Oakland A's Dynasty... dead

[rolliefingers08]

Game 2 of 2: Oakland Athletics (10-3) @ Texas Rangers (8-6)

Yabu Almost Blows It, A's Take 6th

Left: Scutaro comes through in the clutch with an RBI single. Right: Chavez adds some insurance in the 10-8 victory.

WP: Jay Witasick (1-0) LP: Wes Littleton (0-1) S: Kiko Calero (1)

Box:


	  R   H   E


OAK  10  18   1


TEX   8  13   1

The A's got out to an 8-0 lead in the first 5 innings, with home runs coming from Jay Payton, Mark Ellis, and Eric Chavez, as well as a couple RBIs from Dan Johnson, who made his return to the lineup after missing a week with a strained ribcage.

In the 7th, Joe Blanton ran into his first troubles of the day, allowing a couple walks and eventually 2 runs on singles to Kevin Mench and David Delucci. He got out of the inning though, and with a 6-run padding manager Ken Macha figured he could give his main guys in the pen a night off and turn the ball over to Keiichi Yabu. HOW MOTHERBLEEPING WRONG HE WAS.

In the 8th, Kevin Mench scored 3 more with a bases clearing double to make it 8-5 for the A's. And before the bullpen had time to finish getting ready, there were 2 on for Hank Blalock who destroyed a 2-0 pitch to tie the game at 8-8. Let's just say he's not seeing the mound for awhile.

In the 10th, the A's had runners on 2nd and 3rd with none out, but Francisco Rodriguez struck out the next 3 batters to keep the game tied. Jay Witasick pitched the 10th and 11th, allowing just 1 hit and 2 walks for the A's, and his efforts kept the A's allive for Jason Kendall to walk and advance to second on a Bobby Kielty single in the 12th. Marco Scutaro then singled to bring home Kendall on a close play, in which he made an acrobatic but painful slide that forced him to leave the game. Still the run scored and the A's led 9-8. Then Chavez singled home Kielty to add some insurance, making it 10-8.

With Huston Street unavailable, the ball was given to Kiko Calero who intentionally walked Teixera and then got Blalock to strike out, ending the game in a thrilling but unnecessary 10-8 A's win.

Clubhouse Talk:

Macha: "Any time you give up a 6 run lead, you should be embarrassed. Thankfully this team has enough fight in them to keep going and we scraped another one out."

A's Hitting:

Chavez - 3/5, HR, 3 RBI, 2 BB, 2 R

Ellis - 3/6, HR, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 K

Johnson - 3/6, 2B, 2 RBI, R, K

A's Pitching:

Blanton - 7.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 4 K

Yabu - 1.0 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 3 K

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

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

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

Tommorow: Kirk Saarloos hopes to stay perfect on the year as he takes on Chris Nageotte.

Injury Report: Jason Kendall left in the 12th with a strained left ribcage, and after the game it was discovered that he will miss at least a week with the injury. Scott Hatteberg will serve as backup catcher, but is unlikely to get any time behind the plate, and will only be there in an emergency situation.

[rolliefingers08]

Game 1 of 2: Oakland Athletics (10-3) @ Seattle Mariners (6-8 )

Mariners Smoked Out Of The Water

No photos, after playing 6 innings and having the game freeze, I managed it over again.

WP: Kirk Saarloos (3-0) LP: Chris Nageotte (1-2)

Box:


	  R   H   E


OAK   9  12   0


SEA   1   4   0

Another hot start saw the A's up 2-0 after the first inning on a 2-run opposite field homer by Eric Chavez. That lead held until the bottom of the 4th when Ichiro Suzuki led off with a triple, and scored on a groundout by Raul Ibanez.

Mark Kotsay responded in the 5th with his 4th homer of the year, and the A's added on in each inning after with homers by Jay Payton, Keith Ginter, and Bobby Crosby, with Chavez singling home another run and the score finished 9-1.

The most surprising part of the game was the choice to throw Keiichi Yabu back into the fire. After a leadoff walk, it looked like the previous night's collapse would happen all over again, but Yabu got 7 straight ground balls after that over 2 innings and didn't allow a hit.

Clubhouse Talk:

Payton: "I can feel my confidence coming back, especially when they pitched around me after the home run, I knew I'd got it back."

