fathom

QUOTE(TitoMB345 @ Jun 9, 2007 -> 08:28 PM) Can we please just leadoff Thome? God damn it. He hasn't exactly been lighting it up since he came back from his injury.

Uribe's horrific mechanics have taken away all of his power. I can't believe Greg Walker still has a job.

I understand why we've struggled this week: Clippard, Mussina, Sampson, and Jennings just had amazing fastballs and great stuff.

QUOTE(WHarris1 @ Jun 9, 2007 -> 08:17 PM) And then he sits on the bench laughing it up. It's as if he doesn't even give a f***. Yet we're not allowed to argue that this team isn't hustling.

QUOTE(WHarris1 @ Jun 9, 2007 -> 08:14 PM) Nice hustle Gooch, dumbass Nice hustle, nice slide. Isn't Shines supposed to be motioning for him to slide to the inside part of the bag?

Unreal.....it seemed like it took him 6 seconds to go from 2nd to 3rd. Another terrible slide by a Sox hitter after Iguchi wasn't hustling all the way.

This umpire has a very tiny strike zone. Someone's going to get ejected today.

QUOTE(briguy27 @ Jun 9, 2007 -> 07:54 PM) why am i getting a's @ giants? Consider yourself lucky...the A's have had some great games lately.

I love the lineup today.

QUOTE(elrockinMT @ Jun 9, 2007 -> 03:54 PM) You have to think Owens basically was rated as better than BA in the system and better than Sweeny since Owens was the one brought up when Pods was hurt. I guess we should keep an open mind, but how many of our great prospects have done anything to contribute at the big league level? Owens wasn't even rated in the same stratosphere as those guys.

ESPN just announced it. Just tell him to appeal it, then drop it tomorrow and let Hall play.

QUOTE(Cerbaho-WG @ Jun 9, 2007 -> 03:43 PM) Your ignorance is astounding. It's almost as if you don't have a clue what you're talking about. Gonzalez is indeed repeating AA, but is in a different division this year. He has absolutely no advantages when it comes to seeing hitters for a second time because he's not. He's also 21, but age doesn't matter because he's repeating a league. Right, great logic. Furthermore, here are Gio's splits away from the Met: 27 IP 26 H 8 BB 41 SO .248 BAA .635 OOPS .67 HR/9 He's actually giving up more homers per 9 at the Met than on the road. Outside of one start in May, he's been hovering around his April numbers, which were fantastic. If you want to spout off on someone who is overrated, please talk about Russel and not Gonzalez. I like Gio....I just don't see him as a #2 pitcher in the majors as people are pencilling him in for around here. If he ends up being a #4 for the next 5 years, then I have no problem at all with that. And yes, Adam Russell is quite overrated by some also. His best opportunity to help this team is as a power righty set-up man. I do like saying my comments are ignorant though, as everything I said about Gio was relayed to me by about 5 minor league experts. We need to call him up to AAA, as pitching in a hitter's park will give him a better example of what it's like to pitch at the Cell. We need Gio to be our Rich Hill.

Keep Iguchi in the 2nd spot, as he's been hitting better and we all know he doesn't really adjust to change well. Let Mackowiak leadoff.

Molina got pulled early in the game, as he got hit in the arm with a bounced ball. Then, their back-up catcher probably tore his knee on a great play at home. Feliz went behind the plate, and actually made better scoops on pitches in the dirt than AJP. Sadly, the game didn't go 14 innings.

Hopefully we still get to face him next week.

There's been a lot of excitement in the A's games recently. It's been a great time to have the MLB package.

QUOTE(Heads22 @ Jun 9, 2007 -> 04:50 AM) I love how the only guys that provide us with any speed get hurt. Owens is no good to us at all without his speed, as he can't hit, get on base, play defense or throw the ball at all. It's truly amazing how many of our offensive players have been dinged up this year. It's like all the years of good health have caught up to us. Oh well....as long as Danks and Jenks don't suffer any serious injuries, I won't lose any sleep over these injuries.

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Jun 9, 2007 -> 04:47 AM) He's made some changes recently! But what kind of changes do you expect him to make that he hasn't already made unless we get some new guys? I don't believe Ozzie deserves zero blame but I don't give him much of it at all. It does shock me but listen: this is a bad team. Older, slower, and injured. The bullpen is garbage. I don't think anyone could lead this team too far. Well, then let's trade Buehrle while he still has a ton of value. Ozzie said after today that he's not ready to start trading players though. Personally, I give this team two more weeks to turn it around. If we lose about 75 pct of our next 15 games, including losing the series to the Cubs, then you blow this team up. You put Buehrle on the market, Thome on the market, as well as Iguchi and Dye if he can be healthy.

And Cintron's elbow is still bothering him. He really needs to go on the DL for an extended period. Let Gonzalez be the back-up SS. We also need another legit outfielder with Dye being injured who can play some defense. Might as well call up Sweeney or Anderson again.

