tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post6276915444659604706..comments2024-03-29T00:38:31.950-04:00Comments on The Heath Post: Swingin' A's, 2014GoHeathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11122010542579322600noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-28452726404081417962014-07-24T09:58:51.068-04:002014-07-24T09:58:51.068-04:00Jane Lee at MLB.com after Oakland's 9-7 win ov...Jane Lee at MLB.com after Oakland's 9-7 win over visiting Astros Tuesday:<br /><br /><a href="http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2014_07_23_houmlb_oakmlb_1&mode=wrap#gid=2014_07_23_houmlb_oakmlb_1&mode=recap&c_id=oak" rel="nofollow"><i>... Their record, now 62-38, remains the best in the Majors for a 32nd consecutive day, but their two-game lead in the American League West didn't budge -- again. The A's haven't gained a full game on the pesky Angels, who edged the Orioles, 3-2, since July 8.<br /><br />They don't play each other again until the end of August, which could amount to a whole lot of scoreboard watching ...</i></a>Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11218278987255792995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-71004440678465144272014-07-07T07:20:30.053-04:002014-07-07T07:20:30.053-04:00Well, I don't know how the all-star teams are ...Well, I don't know how the all-star teams are put together anymore, but--whatever and hooray--it turns out that there are six A's on the A.L. team: Donaldson, Kazmir, Doolittle, catcher Derek Norris and outfielders Yoénis Cespedes and Brandon Moss. Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11218278987255792995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-17213207132705892662014-07-06T19:40:13.216-04:002014-07-06T19:40:13.216-04:00The mathematical second half got off to a pretty r...The mathematical second half got off to a pretty ratty start for my A's. Oakland's closer, Sean Doolittle, allowed a walk-off grand slam in a 5-4 loss to Detroit, and then the Central-leading Tigers, which beat Oakland in the playoffs each of the last two seasons, swept the rest of the series. <br /><br />Things have started to pick up. The A's swung a surprise trade for a couple of veteran starting pitchers, ex-Cubs Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel, and they just completed a four-game sweep of the Blue Jays. Samardzija got today's win, 4-2.<br /><br />Closer remains a work in progress. Doolittle, a 27-year-old from Rapid City, S.D., who grew up in New Jersey, has 12 saves in 15 opportunities. His ERA is 2.83. That's all very good, of course. But I think he has been rushed into this job; one of Oakland's big offseason pickups was Jim Johnson, the ex-Baltimore closer, but that hasn't worked out yet at all. Doolittle was a star pitcher and first baseman for the University of Virginia, but he started out in the A's organization as a position player--eventually coming back to pitching after some injuries. He was named closer in May after Johnson struggled. He's obviously talented, but I bet Billy Beane figured on Doolittle getting a season or two more of setup experience and confidence before taking over as closer. He gave up a ninth-inning run in earning the save today.<br /><br />But, whatever, Oakland is back up to 55-33. The A's are 3.5 games ahead of Los Angeles in the American League West, and three of them just got announced for the all-star team: third baseman Josh Donaldson, starting pitcher Scott Kazmir and Doolittle!Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11218278987255792995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-88212110532994481802014-06-29T16:16:36.403-04:002014-06-29T16:16:36.403-04:00GreenCollar, baby! Halfway home: 51-30.GreenCollar, baby! Halfway home: 51-30.Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11218278987255792995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-85150781528627734272014-06-28T21:00:36.784-04:002014-06-28T21:00:36.784-04:00#GREENCOLLAR!#GREENCOLLAR!Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11218278987255792995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-33585303202308622592014-06-22T20:16:05.600-04:002014-06-22T20:16:05.600-04:00Red Sox bounce back to take the fourth game of the...Red Sox bounce back to take the fourth game of the series. Oakland rallied from 6-1 back with three runs in the bottom of the eighth and two more in the bottom of the ninth--but then lose it in the 10th. Second-place Angels (now 5.5 back of the A's in the American League West) are playing fourth-place Rangers (11 back) right now; it's wonderful that one of these teams will have to lose today, too.Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11218278987255792995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-1590674791375722192014-06-22T08:15:24.294-04:002014-06-22T08:15:24.294-04:00A's have won the first three of four games in ...A's have won the first three of four games in a four-game series with the Red Sox that ends today. Yesterday's star was <a href="http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2014_06_21_bosmlb_oakmlb_1&mode=recap_home&c_id=oak" rel="nofollow">Coco Crisp, who singled in the winning run from second in the bottom of the 10th after the umps had done everything they could to help the Boston cause</a>.