A little less conversation, a little more action

Well, it looks like the super exciting trade deadline has come and gone with no Oakland Athletic changing teams. Blanton-to-the-Dodgers rumors had cooled by this morning, and the lukewarm Mike Piazza talks didn't get off the ground.

One thing to remember is this was the non-waiver deadline. Players can still be traded until August 31, but they have to clear waivers. I think Piazza could clear waivers, as could Kennedy and maybe a few others.

I can't help but be a little disappointed. Maybe that's because when I play Out of the Park Baseball, I'm wheelin' and dealin' at the deadline like nobody's business. But I guess in real world of baseball, it helps to know when not to make a move.

Tigers 5, A's 2

That was just like the ALCS, only with the intesity level reduced by several notches. The A's can't hit and the Tigers can. A's lose and Tigers win.

I found it hard to stay focused on the game, however, when I saw this trade rumor that came out of left field.

So Joe Blanton may have pitched his last game for the Oakland A's. It wasn't a bad one - most of his starts aren't - but it wasn't a great one either. That's the thing with Joe - he'll show you how great he can be, but just when you start to get used to it, he stops doing it. He needs consistency, and maybe a move to the National League could help that.

If this trade goes through, what does that mean for the A's rotation? Does Joe Kennedy go back in? Does Shane Komine come back for a few starts? Does Dan Meyer, our slim hope of salvaging the Tim Hudson trade, get to come up and make his debut? Esteban Loaiza is slowly but surely making his way back to the rotation, but he's certainly not someone to rely on.

According to ESPN.com's countdown clock, there are 14 hours and 40 minutes remaining until the deadline. I'm going to go to bed and when I wake up, we'll be down to about seven or eight hours remaining. Will I wake up to Joe Blanton in Dodger Blue? Stay tuned to find out.

A 3-4 road trip

Well, that sucked.

What started as a promising road trip where the A's looked to maybe win a few ended disastrously with three straight losses in Seattle this weekend. But, it wasn't for lack of offense, as the team managed to pummel Seattle pitching on Sunday for 10 runs and 13 hits. Unfortunately A's pitchers gave up 14 runs, and that won't get you a win in a game where you have to score more runs than the opponent.

So, here we are two days before the trading deadline. If there was any doubt that the A's are sellers for the first time since 1998, those doubts should be put to rest in light of the team's 49-56 record and the 12.5 game deficit in the AL West (which should be 13 by the time the Angels finish with the pounding they're giving the Tigers tonight).

Who's changing teams? The most likely candidate would be Mike Piazza, who does the A's zero good at this point. The Dan-Johnson-to-the-Yankees rumblings are still out there, as are possibilities of Joe Kennedy going to the Phillies or Brewers. And remember that redhead guy who got designated for assignment last week? He could still net a player or cash.

You know it's going to be a long August and September when the thing you're most excited about is the trade deadline. It's all downhill after Tuesday.

A's 6, M's 2

Last night went from one of those "Why is this game even close?" nights to a "Thank goodness for Nick Swisher" night. I'm very giddy about that, because we haven't had one of the latter in a long time.

Maybe Nick has been feeling pressured to perform. Maybe it was the hair. All we know is he just wasn't living up to expectations this year. But at least for one night, he was the Swisher of old.

The A's looked to be hitting Jeff Weaver hard in the early innings, but couldn't put the game out of reach at that point. This had frustrating loss written all over it. But one swing of Swisher's bat and a ball that hit the left field foul pole put an end to those fears. There was no save opportunity in the bottom of the 9th. I like those kinds of games.

On a side note, why does it seem like Danny Haren always faces the other team's worst pitcher and the bottom of the A's rotation faces the other team's ace? Today Dallas Braden gets to go to battle with King Felix Hernandez. That just doesn't sound fair.

Still, Lenny DiNardo vs. Kelvim Escobar didn't sound fair either, and look what happened. Let's make sure this is a winning road trip by securing win #4 tonight.

Go A's!!!

Angels 7, A's 6

The offense was there. The late-inning scratching and clawing was there. But a win just wasn't in the cards for the A's today.

I'm impressed with the A's play in this series though. After the 12-6 drubbing Monday, they didn't zombie their way through the next few games. The hits continued to fall and they actually appeared to resemble a major league baseball team.

I'll tell you one thing though, I really do miss the old Joe Blanton. And I'm not talking about the "I never shake off Jason Kendall" Joe Blanton. He was already struggling with with Kendall behind the plate, so this isn't an issue with the new catcher. He's just in a funk right now. I hope we can get some consistency from him in '08.

Two other items of note:

1. Apparently Mike Piazza had a bottle thrown at him while he waited in the on-deck circle in the 9th inning. According to the game article on the A's official site, he is pressing charges:

Piazza spent several minutes immediately after the game giving his statement to local police, and after getting dressed for the team's charter flight to Seattle, he headed upstairs to give a positive ID of the suspect.

