OOTP6: Fictional 2006 - The Swingin' A's

[CraigSca]

As I am spending the majority of my life either commuting by train or working out of town (and thus spending much of my time in hotel rooms), I have decided to start an OOTP6 dynasty.

I've found in the past that OOTP really lends itself to immersion when one plays out the games. The issue is - who has the time? Well, I'm gonna try. I started a fictional league (using the divisional format from the early 80's) and ran through two years. Why only two? Well, I'm running this on my company laptop and I am unable to turn off my antivirus software. So...having the game run through a season is a PAINFUL process and takes about 2 hours per season. Yuck.

I quick-simmed through one year of my league and decided to take over the A's as they were the worst team a year before. After playing about 25 games I decided to make GM decisions and "quick"-sim (quick being a strong word on this PC). Well, I felt largely dis-satisfied with this process and decided to quick sim the rest of the year (without GMing) and decided to re-takeover the A's the following year. Sure enough, they finished in last place again with a 65-97 record. This team is horrible in every category except stolen bases, where they are decidedly average. I will be taking over the team as GM and field manager, hoping I can turn the team around. Kudos to Radii for his large updates in his dynasty, but I don't think I'll be able to do that myself. I think what I'll do here is give some linescores along with some game stories while updating every one on league-wide stories and accomplishments.

Next...a look at the misery that is your 2006 Oakland A's....

[CraigSca]

This is before free agency...

Catchers
Elder Almanzar, Age 33
Elder was picked up on waivers in August of last year. He has a career batting average of .192 (and can't draw a walk either), but does hit the occasional homerun (18 in 491 atbats). Defensively, he's ok, but he does have a rocket arm.

Jason Teasley, Age 33
Another waiver claim by the A's. Obviously catching was not a strong point for us last year. Jason batted .222 in 261 atbats, doesn't walk and is an average fielder at best. Woohoo!

1st Basemen
Sabino Landa, Age 32
This guy was signed by me as a free agent before last year (when I GMed this team for the first month of the season. Batted .291, 16 HRs, 85 RBI. Doesn't walk much, but doesn't strike out either. Slightly less than average defensively.

2nd Basemen
Rene Ferrant, Age 35
Rene is a slight liability defensively, and doesn't make up for it with his .249 AVG, 14 HR, 60 RBI offense. Rene stole 16 bases last year, but is still viewed as a short term solution.

Zoilo Garofalo, Age 27
Another late season waiver pickup. Batted .239 with 3 HRs in 134 at bats. Also somehow struck out 34 times. Can play many positions, none of them well.

3rd Basemen
Ben Cancio, Age 31
Picked up via trade after I left the team last year (was a great trade as we picked up Ben and our best pitching prospect for a guy who was on our trading block). Ben is an average 3rd basemen and is only adequate offensively (.239 AVG, 11 HRs, 56 RBIs).

Alfredo Govea, Age 23
A non-prospect who made our active roster. Does this tell you about our talent level, or what?! Govea batted .236 with 0 HRs and 17 RBIs at our AAA ballclub. At least he can field.

Shortstops
Pedro Labastida, Age 28
Pedro has played for 3 teams in 2 years and broke his foot last year, missing 6 weeks. Unfortunately, the broken foot has been the highlight of his career. Has 77 lifetime atbats with a .260 average. Average defensively. Ummm...he'll be starting for us. Yuck.

Leftfielders
Phillip Candler, Age 35
Started the last two years for us. Good field, bad arm. Good for a .280 AVG, 10 HRs, 75-80 runs and 35+ stolen bases. Our leadoff man. I'm concerned about his age.

Jonas Camarillo, Age 25
Good speed, no hit, liability defensively. Sounds like a perfect fit for us!

Mario Nuss, Age 33
Was signed for $9.8 million a year for 3 years by the Giants before last season. Was having a horrible season so the Giants (in a bold move) waived him. To their glee, we claim him and remove ~ $10 million from the Giants payroll. Mario rewards us with a .229 AVG, 16 HRs, 58 RBIs. Ah, now THAT'S worth ~10 million a year!

Andrew Patterson, Age 25
I brought him up from the minors last year and he stuck with the club. Only had 150 atbats and hit .252 with 0 HRs and 6 RBIs. Not very good, but when your team lacks in any kind of talen you'll call most anyone a prospect. Look, Andrew Patterson is a PROSPECT! Ha!

Centerfielders
Raymond Armstrong, Age 22
Truthfully, Andrew Patterson will probably start here. Raymond has good speed but doesn't show it defensively. He batted .310 in A-ball last year, but he's not ready and has no right being in the majors at this point.

Rightfielders
Brian Sanchez, Age 33
Look Mom, we have a legitimate star! Brian is definitely the only guy in our lineup that's going to scare anyone. Career average of .315 and averages 32 HRs and 100 RBIs. Also, has walked 140 times while striking out 114. Signed through 2007 and isn't going anywhere.

How's THAT for an offensive powerhouse?! Weak points are...catcher, 2nd, SS, 3B, CF. Only real strength is rightfield.

Starting Pitchers
Steven Tookes, Age 32
7-13, 4.10 ERA - Throws hard, strikes out a batter per inning. Control is a problem. Would probably be a good #3 or 4, but anchors our staff.

Tommy Moralez, Age 30
12-6, 4.38 ERA - Acquired via a late season trade. Another guy who throws hard but has control problems.

Cesar Munoz, Age 29
8-6, 3.74 ERA - Was a FA pickup by me last year. Pretty good control and WHIP ratio. I still think he's good :).

Carlos Trevino, Age 35
7-9, 5.12 ERA - Getting old and gave up an alarming 158 hits in 135.1 innings. I'd like to get rid of him as soon as possible.

