Rack the A's

Shoalzie · Post by **Shoalzie** » Thu Oct 04, 2012 12:15 am

Looking like a rematch of the '06 ALCS in the ALDS...don't know what to expect with a series against these A's.

R-Jack · Post by **R-Jack** » Thu Oct 04, 2012 4:37 am

Detroit is probably the toughest AL matchup for the A's.

I do know this. Not one team out there wants anything to do with Oakland right now. They are every bit as resiliant and tough as the 2011 Red Sox.

sin,
YAFJ.

Mikey · Post by **Mikey** » Thu Oct 04, 2012 2:59 pm

I was a huge A's fan way back when. My buddy and I took a week off of HS during our senior year to ride the first BART line, which had just opened, to the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum to see Finley's boys play the Reds in the 72 WS.

Haven't followed them much lately, though. I hear that their rotation is entirely rookies? Amazing.
May have to bandwagon and pull for a Bay Bridge series this year. My same friend from HS is still up there and last I heard was holding season tickets for both teams.

MgoBlue-LightSpecial · Thu Oct 04, 2012 3:12 pm

As a Tigers fan, I would rather play the Yankees than the A's. The A's are coming in hot and showed what they were made of by jail-sexing a really good Rangers team in a winner-take-all game for the division. That said, Detroit is built for a deep playoff run if their bullpen doesn't suck ass. Should be a good series.

Shoalzie · Post by **Shoalzie** » Thu Oct 04, 2012 6:06 pm

MgoBlue-LightSpecial wrote:As a Tigers fan, I would rather play the Yankees than the A's. The A's are coming in hot and showed what they were made of by jail-sexing a really good Rangers team in a winner-take-all game for the division. That said, Detroit is built for a deep playoff run if their bullpen doesn't suck ass. Should be a good series.

I don't want to deal with the Yanks right now...Cano is crazy hot. The A's are red hot too but they start the series in Detroit and they won 50 games at the Copa this year. With the wacky 2-3 format...it's not a bad thing to start off at home with Verlander in Game 1 and put the other guys against the ropes in a short series. Pressure is on the Tigers though to hold serve and force the A's to win all 3 in that hack football ballpark.

Shoalzie · Post by **Shoalzie** » Fri Oct 05, 2012 2:58 pm

The Tigers have a good shot to get out of the A.L. if Scherzer is truly healthy and they roll 4 strong starters. Sanchez really came on at the end of the season and won the 4th starter job away from Porcello. Verlander is great but his problem has been pitch count and he's not been able to go as late in games. Fister is finally healthy and looks similar to what he was at the end of last year.

The big keys on offense will be Jackson being a catalyst at the top of the order and Prince being able to step up if teams pitch around Cabrera. Also, the infield defense has been weak down the stretch...can't give away extra outs on routine plays. Infante botched several double plays. I like his bat but his glove has been inconsistent. Benoit is the one guy out of the bullpen I'm nervous about...gives up a lot of home runs. Valverde is a circus but is reliable enough.

I'm saying Tigers in 4 over the A's...

MgoBlue-LightSpecial · Fri Oct 05, 2012 3:03 pm

Oakland's pitching scares me. Could be an issue with a Tiger lineup that has a tendency to go through long stretches without scoring any runs. The second half of the lineup needs to show up.

But Detroit's pitching is pretty damn solid right now as well. The rotation has been announced: Verlander, Fister, Sanchez, Scherzer. Guess Scherzer's ankle is still an issue. Oh well, after Verlander, I think the rest of those guys are interchangeable right now with the way they're all pitching. All had ERAs under 2.50 in September.

Shoalzie · Post by **Shoalzie** » Fri Oct 05, 2012 3:31 pm

MgoBlue-LightSpecial wrote:But Detroit's pitching is pretty damn solid right now as well. The rotation has been announced: Verlander, Fister, Sanchez, Scherzer. Guess Scherzer's ankle is still an issue.

