Game Day Diary – Mariners @ Athletics, 9/28/12

Straight from the “it was a long week” department, I now have the distinct pleasure (or the complete opposite) of providing a summary paragraph of the A’s four game series that just past with the Rangers as we go into tonight’s game vs. the Mariners.  By now, you are well aware that the A’s and Rangers split the series at two wins apiece, signaling that the team made no ground in the divisional race.  However, the glass half full approach would say that the team didn’t lose ground either.  While this series was going on, the Angels won two out of three against our opponent tonight and they are now two games behind us for the last wild card spot (with Tampa). 

The best one word descriptor I can come up with for the series against the Rangers is “uncomfortable” because that’s how I felt throughout most of it.  Game 1 was infuriating and felt like a game that the A’s gave away.  Milone and Parker pitched great in games 2 and 3 respectively (both wins) and it felt like momentum was on our side.  Then yesterday’s afternoon game took place.  When the A’s score 7 runs and lose, you know it was a difficult game to watch.  They fought back a few times, only to see the pitching staff give it right back in the next inning (or two).  Let’s just move on before I start whining. 

In the good news department, Coco is apparently going to be back in the lineup tonight.  Would you like some more good news?  The Mariners are in town and we are avoiding King Felix.  The A’s must sweep this series in my opinion.  Not to make the playoffs per se, but from a confidence perspective.  We need to beat up the M’s this weekend and carry over some of that when Texas comes to visit Oakland to close out the season.  According to this article, the A’s own the tiebreaker against the Angels and that isn’t going to change.  The A’s and Rangers are tied head-to-head at 8 wins apiece right now.  So … if the Angels take a few from the Rangers while the A’s sweep … you know what, forget it.  I won’t go any further.  Let’s enjoy tonight’s game and just take care of our own business.  Please and thank you. 

10:01pm EST: We’re (not really) live as MLB.TV has yet to turn on the broadcast.  Someone flip the switch!  In the meantime, I made a terrible mistake – just click here and know that I’m kicking myself for even peaking. 

10:02 – We’re live and I have to admit that I was expecting more from Glen for the introduction.  Where’s the conviction?!  

10:03 – The Orioles are still amazing / baffling to me.  Unrelated, Coco’s back and it is time to go back to the Bernie Lean!  By the way, my nerves are shot and I have the Angels/Rangers game going on my tablet (Google Nexus 7 – go get one!) at the same time. 

10:10 – Griffin K’s the Mariners leadoff hitter!  How many times can or will I type “Let’s go Oakland!!” tonight?

10:12 – Moss catches a foul ball pop up and we have two down.  I’m a little surprised at how quiet the Coliseum is right now.  Hopefully the offense can get things going early. 

10:13 – Griffin’s no hitter is gone thanks to Seager.  The Angels go up 6-1 against the Rangers around the same time (just noticed out of the corner of my eye).

10:15 – Griffin walks Montero and we have 1^st and 2^nd.  Let’s end this.  Now!

10:17 – Jaso flies out and we’re going to the bottom of the 1^st.  Well done.

10:19 – The Angels are blowing open the game in Texas.  7-1 Angels … and I can never figure out who to root for when these teams play. 

10:20 – There we go, the Bernie Lean gets things going with Coco coming up to the plate.  As an added bonus, CSN shows it from the get-go. 

10:21 – Here comes the crowd!  Cowbells, drums, 3-1 … and now 3-2 count to Coco.

10:22 – Coco!!!!  Crisp!!!!  Home … run!!!  Let’s go Oakland!

10:24 – Stephen Drew drives the ball to the wall and it’s caught.  So close!

10:25 – Cespedes drives the ball right at the right fielder.  Two outs but everyone is making good contact. 

10:30 – Seager makes a nice play to catch Redick’s foul ball and that ends the inning.  By the way, I failed to mention in the opening paragraphs that Redick broke his 0-for slump yesterday in Texas with two HR’s.  Hopefully that bat stays alive over the course of the next week. 

10:33 – Phew, Smoak just misses a HR as the ball carries foul.  That ball was crushed.  Come with the curveball. 

10:34 – Smoak flies out on the next pitch. 

10:37 – Another opportunity for a shutdown inning and the A’s fail at it.  HR by Robinson ties the game at 1. 

10:39 – Groundout to end the inning but the damage is done. 

10:41 – MLB.TV just went down on both feeds and came back on one source with grainy video from Oakland.  Oh boy, I really have enjoyed the service this year.  They couldn’t come up with a worse time to really strike a nerve. 

10:46 – The A’s go down in order and my connection on MLB.TV is less than superb right now. 

10:50 – I only know that the A’s got through the inning because I have switched over to the radio broadcast.  #Firstworldproblems … and really, really annoyed.

