At his highest, De Aza had a trade value of basically zero.

 

I was referring to his first two seasons with the White Sox...not 2013/14.

How is his stuff even worse this year than last year?

Good question. It appears this is what we're going to get now. And it doesn't figure to be good enough very often.

Dunn's ball did not carry at all.

I know, but at that stage of the game if you want to beat the A's on the road, you need to not strand the runner at third. That was one, key out. And predictably the A's plate two in the bottom of the fifth to take good command of the game.

 

Gillaspie has hit the ball hard both times with RISP, yes?

 

You can't really jump all over him. And it's not like Chavez's BAA against this season isn't way down in the .100's.

Where did the offense go?

Sox go quiet 1-2-3 no answer to Oakland's 2 runs.

KW is probably our best GM.

 

Himes had one hell of a run, though:

Drafted Jack McDowell, Robin Ventura, Frank Thomas, and Alex Fernandez in consecutive first rounds. Got us Wilson Alvarez, Scott Fletcher, Sammy Sosa, and Lance Johnson for old Harold Baines and Jose de Leon. Also drafted James Baldwin, Ray Durham, Jason Bere, Bob Wickman, Joe Borowski.

Himes was much better than KW, so was Roland Hemond for that matter, with what he had to work with.

Abreu's K rate has dramatically increased, although is average is still "okay." Maybe he's getting away from that singles/line drive/opposite field stroke just a bit. It was due to happen with the amount of early success he's had.

 

Viciedo is hitting almost exactly the same against RHP/LHP, fwiw. There were concerns in past seasons about his approach against RHP. He's not a platoon hitter, like Gillaspie threatens to be, or DeAza.

Edited May 13, 201411 yr by caulfield12

How has Abreu not adjusted to breaking balls low and away yet?

Abreu's K rate has dramatically increased, although is average is still "okay." Maybe he's getting away from that singles/line drive/opposite field stroke just a bit. It was due to happen with the amount of early success he's had.

 

He absolutely has started to try and pull the ball more. Once he gets to two strikes, he has no chance against offspeed pitches right now. He's going to have to make some adjustments to slow down his K rate.

I hate this rat. Is he breaking ball really that good that are guys are swinging at it everytime? Abreu and Viciedo look absolutely horrible other than Tank's HR pitch.

 

Chavez has been awful his entire career. The A's pitching coach is a miracle worker making him into a useful starter.

How has Abreu not adjusted to breaking balls low and away yet?

 

Very few hitters can/do, when down in the count. If it was easy, then every MLB hitter would be at .300-.400.

Chavez has been awful his entire career. The A's pitching coach is a miracle worker making him into a useful starter.

 

And a lot of their pitchers, away from Oakland (of course, you have the spacious park and dead outfield at night for most of the season)...none have gone on to that much success, guys like T.Ross/B.Anderson/Cahill, etc.

 

Typical game in Oakland for the Sox.

 

Snoozefest. It's good for putting fans to sleep, there's that.

Edited May 13, 201411 yr by caulfield12

I'm curious if his ankle is affecting his K rate. He is cheating on everything right now and guessing wrong

Dunn with the unassisted DP.

Gillaspie has hit the ball hard both times with RISP, yes?

 

You can't really jump all over him. And it's not like Chavez's BAA against this season isn't way down in the .100's.

 

I'm not mad at him at all, just lamenting the situation. That was the time we HAD to get a hit or wild pitch IMO.

Oak 3-1 thru 6

All in all, a decent outing for Danks.

Very few hitters can/do, when down in the count. If it was easy, then every MLB hitter would be at .300-.400.

 

Yes, there's really no excuse for a pitcher to get rocked by Abreu if he can get two strikes on him. No reason to feed him a fastball that he'll blast.

I know a lot of the guys here love Bradnon McCarthy, but he's another guy who falls into that category.

 

 

Gio Gonzalez is the exception...

Could use a baserunner, DeAza. Get on.

Could use a baserunner, DeAza. Get on.

Yeah right.

Ugh. Our amazing hitting coach needs to get our hitters more consistent.

I'm sorry but Chavez does not have that great of stuff. We are just bailing this guy guy out.

It's be nice to have Eaton and Semien to work some counts.

Edited May 13, 201411 yr by TaylorStSox