I wore my Rich Harden shirt yesterday to support the A’s as they travel to Fenway for a four-game series against the Red Sox. On my way home, I passed a guy wearing a Red Sox hat. He looked at my shirt and gave me a smug look. This is a reenactment of my response:
![[Jer's reaction to the Sox fan]](http://www.realmofthewombat.com/images/misc/rxn_to_sox.jpg)
The A’s won, so I hope that after the game he remembered our encounter and cried.
Here are some things I learned surfing around Cot’s Baseball Contracts:
It’s estimated that Bonds’ #714 ball could go for upwards of a million dollars. He is stuck on 713, playing at Oakland this weekend, and I will be at the game on Sunday, sitting in the plaza outfield down the right field line.
I don’t know Barry’s resting schedule, but I’m sure he’ll jump at the chance to get in the lineup as DH and save himself the embarrassment of playing the field. He could hit it to section 201. I could catch it.
But I don’t want to.
First of all, the Coliseum faithful expect all home run balls from the opposition to be thrown back on the field. This is a tradition that should have remained at Wrigley, and it’s a catch-22. Throw it back and you’re removed from the stadium. Keep it and you suffer the ire of the Oakland faithful. I couldn’t show my face in the left field bleachers after keeping any non-A’s HR ball, let alone one off the bat of evil incarnate.
Secondly, there is sure to be quite a fracas at the site where this thing lands. I have no intention of suffering serious physical deformities because Bonds has tied the person in second place. I predict that if Barry doesn’t hit #714 until he returns to SF, and it lands in McCovey Cove, where people with nets in kayaks will be waiting, someone will die. A paddle to the head, a kayak overturned, and a Giants fan drowns. You heard it here first.
The fight will likely go on even after the game ends. There was a lengthy legal battle over the ball Barry hit for #73 in 2001. HR #714 is destined to rewrite not only the record books, but US judiciary history.
Finally, I wouldn’t be able to keep the money. Yes, it would represent a windfall equaling 10-fold increase on my salary over the last five years. But it’s blood money. How could I profit from someone who has cheated his way into history? Obviously I couldn’t live with myself.
So there you have it. While it would be a thrill to catch a home run ball, I’m staying away from that one.
Maybe if #715 gets to two million, I’ll jump in the fray.
On Friday night the A’s stranded 15 runners and only managed to scratch out one run against the improved, but still lowly, Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The offense was similarly inept on Saturday, with a sac-fly by Bobby Crosby and RBI single by Mark Kotsay accounting for the Athletics’ two runs through eight innings. Although Barry Zito ran deep counts regularly, he allowed only 6 baserunners (5 H, 1 BB) in 7 innings, three of whom were erased on double plays. His only major mistake was a HR to Russ Branyan. Justin Duchscherer pitched the eighth and made one mistake of his own, serving up a HR ball to pinch-hitter Greg Norton. Joe Kennedy recovered from near meltdown, and worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the ninth. He earned the win as Oakland got some help from Aubrey Huff to eek out a 3-2 victory.
[Update: The A’s left another 12 runners on base today and lost to Tampa again, 3-2.]
What I would like to focus on are three weird plays involving Jay Payton: Three weird plays involving Jay Payton:
If you would have told me that at the end of April, the A’s would have one starting pitcher with a winning record, the lowest batting average in the league, and suffered injuries to Harden, Street, Crosby, Bradley, and Loaiza, I’d tell you that the A’s were in trouble.
If you would have told me that at the end of April, Eric Chavez and Nick Swisher were on fire, Frank Thomas had played almost every game, and the bullpen was as dominating as ever, I’d tell you that they were running away with the division.
Fitting then that at the end of April, they sit at 12-12.
![[New York Metropolitans]](http://realmofthewombat.com/images/misc/mets.jpg)
Looking at the standings with 5% of the season completed, who’s the best team in baseball? This season is the most excited I’ve been for Mets baseball since the ’99 campaign, when New York sported the best defensive infield (ever?) and ended an 11 year postseason drought.
