Making The Grade... A 2006 Oakland A's Dynasty

[rolliefingers08]

Game 3 of 3: Oakland Athletics (13-11) @ Kansas City Royals (10-12)

A's Leave KC With Another Series

Left: Crosby kills a Royals rally in the 8th with a diving catch. Right: The A's can relax a bit as they leave Kansas City.

Barry Zito's 4-0 record was on the line as the A's took on the Royals and former A's prospect Mike Wood, who was involved in the 3-way trade for Octavio Dotel in 2004.

With the score 1-1 in the 4th inning, the Royals took a 4-1 lead on a 3-run home run by Joey Gathright of all people, who has now hit the first 6 home runs of his 2 and a half year major league career. The A's responded in the 5th with solo homeers from Jay Payton and Bobby Crosby, and a single by Nick Swisher to drive in another run and tie the game up once again.

The A's took a 5-4 lead in the borrom of the 8th with an RBI from Frank Thomas, and Zito left the game with a season high 8 strikeouts over 7 innings, allowing 4 runs on 5 hits. Justin Duchscherer took over and almost got out of the inning without a blemish. With 2 outs and 2 strikes to Mark Teahen however, Duchscherer served up a hanging curveball which was blasted to deep center, tying the game at 5-5.

Nick Swisher came through in the 9th with a single to drive in Mark Kotsay from 2nd base, and Huston Street threw a perfect 9th to save the A's 6-5 lead.

Clubhouse Talk:

Macha: "We're glad to get out of here the way we did and get some big contributions from some guys that haven't necessarily been doing it lately."

Tomorrow: The A's head to Los Angeles for a short 2-game series with the Angels.

[rolliefingers08]

Thanks for the comments guys, nice to know people are reading and enjoying. Any suggestions you have for the reports and for the team are welcome and appreciated.

I am however going to be managing the majority of the month of May, playing a game here and there, just to get deeper into the season so I can get more into the games as they mean more.

Especially in the offseason and just after the intensity of the playoffs, it's hard to play these meaningless April and May games.

I will keep you updated with short summaries and any important team news should it come up.

[Campo09]

Great lookin dynasty,

I hope you do another one after this one, maybe i will follow that as i have my dynasty going right now.

[rolliefingers08]

Well I don't plan on this one ending anytime soon, but if I were to start a new one sometime in the future, I might explore another team... probably San Diego, just for a change, even though my heart is still with the A's.

[rolliefingers08]

Oakland A's Mid-May Report

The Oakland A's head into their May 9th off-day in sole posession of 1st place in the AL West, at least for a day as the Seattle Mariners trail the A's by half a game, and the Los Angeles Angels by a full game.

The A's have gone 5-3 so far in the month of May. They started with the final victory in a series against the Kansas City Royals, before splitting a game apiece with the Angels. The Cleveland Indians dropped both of their games to the A's, and then the Tampa Bay Devil Rays came to Oakland and surprised many by taking 2 of 3 in the series.

Game Linescores:

*Jason Kendall hits his 2nd home run after not hitting one for nearly 2 years

*Barry Zito ejected in the 3rd inning for hitting 2 batters in a row

*Esteban Loaiza walks 4 batters in the first inning en route to the loss

Next up is an AL East swing that sees the A's begin with the Toronto Blue Jays. What began as a season with a lot of promise is now one that's already fading away as the 11-20 Jays are last in the division, and 8.5 games behind the New York Yankees, who the A's take on next. The A's will throw Danny Haren (2-1) in the opener against AJ Burnett (2-2).

[rolliefingers08]

Game 1 of 3: Oakland Athletics (18-14) @ Toronto Blue Jays (11-20)

BJ Blows, A's Rally Off Ryan

Left: Ryan has a little chat with Gibbons after loading the bases in the 9th. Right: Shortly after, Kielty hit this high chopper on the infield to tie the game.

The Toronto Blue Jays had a ton of promise coming into the season, but have not played nearly to their potential and expectations, however their starter tonight, AJ Burnett, has come as expected (well, as much as can be expected from a guy who's ONLY making $11 million) so far with an ERA under 3.00 and a 2-2 record.

He brought his A game to the Rogers Centre in the opener against the A's, striking out 5 and allowing just 2 hits over 7 innings of work. His only mistake was a solo home run given up to Nick Swisher in the 4th inning. He turned the game over to the bullpen in the 8th, and Brandon League threw a scoreless inning leading to BJ Ryan...

Frank Thomas led off the inning with a single, and was pinch run for by Antonio Perez. Eric Chavez hit a groundball to 3rd which Troy Glaus bobbled, putting runners on 1st and 2nd. Jay Payton grounded out to advance the runners, and Milton Bradley pinch-hit for Dan Johnson. He was intentionally walked, leading to Bobby Kielty pinch-hitting for Bobby Crosby. With the bases loaded now, Kielty hit a 2-2 cutter from Ryan straight into the dirt in front of the plate. The ball jumped about 50 feet in the air, allowing everyone to advance safe all around, and the A's tied the game 2-2.