<br /><br /><i>HP</i> readers will, of course, remember that <a href="http://www.heathpost.com/2013/06/mlb-power-rankings.html?showComment=1371413362953#c4016591299795458086" rel="nofollow">I received for Father's Day 2013 a fantastic Coco Crisp T-shirt</a>. Well, I did not receive another A's-jersey T-shirt (or pecan roll) for Father's Day 2014, but my 2013 Crisp is still working just fine, thank you very much, even though it rides a little high on my belly after so many washings (and pecan rolls) since last summer. Oakland is now 47-28 and six games ahead of second-place Los Angeles in the American League West.<br /><br />(For Father's Day 2014, my wife and daughter gave me a Wii! Late last night, I stayed up after the ladies went to bed and played EA Sports Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 for the first time, <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_IaGS0SovQ7A/SFdRFlfcwMI/AAAAAAAAAj0/xPf2pmF9DZs/s400/june16_tiger18_600x399.jpg" rel="nofollow">controlling Tiger to a promising, 21-over-par 92 performance at the picturesque Banff Springs course</a>. I would be so happy if I ever scored as few as 92 strokes on just 18 holes of golf.)Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11218278987255792995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-19793059838709290532014-06-18T19:08:29.683-04:002014-06-18T19:08:29.683-04:00OK. Boom! #GreenCollar! Doubleboom. A's beat T...OK. Boom! #GreenCollar! Doubleboom. A's beat Texas, 4-2, this afternoon, and--guess what?--they beat the Rangers yesterday, too. I've been down all day because I had misread the score from last night's late game. Instead of Texas beating Oakland, 10-6, the A's beat the Rangers, 10-6! So there you go! Oakland wins two of three. A's are 44-28 and 5.0 games up in the American League West, with the second-place Angels set to play Cleveland tonight.Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11218278987255792995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-63380370519958053032014-06-07T07:19:24.038-04:002014-06-07T07:19:24.038-04:00A's, 4-3 at Baltimore, as they throw out two O...A's, 4-3 at Baltimore, as they throw out two Orioles at the plate in the 10th and then run a single into a double and single home the runner in the 11th. There will be 100 games to go this season after tonight's game in Baltimore; it has been a stone-cold joy to root for Oakland (38-23) through these first couple of months of the season.Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11218278987255792995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-12975706242757984602014-06-04T22:39:14.172-04:002014-06-04T22:39:14.172-04:00#GreenCollar! Down 2-1 after seven innings Tuesday...#GreenCollar! Down 2-1 after seven innings Tuesday night, the A's won in New York, 5-2, in 10 innings. Down 4-0 after three tonight, Oakland beat the Yankees, 7-4. Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11218278987255792995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-37994972429615127982014-06-02T11:24:34.138-04:002014-06-02T11:24:34.138-04:00Dear 1964 Me:
Hang in there with your Password a...Dear 1964 Me: <br /><br /><a href="http://www.heathpost.com/2014/04/baseball-update-1964.html?showComment=1401317278177#c7409576086654370002" rel="nofollow">Hang in there with your <i>Password</i> and 12-25 Kansas City A's.</a> Things are going to get better. Our now-<i>Oakland (!)</i> A's beat the (not-exactly-still-but-that's-a-long-story) Los Angeles Angels, 6-3, yesterday to complete a three-game sweep, to extend their A.L. <i>Western Division</i> lead (!) to 4.5 games and to improve to a second-best-in-baseball 35-22 (!). Not only that, 2014 You followed this game pitch-by-pitch in Madisonville, Ky., via a <i>wireless, handheld (!)</i> device while mowing the grass before the rains arrived, which made our <i>wife (!)</i> very happy.<br /><br />Sincerely,<br />2014 YouErichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11218278987255792995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-8437316470551847642014-06-01T06:44:59.518-04:002014-06-01T06:44:59.518-04:00My main man from Campechuela, left-fielder Yoenis ...My main man from Campechuela, left-fielder Yoenis Céspedes, was the big star in Oakland's 11-3, come-from-behind win over California last night. Céspedes threw out two Angels at home plate in the second inning, and then, with two outs, he tripled in the go-ahead runs in the seventh. The A's were down, 3-1, when the home half of that inning began but scored sixth in the seventh and four more in the eighth (including a Céspedes home run) to blast out a giant win. <br /><br />A.L. West<br /><br />A's 34-22 (.607 winning percentage is best in the American League)<br />Angels 30-25, 3.5 games back<br />Rangers 28-28, 6.0<br />Mariners 27-28, 6.5<br />Astros 24-33, 10.5Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11218278987255792995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-85963759796334583112014-05-31T08:54:03.322-04:002014-05-31T08:54:03.322-04:00Some time in this next 45 years that I plan to fol...Some time in this next 45 years that I plan to follow baseball, I hope to learn a little about the whole deal of <a href="http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2014_05_30_anamlb_oakmlb_1&mode=gameday#gid=2014_05_30_anamlb_oakmlb_1&mode=recap&c_id=oak" rel="nofollow">"insulating" a particular batter in a batting order by putting particular other types of batters around him</a>. (Also, I'm starting to gather that a pitcher who uses, say, his left hand to throw the ball typically has more success against batters who lead with either their right arm or left arm in swinging the bat; after these first 45 years, I'm pretty much ready to say there's a correlation, and, in these next 45, I hope to more precisely define that correlation.)