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


rolliefingers08

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Hahaha, it's fine. I liked that movie until everyone ruined it by quoting it every 5 seconds.

It also looks like I said I'd play when I want, but then caved and played when he wanted. But I was set to play a game, and came to check on my thread beforehand to see where I left off and get back into the same fake storyline again.

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Hahaha, it's fine. I liked that movie until everyone ruined it by quoting it every 5 seconds.

It also looks like I said I'd play when I want, but then caved and played when he wanted. But I was set to play a game, and came to check on my thread beforehand to see where I left off and get back into the same fake storyline again.

To tell you the truth, I haven't got to the "like" phase with the movie. Apparently you have to watch it a couple times to get to that point.

I predict ownage from Blanton in the next game - A's 5, Tribe 1.

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Game 2 of 3: Oakland Athletics (34-25) @ Cleveland Indians (32-26)

Blake, Indians Win It In 10

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Left: The A's get away with one as Scutaro was called safe on this stolen base attempt. Right: The look says it all on Saarloos's face shortly after giving up the winning hit.

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The A's came into the 2nd game of their 3 game series with the Cleveland Indians looking to break the Tribe's 4 game win streak. They put 2 runs on the board in the 2nd inning when Nick Swisher took Indians starter Paul Byrd deep into the right field seats, but the lead was gone in the bottom of the 4th when Ben Broussard hit a 3-run shot to make it 3-2 Indians.

Eric Chavez hit a solo homer in the 7th, and it was followed by a clutch single shortly after from Marco Scutaro to score Jay Payton and give the A's a 4-3 lead. It didn't last long though as Grady Sizemore drove in a run in the bottom of the inning tie tie it up once again.

With the starters out of the game, Fausto Carmona was on in relief for the Indians and threw 2 nearly perfect innings at the end of the game. Kirk Saarloos was given the ball in the 10th inning, and after 2 hits and a sacrifice, Casey Blake drove the first pitch he saw down the left field line to score the winning run from 3rd, as a dejected A's team left the field having lost their 2nd straight game.

Clubhouse Talk:

Saarloos: "It's dissapointing to be the guy who gives it up after everybody works that hard for 9 innings... it's not a good feeling at all."

Tomorrow: Barry Zito will try to avoid being swept as the A's play the 3rd game of the series.

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Sweet, my computer restarted while I had the game open, and I might not have saved after that game just yet. We'll see what happens... I'm not replaying the game though. I'll try and manage it to a similar result, and we'll just pretend it didn't happen.

I like the predictions though, keep 'em coming. Maybe get a few other people predictiing to see who knows my A's the best.

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Sweet, my computer restarted while I had the game open, and I might not have saved after that game just yet. We'll see what happens... I'm not replaying the game though. I'll try and manage it to a similar result, and we'll just pretend it didn't happen.

I like the predictions though, keep 'em coming. Maybe get a few other people predictiing to see who knows my A's the best.

heh - i've forgotten to save many times, so i know how it feels when you realize the game you just played may not have really happened.

as for the predictions, i've found that committing to a dynasty is only truly possible if you are good at carrying on conversations with yourself. so i try to drop comments in the dynasties i like to keep the owner interested, just in case they start to get bored with it :D

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heh - i've forgotten to save many times, so i know how it feels when you realize the game you just played may not have really happened.

as for the predictions, i've found that committing to a dynasty is only truly possible if you are good at carrying on conversations with yourself. so i try to drop comments in the dynasties i like to keep the owner interested, just in case they start to get bored with it :D

It's worse after you make a blockbuster trade, and forget to save, then forget who you offered, and windup not getting the player that could boost your team. (I traded for Vlad, it was a steal, and that happened)

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A's Swing Three Moves

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Accardo and Schoeneweis, two new faces in the A's organization

icon_oak.gif General manager Billy Beane was on the phones throughout the night, and the A's arose this morning with a few new faces putting on a pair of white spikes.

The A's acquired left-handed reliever Scott Schoeneweis, along with two minor leaguers from the Cincinatti Reds in exchange for minor league pitchers Jeff Muessig, Adam Pettyjohn, and Mark Watson. Schoeneweis has only thrown 4 innings in 2006, with a 2.25 ERA to show for it.

