Tagged: Mariners

The Straw that brakes the Elephants Back

“I don’t think it’s that big a deal at all, but when you don’t have enough bodies, someone is going to have to go on the DL.” – Mark Ellis (sfgate.com)

The A’s have just lost 8 games in a row. The Orioles shut out the A’s for their 7th time this season and they only had five hits all coming with two outs.  If you think this is cause for alarm you would not be alone. Now is the time for worrying. I was wondering yesterday what would be the straw to break the elephants back. What would send the message to Billy Beane that something must change.  Today I got my answer. Both Mark Ellis and Brett Anderson went on the Disabled List, while Kevin Kouzmanoff was optioned to Triple-A. Are those three events serious enough for you? Because from where I stand they are clear signs the season is in dire shape for the A’s.  Currently they sit in last place with the Mariners in 2nd. Yes you read that correctly. The Mariners are ahead of the A’s in the American League West standings.  On opening night I would have never predicted this outcome but here we are.  I know it is a long season and you have to trust it, but I don’t see an easy way out of this mess for the Athletics.

In the first two months of the season the Athletics have lost three starters not including pitchers such as Harden who began the season on the Disabled List. Recent players activated from the Disabled List such as all-star closer Andrew Bailey, and infielder Adam Rosales cannot make up for the insurmountable losses of the first two months.  The cards are staked against the A’s right now. After placing Brett Anderson on the Disabled List today, the A’s cannot afford to loose him for the season. If he requires surgery, as he has speculated in the press that would more than likely be season ending. Having 2/5 of your rotation go down for good before the halfway point in the season is not something any team wants, especially a team that doesn’t hit. (Tyson Ross and Brandon McCarthy are both expected to come of the DL at some point)

To combat the recent barrage of injuries and lack of hitting the A’s are doing what they can. Recent acquisitions from Sacramento will hopefully bolster the struggling team.    Activated from a rehab stint in Triple-A Sacramento Adam Rosales has yet to play in back to back games.  In his first rehab assignment he was 3 for 3 hitting a single, double, and triple. His return to the Bigs was rushed due to the Disabled List news. Other call ups since the first of the month include Scott Sizemore, Fautino De Los Santos, Bobby Cramer, and Jemile Weeks.  Weeks was hitting .321 in 44 games for the River Cats, and hit leadoff in tonight’s game. While he did not record his first hit he made some stellar defensive plays in the field.  I hope that with his infectious energy and attitude Weeks can bring some life to a club house that sorely needs it.

Moscoso pitched well tonight throwing 78 pitches while  only throwing two bad pitches resulting in homerus. Considering he was only pitching on two days rest it was not a bad outing. He is now 2-1 since being called up from Triple-A.  The Athletics have lucked out that they have depth in their Minor League system, but the well will eventually run dry. They have called up as many pitchers as they can for the moment, and Bobby Cramer will more than likely make Anderson’s next start.

While the A’s toil in the bottom of the barrel in the American League East, their Triple-A counter parts the River Cats are in first place and have had the best start to the season of any of their 11 season in Sacramento. Below are the standings as of 6/7/11.

                   

Hitting? What Hitting?

“We’ve got to figure out how to get a run somehow, someway” – Bob Geren

 I was under the assumption that Billy Beane stocked the lineup with guys that can hit in the off season. Willingham, Matsui, DeJesus, all seemed promising.  I was really excited for returning players like Suzuki, Barton, and Ellis to really hit with the best of them.  It seemed that all the puzzle pieces were in place to fill the gaps of last season.  However last night was so frustrating on so many levels and it was all due to a lack of hitting.  Starting pitcher McCarthy pitched a gem last night against the Mariners.  This season McCarthy has a 2.10 ERA and has only given up one earned run over 14 2/3 innings. Last night he pitched a complete game and only gave up one earned run in the 4th. 

Right now nothing more can be asked of the pitching staff. They are carrying the Athletics, and that is a huge burden for a pitching staff all under the age of 30.  Currently the A’s are only batting .237 and have the second fewest number of runs in the American League with 66.  They also have 20 errors on the season the most in the Majors, which combined with the second fewest number of runs doesn’t give the pitchers much breathing room. 1 bad pitch  can make the difference between a win and a loss, which last nights game showed all to well.   

Brandon McCarthy in all of his post game interviews kept saying how he wished he could take back the 1 bad pitch he threw to Kennedy that resulted in a homerun in the 4th.  That was the only run the Mariners scored the entire game, McCarthy threw a complete game, and yet he is still beating himself up over the loss.   The fact that the A’s lost the game is certaintly not the fault of the pitching staff but rather should fall on the shoulders of the hitters that are not carrying the team anywhere.  This situation is going to set up a dangerous mindset for the young pitching staff where they think anything less than perfect is just not good enough.  Even when they throw a complete game they cannot get the win. Now every time they go out to the mound there will be the added pressure knowing they will have little or no run support, so they better not screw up.1 bad pitch and there goes their teams chance for a win. 

I really don’t know what the answer is to all of this. I wish I did. You could say it is a young season and things will change. That is true. But at the same time a hitter like Matsui is at the end of his career and what you see is what you get.  Hitters will run hot or cold through out the season, and a player might go on a hitting spree for a month or so, but what I want is consistency.  What the A’s need is several hitters that can consistently hit with runners in scoring position and average 20 homeruns a season.  They don’t need one monster hitter who can hit 35 homeruns in a season because having one hitter does not secure you wins in the long run.  With the pitching staff they have, they should be playing flawless small ball and getting hits when they need them.  The A’s are playing like an unoiled machine, that has not been worked on in years and something drastic has  got to change. 

One could look to the minors for the answer to this mess the A’s are currently in. Everyone talks about Chris Carter with one caller in to the A’s radio last night calling him the LeBron James of the A’s.  I have to disagree with this person a little. While an extremely nice guy, and a real professional I have to wonder if he will ever be major league ready.  Last season when he was called up to the A’s he had the longest hitless streak to start a major league career in A’s history.  He did hit a lot of home runs in Triple-A last year, however is currently only hitting .173.  The player that is supposed to save the A’s should not be hitting .173. It all goes back to consistency.  If I were the A’s I would look into calling up Eric Sogard batting .299, Matt Carson batting .315, or Adrian Cardenas batting .412.  Those three players look good at the plate and Sogard almost made the team in Spring Training.  If we want the future of the A’s it is time to look past Carter and move on to other names.