<br /><br />Anyway, hooray for the A's, who beat the Angels, 9-5, last night and are now 2.5 games up in the American League West.<br /><br />Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11218278987255792995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-61690357973241252102014-05-30T08:59:32.983-04:002014-05-30T08:59:32.983-04:00Split. Well, heck.Split. Well, heck.Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11218278987255792995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-41981656956870644592014-05-29T09:57:09.034-04:002014-05-29T09:57:09.034-04:00We had Matthew fly out to Oakland this week to giv...We had Matthew fly out to Oakland this week to give the boys a little pick-me-up, and it worked--the's A's have won two of three so far in the four-game series. Finale is scheduled for 2:45 Central today.Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11218278987255792995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-10070917551597231502014-05-26T12:59:43.168-04:002014-05-26T12:59:43.168-04:00Detroit coming to town for a big showdown.Detroit coming to town for a big showdown.GoHeathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11122010542579322600noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-78799215627710948622014-05-25T17:11:01.240-04:002014-05-25T17:11:01.240-04:00Well, I should've known the one-hit-turns-into...Well, I should've known the one-hit-turns-into-three-runs win was a bad sign. Now Oakland has lost four straight.Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11218278987255792995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-57439086151835171682014-05-22T19:57:29.346-04:002014-05-22T19:57:29.346-04:00Urgh. Rays over A's, 5-2, in 11 innings.Urgh. Rays over A's, 5-2, in 11 innings.Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11218278987255792995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-60022292394932109142014-05-22T17:00:21.581-04:002014-05-22T17:00:21.581-04:00I love Sonny Gray.I love Sonny Gray.Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11218278987255792995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-47581712445889323722014-05-21T23:09:11.883-04:002014-05-21T23:09:11.883-04:00The A's got only one hit in this win. The Rays...The A's got only one hit in this win. The Rays had nine.Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11218278987255792995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-87594989883319122342014-05-21T23:06:41.585-04:002014-05-21T23:06:41.585-04:00It took a dozen pitches or so, but Sean Doolittle ...It took a dozen pitches or so, but Sean Doolittle retires a determined Ray with a man on first to finish off Oakland's 3-2 win in Tampa. That's five wins in a row and 10 wins in 11 games for the A's, who are now 30-16. That's the best record in baseball!Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11218278987255792995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-4575878815717491592014-05-20T22:56:45.702-04:002014-05-20T22:56:45.702-04:00Drew Pomeranz, a 25-year-old left-hander from Coll...Drew Pomeranz, a 25-year-old left-hander from Collierville, Tenn., improves to 4-1 on the season with a 0.94 earned-run average with a five-inning start in Oakland's 3-0 victory in Saint Petersburg. Pomeranz, <a href="http://www.waitingfornextyear.com/2010/06/six-foot-five-drew-pomeranz-opts-for-baseball-over-basketball-becomes-top-five-pick/" rel="nofollow">a former Indians first-round draft choice</a>, came over to the A's in a December trade with Colorado. Over three major-league seasons with the Rockies, Pomeranz was 4-14 with a 5.20 ERA. But he joined the rotation with the A's earlier this month, and he's been just great. <a href="https://twitter.com/DrewPomeranz/status/458710568258371586" rel="nofollow">And he reads books to elementary-school kids.</a>Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11218278987255792995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-72210963587769943162014-05-20T11:54:47.033-04:002014-05-20T11:54:47.033-04:00Per my Outlook calendar, incidentally, we've g...Per my Outlook calendar, incidentally, we've got the A's at the Rays today: 6:10 p.m. Central at Tropicana Field in Saint Petersburg, Florida. Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11218278987255792995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-81373687640818594532014-05-20T11:05:55.830-04:002014-05-20T11:05:55.830-04:00BOOM! I just figured out how to download the whole...BOOM! I just figured out how to download the whole A's schedule for the season into my Outlook calendar on my Mac! BOOM! #GREENCOLLAR! WE'RE GOING ALL THE WAY, BABY! This is awesome! ALL THE WAY!!!Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11218278987255792995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1697242053625998558.post-35893108313406290612014-05-18T16:38:41.042-04:002014-05-18T16:38:41.042-04:00#GREENCOLLAR!#GREENCOLLAR!Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11218278987255792995noreply@blogger.com