Shortly after, Beane got a call from Blue Jays GM JP Ricciardi regarding AAA starter Jerome Williams. It was an easy move for both clubs, as Beane simply requested reliever Jeremy Accardo, and got his wish as the deal was done in less than a half hour.

Another small deal was made as the A's sent AAA reliever Juan Dominguez to the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for 19 year old centerfielder Greg Golson.

To accomodate the trades, LHP Brad Halsey was assigned to AAA Sacramento, and AA catcher Casey Myers was given an outright release. Accardo will join the River Cats as well, while Schoeneweis will be given his physical tommorow to make it official, and join the A's in New York.

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Game 3 of 3: Oakland Athletics (34-26) @ Cleveland Indians (33-26)

Blake, Indians Win It In 10

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Left: Wedge argues his way out of the ballgame, while... Right: his counterpart Macha was not having a pleasant time with his starting pitcher as he was told to hit the showers.

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Maybe the A's should have taken a different approach to avoiding a sweep at the hands of the Cleveland Indians, because their 8-2 loss this afternoon was certainly not a result they were looking for.

With their ace Barry Zito on the hill up against Adam Miller, the A's simply could not hit the ball with runners on base, despite putting 10 hits on the board. Meanwhile, Zito had trouble locating his curveball and left a number of meaty pitches in the strikezone for the Indians to crush. Victor Martinez, Grady Sizemore, and Casey Blake all hit home runs, and only Eric Chavez and Antonio Perez replied with RBI's for the green and gold.

Jay Witasick couldn't get more than an out, giving up 4 hits and a walk for 4 earned runs before Joe Kennedy had to clean up the mess. Jeremy Guthrie notched a save for the Tribe throwing 2.2 innings of relief, allowing just 1 walk and 1 hit.

Clubhouse Talk:

Thomas: "We all know we have to pick up our acts, there's no doubt about it. I was 1 for 12 in this series. Unacceptable. And there's 25 of us that know it."

Tomorrow: Rich Harden will attempt to right the ship at a hostile Yankee Stadium. Scott Schoeneweis will be in uniform for the first time as an Athletic, while Bobby Crosby and Mark Ellis will both likely return during the series if there are no further setbacks to their injuries.

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Game 1 of 3: Oakland Athletics (34-27) @ New York Yankees (34-26)

Road Woes Continue

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Left: Wilson knocks it out for a grand slam in the 2nd inning. Right: A couple beanballs gets Calero an early trip to the clubhouse.

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No matter how good your pitcher's stuff is, sometimes his A game is just beaten and bruised by the opposing hitters. It also doesn't help when the New York Yankees starter on this evening was a future hall of famer who brought his A game as well.

Nick Swisher opened the scoring in the 2nd inning for the A's. With the bases loaded, he singled to bring home Frank Thomas to make it 1-0. With none out still, the A's squandered their opportunity to open it up early and struck out, followed by a double play to end the inning. In the bottom half, Craig Wilson hit a grand slam for the Bronx Bombers to take a 4-1 lead.

It stayed that way until the 6th when Robinson Cano and Jorge Posada brought home a run each to extend the lead to 6-1. It was extended in the 7th, with Rich Harden out of the game, when Kiko Calero couldn't find his control and walked 2 batters, also giving up 2 hits and 2 runs to make it 8-1 Yankees. He was tossed when he hit his 2nd batter, not surprisingly, the saint of Major League Baseball, Derek Jeter. Scott Schoeneweis made his A's dayview, striking out 1 batter and getting out of the inning.

The A's could muster nothing else, and the game ended an 8-1 win for the Yankees.

Clubhouse Talk:

Macha: "A horribly mangled football stadium with 15,000 fans looks pretty good right now when you're struggling on the road like this."

Tomorrow: Bobby Crosby returns as Esteban Loaiza faces Mike Mussina.

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Game 2 of 3: Oakland Athletics (34-28) @ New York Yankees (35-26)

A's Bats No Match For Moose

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Left: A-Rod celebrates his 3rd inning round tripper. Right: Kielty and the rest of the A's have no words for what's going on lately.