10:54 – Pennington leads off the inning with a hit.  The TV portion of MLB.TV is about 2 minutes behind the radio broadcast right now.  Annoying, but I’m going with the TV version and staying off Twitter.

10:57 – Stephen Drew gets that one over the wall, 3-1 A’s!

11:01 – Moss grounds out to end the inning.  Scoreboard alert – Beltre hit another HR to bring the Rangers to within three, 7-4 in the 8^th. 

11:06 – Moss makes a nice play at 1^st to turn a double play to end the inning!  We’re on to the bottom of the 4^th. 

11:09 – Redick smacks a ball to RF but Wells makes a nice play/catch.  1 out 

11:15 – Smith strikes out to end the inning, with the A’s still on top 3-1. 

11:22 – It’s a final from Texas, Angels win 7-4.  Three words: Let’s go Oakland!

11:23 – With a little help from the home plate umpire, Griffin strikes out two more and we go to the bottom of the 5^th. 

11:31 – Coco with another hit, this one with 2 outs.  The bad news, I just saw a reported attendance of 16,376.  Hopefully everyone in the area is prepping for a weekend at the stadium?!

11:36 – After a Drew walk, Cespedes hits a rocket to SS and we have bases loaded.  Seriously, what percentage of the time does the ball fly off of Cespedes’ bat?  He’s going to become one of the most exciting players in the game to watch over the next couple of years. 

11:39 – Coco scores on a wild pitch from Oliver Perez, who was “adored” by the local media here during his time with the Mets.  Nice to see things haven’t changed much. 

11:40 – Moss shatters his bat but winds up grounding out.  4-1 A’s as we go to the 6^th. 

11:45 – Griffin’s given up a hit, a wild pitch, and now a walk to start off the 6^th.  Let’s fix this immediately and get someone up in the bullpen just in case.

11:47 – Seager strikes out on three pitches, all of which were out of the strike zone.  Thanks

11:51 – Jaso gets hit on the hand and barely reacts to it.  How is that possible?  In any case, with two outs and the bases now loaded, Doolittle is replacing Griffin.  Nice outing from Griffin, but he’s going to need a large helping hand right now. 

11:55 – Doolittle gets Smoak to fly out to end the inning.  4-1 A’s still.  Phew. 

11:59 – Redick leads off the inning with a hit.  He’s out of his slump, right?

12:07 – A’s go down quickly and quietly after Redick’s leadoff hit.  We’re going to the 7^th, 4-1 A’s.

12:10 – Saunders takes the first pitch deep against Doolittle, 4-2 A’s.  Doolittle seems to be coming back to earth a little over the past few weeks.  He needs to be the reliable left arm in the bullpen. 

12:16 – After the leadoff HR, Doolittle puts the Mariners down quickly.  7^th inning stretch time

12:22 – A’s are looking to pad the score here a bit.  Pennington walks, gets to second on a wild pitch, and is followed by Coco’s infield single. 

12:26 – Drew walks to bring up Cespedes with the bases loaded and no outs.  Before that happens, we have another pitching change. 

12:33 – Cespedes walks after a number of pitches and the A’s force in a run.  5-2

12:36 – A’s get a gift run on a terrible throw home from the M’s second baseman.  6-2 A’s. 

12:37 – Donaldson shoots one right up the middle and the A’s score two more!  Game over?  8-2 A’s

12:49 – Cespedes lays out to make the catch in an 8-2 game?  Yes.  That should inspire the entire dugout. 

12:57 – A’s go down quickly and quietly in the bottom of the 8^th.  We go to the 9^th …

1:01 – Jim Miller is in to pitch the top of the 9^th.  This may make or break Miller’s time with the A’s and whether or not Melvin goes to him anymore.  Smoak gets a leadoff single.

1:03 – Cook is up in the bullpen again, as Miller goes 3-0 to the second straight batter.  Miller walks him two pitches later. 

1:06 – Robinson strikes out again and probably should have been tossed for arguing again.  1 out

1:07 – Moss makes a nice play on a foul ball.  2 outs

1:08 – Another foul out and the A’s win!  3 back of Texas and they remain 2 ahead of the Angels.  Let’s go Oakland!

I’m going with the returning Coco Crisp as the player of the game! 

Game Day Diary – Athletics @ Yankees, 9/21/12

We’re live to start off the birthday weekend from the couch instead of Yankees Stadium.  I’ve grown incredibly lazy in my old age and had no interest in rushing to the Bronx for a Friday night game.  This was the only game that there was any chance to get to and we passed.  Tonight, we have the distinct displeasure of not listening to Glen and Ray and will be subjected to either Michael Kay or John Sterling.  I’m assuming it is Kay since it is a Yankees home game.  I don’t have a preference on either, as they are both torture.  Someone should actually create a Twitter parody account for both of them.  I would do this but I have absolutely no interest in listening to either of them beyond the handful of games a year when the Yankees play the A’s. 