Scherzer surprisingly went Wednesday but he looked okay in limited work. The ankle doesn't seem to be an issue and the arm problem from before seems to okay as well. I had to believe Fister would start Game 2 since Scherzer threw Wednesday and then it would be Scherzer/Sanchez in 3 and 4 and then Verlander back for Game 5.

I see Game 2 is the early game on Sunday on MLB Network...might have to hit a local bar to catch that one. With no Lions game Sunday, I'm fine with just watching baseball. Also, Tuesday's game is at 9...better than the usual 10 or 10:30 left coast start.

MgoBlue-LightSpecial · Fri Oct 05, 2012 3:44 pm

Shoalzie wrote:I see Game 2 is the early game on Sunday on MLB Network...might have to hit a local bar to catch that one.

Do you have Comcrap? Their sports package is only an extra 5 bucks a month and you get a boatload of great channels. MLB Network, NFL Network, NFL Red Zone (which is sweet), ESPN U, ESPN Classic, CBS Sports, etc.

Shoalzie · Post by **Shoalzie** » Fri Oct 05, 2012 3:53 pm

MgoBlue-LightSpecial wrote:
Shoalzie wrote:I see Game 2 is the early game on Sunday on MLB Network...might have to hit a local bar to catch that one.
Do you have Comcrap? Their sports package is only an extra 5 bucks a month and you get a boatload of great channels. MLB Network, NFL Network, NFL Red Zone (which is sweet), ESPN U, ESPN Classic, CBS Sports, etc.

I have MLBN at home but I'll be elsewhere this weekend.

MgoBlue-LightSpecial · Sun Oct 07, 2012 8:53 pm

Nice win today -- took care of business at home. Sure feels good to know Scherzer has yet to pitch. Got this shit barring a collapse.

Screw_Michigan · Post by **Screw_Michigan** » Sun Oct 07, 2012 9:12 pm

MgoBlue-LightSpecial wrote:
Shoalzie wrote:I see Game 2 is the early game on Sunday on MLB Network...might have to hit a local bar to catch that one.
Do you have Comcrap? Their sports package is only an extra 5 bucks a month and you get a boatload of great channels. MLB Network, NFL Network, NFL Red Zone (which is sweet), ESPN U, ESPN Classic, CBS Sports, etc.

Plus, if you call and threaten to cancel, they'll give you the sports package for free.

Shoalzie · Post by **Shoalzie** » Mon Oct 08, 2012 12:43 am

Reddick is butt hurt about a AlAl's [BillRaftery]kiss[/BillRaftery]...

http://www.freep.com/article/20121007/C ... ext|Sports

http://www.freep.com/article/20121007/S ... -Athletics

Worry about winning a game RedASSdick...don't let a random response by a setup man put your rat hair all in knot.

MgoBlue-LightSpecial · Mon Oct 08, 2012 2:53 am

Shoalzie wrote:Reddick is butt hurt about

FUCK that asshole. He acts like a whiny little bitch every time something doesn't go his way. Die in a fire, Reddick.

M Club · Post by **M Club** » Mon Oct 08, 2012 10:13 am

A's fans had to appreciate the effort he put into Kelly's sac fly, non? Not like you can't throw someone out from there, cough cough Avisail. You're right: what a bitch.

Shoalzie wrote:...at the Copa this year.

WTF is the Copa? Isn't that slang corporate tried getting the fans to pick up and they refused?

Shoalzie · Post by **Shoalzie** » Mon Oct 08, 2012 11:15 am

They'll turn this into some sort of rallying cry meanwhile Reddick acts like a brat after a strikeout and Crisp nonchalantly tries to make a third out late in the game with men on base and it costs them 2 runs...and they want to bitch about how the game is supposed to be played. I doubt they make this big of an issue if they didn't throw the game away when they had their chances to win yesterday. This looks like the act of a postseason neophyte...a lot of those guys haven't on this stage before and they're puckering under the pressure.