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When the pitching comes through once again, the hitting is nowhere to be found. The Jekyll & Hyde Athletics suffered their 5th straight loss at Yankee Stadium tonight, this time by a score of 3-1.

Alex Rodriguez hit a 2-run homer in the 3rd inning to take a lead his team would never relinquish. Johnny Damon brought in another run in the 7th for unnecessary insurance, as the only A's reply was a single from Bobby Crosby to score Jay Payton.

Esteban Loaiza threw 6 innings, allowing 3 runs on 7 hits, striking out 7 and walking 4. Mike Mussina was terrific for the Yankees through 7 innings, striking out 5 and walking 3 on 6 hits, allowing just the 1 run before being relieved by Tanyon Sturtze. Mariano Rivera notched his 14th save of the season.

Clubhouse Talk:

Chavez: "Our approach maybe should be to come to the ballpark, have fun, and play to win, instead of to not-lose. We've gotten too uptight and now we just have to get back to what made us a good team in the first place."

Tomorrow: The middle infield is back intact as Mark Ellis has been cleared to play the final game of the series, as the A's send Danny Haren to the mound against Chien-Ming Wang.

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Game 3 of 3: Oakland Athletics (34-29) @ New York Yankees (36-26)

A's Break Out, Avoid Sweep

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Left: Wilson goes deep for his 2nd time in the series during the 5th inning. Right: Swisher's effort down the line brings home a run in the 7th.

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A combination of Danny Haren's A-game with an astonishing 16 hits from the A's bats helped the green and gold avoid a sweep in the Bronx.

Mark Kotsay homered not once, not twice, but three times, all solo shots to give him 9 round trippers on the season. Milton Bradley drove in 2 runs, while Eric Chavez, Jay Payton, and Nick Swisher had RBI's of their own.

Without the hits though, the A's still would have been in fine shape behind the pitching of Haren. He gave up 2 runs on just 3 hits and no walks, striking out 4 over 7 innings of work to earn his 6th win of the season.

Clubhouse Talk:

Kotsay: "I think I might have grabbed big Frank's bat out there, 'cause I don't think my bats had that in them."

Tomorrow: The A's now have a day off before they are back on home soil for a 3-game set against the Seattle Mariners.

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Game 1 of 3: Seattle Mariners (28-37) @ Oakland Athletics (35-29)

Chavez, Pitching Help A's Take Opener

Sorry, no pictures from this game.

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Joe Blanton rebounded well from his last start to open a 3-game set with the Seattle Mariners, striking out 6 batters over 6 innings of work, allowing just 1 run.

The A's offense got rolling in the 4th with Nick Swisher leading off with a walk, and after a Frank Thomas groundout, Eric Chavez belted the first pitch he saw deep onto the stairwell in rightfield to take a 2-0 lead.

Raul Ibanez singled home a run in the 6th for the Mariners to cut the lead in half, but the A's bullpen shut the door after that, giving up just 1 hit in 3 innings of work by Kiko Calero, Scott Schoeneweis, and Justin Duchscherer for the save.

Clubhouse Talk:

Blanton: "I'm glad I was able to go out there and pitch a heck of a lot better than last time, and just give the guys the opportunity to win the ballgame."

Tomorrow: A pair of lefties go at it as Barry Zito takes on Jarrod Washburn.

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Game 2 of 3: Seattle Mariners (28-38) @ Oakland Athletics (36-29)

Viva Chavez!

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Left: The sorrows of a double play to end the inning late in a close ballgame, and... Right: The celebration of Chavez's walkoff home run in the 10th inning.

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With the Mariners seven games back of the A's in the AL West and 10 games under .500, you would not expect a highly competitive game from these two teams. However, the Mariners came to play in the 2nd game of a 3 game series, and it was well worth the price of admission.

Barry Zito dueled it out with Mariners starter Jarrod Washburn, and while Washburn was striking out his opponents, Zito was sitting them down with easy groundouts and flyballs left and right. Both were perfect through the first 5 innings, until finally Yuniesky Betancourt singled up the gut for the Mariners and Mark Ellis did the same for the A's.