Updated standings from last night’s games have the A’s and O’s tied for the first wild card spot, one game behind the Yankees.  The A’s are four games behind the Rangers for the division lead, but have a 4.5 game lead on the Angels.  I’m not saying anything about how this relates to the A’s chances of making the playoffs, given the amount of bad karma coming this week – postseason tickets went on sale and the national media finally picked up on the team.  Stop! 

Coco remains out of the lineup tonight, with Cowgill leading off and playing CF.  Rosales is at 2B tonight, but I have a feeling we’ll see Weeks in the lineup this weekend.  No, really, please make this happen.  Let’s get him back in the lineup please.  It’s Parker vs. Sabathia on the mound tonight and I’m on record from last night (see below) predicting a win.  (Gulp)

7:02pm US EST – We’re live two minutes late because I forgot to change the channel.  We’re off to a good start here.  In the booth tonight on My9 (don’t ask) is apparently going to be Michael Kay, Ken Singleton, and Paul O’Neill.  Oh boy.  Before even finishing those thoughts, they go to commercial.  The Yankees broadcast personified and we’re only in our first time-stamped entry.  (Shaking head)

7:05 – You can’t make this up – we’re going to our second commercial break.  They were in the booth “dissecting” this game for approximately 45 seconds.  Good grief.

7:09 – Cowgill strikes out but had a decent at bat, seeing a few pitches.  Sorry, I took my own commercial break while the announce booth talked throughout the entire at bat.  This is going to be a long, sarcastic diary.  There’s your warning. 

7:12 – Gomes draws a walk after our first pink eye joke from the booth. 

7:13 – The booth is now talking facial hair and haircuts.  Reddick drives one that is just foul and misses a HR.  Ugh!

7:16 – Reddick strikes out after a decent at bat as well, as Sabathia is already at 20 pitches. 

7:18 – Cespedes strikes out as well and I think we have a theme for the evening. 

7:21 – Jeter swings at the first pitch and we have one out.  Nice pace for Parker …

7:21 – It is still 7:21 and we have two pitches and two outs.  That joke was a lot funnier 25 seconds ago before Kay said something similar. 

7:24 – Parker is dealing in the first and Cano goes down on strikes!  Note that I’m restraining myself from touching my phone and passing along any text messages.  For now …

7:28 – I had no idea the Yankees had Ichiro in left field.  He just caught a nice pop off of Donaldson’s bat. 

7:29 – Derek Norris swings at the first pitch and pops out to Ichiro.  We’re going to the bottom of the 2^nd. 

7:34 – A-Rod strikes out and I immediately give Parker a three clap salute.  Thankfully, the wife is out. 

7:35 – Granderson goes down on strikes too.  (Remain silent, stay off your phone)

7:37 – Martin grounds out and we’re going to the third inning.

7:40 – Drew smacks the ball 55 feet and into Sabathia’s glove.  No emphasis on the word “smack”.

7:43 – Rosales strikes out on a clear ball.  We’re back to the top of the lineup. 

7:44 – Eric Chavez, playing first base, beats Cowgill to first on a slow grounder.  Let’s think about that as we go to the bottom of the 3^rd. 

7:47 – Chavez dribbles out to Norris - I still can’t root against Eric (he was my favorite Athletic during his tenure).

7:48 – Parker gives up his first hit to Ichiro and it’s a ball that gets stuck in his jersey.  Naturally, this had to happen against Ichiro, who I still don’t like from his Mariner days. 

7:53 – Ichiro steals second and I feel like the Yankees booth is stealing signs and relaying quick signals.  At the same time, the pitch is called a ball and that was another terrible call. 

7:55 – The umpire makes up for it and calls Jeter out on strikes.  Thanks

8:00 – Reddick strikes out on a pitch that hit the dirt.  That feels like another missed call.  Seconds later, Cespedes pops up to quickly end the inning.  Ugh. 

8:07 – Swisher gets the first ‘real’ hit of the game.  Why does it feel like Swisher punishes the A’s? 

8:09 – A-rod hits a blooper to CF and the Yankees have 1^st and 3^rd with 1 out.  Sudden illness is coming over me. 

8:14 – Granderson gets a sac-fly to Cespedes.  Yankees take the lead 1-0. 

8:16 – Martin grounds out to end the inning and we’re on to the 5^th.  The A’s desperately need to get a few base runners, at the very least, in this inning. 

8:24 – Michael Kay stresses the “Al” in Alzheimer’s and I immediately hate him more.  He does mention that he was touched by it too and that makes me feel a bit bad about the joke.  Let’s move on. 