Mark Ellis then came through big time with a single up the middle to score 2 more runs and give the A's a 4-2 lead. That was enough for Huston Street, who's been rejuvenated from his early season struggles, as he locked down his 9th save of the season.

Clubhouse Talk:

Ellis: "It's just awesome to come back off a guy as great as BJ, it doesn't happen really often so it really gets you up."

Tomorrow: The A's continue their series with the Jays as they send Joe Blanton to the hill.

[rolliefingers08]

A's Go 5-3, Begin Set With Giants

The Oakland A's are set to begin their first interleague series of the year, a 3-game set with their cross-bay rival San Francisco Giants.

In doing so, they come off a 5-3 swing where they took 2 games from the New York Yankees, and swept the division foe Seattle Mariners, bringing their record to 24-17, good for 1st place in the AL West division. The A's lead the Mariners by 2.5 games, and the Los Angeles Angels by 4.5 games.

Game Linescores:

Standings as of May 20:

The A's will now begin a series with the Giants, throwing Esteban Loaiza, Danny Haren, and Joe Blanton.

[rolliefingers08]

Just to let everyone know what's going... on Monday I but the palm of my hand open at work cutting a box, so it's not easy to use the computer for too long until the stitched up cut heals about more, and it's impossible to play a game with the controller.

But don't worry, this isnt going anywhere.

[xiberger]

I'm sorry to hear that. Hope you get well soon.

[rolliefingers08]

Game 1 of 3: San Francisco Giants (22-20) @ Oakland Athletics (24-17)

A's Rally In 8th, Top Giants 4-3

Left: Macha reacts to a bad call and stands up for his team, while Alou wonders what to even do with his. Right: Street nails down save number 13 in the victory.

Traditionally one of the top interleague teams over the years, the A's looked to continue that trend as they entered their first NL series against their cross bay rival San Francisco Giants.

Esteban Loaiza looked good early for the A's despite a couple hit batters, but trouble struck in the 3rd inning when Randy Winn hit a solo home run, and Barry Bonds followed it up with a 2-run shot of his own to make it 3-0 Giants. In the 5th, the A's struck back as their own slugger, Frank Thomas blasted a solo shot, a no doubter into the left field bleachers to put the AL boys on the board.

Kirk Saarloos replaced Loaiza in the 6th and had an excellent relief outing, going 3 innings and striking out a pair, while giving up just 1 hit and no walks. Noah Lowry left the game for the Giants after 7 innings and 5 strikeouts, his only blemish being the home run given up to Thomas. Merkin Valdez took over in the 8th to bridge the way to Antonio Benitez.

That bridge collapsed however, as the A's put together a rally with 1 out to score 3 runs and take a 4-3 lead. Nick Swisher singled, Mark Ellis walked, Antonio Perez singled, Jason Kendall singled, Mark Kotsay singled, and Jay Payton brought home the winning run on yet another single, all off Valdez. Huston Street came in for the 9th and continued to close the door, earning his 13th save in the win.

Clubhouse Talk:

Payton: "When we put together an inning like that, it's like nothing can go wrong. The ball gets bigger to every batter and we got it done."

Tomorrow: A couple young guns on the hill in Danny Haren and Matt Cain.

[rolliefingers08]

Game 2 of 3: San Francisco Giants (22-21) @ Oakland Athletics (25-17)

Number 7 Lifts A's To 7th Straight

Left: Winn goes down swinging on a nasty slider from Haren. Right: The A's celebrate their seventh straight as they walk off the field.

As the A's chased their 7th straight win, Danny Haren took the mound looking for his 5th win of the season. It looked as if he might be in for a tough day, when in the 2nd inning Moises Alou walked, and Lance Niekro took him deep to give the Giants a 2-0 lead.

The A's struck back in the 4th, when Jay Payton singled and Adam Melhuse walked to put a couple runners on. Bobby Crosby stepped up to the plate, and belted a 2-2 changeup into the left field seats and giving his own team a 3-2 lead. Haren took the reigns from there, going 8 innings and striking out 3 batters. Huston Street closed it out again for his 14th save.

Clubhouse Talk:

Macha: "When you're on a roll like this, things go your way, and it's a good thing to remember for those times that things aren't going so well."

Tomorrow: Joe Blanton will be promised a whole plate of cupcakes if he leads the A's to a sweep of the Giants.

[rolliefingers08]

Game 3 of 3: San Francisco Giants (22-22) @ Oakland Athletics (26-17)

Payton Drives Home To Win

Left: Kendall slides into 2nd with an RBI double in the 5th. Right: Niekro couldn't stab at a Scutaro liner, scoring Bradley and advancing Crosby.