Finally a run was scored in the 7th when Mark Kotsay bunted for a hit and a wild Adrian Beltre throw put Kotsay on 2nd base. Two batters later Bobby Kielty hit a weak chopper up the middle to score the run and take a 1-0 lead. The Mariners came right back in the 8th when Kenji Jojima singled in Jose Lopez from 2nd base to tie the game at 1-1.

With Washburn out of the game after 7 and a third, the A's threatened in the 9th with runners on 1st and 3rd with one out, but after a long foul ball, Kielty hit into the double play to end the inning.

Zito continued to keep a low pitch count with short innings, and with a runner on 2nd in the 9th, he got 3 straight popups to end the threat. Manager Ken Macha, faced with the decision to leave him in or go with reliever Kiko Calero, decided to stick with his ace in the 10th, which proved to be a fine choice as 9 pitches later the A's were on the sticks. Zito finished with 2 strikeouts, giving up 6 hits and an intentional walk over the 10 innings.

In the bottom of the inning, Eric Chavez stepped up to the plate and on the 1-2 pitch, JJ Putz tried to beat him with an inside fastball, but nothing doing as Chavez turned on it and hit a line drive right over the fence in right to send the A's home with a 2-1 victory, and a head mashing at the plate.

Clubhouse Talk:

Macha: "Two of our leaders stepped it up out there tonight, big time. When you look into the eyes of a guy like Barry when you're deciding on a change, they'll tell you everything you need to know."

Tomorrow: Rich Harden (5-8) goes for the sweep of the Mariners against Felix Hernandez (4-6).

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Game 3 of 3: Seattle Mariners (28-39) @ Oakland Athletics (37-29)

Felix The Jester

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Left: A beautiful diving catch from the five time reigning Gold Glove winner. Soon to be six in 06? Right: The Big Hurt drives in one of his 3 runs on the day.

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The young righty Felix Hernandez was on the mound for the Seattle Mariners today in Oakland, and his attempt to right the ship did not go so well as the A's ripped into him for 7 runs on the way to a 7-1 Oakland win.

Rich Harden gave up a run in the first inning on a double by Kenji Jojima, but that was the only offense the Mariners would muster all game. In the 3rd inning, Frank Thomas doubled home Mark Kotsay and Nick Swisher to take a 2-0 lead, and Eric Chavez made it 3-0 with a single up the middle. The A's tacked on 4 more in the 5th with a Thomas home run, and singles from Bobby Crosby and Jason Kendall to cap the scoring at 7-1.

That was the end of Hernandez's day with a final line of 10 hits, 6 earned runs, 3 walks, and 4 strikeouts. Harden lasted 7 innings, giving up 1 run on 7 hits, striking out 6 and not walking a single batter.

Clubhouse Talk:

Thomas: "I think this series, we kind of wanted to make a statement on the field that this is the ballclub we are, not the one that played the previous week, and that's something everyone contributed to these last few days."

Injury Report: Eric Chavez left the game in the 5th inning after being hit near the face by a pitch. He will likely sit out tommorow's game and will be re-evaluated the next day.

Tomorrow: The bulk of interleague play begins as Esteban Loaiza (2-5) faces the Los Angeles Dodgers and Brad Penny (6-5).

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Game 1 of 3: Los Angeles Dodgers (34-32) @ Oakland Athletics (38-29)

Loaiza Just Can't Win

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Left: Drew makes a great diving catch in right field foul territory. Right: Loaiza keeps that same smirk on his face despite dropping to 2-6 on the campaign.

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Esteban Loaiza has been a Jekyll & Hyde type of pitcher so far in 2006, on occasion looking like a solid number 3 starter who the A's gave a 3 year, $21-million contract to, but more often has been the one that showed up today. One that is hitting the strike zone, but certainly not his spots within the zone, and cannot seem to avoid the bats of his opponents.

In the 2nd inning, JD Drew was hit by a 3-1 pitch and came around to score on a single after stealing 2nd. In the 3rd, Kenny Lofton tripled home a run and 2 batters later Nomar Garciaparra did the same thing to take a 3-0 lead for the Dodgers. Jeff Kent singled on the next pitch to make it 4-0.