A's Hitting:

Chavez - 2/5, HR, 3 RBI

Payton - 2/3, HR, 3 RBI, BB

Crosby - 2/5, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R

A's Pitching:

Saarloos - 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K

Yabu - 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K

Tommorow: Barry Zito faces another crafty lefthander in Jamie Moyer to finish the short series.

[rolliefingers08]

Game 2 of 2: Oakland Athletics (12-3) @ Seattle Mariners (6-9)

Payton Drives In 8th Straight

Left: Bloomquist (runner) got the worst of this with Ginter, seperating his shoulder. Right: Payton delivers a 2-run single to give the A's the lead.

WP: Barry Zito (2-1) LP: Jamie Moyer (1-3) S: Huston Street (8 )

Box:


	  R   H   E


OAK   6  11   1


SEA   4  13   1

Bobby Crosby started it off for the A's in the top of the 2nd with a solo home run to left field, making it 1-0. In the bottom of the inning, the Mariners replied with an RBI single from Jose Lopez to score Yorvit Torrealba from 3rd.

They added on in the 4th when Ichiro Suzuki emptied the bases with a triple to make it 4-1 Mariners. Dan Johnson responded in the 5th for the A's with a home run of his own, and in the 6th Moyer loaded the bases and then walked home Keith Ginter to cut the lead to 4-3.

Jay Payton pinch hit for Bobby Kielty and singled to left field, scoring two and taking a 5-4 lead. Crosby singled home another run in the 7th to make it 6-4, and that was all the bullpen needed to work with. Justin Duchscherer, Ricardo Rincon, and Huston Street finished the final 3 innings to take the A's 8th straight game.

Clubhouse Talk:

Crosby: "Is there anything that's going to stop us right now? You never want to get too high on yourselves, but it's kind of hard to do that right now."

A's Hitting:

Crosby - 2/3, HR, 2 RBI, BB, K

Chavez - 2/3, 2 BB, R, K

Ginter - 2/4, R, K

A's Pitching:

Zito - 6.0 IP, 10 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

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

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

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

Tommorow: Rich Harden goes for win #4 against lefty Jarrod Washburn.

Injury Report: Danny Haren has been cleared to return for his start in the 2nd game of the Angels series.

[rolliefingers08]

Game 1 of 3: Oakland Athletics (13-3) @ Los Angeles Angels (8-8 )

Cabrera Breaks Streak In 10

Left: Erstad gets the comeback started in the 9th, singling and (inset) stealing 2nd. Right: The Angels dugout is loving the late inning efforts.

WP: Scot Shields (2-0) LP: Kiko Calero (0-1)

Box:


	  R   H   E


OAK   2   9   0


LAA   3   9   0

Rich Harden and Jarrod Washburn matched eachother pitch for pitch for the first 8 innings, both keeping the fans on the edge of their seats for the entire game.

Washburn was finally matched in the top of the 9th when Keith Ginter beat out an infield single to give the A's their first runner in 3 innings. Eric Chavez then stepped up and delivered big time with a 2-run shot onto the rocks in centerfield to give the A's a 2-0 lead.

Harden kept the ball for the 9th, and a leadoff single to Darin Erstad seemed harmless at first, but when he stole 2nd the bullpen was up and running. Steve Finley struck out, and then Robb Quinlan came through to tie the game with a home run just beyond the glove of Mark Kotsay in left centerfield.

Kiko Calero finished off the inning, and came out for the 10th as well after the A's couldn't do anything in the top of the inning. With one out, Orlando Cabrera hit a hard line drive that looked like it would stay in the park, but just kept on flying for a walkoff home run, winning it 3-2 for the Angels.

Clubhouse Talk:

Harden: "I was given a job to do in the 9th and I couldn't do it. Maybe I ran out of gas, but I need to be better than that."

A's Hitting:

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

Ginter - 2/4, BB, K

Crosby - 1/4, SB, K

A's Pitching:

Harden - 8.1 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K

Calero - 0.2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

Tommorow: Danny Haren makes his first start since returning from his injury.

[rolliefingers08]

Game 2 of 3: Oakland Athletics (13-4) @ Los Angeles Angels (9-8 )

Vlad Slams It Home For Angels

Left: Macha talks it over with Rincon before he faces Guerrero. Right: He obviously didn't listen, as Vladdy takes one deep for a grand slam.