It was a hot sunny day in the Bay and a great day for the A's to sweep their rivals from San Francisco. They did exactly that on Sunday, with Joe Blanton pitching them to victory and Jay Payton blasting some insurance runs.

In the bottom of the 5th with the score tied 1-1, Marco Scutaro singled home Milton Bradley to take the lead, and a batter later Jason Kendall extended it to 3-1 with a double to cash in Bobby Crosby. In the 6th, Payton stepped up with 2 runners on and barely cleared the left field wall for his 2nd home run of the season to make it 6-1.

Blanton left after 6 innings, allowing just 1 run and walking 1 while giving up 8 hits. Justin Duchscherer pitched 2 scoreless innings, and Kiko Calero gave up a couple in the 9th but no harm was done, as the A's took the game 6-3 and swept the series.

Clubhouse Talk:

Payton: "Things have really come around for me lately, and I'm glad I can just help the team win."

Tomorrow: The A's hit the road to Chicago, sending Barry Zito (5-1) to the hill against Javier Vazquez (2-0).

[D-Unit]

You seem to be on fire.

[rolliefingers08]

Game 1 of 3: Oakland Athletics (27-17) @ Chicago White Sox (19-25)

Zito K's 10, A's Win 9th

Left: Swisher doubles home one of 4 A's runs in the 6th. Right: Dye is clearly frustrated as he strikes out late in the game.

The A's couldn't have written a better script as they enjoyed yet another victory tonight, this one coming at the hands of the Chicago White Sox. Barry Zito nearly went the distance, striking out 10 and allowing 2 runs while walking just 1. He got out of a bases loaded jam in the 3rd inning, giving up just a sacrifice fly to score a run.

Offense was the story of the day, when back to back doubles from Mark Kotsay and Nick Swisher brought in 3 runs, and Eric Chavez homered an out later to put the A's up 5-1 after 6 innings. Jay Payton brought another run home and Mark Ellis hit a solo shot in the top of the 9th for the A's 7th run.

Zito gave up a homer to Joe Crede in the 9th, and could not go the distance as Huston Street was brought into to get the final out. A hard chopping ground ball back to the mound ended the game, and the A's won their 9th straight, 7-2.

Clubhouse Talk:

Zito: "I was getting a bit fatigued in the late stages, but I felt great out there tonight and a complete game doesn't really matter, it's all about getting the W."

Tomorrow: Flamethrowing Rich Harden goes up against Mark Buehrle in the 2nd game of a 3 game set.

[rolliefingers08]

Street Concussed, Out Up To A Month

Street was all smiles after last night's win, but things aren't looking so good now...

The Oakland A's announced today that RHP Huston Street has been placed on the DL after being diagnosed with a concussion.

He suffered the injury in last night's 7-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox, in which he threw only one pitch. The ball was hit back hard, chopping twice off the ground, surprising the young righthander as he caught the ball right up against his jaw, which shook him a bit, but team staff did not think it would be an issue.

After a team meal, Street felt lightheaded and made a visit to team medical staff, after which he was diagnosed with a concussion. He is expected to miss up to a month of action, but it is uncertain if that time will be shorter or longer.

LHP Brad Halsey was re-called from triple-A Sacramento, triggering a variety of minor league assignments.

MLB News: The Los Angeles Angels and Chicago Cubs reached a 6 player deal early Tuesday morning. To the Angels go C Michael Barrett, IF Cesar Izturis, and RP Juan Mateo. The Cubs receive 3B Dallas McPherson, DH Dmitri Young, and RP Chris Bootcheck.

A number of rumours are floating around that the Cincinatti Reds and Washington Nationals have been on the phone with AL clubs looking for relief pitching.

[cubsfaninfla]

I'd also send down Dan Johnson.....

[rolliefingers08]

Believe me, I'm considering it.

Maybe with 1/100th of the energy Billy Beane might, but it's still somewhere in my thought process.

[rolliefingers08]

Game 2 of 3: Oakland Athletics (28-17) @ Chicago White Sox (19-26)

The Streak Is Up

Left: US Cellular Field erupts as Iguchi goes yard to take the lead. Right: Thomas is frustrated as he goes down swinging and hears it from his former faithful.

Things looked great for the A's as they entered the 2nd game of a 3 game series with the Chicago White Sox, going for their 10th straight victory. After a 2-run first inning on a home run by Frank Thomas, it looked like nothing could derail the boys in the white shoes.

The Sox weren't going to go down lightly though, down 2-1 in the 3rd inning, Tadahito Iguchi homered to take a 3-2 lead for his team. Chicago added on in the 4th on a 2-run homer from Scott Podsednik, and two hits and a walk later, the score was suddenly 7-2 White Sox. Milton Bradley responded in the 5th with a 2-run shot of his own, but that was all the A's could muster as the Sox added on a couple more in the 8th to take the game 9-4.