Despite questions about personnel (Julio over Bell? Hernandez over Keppinger?) and lineup construction (couldn’t we drop LoDuca to 7?), this team will go as far as the starting pitching takes them. The offense should score runs in bunches. Beltran, Delgado, Wright, and Floyd comprise the most dangerous string of hitters in the NL, and Reyes, LoDuca, and Nady are fine complementary pieces. The bullpen is reasonably solid from back to front with Wagner, Heilman, Sanchez, and Bradford. But there are concerns at all five spots in the rotation:
It would be a huge advantage if Julio or Bell developed into a reliable option in relief, so that Heilman could be moved into the rotation, if necessary, with no ill-effects on the ‘pen. However, even with these potential problems, the Mets are a serious playoff contender. The NL is quite weak outside of St. Louis, and their offense should provide enough run support to get through a rough patch here and there by the rotation.
Before the season started, I said the Mets were the best team in the league on paper, and they’re backing it up on the field. If Cliff Floyd is right that “Ain’t nothing about this phony,” then it’s going to be a great summer.
Marco!
For the first time in four years, I did not attend Opening Day at the Coliseum this year. It was probably for the best, as Athletics’ fans aspirations for a championship run was tempered by the Yankees 15-run pummeling of the green and gold, sending our “ace” Barry Zito after recording only four outs. Of course, I was more interested in Game 2’s matchup, pitting New York veteran Mike Mussina against our true frontman, Rich Harden. Before the game, we were dealt a blow bigger than the previous day’s loss: SS Bobby Crosby was out with a gashed finger, forcing into the lineup Marco Scutaro, who has to fight for a roster every spring but seems to come up with key hits throughout the season.
To say that Kirby Puckett was my favorite baseball player when I was growing up would be an understatement. Ten years of my life were spent on a quest to acquire every baseball card of his and fill my room with other extraneous memorabilia (e.g. the Kirby Puckett candy bar, pancake mix, and Christmas card from the Pucketts). He was supposed be one of those rare players that are good role models on and off the field. Basically, nobody had anything bad to say about him through his career and induction into the Hall of Fame.
Then we learned that away from the game Kirby was far from perfect. It’s not clear to what extent it was deserved, but nobody has had much good to say about the man for the past few years. I disowned my hero. Perhaps I should have payed attention to that ABC After School Special or very special episodes of Blossom and Saved By the Bell.
Since Kirby passed away earlier this week, people have been sending me condolences like he was a family member. It’s quite a strange phenomenon, and I’ve had mixed feelings about my former idol.
This is what I’ve worked out so far. Kirby Puckett was one of the greatest baseball players of all time. Despite the disadvantages of a poor upbringing and suboptimal physique, he became one of the 15,000+ professionals in the sport’s history, led his team to two championships, and became the most recognizable figure in an entire state. He played with joy, passion, and respect for the game. He chose to stay with one team for his entire career despite the opportunity for a higher salary. Puckett gave back to his native and adopted communities. He was grateful to have the chance to play the game, and not bitter that his career ended early. These are to be admired regardless of whatever else Puckett has done.
Whether it was the result of his meager youth, abrupt end to his playing career, or the hubris of celebrity, Puckett’s life was certainly not as pristine as we believed. Here’s hoping that his wish to have his organs donated are a closer representation of the man than what we’ve heard over his last few years.
(Twins blogger extraordinaire Aaron Gleeman is having the similar mixed emotions.)
In their new radio advertising campaign, the Giants offer to pay a guy on the street $100 to paint his face black and orange. The guy is about to accept, when he realizes that the painters are going to put the interlocking SF logo on his face. He then changes his mind, declares his allegeance to the Cubs, and leaves. The Giants people then make some derogatory comment about the Cubs fan.