WP: John Lackey (2-1) LP: Jay Witasick (1-1) S: Francisco Rodriguez (5)

Box:


	  R   H   E


OAK   4   6   0


LAA   7   9   0

The A's hoped to bounce back from their first loss in 9 games, and they sent Danny Haren to the mound for his first start after returning from an inflamed left shoulder. It looked good early on for the green & gold, when Eric Chavez hit his 6th home run of the year to make it 1-0 in the 2nd.

Steve Finley responded for the Angels in the 3rd with a solo shot of his own to tie the game. Later that inning, Adam Kennedy tripled and Darin Erstad brought him home with a single to take the lead. In the 4th, with Nick Swisher on 2nd, Bobby Crosby singled him home to tie it up at 2-2, and with 2 outs Jay Payton doubled home Crosby and Chavez to make it 4-2. In the 5th, Finley homered again to cut the lead to 4-3.

Haren left in the 7th, after allowing 5 hits and striking out 3 over 6.1 innings of work. Jay Witasick came on, and after getting an out, he gave up 2 singles and was pulled for Ricardo Rincon. With Erstad at the plate and Vladimir Guerrero on deck, the obvious plan was to pitch to Erstad. Rincon didn't get the message though, and lost him after being ahead 1-2.

Vladdy came to the plate and tried to keep the ball down, hoping to keep the ball in the park, but he couldn't even do that. On an 0-1 slider, Guerrero took it 350 feet to the opposite field, a grand slam to gave the Angels a 7-4 lead.

Needless to say, that was the end of Rincon, and when Francisco Rodriguez came on in the 9th, the end of the A's too, losing 7-4.

Clubhouse Talk:

Rincon: "I obviously made the mistake of losing Erstad, and Vladdy made me pay big time. That needs to be avoided next time."

A's Hitting:

Payton - 1/3, 2B, 2 RBI, K

Chavez - 1/4, HR, RBI, K

Crosby - 1/4, RBI, R, K

A's Pitching:

Haren - 6.1 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 K

Witasick - 0.1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 K

Rincon - 0.0 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 0 K

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

Tommorow: Joe Blanton and Paul Byrd in the series finale.

[jonalano013]

great dynasty man. keep it up.

-jon-

[rolliefingers08]

Game 3 of 3: Oakland Athletics (13-5) @ Los Angeles Angels (10-8 )

A's Can't Avoid Halo Sweep

Left: Rodgriguez locks up the save in the Angels sweep. Right: Nobody in the A's dugout knows what happened the last 3 games.

WP: Paul Byrd (2-2) LP: Joe Blanton (1-2) S: Francisco Rodriguez (6)

Box:


	  R   H   E


OAK   4   9   0


LAA   7  13   0

With Cupcakes (Joe Blanton if you haven't figured it out) on the hill coming off an impressive win, it looked like the A's were in a good position to avoid the sweep at Angel Stadium. The game started well, with a solo homer by Mark Kotsay to leado off the scoring in the 1st inning. In the 3rd, Jay Payton drove in Keith Ginter from 2nd to give the A's a 2-0 lead.

Blanton allowed just one hit in the first 4 innings, but in the 5th he gave up a triple to Juan Rivera, and an out later he was doubled home by Bengie Molina. Adam Kennedy doubled after that to tie the game at 2-2. Chone Figgins singled beyond the glove of Bobby Crosby to give the Angels a 3-2 lead, and Darin Erstad homered after that to break it wide open at 5-2. Garret Anderson followed that up with an RBI single two batters later to make it 6-2. Blanton didn't make it out of the inning, and in came Keiichi Yabu to clean up the mess.

With a runner on 3rd in the 6th, Figgins hit a sac fly to center field, making it 7-2 Angels. The A's showed some life in the 7th, with home runs from Mark Ellis and Eric Chavez, but it was just enough to coax Scot Shields and Francisco Rodriguez out from the bullpen to close out the victory, and the Angels' 3 game sweep.

Clubhouse Talk:

Macha: "This series was a disaster after coming off 8 straight wins, and now we have to get it together again before we lose the lead."