Rich Harden lasted just 4 innings, striking out 4 while giving up 6 runs on 11 hits. Brad Halsey made his dayview with the a's, going 3.1 innings, striking out 3 and not allowing a run until the 8th inning. Jay Witasick threw 2 pitches before getting a double play ball to end the inning.

Clubhouse Talk:

Macha: "A loss like this is going to happen once in awhile. Fortunately we went 10 games without it happening, and now we have to go back out there tommorow and get back to what we were doing right."

Tomorrow: Esteban Loaiza pitches to his former team as the A's aim to win the series.

[rolliefingers08]

Game 3 of 3: Oakland Athletics (28-18) @ Chicago White Sox (20-26)

Loaiza... Sucks

Left: Swisher points to the sky as the A's only bright in the game, a solo homer. Right: The Sox were quite pleased with the outcome, even jawing a bit at the A's across the field.

A 3 run deficit after 2 innings proved to be costly for the A's, as they dug their hole deeper and deeper on route to a 9-1 loss at the hands of the Chicago White Sox.

Joe Crede had a pair of 2-run homers and Jermaine Dye hit a 2-run shot to combine for 6 of the Sox runs. Esteban Loaiza was not up to par on the night, going 5 innings and allowing 5 runs on 8 hits and 2 walks, striking out 3. He gave up all 3 homers in the game.

Antonio Perez made 2 errors, playing in place of Eric Chavez on a rare day off for the gold-glover. The A's played a very sloppy series coming off their winning streak, and will have to pick it up against division rival Texas in the upcoming series.

Clubhouse Talk:

Macha: "Tonight was a sad effort, and that won't be accepted if this team wants to win."

Tomorrow: The A's are back in Texas with Danny Haren on the mound.

[SeanRobinson]

Great dynasty.

Was that Angels-Cubs trade computer generated? It's pretty unrealistic--the Angels don't need another catcher with Molina entrenched and Napoli hitting hard with Mathis just behind them. They're completely stacked at 3B/SS/1B, so they'd never trade for Cesar. Trading for middle relief I can see, but otherwise...

Anyway, keep up the good work!

[rolliefingers08]

Yep, the computer did it. I don't make any computer team's trades unless they are massive trades and happen in real life... like in the past, I have made the deadline deals that happened in real life.

But yeah, it looked like a stupid trade to me too. Especially for the Cubs, I mean, who the hell catches now?

[rolliefingers08]

A's Go 6-5, 6 Games Up In West

The A's hit a bit of a rocky stretch, but overall they played solid baseball despite a very tired team, and a depleted middle infield.

Game Linescores:

*Complete game for Joe Blanton, no hitter through 7 innings

*First save for Justin Duchscherer in place of the injured Huston Street

*Blown save for Justin Duchscherer

*Bobby Crosby injured with a strained ribcage, to miss 9-10 days.

*Mark Ellis injured with a minor ACL sprain, to miss 7-8 days.

*Keith Ginter recalled from triple-A Sacramento. Dan Johnson sent down.

The A's now travel to Cleveland to take on the Indians in a 3-game series, followed by the New York Yankees.

[SESbb30]

you ever gonna finish it. ive been waiting.

[rolliefingers08]

I will play whenever I want, thank you.

[rolliefingers08]

Game 1 of 3: Oakland Athletics (34-24) @ Cleveland Indians (31-26)

Michaels Blasts Home A Tribe Win

Left: Hafner hits a mammoth home run in the 3rd inning. Right: The Indians congratulate eachother as they take their 4th straight win.

Danny Haren's 5-1 record took a hit tonight as the Cleveland Indians put up 7 runs on 12 hits to beat the A's 7-5.

In the opening inning, 4 straight singles from the Tribe gave them an early 2-0 lead. The A's battled back with 2 runs of their own on Frank Thomas's 10th home run of the year, and a sac-fly to tie the game from Marco Scutaro. They made it 4-2 in the 3rd with RBI's from Milton Bradley and Nick Swisher, but the Indians chipped away to tie it up again after 4 innings with a homer from Travis Hafner and an RBI double from Sean Burroughs.

In the 6th, the Indians really got to Haren as Jason Michaels hit a 3-run homer to make it 7-4 for the home side. Jay Payton hit a pinch hit homer in the 9th inning, but it wasn't enough to get the A's back in it as they dropped the opener of the 3 game series.

Clubhouse Talk:

Macha: "They had a good kid out there on the mound tonight. We got to him early, but he really settled down and we couldn't muster anything else when we needed it."

Tomorrow: Joe Blanton takes a 5-3 record to the mound against Paul Byrd (5-1).