M Club · Post by **M Club** » Mon Oct 08, 2012 12:14 pm

Shoalzie wrote:...and Crisp nonchalantly tries to make a third out late in the game with men on base and it costs them 2 runs...

I don't think C'oh C'oh half-assed Cabrera's fly. It was a hard charge and he ended up in no man's land between heel up or down. And if you watch the replay he definitely didn't track the ball all the way into his glove. Just a straight up whoopsie.

Shoalzie · Post by **Shoalzie** » Mon Oct 08, 2012 12:40 pm

From the still, he did the baseball fundamental move of thumbs up when the ball is played below your waist. He made a run for it and it just looked awful in how it clanked off his mit and then he does a Euro soccer player dive and the ball slips out of his mit like a wet bar of soap. It just looked funny in real time. I bag on Reddick but he's made a couple of brilliant catches in right field in this series...made the Crisp effort look like he was playing blindfolded.

M Club · Post by **M Club** » Mon Oct 08, 2012 12:52 pm

Well ja, from the still. From the video he overran the ball. Have you ever played baseball? Easy to forget these guys make a routine of making difficult plays look routine.

And did you even watch the game? Sounds like all you did was read Mitch Albom's breathless recap about fairy dust and baseball. Euro dive implies he left his feet for show and not because, you know, he was trying to make a play.

Shoalzie · Post by **Shoalzie** » Mon Oct 08, 2012 1:54 pm

I don't even think Mitch reads his own shit anymore...

Crisp is a very quick and athletic outfielder...the entire execution of that play just looked bad considering the kinds of plays he's capable of making. Odd to say but the easier play for him would've been to not come in so quick and instead slide feet first with glove up or dive for the ball. He certainly didn't have enough time to get under the ball. I think he even said himself he should've slid for the ball instead.

In the end the play didn't cost them the game...Benoit's shitty 8th inning got him off the hook.

M Club · Post by **M Club** » Mon Oct 08, 2012 2:07 pm

You brought up Euro dive but are now recommending he should have left his feet? Bewildered. Would have been easier to have had his glove up or slowed up at the last second. Either way I don't care since it's about time the other team plays Bad News Bears for a turn.

Mikey · Post by **Mikey** » Wed Oct 10, 2012 3:05 pm

Sorta made up for that one last night.

Shoalzie · Post by **Shoalzie** » Wed Oct 10, 2012 3:47 pm

Props to the A's last night...everything that went wrong for them over the weekend went well last night. They've pitched well throughout the series but last night Anderson completely shutdown the Tigers and I don't recall a runner past second base all night. The defense was stellar and the bullpen shut the door...they didn't look like a team facing elimination.

Shoalzie · Post by **Shoalzie** » Wed Oct 10, 2012 3:53 pm

M Club wrote:You brought up Euro dive but are now recommending he should have left his feet? Bewildered. Would have been easier to have had his glove up or slowed up at the last second. Either way I don't care since it's about time the other team plays Bad News Bears for a turn.

When you see him make a play like the one last night and you watch him play in the past...it was a comedy of errors on that play.

Seeing the A's not make any mistakes last night...you realize the Tigers are fortunate to be ahead in this series. I'd expect them to still win this series when they've got a supposed healthy Scherzer and Verlander in the next two days.

M Club · Post by **M Club** » Thu Oct 11, 2012 4:48 am

Shoalzie wrote: When you see him make a play like the one last night and you watch him play in the past...it was a comedy of errors on that play.

I guess so. Then again, I'm not the one who characterized it as nonchalance.

M Club · Post by **M Club** » Thu Oct 11, 2012 11:50 am

1972: The A’s win the first 2 at home. 2012: The Tigers win the first 2 at home.

1972: The Tigers win game 3 at home. 2012: The A’s win game 3 at home.