8:25 – In the spirit of the Yankees, I’m taking a commercial break as well to point out that Casey Pratt pointed out that a guest appearance in the game day diary a few weeks ago (vs. Cleveland) had a Twitter account.  Follow “The Mauler” here on Twitter. 

8:29 – A beautiful play from Cespedes on an Ichiro blooper and they get him caught between 1^st and 2^nd.  Two outs in the inning.  That was the worst effort at a rundown I’ve seen in quite some time.  Thanks Ichiro!

8:30 – Nunez grounds out to end the inning and we go to the 6^th.  Hey Oakland, let’s get some base-runners please.

8:34 – Drew breaks up the no hitter from Sabathia, thankfully!

8:35 – Rosales flies out to right field.  In Yankee Stadium there’s always some potential for that carrying out. 

8:36 – I’m calling it now before it happens.  Gomes goes long. 

8:39 – So much for that, Gomes strikes out looking.  I even time-stamped a text message just in case for future proof.  I’m losing my touch. 

8:45 – Parker gets Cano to ground into a double play to end the inning.  Let’s go Oakland!!

8:50 – Reddick strikes out again.  Please move him to anywhere else in the roster.  Try him in the two hole or the five hole.  Please!

8:53 – Cespedes strikes out on ball four.  At the same time, I realize that CC threw about 20 pitches in the first inning and is only at pitch 90 through 6.2 innings. 

8:56 – Carter walks and that brings up Donaldson.  Let’s go Oakland!

8:57 – Singleton throws out a bizarre stat that has Donaldson hitting over .400 on Friday nights and just above .200 the rest of the week.  It’s time to put that theory to the test.

8:58 – Well, so much for that, as Nunez robs Donaldson.  Ugh.  Seventh inning stretch

9:05 – Would the A’s bats please help Parker out?!  He’s through 7 with virtually no damage.  Give this guy some run support please!

9:07 – The wife is back and handed me a birthday present – A’s pajama pants.  I’d put a picture up of them, but I am also wearing a throwback Reggie Jackson jersey and this combination is downright scary and I have a legitimate concern of this going viral.  Let’s move on and score some (blank) runs please!

9:09 – Cano has Norris played perfectly and we have one out in the top of the 8^th. 

9:10 – Stephen Drew with another hit.  Come on!!

9:12 – Rosales has made some nice contact but it continues to land in the glove of Yankees. 

9:15 – Cowgill beats out a slow grounder and I think I see an A’s runner at 2^nd base!  Let’s go Oakland!

9:16 – Gomes gets HBP and here comes Reddick with 3 K’s on the night.  Please, please, please is about all I can come up with. 

9:18 – Reddick flies out to LF.  !@#$%^&*(  … I don’t know what else needs to happen to move him out of the 3 hole in the lineup. 

9:26 – One pitch to Jeter is a strike and the next in the exact same location is a ball because Jeter stretches out further over the plate.  I hate the Yankees by the way.  By the way, there are two outs in this inning already. 

9:28 – Parker strikes out Jeter to end the inning.  We’re going to the top of the 9^th.  Cespedes and Carter need to go deep.  Please?!

9:31 – Cespedes just (bleep) misses a HR and we have one out in the 9^th. 

9:32 – Brandon Moss is PH’ing for Carter? 

9:34 – Like I said, Moss is PH’ing for Carter and hits a HR!!!!!

9:36 – Martin makes a nice play as A-rod wanted nothing to do with running towards the A’s dugout.  Yes, I might be taking that opportunity to make fun of A-rod.  Two outs. 

9:39 – Norris walks and we have a Coco sighting, as he will pinch run.  Nice!

9:42 – Coco steals second base and here we go!

9:43 – Drew walks and here comes Seth Smith.  Let’s go Oakland!! 

9:47 – Smith strikes out and the A’s will have to deal with the heart of the Yankees lineup. 

9:52 – I think I hear a faint, little “Let’s go Oakland” chant from one person in the crowd.  Well done. 

9:54 – A-rod gets a hit to keep the inning alive.  Of course he does.  By the way, Doolittle is in and got the first two hitters out.

9:56 – Yes!  Extra innings live from the Bronx.  Thank god I’m not at this game.

9:59 – Pennington leads off the 10^th because he came in to play defense in the ninth.  I only know this because Kay just announced his entry into the game when he came to the plate. 

10:00 – Pennington continues to swing at high fast balls and flies out.  If he could hit home runs this would be acceptable. 

10:06 – Here’s a summary of my thoughts:

john flesta ‏@jflesta

I love Reddick and what he has brought to this team. But for the love of god, get him out of the 3 hole in the lineup! #Athletics

 10:09 – Martin with a walk-off HR off Doolittle.  Thanks Reddick!

Player of the game goes to Parker, despite the walk-off HR because I can’t stand the Yankees.  If he had any help whatsoever, this should have been a W.