"I'm definitely pressing [assault] charges," he said. "You've gotta make an example of people who do that kind of thing. ... I told [the police], I'll stay back if I have to. I don't care. He'll spend the night in jail."

Yikes. I guess some drunk dumbass who thought he was being funny is now in a mountain of trouble. Don't mess with Mike!

2. Bobby Crosby is on the DL with a broken hand and the A's called up Donnie Murphy to take his roster spot. Murphy has been up with the big club a few times this year, but hadn't played much as he had the role of emergency guy off the bench. This time, it's different though, as he started at shortstop today, and should be 50/50 there with Marco Scutaro (or maybe even more, depending on the health of Eric Chavez). I'm looking forward to getting to see what this guy can do, after he's put up some nice, sexy numbers in Sacramento. His 1-for-4 with an RBI double and a walk was a nice start.

It's off to Seattle for a four-gamer as the A's try to keep the winning spirit alive on the road trip. GO A's!!!

A's 4, Angels 3

So far, so good on this road trip. After awaking the lumber with 12 runs Monday night, the A's pulled out another win in the Escobar vs. DiNardo matchup that very much favored the Angels on paper.

But, the games aren't played on paper. Paper wouldn't have had Lenny DiNardo continuing his improbably success with another 6 2/3 innings pitched, 3-hit performance. Paper wouldn't have had Travis Buck making a game-saving, diving catch in the 8th inning. Paper probably would've had Bobby Crosby getting hurt, but sometimes paper is right.

Buck really won this game. He knocked in three of the four runs and made what could possibly be the catch of the year for the A's, diving to rob Gary Matthews Jr. of a likely 2-RBI double with the A's clinging to a one-run lead in the 8th. How much do you love this guy? I know I love him a heck of a lot, even if he did shave his head.

The A's haven't swept a series since June 8-10 in San Francisco. They have a chance to do it today, to gain ground in a division race in which they still have a pulse.

Joe Blanton takes the hill against John Lackey this afternoon. There's something about Lackey in a weekday day game in Anaheim that just brings back memories and gets me a little extra fired up. The only question is, now that Jason Kendall is gone, who is going to "stick that thing out there?"

GO A's!!!

A's 12, Angels 6

That's not a typo, folks. The Oakland Athletics managed to score that many runs in a single game. Heck, they managed to score that many runs in six innings.

Probably the most fun part of last night was hearing Rex Hudler try to justify it: "That's what happens when you're facing a hot team... at least today... for five innings."

And it's a good thing the A's turned on their bats - Chad Gaudin wasn't pretty. Bob Geren had to pull him after he labored through 40 pitches in the fourth inning to get just one out. Luckily the bullpen kept the Angels at bay and made sure they didn't flirt with putting up a double-digit score.

Mike Piazza sure is looking good these past few games, and I'm thrilled to see it because he is likely the A's biggest trade chip of the most-likely-to-be-traded list. If they're going to get anything decent before this deadline, it's probably going to come from Piazza. Keep it up, Mike - at least for another week.

It was also good to see Huston Street back. He wasn't his best, but it feels damn good to see a familiar face in that bullpen. After too many Colby Lewises, Ruddy Lugos, and Ron Floreses, it's a very welcome change.

Tonight the A's try to take another one from the Halos to secure a series win for the first time in 800 years. GO A's!!!

No more Klown Power

Bobby Kielty has been designated for assignment. So long, goofy read-head switch-hitter who mashes left-handed pitching.

"Jeremy Bonderman sure would look great in an A's uniform!"

I've heard this comment about a dozen times since the beginning of last season, since the Tigers and Bonderman became good. It's like a "Ha, ha! In your face, A's fan! Your GM traded this guy away! Ha, ha!" I just roll my eyes.

If you recall, Bonderman was the A's first round draft pick in the draft before the Moneyball draft. He's the guy who made Billy Beane throw a chair. Beane never really wanted him (probably because he looked great in a pair of Levi's), but, highly touted prospect that Bonderman was, he made his way to Detroit in a three-way trade with the A's and the Yankees in July of 2002. The Yanks got Jeff Weaver, the Tigers got Bonderman, Carlos Pena, and Franklyn German, and the A's got Ted Lilly, John-Ford Griffin, and Jason Arnold.

This was a deadline deal, in which the A's and the Yankees were both in the thick of the AL pennant race. They both needed pitching, though the Yankees, of course, needed higher-profile pitching. And the Tigers? They were on their way to losing 106 games in 2002. They took this opportunity to sell off their best pitcher and beef up their farm system in the process.

This isn't an unusual occurrence. Deadline deals like this are made every year (though, as the market has changed, teams are less apt to give up prospects now than they were a few years ago). Yet, after a few years have passed, if said trade didn't lead to a World Series championship for one of the teams, it's used as a "Ha, ha!" moment.