1972: The A’s have the clinching game 4 wrapped up with a 2-run lead on the road going to the bottom of the final inning, but their bullpen gives up 3 and the Tigers win. 2012: The Tigers have the clinching game 4 wrapped up with a 2-run lead going to the bottom of the final inning but their bullpen gives up 3 and the A’s win.

1972: the Tigers have the momentum with 2 straight wins and game 5 coming up at home. But the A’s win the game and go on to become World Champions. 2012: the A’s have the momentum with 2 straight wins and game 5 coming up at home. There is only one logical way to complete this story: The Tigers win the game and go on to become World Champions.

Shoalzie · Post by **Shoalzie** » Thu Oct 11, 2012 2:03 pm

M Club wrote:I guess so. Then again, I'm not the one who characterized it as nonchalance.

The guy plays balls out...he legged out that "double" last night off the error from Fielder and he made the brilliant play on Tuesday. He's always been a pesky guy to play against back to his days in Cleveland and Kansas City. He comes through also with the big hit in the 9th to bring in the winning run.

Shoalzie · Post by **Shoalzie** » Thu Oct 11, 2012 2:12 pm

They did everything they needed to do win other than Valverde melting down...I'm not too discouraged. I don't like playing another Game 5 on the road but it worked out okay last year in the Bronx. They've got their ace going tonight and hopefully he goes as deep in the game as possible to keep the bullpen from fucking up another game.

M Club · Post by **M Club** » Thu Oct 11, 2012 2:46 pm

Shoalzie wrote:...and hopefully he goes as deep in the game as possible to keep the bullpen from fucking up another game.

^^^^ key #1. people feel confident because verlander's going but the entire starting staff has been lights out. can't do much better than scherzer last night other than last longer, but even then middle relief got them to the 9th in the same position. the a's managed all of 3 runs through 16 innings and have still won both games.

key #2: delmon punches someone on the way to the stadium and calls him a fucking jew. need him in an 8x6 box, not the batter's box. that or just have him take an intentional strikeout if there's a runner on 2nd with less than 2 out. on flip, could you imagine the a's trying to IBB him? he'd swing at all four.

key #3: don't lose?

ucantdoitdoggieSTyle2 · Thu Oct 11, 2012 4:08 pm

M Club wrote:
1972: The A’s win the first 2 at home. 2012: The Tigers win the first 2 at home.

1972: The Tigers win game 3 at home. 2012: The A’s win game 3 at home.

1972: The A’s have the clinching game 4 wrapped up with a 2-run lead on the road going to the bottom of the final inning, but their bullpen gives up 3 and the Tigers win. 2012: The Tigers have the clinching game 4 wrapped up with a 2-run lead going to the bottom of the final inning but their bullpen gives up 3 and the A’s win.

1972: the Tigers have the momentum with 2 straight wins and game 5 coming up at home. But the A’s win the game and go on to become World Champions. 2012: the A’s have the momentum with 2 straight wins and game 5 coming up at home. There is only one logical way to complete this story: The Tigers win the game and go on to become World Champions.

Booth shot Lincoln in a theater and fled to a warehouse.
Oswald shot Kennedy from a warehouse and fled to a theater.

Shoalzie · Post by **Shoalzie** » Thu Oct 11, 2012 4:08 pm

You single out Delmon...for me until last night, Garcia was the most frustrating hitting to watch. He got the big pinch hit so he won me back a little. The Tigers need to find a right-handed hitting corner outfielder not named Delmon Young. It'll be great to have V-Mart in Delmon's spot in the order next year...that'll be a frightening 3-4-5.

Pitching has been excellent in this series...11 runs allowed by each team in 4 games. The A's are hitting only .208 overall but they're killing the Tigers in RISP in the series (.350 vs. .217). I feel very confident in the rotation but with the bats not coming through, the margin for error is tiny in these games on top of the basic pressure of postseason play.