The A's took advantage of Brad Penny's control in the 6th inning, where he walked Jason Kendall and Mark Kotsay to lead it off. Nick Swisher struck out to preceed a Frank Thomas walk. Milton Bradley then took a free pass to score a run, but Jay Payton went down looking and Bobby Crosby grounded out to leave the bases loaded and the score 4-1.

Penny left the game in the 7th with a great line after the walks, striking out 5 over 6.2 innings, allowing just 1 run on 1 hit and walking 6. Jonathan Broxton pitched a scoreless 8th and it was game over in the 9th as Eric Gagne saved his 10th game of the season.

Clubhouse Talk:

Swisher: (on his golden sombrero of 4 K's) "That was rough out there man... real rough."

Tomorrow: Danny Haren goes up against future hall of famer Greg Maddux in game 2.

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Game 2 of 3: Los Angeles Dodgers (35-32) @ Oakland Athletics (38-30)

Big Hurtin' The Dodgers

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Left: Kent connects to hook one around the pole in right for an opposite field homer. Right: Thomas watches his no-doubter 3 run shot in the 4th inning to take the lead.

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Sometimes weird things happen in baseball, and when you manage to walk 5 times off Greg Maddux as well as put up 7 runs on the 4-time Cy Young Award winner, it's one of those things.

The Dodgers were the ones to open the scoring off A's starter Danny Haren. Jeff Kent hit a solo homer to lead off the 4th, and Russell Martin hit a 2-run jack to give LA a 3-0 lead. The A's came back in the bottom of the inning though, when a single and 2 walks led to RBI's from Marco Scutaro and Jason Kendall to cut the lead to one.

Kendall was out on a fielders choice by Mark Kotsay, followed by a walk to Nick Swisher, bringing up Frank Thomas. The Big Hurt went through a 7-pitch at bat, with a 3-2 count and a couple foul balls, before driving an inside fastball about 350 feet to the left field seats and giving the A's a 5-3 lead on Thomas' 12th home run.

The A's tacked on a few more in the 7th with singles from Thomas, Eric Chavez, and Jay Payton to make it 8-3 Oakland. The teams traded runs in the 8th, and Kiko Calero looked a little shaky in the 9th, giving up 2 runs and forcing Justin Duchscherer to begin throwing in the bullpen, but the A's got the job done and took the game 9-6 over the Dodgers.

Clubhouse Talk:

Macha: "Other than a few things we want to work on, we were pretty pleased with the results out there today. Danny pitched a good game and the hitting certainly came through."

Injury Report: Eric Chavez returned to the lineup today after recieving clearance from team medical staff... The Dodgers' Rafael Furcal left the game in the 4th after a diving play, rumored to be a meniscus injury... Huston Street is less than a week away from returning to the A's bullpen after suffering a concussion on May 23.

Tomorrow: Cupcakes goes for the series win against Aaron Sele.

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Game 3 of 3: Los Angeles Dodgers (35-33) @ Oakland Athletics (39-30)

Dodgers Take The Rubbermatch

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Left: This play wasn't an error, but proved costly as Payton misplays a ball in left. Right: Gagne is pleased as he notches his 11th save of the season.

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The A's had hoped to grab their 2nd interleague series win of the season today, but were foiled in their efforts as they dropped the game 5-2 to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Jay Payton opened the scoring in the 2nd inning when he doubled home Eric Chavez, and was followed by a double from Milton Bradley to make it 2-0. The Dodgers tied it up in the 4th, when Russ Martin flew out deep to centerfield with the bases loaded, and Jayson Werth singled shortly after leaving the teams at 2 apiece.

In the 6th, a couple walks led to trouble for A's starter Joe Blanton as Kenny Lofton tripled home 2 runs for the Dodgers, taking a 4-2 lead. Bill Mueller added on in the 8th with a home run off Justin Duchscherer, and that was all the Dodgers needed as Eric Gagne shut the door for his 11th save of the season.

Clubhouse Talk:

Kendall: "We would have liked to have come out of this with the win, but we're going to keep our heads up and get it going in Colorado."

Tomorrow: The A's move on to higher pastures and humidor balls as they face Jason Jennings (5-3) and the Colorado Rockies.

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