I don't fault any GM who makes a deadline trade to try to better his team. If he makes the playoffs, he's done is job. As our favorite GM says, the playoffs are a crapshoot anyway. You have to get there first. Then, the hottest team takes over.

Jeremy Bonderman pitched Game 4 of the ALCS against the A's in 2006, 4 1/2 years after he last suited up as a member of the A's farm system. We all know who won Game 4. Sure, it would've been nice if it was the other way around. He would've looked great in an A's uniform, pitching the biggest game of his life that day. But I'll never feel like that trade shouldn't have been made. That's the beauty (and ugly) of a deadline deal.

O's 2, A's 0

Today the A's had two hits and scored zero runs. Ho-hum. Yawn. I'm glad I didn't watch.

Should we even look at the this upcoming week as the make-or-break week of the season (three in L.A. and four in Seattle)? Or is this season already broken? It's really hard to get excited about it, but if they sweep both series, they'll be a game over .500 and, at worst, 6.5 games behind the M's and 8.5 behind the Angels.

Maybe today's the day to go put five bucks on the A's with their 4.8% chance of making the playoffs.

A's 4, O's 3

Thanks for the win, A's. Really, it's nice to go to sleep at night knowing that the A's did just enough to actually beat another team.

But really, why was this one so close? If the A's are good at anything, it's grounding into double plays with the bases loaded (witness Eric Chavez in the first inning and helmet slammin' Mark Kotsay in the seventh). But when the goal of baseball is to have more runs that the other team at the end of nine innings, and the A's accomplished that, I should be too hard on them, right? No comment.

I know we've beaten this information to death in the past, but let me state it for you again - as it stands, on July 22, 2007 (happy birthday to my mother-in-law!), this is the state of the A's in the clutch:

With bases loaded: .195 batting average, worst in all of BASEBALL
With RISP: .233 batting average, worst in the American League (only the Diamondbacks are worse)

This is why the A's struggle to win games when they've got their ace on the mound and the other team has a thirty-something journeyman just off the DL.

The A's have a chance to do something they haven't done since before the All Star break - win a series. But don't call me optimistic; I'm far from it.

O's 6, A's 1

Erik Bedard is a good pitcher, and the A's are a bad offense. That the A's only mustered three hits is anything but surprising.

The A's were minus Chavez, Kotsay, and Cust, and plus Piazza (for the first time since May 2), but I can't imagine things would have turned out any better with those guys in the lineup. But you can't be too troubled by the fact that the A's got dominated by the pitcher who has the major league lead in strikeouts. Good pitchers win baseball games.

What is troubling is Joe Blanton. Six runs in 5 2/3 innings sounds like the 2006 Joe. We can't afford him reverting back to that form, not when he's supposed to be the second or third best starter on the team.

If the A's offense is going to prove it is better than the what the A's are running out there in Sacramento, they have to beat Steve Tracshel. STEVE TRACSHEL, people. I'll be embarrassed to see another game of ownage by a pitcher with an ERA near five.

The Trade Winds: Joe Kennedy

Who would want Joe Kennedy? The guy had gotten bumped from the starting rotation of a third place baseball team, in favor of Lenny DiNardo and Dallas Braden. If the A's don't think he' s a better option than those guys, what contender would want to stick him in their rotation?

Well, Jayson Stark at ESPN.com seems to think the A's can get something for him.

Really, I had Jason Kendall on my "untradeable" list, and look what Billy Beane was able to do with that! With such a thin market for starting pitching between now and July 31, maybe getting something for Kennedy is not too much to hope for.

He's only 28, he's left handed, and a free agent after this season. His best season as a starter came in the launching pad that is Colorado, and he actually put together a respectable season as LOOGY last year, at least when he wasn't hurt.

OK, I'm definitely going out on a limb here, finding positive things to say. But I can dream, right?

A Perfect Game For The A's!

OK, so it was a five-inning game by our 15th round pick in short-season A-ball. Still, it's cool!!!

Rock on, Brad Hertzler. See you in the big leagues!

I'm back... and so are the A's!

I find the last post I made on this blog pretty funny. "The A's are the team that can't lose..." I said. HA! Until yesterday, this appeared to be the team that couldn't win. But they won. They proved it's possible. So cheer up, A's fans. This is not the worst team in baseball.

I was absent for about a month, much like the A's offense was. But if I come back to blogging, do you think the A's will promise to win a few here and there? I think it's an even trade.

It will be an interesting next 13 days, as the trade of Jason Kendall (how does Billy do it?!) signals that there may be more green and gold boys on the move. Who's next? Dan Johnson? Mike Piazza? Shannon Stewart? Even if the A's don't give us much entertainment on the field, we'll at least have the transactions wire to watch.

So let's get ready to enjoy the rest of this month. Win or lose, there should be a lot to talk about.

GO A's!!!