Well, that is the A’s for you–beating you with a guy like the testosterone-deprived Bartolo Colon, who really did manage to shut down the Tigers, who, with the exception of Prince Fielder, were helpless against his array of, um, pitches and stuff, and who suffered a virtual shutout (no runs in the last 9 innings of the game).
Not that he had stuff like Max Scherzer. Maxwell had the silver hammer out last night, striking out 11 in 6 innings, with only 1 walk and 5 hits, and even had an error, which is a Tiger pitcher way of saying hey, I’m ready for the postseason.
[By the way, how good does the Granderson/Edwin Jackson for Scherzer/Coke/Austin Jackson trade look right now?]
Anyway it’s too soon now, and hopefully in two weeks this will seem like a silly question, but at what point would one be willing to say uh oh, Victor has lost it? The All-Star break? And what is Plan B?
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April 27 is Reggie Jackson bobblehead night in Oakland. OK, who would YOU schedule bobblehead nights for? These things need some lead time, you know. They have to design, produce, and distribute the things, so the bobblehead nights now were probably planned months ago, and the A’s lineup seems to turn over quickly. Actually I would go for a Josh Reddick bobblehead night, but only if the bobbleheads could have real hair beards and not just plastic mold ones. That would make all the difference.
Speaking of Reddick, I have pursued all avenues to answer a nagging question I have, without satisfaction. Bud Selig, the Major League Umpires Association, this guy I know who knows a guy, nobody will answer my question. Which is: if Josh Reddick continues growing his beard, say to chest length, and it is blowing in the breeze, all blonde and fluffy, and a pitch flips it aside–does he go to first base? You might laugh now, but it will be no laughing matter when this happens in the playoffs (Brandon Inge nods his head in agreement).
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Today’s Jet-Lagged, Sleep-Deprived Lineup:
- Jackson, CF
- Hunter, RF
- Cabrera, 3B
- Fielder, 1B
- Martinez, DH
- Tuiasosopo, LF
- Peralta, SS
- Infante, 2B
- Pena, C
Coleman: great lead in for today… I consulted my umpire expert ( my youngest brother, he is a Little League Ump) and he says if the beard is attached and real, then he would be considered to have been HBP. We also discussed if said HBP resulted in a mound charge ( we were initially talking about the Greinke thing)) the beard would be in play for someone to give it a tug ala a 4 year old yanking Santa’s beard. On another topic, I am figuring I get to see Max start the day game in Seattle on Thursday. I will write up my impressions, observations etc, but it won’t be ‘live”. I don’t Tweet or have an I phone. Old school is what my kids and grandkids call me.
Victor has crushed a couple of balls in recent days that have been encouraging. The one he hit to deep right-center versus TOR on Thursday would have ben a HR in most major league parks. He also hit a ball to RF in OAK last night that Reddick made a nice play on. I wouldn’t write him off just yet.
I agree Jerry. VMart has a great LD rate thus far and an awful BABIP. He’ll be fine.
Blowpen is killing me, but it’s still early. I’ll wait until mid-May to sound any bells.
I actually think V-Mart will be fine also…just wondering what would happen if he somehow isn’t, and how long before it would be fair to wait before deciding there is a problem.
Well if he doesn’t produce they won’t be able to trade him and his salary doesn’t have a reimbursement clause as far as I know. Even with a dismal year I can’t see the Tigers benching him for the playoffs like they did with Boesch. They would just hope the rut will end and take their chances and assume he will be fine. He’s a professional hitter that is highly capable of consistently hitting the ball with adequate results, so they have to bank on him and play him no matter what except in a scenario where they have a possible trade option.
Just noticed the Beatles reference in the game post
I am a big fan–well played.
I, too, got a chuckle out of the Maxwell’s silver hammer reference.Although, I, personally, think it is one of their worst songs, it was a solid reference.
So, if you have a Rip Van Winkle beard, and a brush back pitch (pun intended) nips an extended hair, does it count as a bit batsman?
And what if it is heavily hair-gelled?
I guess it should be sound any alarms or ring any bells.
Maybe jetlagged but warm!
This is more like it…..hey Jhonny where’s this been!!!
5 more to get blowpen proof…
You need to have 19 runs for blowpen proof. In 1883 the Chicago White Stockings put up 18 runs in one inning against the Detroit Wolverines!
Adding to the earlier discussion about Martinez is he always has been very selective with pitches he hits…so far this year he has made a lot of easy outs going after junk…just sayin!
He’s also now currently at his personal worst DP/AB rate for his career.
I don’t mind the blackout when the Masters is on.
Wow…and the bullpen struggles continue…The Tigers invest a half billion in hitting and starting pitching, and then throw $26.50 to the bullpen in talent…This is not a very sound combination…
They don’t know how to think very well.
Can Marte, Rondon and Val Verde be any worse than this!!!
Valverde still has a shot to make the All-Star team this year! lol
Ready or not, I predict he’ll be back in less than two weeks.
I know its early,we all knew this bullpen was going to be an issue. well they haven’t let us down “THEY SUCK” they are already responsible for 3 losses. Gotta fix it sooner than later. And no I don’t want to see PaPa Grande anytime soon
Gee a LH hitting catcher that can hit…what a unique idea
He may be back tomorrow
What in the world did the bullpen pitchers do during Spring Training, visit Disney World on a daily basis? This is ridiculous…
In Tiger closer fashion Benoit gets the K.
Lowrie has been pretty hot with the bat so far this year, he should have used it that time. Oh well, the A’s winning streak wasn’t that important to me so I won’t complain. 😉
Good win against a good SP and a hot team. Chance to win the series tomorrow. I’ll take it.
Well said Kevin. Our BP isn’t Justin Verlander so all holds aren’t easy!
Just took a look and see that I am incorrect (not a first!) and will see JV on the bump versus Iwakuma.I will try to refrain from yelling “Remember Pearl Harbor” unless the ball club needs moto, and since my bride will be 280 plus miles away, won’t get punched in the arm (she is of Japanese heritage)