Scherzer was excellent until he started falling behind in the count and the A's hitters wore him down. Verlander needs to get ahead in the count and pitch from a dominate position. He can go deep in games but not when he's having 20-pitch innings. Score first like last night and JV needs to be JV and (hopefully) we have more baseball to look forward to.

M Club · Post by **M Club** » Thu Oct 11, 2012 4:13 pm

Shoalzie wrote:You single out Delmon...for me until last night, Garcia was the most frustrating hitting to watch. He got the big pinch hit so he won me back a little.

in fairness, it's not his fault he's 17-years-old and boesch turned out to be such a headcase. that and he generally bats around the 8 spot, not directly behind cabrera and fielder. plus, he's got that mike trout "omg he can go from 1st to 3rd" thing going on, which i'll take it in this series since it means one less sacrifice bunt just so quintin berry gets a chance to knock him in.

Shoalzie · Post by **Shoalzie** » Thu Oct 11, 2012 4:57 pm

They mentioned during one of the broadcasts he wasn't supposed be on roster but it's out of desperation and necessity. Some blame goes on Dombrowski for going too heavy with lefty bats in the corner outfield but I also think Delmon is a disgrace for being a washout in his late 20s and can't play left field to save his life. Boesch is another bust...I think he'll be on the same bus out of town as Delmon.

Garcia's a talented kid for sure...the obvious Cabrera-like stature, good wheels and he's got a strong hose in the outfield (evident from the assist in Game 2). He'll be a player for them in the long term but this is a tough spot for him to be in.

Given that it's Parker tonight...same vs. RHP lineup tonight with Berry hitting second, Dirks ahead Peralta and Avila in over Laird. This has been the better of the lineups so that's another reason to be optimistic.

MgoBlue-LightSpecial · Thu Oct 11, 2012 5:06 pm

M Club wrote:^^^^ key #1. people feel confident because verlander's going but the entire starting staff has been lights out. can't do much better than scherzer last night other than last longer, but even then middle relief got them to the 9th in the same position. the a's managed all of 3 runs through 16 innings and have still won both games.

Plus he never seems to get any run support.

This game will probably come down to the final two innings. Let's hope JV is still on the bump.

M Club · Post by **M Club** » Thu Oct 11, 2012 6:09 pm

Shoalzie wrote:They mentioned during one of the broadcasts he wasn't supposed be on roster but it's out of desperation and necessity. Some blame goes on Dombrowski for going too heavy with lefty bats in the corner outfield...

Some things just don't pan out. Boesch hit well last year until he was shelved with an injury. No reason to expect he'd be such a shit show this year. And Delmon isn't all that bad considering he was just some scrub they re-signed because (1) needed to fill a Victor Martinez-size hole for hopefully just half a season and (2) why not? His .270ish BA actually isn't all that bad (other than his OBP is probably 100 points lower), it's just that he's been batting 5th all year and if you're really in a jam why not just roll three bocce balls to the left of home plate and he'll swing at all of them. Should just throw Dirks at the 5 and let the bottom of the lineup cobble together what they can.

Van · Post by **Van** » Thu Oct 11, 2012 6:42 pm

Watching what the Giants are about to complete against the Reds, and coming off of their own three-game sweep at home of the Rangers to pull out the West, the A's now have to be feeling mighty pumped for tonight's game. Destiny just seems to be screaming their name.

They say momentum is only as good as your next starting pitcher. For the Tigers' sake, yep, Verlander and the Detroit offense better put this one to bed early.

ucantdoitdoggieSTyle2 · Thu Oct 11, 2012 7:49 pm

Verlander, and his 4.96 ERA, is certainly beatable in the post season.

M Club · Post by **M Club** » Fri Oct 12, 2012 2:06 am

Van wrote:...the Detroit offense better put this one to bed early.

Hahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahaha. 2 innings in and already 0 for 3 with RISP.

Shoalzie · Post by **Shoalzie** » Fri Oct 12, 2012 5:12 am