I’m not sure who’s in charge of advertising over there in ‘Frisco, but a career change might be in order. First, no real fan of any team other than the Giants would allow an orange SF on his/her face, $100 or not. Secondly, is this really how the Giants want to build a fan base? By paying people?
Why don’t they just cut to the chase: Come see Barry,* eat garlic fries, and surf the net between Barry’s at-bats!
*Not applicable on Sundays or during steroid investigations.
Looking at the standings today, does anybody miss Eric Byrnes? What about Mark Mulder? Tim Hudson?
The 2005 Athletics have been three different teams (see THT‘s graphical standings). It was tough to predict how the A’s would do this season. Only one game away from the playoffs last year, GM Billy Beane traded away the two best pitchers in Oakland’s history (by winning percentage). I wasn’t too sad to see Mulder go, after watching his decay in the second half last year, but Hudson was my favorite player on the team, and thought he should be the guy to build a pitching staff around (certainly not Zito). However, I went into the season with a cautious optimism and a real interest in watching a team with a pitching staff under 27.
After one month, the A’s managed to hold a .500 record (12-12), but it felt like the team was walking a tightrope. Well, the rope broke in May. Injuries (Crosby, Harden, Dotel, Durazo, Swisher, Calero) mounted and losses followed. I gave up on this team. After the 7-5 loss to Boston on May 17, I took my frustrations out on Zito, “Barry Zito cannot be considered the ace of this staff. When the bullpen is worn out, the ace goes more than 5 innings. The ace doesn’t walk 7 guys and get pulled early. When an offense is struggling and manages to put up some runs, the ace takes over the game. Barry Zito is no ace.” After getting swept at Tampa Bay May 24-26, I said, “Who is this team going to beat? They do nothing right. Starting pitching, relief pitching, hitting, fielding, they’re not good at anything.” At the end of May, Ken Macha started talking about getting back to .500 by the All-Star break. I thought it was more likely that Ken Macha would be fired.
However, since that time, the Athletics have done almost nothing wrong. Injuries healed. The offense, most notably Eric Chavez, turned around. The starting pitching kept their pitch counts down, and under less stress, the bullpen became a strength also.
As usual, Beane has improved the roster mid-season. Injured reliever Chad Bradford was sent to the Red Sox for OF Jay Payton. The glut of outfielders was relieved by shipping fan-favorite Eric Byrnes (and minor leaguers) to Colorado for RPs Jay Witasick and Joe Kennedy. While not as flashy as deals in previous years (e.g. for Dotel, Durham, or Dye), these moves have worked beautifully. Witasick and Kennedy have dramatically deepened the bullpen, while Payton has been both an offensive spark and defensive insurance policy for CF Mark Kotsay, who’s missed time with back problems and the birth of his second child.
Of course in May, when the A’s seemed to always be on a 7-game losing streak, the trades of Hudson and Mulder looked foolish, but what about now? Haren has arguably out-pitched Mulder, especially recently, and Beane was able to also get the key RP Calero and hot prospect Daric Barton. The Hudson trade is not as rosy for sure, with none of the three players acquired on the major league roster. However, Thomas and Cruz have straightened themselves out at AAA Sacramento, and Meyer is now healthy. On the other side, Hudson has not been the dominating pitcher we knew in Oakland, still hampered by the oblique problems he battled here. So while it would be nice to have Hudson in the rotation instead of Saarloos, Beane may have cut bait at the right time and saved a huge chunk of change at the same time.
Looking at how well the A’s have played for the last 2+ months, now with the second best record in the AL, this team is Beane’s greatest accomplishment. For years, praise for Beane was always tempered by the presence of the “Big Three.” This year, Beane has completely reconstructed the pitching staff, coped with season ending injuries to Dotel and Durazo, and put together a team that’s poised to succeed for the next several years.
This week the A’s will be hosting the Angels to decide the leadership in the AL West. And I dont think anyone will be missing Eric Byrnes.