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Jun 9, 2007 -> 04:42 AM) "I know that's 99% on the players, but Ozzie still gets blame from me!" You're grasping at straws. Huh? You honestly believe that Ozzie deserves zero blame for what's happened? You think Ozzie's handled our relief situation well, including his use of Logan and not bringing in Jenks in a couple of situations where he was fresh? You know we have some type of respect for each other, but what would have to happen for you to think he deserves any blame? This might shock you, but I actually think that Ozzie might be the only manager who could lead this team to a good final 100 games. He just needs to get his mojo back. Oh, and by the way, Ozzie making some jokes about how he should have Konerko lead off tomorrow. Like I said, he talks a big game in the media. I'm still waiting to see any type of change to our lineup.

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2007 @ Jun 9, 2007 -> 04:32 AM) Please, fathom, you've been riding Ozzie for months. Even when he, in your mind, does something right, you're still making snarky remarks. How many times have you said "I wish Ozzie had kept his word and quit after we won the World Series"? When he does something right, I'm one of the only posters who will say something. Hell, I was sticking up for him with the decision to let MacDougal start the bottom of the 9th at Minnesota a few weeks ago. I've made no secret that I wish he quit after we won the WS like he said. I think he's been a horrible manager for the last year and a half now. However, I'm not that big of an idiot to expect him to be fired after what happened during 2006, and I don't think he'll be fired now. I've said all along that I thought it would be his mouth that got him fired. I hate how arrogant Ozzie and KW have become since 2005. KW has no bigger supporter than me a few years ago. Now, I want to know who kidnapped him after Thanksgiving of 2005.

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Jun 9, 2007 -> 04:17 AM) Criticizing Danks now is stupid. But I imagine that his decrease is from Cooper. Cooper telling him to throw more strikes! Not necessarily a bad thing, but definitely not a surefire good thing. Come on GP....stop trying to pick fights. We weren't criticizing Danks at all. We were just saying that the Sox seem to be miscalculating the velocity of some of these guys. Nick Masset was throwing 92 mph tonight...that's nowhere near what they were expecting out of him.

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2007 @ Jun 9, 2007 -> 04:25 AM) I blame Ozzie a lot more for what happened last year than I do this year. NOBODY could've predicted the ENTIRE offense would be this bad for over 2 months. Show me a manager that could win with a team hitting .232 in our division. Where did I blame this entire debacle on Ozzie? I just want to see a little more looseness and creativity from now on. These guys not only play not to lose, but they just seem to tight. As someone said so perfectly the other day, Ozzie seems to have lost a lot of his fire since the Mariotti incident. QUOTE(Jordan4life_2007 @ Jun 9, 2007 -> 04:28 AM) Why are you still on last year? And what makes you think Gload, a guy who's not an everyday player, could've held down the leadoff spot last year? Because you didn't catch on that I was referring to the Gload situation in 2006. What makes someone an everyday player or a bench player if they never get the chance to prove they can be an everyday starter? The one time Gload got extended playing time during his career, he was good. The ironic thing about this is that I was nowhere near the Gload-aholic that many on this board were. I just thought he was a better option during the 2nd half last year than Pods, and I wanted Ozzie to not be afraid of making a big move.

QUOTE(BabyJesus69 @ Jun 9, 2007 -> 04:20 AM) give ross gload a chance to leadoff? that's brilliant.... yep, and Jerry Owens is such a bright idea? I know that .354 OBP that Gload had was awful last year, especially since he hit .351 after the ASB. Pods hit .241 after the ASB.

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Jun 9, 2007 -> 04:15 AM) PS: haven't you said he's done a good job managing this year? s***, the last several games have been close until relievers came in and gave up ten runs. You can't blame Ozzie for that. No, I said he wasn't bad at the beginning. However, every single move he's made lately seems to go wrong. Now, I know that's 99 pct on the players....but he's going to get some blame from me for that also. And yes, there's things Ozzie can do to help the relievers. Why bring in Thornton to face Abreu in a huge spot yesterday instead of Logan? Lefties hit over .100 pts higher against Thornton than they do Logan. Why didn't he bring in Logan to face Lind in a huge spot at Toronto last Sunday? Why is he more scared of Matt Stairs than Vernon Wells? Again, I'm not calling for him to be fired. For all the changes he's made to the bullpen, he sure seems to be trying to keep the same formula with our lineup. We have no balance in the lineup, as we have all our slow guys right in a row and our weak hitters in a row also. Why not trying something unconvential like letting Mackowiak bat lead off or 3rd? QUOTE(Jordan4life_2007 @ Jun 9, 2007 -> 04:20 AM) I like Anderson as much as anybody. But the guy is seriously lacking in certain areas. He's got a terrible swing and seems incapable of making any sort of adjustment. He's hitting .256 in AAA right now. Not exactly inspiring. Gload as our leadoff man? I guess that .317 OBP would look oh so sexy right now. Last year for Gload....you know that's what I meant. Pods was just killing this team's offense for a few months after the all-star break, but we kept trotting him out to the leadoff spot before a terrific 3/4/5.