

Two batters and two singles later, Everett hit the second triple of the inning to score both runners on a questionable call and make it 9-4, ending King's day and putting the A's behind big time when they entered the half inning tied.

Top of the 8th now, and Ryan Church leads off with a pinch hit single. Luis Gonzalez then doubled to put both runners in scoring position, and Mark Kotsay came through with a single to score both and make it 9-6. That was as close as the A's came though as Paul Shuey and Bob Wickman shut the door on the A's, making it a 9-6 final.

Clubhouse Talk:

Macha: (on the blown call at home plate that scored Belliard) "I'm amazed that the umpire made the call that he did, when a guy sitting in the outfield bleachers could tell the runner was out. And now it's sad to think of what call he's going to blow for the Indians tommorow, because there sure as heck better be something to make up for this."

Chavez: "I think there's a bigger picture that this team has to realize, beyond tonight's game, the blown call, the pitching, all of that - and it's that the 8 guys on the field behind the pitcher have got to make the plays. I threw away a ball tonight, and I did the same thing last night. A lot of bad fielding is giving away runs and giving away games, and it's got to stop before we're riding the pine in the AL West."

A's Hitting:

Nady - 2/4, 2B, 2 RBI

Kotsay - 2/5, 2 RBI, CS

Johnson - 2 2B, RBI, R

A's Pitching:

Davies - 6.0 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 1 K

League - 0.0 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

King - 0.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

Romero - 1.1 IP, 2H , 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

Indians Hitting:

Everett - 3/4, 3B, 3 RBI, R

Gerut - 1/4, HR, 3 RBI

Broussard - 3/4, 2B, 2 R

Indians Pitching:

Cabrera - 6.1 IP, 12 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K

Mendoza - 0.2 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

Shuey - 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

Wickman - 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

Injury Report: Pete Orr had to leave the game in the 4th with a knee injury, and the A's will find out more in the morning.

[rolliefingers08]

Orr To Miss 2 Weeks

Thursday, April 20, 2006

Strained meniscus muscle.

After meeting with team doctors this morning, the A's were informed that infielder Pete Orr will miss 2 weeks with a strained meniscus muscle.

Orr suffered the injury when diving for a ball to his right side in the 4th inning in last night's game vs. the Cleveland Indians. He got his 2nd start of the season, taking the place of the slumping Marco Scutaro, who manager Ken Macha felt needed a day off.

The A's placed Orr on the 15-day Disabled List, and have recalled infielder Aaron Hill from triple-A Sacramento.

[AstroEric]

Macha has tiny wrists!

--Eric

[rolliefingers08]

Game 3 of 3: Oakland Athletics (9-6) @ Cleveland Indians (8-6)

A's Take Rubber Match In Cleveland

Left: Nady homered in the top of the 3rd to kick off a 4-run inning. Right: Belliard's homer made it close, but it wasn't enough.

WP: Barry Zito (4-0) LP: Jake Westbrook (2-1) S: Huston Street (4)

Two aces faced off in Cleveland for the final game of the 3-game series between the Oakland A's and the Cleveland Indians. Barry Zito vs. Jake Westbrook, the ALDS MVP against the A's last fall.

Westbrook wasn't on his game early, as in the top of the 3rd, Xavier Nady led off with a solo home run to the left field seats, making it 1-0 A's. After that, Aaron Hill hit a double for his first big league hit after being called up yesterday for the injured Pete Orr. Luis Gonzalez advanced Hill on a groundout, and Mark Kotsay made it 2-0 A's with an RBI single to left field. Bobby Crosby then executed the hit and run, advancing Kotsay to 3rd, and an out later, Joe Mauer drove both runners in with an single and just like that it was 4-0 A's.

On to the bottom of the 5th with Zito crusing along once again, Ben Broussard gets just the 2nd hit of the game for the Indians, a double to lead off the inning. He advanced to 3rd on an error by Gonzalez, putting runners on 1st and 3rd. Zito got Adam Everett to ground into a double play, but it scored Broussard and cut the lead to 4-1.

Skip to the 7th now, and after striking out twice on knee buckling curves, Juan Gonzalez singles on the 1-2 curve with two gone. Ronnie Belliard stepped up and took a fastball up in the zone for a ride to right centerfield, his 1st homer of the year bringing the Indians to within 1.

That's all they'd get though as Kiko Calero pitched a perfect 8th, and Huston Street gave up 2 measily singles to close out the 4-3 victory.

Clubhouse Talk:

Zito: "It was a good day out there. When we got those runs early, I knew that as long as I avoided a big inning and kept the ball down then we'd go home with a win."

Nady: "The last few days have been huge for me, and hopefully I can earn more of an everyday place in the lineup. If not though, I'm hopefully going to keep up my pace and the team will keep winning."

A's Hitting:

Mauer - 2/3, 2 RBI, BB

Kotsay - 1/3, RBI, BB, R

Nady - 2/4, HR, RBI, 2B

A's Pitching:

Zito - 7.0 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 5 K

Calero - 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

Street - 1.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

Indians Hitting:

Belliard - 2/3, HR, 2 RBI

Gonzalez - 2/4, 2B, R, 2 K

Broussard - 1/4, 2B, R

Indians Pitching:

Westbrook - 6.0 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 K

Mendoza - 3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

Next Up: The A's return to the Coliseum for a 6-game homestand against the Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays.