With so many 3am starts(UK time) this week I haven't seen many live games but it's clear to see our main problem still lies with our run production. Although I have to say I was glad to see Eveland dropped down. He was giving me palpitations every time he took to the mound. A good win tonight over Texas showed that when Holliday and Cust, and hopefully Giambi soon, start getting hot then the runs will start to flow. Suzuki, Sweeney and the much maligned Crosby did their part as well by getting on base as often as possible. Kurt Suzuki has impressed me a lot this season, not only with his hitting, but moreso with his defense behind the plate. He blocks so many pitches and must give the pitchers plenty of confidence to throw without fear of seeing a ball pass him by. Ryan Sweeney has also carried on from the end of last year with his play in the outfield. Lets hope we can string a few W's together and get back to .500 and go on from there.
This team's offense is horrible. Giambi and Holliday still aren't producing. Cabrera has been a bust thus far. Ellis and Garciaparra are still on the DL. The only players in the lineup that have been consistant have been Suzuki and Cust. The lineup is frustrating to watch. Going into the season I thought that the A's could win 85 games and that would be enough to at least compete for the division. It is May 12 already, and the A's are beginning to run out of time. In order for them to win 85 games, they'll need to get really hot at some point in the season. Also, the Angels have weathered their DL storm pretty well; they are over .500 as of now. I don't want to be a total downer so I'll end on a high point. Aaron Cunningham was activated off of the DL over the weekend. He is at AAA Sacramento. Cunningham is our #4 minor league prospect and our best non-pitching prospect according to Baseball America. Look for him to be called up. I'll take him any day over Buck.
I've been working away this week but it's heartening to see two good performances on the bounce. 19 runs in two games and the pitching is still consistently good. Hopefully we can go on a bit of a run as the confidence builds.
Our good starting pitching has taken a downturn so now we're getting shelled on a daily basis and can't manage anywhere near enough run support to keep it close. An extremely poor season so far. And now it looks like Chavez is very close to calling it a day altogether. A pity for the guy but his production has been limited to such an extent over the last couple of seasons that he'll hardly be missed now anyway.
Is there any chance Adam Kennedy can stay this hot for the whole season...? Wow. 26 hits in his first 15 games for the A's. An A's record.
Adam Kennedy has remained hot. I wonder what happens when Ellis gets healthy. The A's have a three game winning streak. The offense has been much better. Rather much more clutch. The starting pitching is good. Anderson, Cahill, Braden and surprisingly Outman have all been solid. If we can just get our hitting together (and it has been better as of late) this is probably an above .500 team. As bad as we've been, we're only 8 behind Texas and 4 behind the Angels (who I still feel are the favorites.)
And we've managed to cut down on errors as well. I've managed to watch the last couple of games and the team looks like it's playing some good, solid baseball for the first time this season. Giambi, Holliday, Cabrera and even Crosby are starting to hit better and show more productivity in conjunction with Kennedy and Suzuki. Hopefully the wins can keep on coming.
I've been working away in England all week and haven't got to see any matches recently but it's nice to see us currently riding a 4 game win streak. Holliday's increased production certainly seems to be helping in this respect.
Barry Zito is accepting an assignment to Class AAA Nashville http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/05/s...ule=Recommendation&src=rechp&WT.nav=RecEngine
thinking good thoughts for Sandy: http://mlb.nbcsports.com/2015/12/04...nosed-with-cancer/?ocid=Yahoo&partner=ya5nbcs
Beane & Chinese billionaire Chien Lee set to land Barnsley for £20million http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/billy-beane-moneyball-barnsley-takeover-11175439 'Moneyball' pioneer Billy Beane teaming with billionaire Nice owner to buy Championship side Barnsley
Now Beane is buying 5% of AZ Alkmaar https://www.espn.com/soccer/az-alkm...ane-buys-minority-stake-in-dutch-club-alkmaar
https://6abc.com/oakland-as-las-vegas-sports-mlb-news-athletics/13157973/ Oakland A's purchase land for new stadium in Las Vegas The A's hope to break ground by next year and would hope to be move to their new home by 2027.
MLB on FOX The Oakland Athletics have been unanimously approved by owners for relocation to Las Vegas, per multiple sources.