A's Hitting:

Chavez - 2/4, HR, RBI, K

Ellis - 2/5, HR, 2B, RBI, 2 K

Payton - 3/4, RBI

A's Pitching:

Blanton - 4.1 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, 3 K

Yabu - 2.2 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K

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

Tommorow: The A's take on Jon Garland and the White Sox.

Injury Report: RP Marcus Gwyn of double-A Midland will miss 2 weeks with a strained right hip flexor, and has been placed on the 15-day DL.

[rolliefingers08]

Game 1 of 3: Chicago White Sox (10-9) @ Oakland Athletics (13-6)

Sloppy Play Gives Away 4th Straight

Left: Melhuse tries to track down a wild throw from Ellis in the 9th. Right: Crede singles to left for another run in the 9th.

WP: Neal Cotts (3-1) LP: Huston Street (0-1) S: Dustin Hermanson (3)

Box:


	  R   H   E


CHW   3  12   0


OAK   2  10   2

Once again, the A's got out to a good start early on and it looked like they would break the 3-game losing streak. Mark Ellis singled and stole 2nd in the 3rd, and Keith Ginter singled him home to take a 1-0 lead. The same thing happened all over again, though this time it was a double from Ginter and it was 2-0 A's.

Kirk Saarloos threw well through 5 innings, allowing just 1 run in the 5th on a sac fly by Aaron Rowand to cut the lead in half. Huston Street came on in the 9th to save it, and with a double and a sacrifice, Rowand ended up on 3rd with 1 out.

Jermaine Dye hit a dribbler to 2nd, and Ellis threw the ball away past Adam Melhuse to score the run easily. Then with Dye on 2nd, Joe Crede singled to left, and Jay Payton overthrew the cutoff man, allowing the run to score without a throw, and the White Sox took a 3-2 lead.

Nothing came of the bottom of the 9th for the A's, and they continued to dissapoint by losing their 4th straight game.

Clubhouse Talk:

Macha: "No matter what kind of team you are and type of game you play, errors will kill you. That happened to us tonight and it can't continue to happen if we plan on competing."

A's Hitting:

Ellis - 3/5, 2 SB, 2 R

Ginter - 3/4, 2B, 2 RBI

Payton - 2/4, 2B

A's Pitching:

Saarloos - 6.1 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K

Duchscherer - 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

Street - 1.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

Tommorow: Barry Zito takes the mound looking to right the ship.

[Viceman2004]

How is Jon Reneker(sp) doing in your organization? Im debating whether to resign him or let him walk. I have Zach Jackson waiting in AAA. (in my jays dynasty.)

[rolliefingers08]

no worries, this dynasty hasn't ended, i've just had some CD problems lately, and it will be resolved soon.

[jdurdle]

great dynasty thread. I have Oakland in my dynasty too but my rosters suck. I have MVP for PS2 and I don't play online. Any idea where I can get the CAP's and trades I need to update my rosters?

[RBaggio10]

Great dynasty man. I love it. I am hooked and patiently waiting for more.

[steroid]

Someone has a looooot of time on their hands

W T F?? Insult or Compliment?

Rollie this is looking splendid BRA.............I like it, clean, not to much to take away from the appearance of the look. Really like this one. Im gonna have to add you to my top 5 with APR and LUAL and SPIVEY. I know thats 4, but I need to look for #5. I think it will be me, when I get to work....................lol :lol:

[Dom2662]

How bout mine? ok, ok i know it wasn't that good but still...

[rolliefingers08]

nice to see the support, thanks.

obviously i never got back to this because i discovered NHL 06 and fell in love with it. i'm going to be starting a new dynasty once the final version of MVP06 is released, and it will be awesome for sure.

seems like now, it's trendy to start an a's dynasty because they're gonna be great this year. nice to know i was one of the few to do it last year, as a fan of course.

[kgbaseball]

seems like now, it's trendy to start an a's dynasty because they're gonna be great this year. nice to know i was one of the few to do it last year, as a fan of course.

With that awesome pitching staff, how couldn't anyone resist doing them? I was going to do an A's dynasty before I saw how many other people were doing them. Now I've decided on either the Marlins or Phillies.

Keep up the good work! :wtg:

I had to laugh at this picture when I saw it. Santana looks like a dinosaur for some reason; that's the first thing that came to my head when I saw it.