Barry Tosh, Age 27
3-11, 5.83 ERA - Had a poor year last year, more than doubling his walks/9 ratio from the year before. I'll give him a shot early, but won't have much patience with him.

Jeremy Reed, Age 27
Waiver claim who has been injured 4 times in 2 years. 5 career innings in the majors and not a real prospect.

Relievers
Val Adams, Age 35
Yet ANOTHER waiver claim. Good grief. 3-2, 5.15 ERA. Sigh.

Stephen McNear, Age 27
4-5, 2 saves, 3.94 ERA in 82.1 IP. Adequate MR.

Pedor Nunez, Age 31
2-2, 3 saves, 4.24 ERA in 46.2 IP. Good control, but gets hit too hard.

Domingo Otero, Age 27
1-2, 3 saves, 5.30 ERA. Ashamed to admit I signed him as a FA last year for $3.5 million a year. Who knew he'd go from a 3.09 ERA to 5.30?!

Sabino Cobo, Age 34
7-5, 20 saves, 4.13 ERA. A good reliever, but not really a closer.


Ok...wow...this active roster STINKS. THIS will be fun to manage - sigh.

Farm System

Our top prospects...

1) Lorenzo Espinosa, OF - batted .303 with 8 HRs and 29 RBIs in 198 atbats at single A. Only 19 years old, so we won't be seeing him for awhile. 2nd overall pick in 2005.

2) Willie Heinsohn, P - Spent last two years in A ball, pitching 426 innings and striking out 377. Mid 3's ERA and will start the year in AA. 25 years old.

3) Joseph Branscome, 3B - I tried him as our 3rd baseman last year and it was obvious he was not ready (.137, 0 HR, 3 RBIs in 16 starts). Went back to the minors and combined for 17 HRs in 317 atbats at two different levels. Will he be ready this year?

4) Karl Dyess, P - 23 year old spent the entire year in AAA and went 9-9 with a 4.58 ERA. The year before he combined for an 8-2 record in 113 innings. Took a small step back last year after suffering from an inflamed rotator cuff.

5) Peter Pierce, P - 19 years old. Our last pick in the 2005 draft, but showed promise in a full season in A ball. Registered a 5-6 record, 3.68 ERA and struck out 96 in 95.1 innings.

Time to enter the FA market...we're looking for help everywhere...

[CraigSca]

We have $13 million to play with. However, our popularity is really going to hurt us trying to sign people (same thing happened last year).

Heath Wendling, 15-10, 3.36 ERA, is the top pitcher available this year, but I'm sure he'll be asking for too much money. I think we'll focus on a possible impact player offensively and some role players (maybe some bullpen help as well). We desperately need people who can help us score some runs!

Ok, I try to make on offer on a guy...but I apparently messed up. It seems we have no money. Omg...this will be a horrible year.

[CraigSca]

Tuesday, April 3, 2006

Nothing like opening day in Oakland!

Milwaukee (Blocker 0-0) at Oakland (Tookes 0-0), 4:05pm


Milwaukee 3 8 1
Oakland 6 10 0


W. Tookes (1-0) L. Blocker (0-1) S. Cobo (1)
HR - Patterson (1), Nuss (1), Almanzar (1)

Andrew Patterson went 3 for 4 with a homerun, controversial Mario Nuss had two hits and a homerun and Steven Tookes pitched 7 innings giving up only two runs to lead the Oakland A's to an opening day victory before 34,046 fans.

When asked if he was under any pressure due to his large salary, Nuss responded, "I'm out to prove that the $9.8 million they're spending on me is well worth it. I can only do what I can do, but I think the rest of the league will be surprised by us."

Notes: Only one A didn't get on base today - SS Paul Labastida. Mario Nuss drew a roar from the crowd when his opening day homerun traveled 452 feet, the longest of his career.

[CraigSca]

Crap - any idea how to make a nice, formatted "RHE" line? That /code stuff just ain't cutting it.

[CraigSca]

Milwaukee (Davila 0-0) at Oakland (Munoz 0-0), 10:05pm

Milwaukee 5
Oakland 6

Losing 4-0, the Oakland A's surged for 6 unanswered runs and then held on for the 6-5 victory. 3B Ben Cancio capped a 4 run comeback with a 3-run homerun in the bottom of the 8th to give the A's the lead they would never relinquish. Domingo Otero (1-0) got the victory in relief and Sabino Cobo gave up a run in the 9th but picked up his second save of the year.

"Even though we were down, this team just keeps plugging away. I'm very proud of them," said manager and GM Craig Scarborough.

Notes: Starter Cesar Munoz gave up 4 runs in the first 4 innings, but then settled down, allowing 7 hits and 4 runs in 6.2 innings. His propensity for giving up the long ball continues, however (2 homeruns allowed). The A's continue to make contact, no A's struck out in today's game.

[CraigSca]

Milwaukee (Essary 0-0) at Oakland (Moralez 0-0), 10:05pm

Milwaukee 7
Oakland 6

The Milwaukee Brewers bashed 5 homeruns and outlasted a pesky Oakland A's team towards a 7-6 victory.

Notes: 2B Rene Ferrant was charged with the A's first error of the year. Andrew Patterson reached based 4 times and raised his average to .545 on the year. Ben Cancio went 2-4 and is batting .583. Jason Teasley made his first start at catcher on the year, going 1 for 4 with an RBI. Brian Sanchez hit his first homerun of the year for the A's.

On the farm: P Karl Dyess pitched 8.2 innings, allowing 5 hits and 1 earned run with 8 Ks and 0 walks in his first start of the year for our AAA ballclub. 26 year old James Meyers has been moved from AA to AAA after going 7 for 11 in his first 3 games. James, who has been universally ignored as a prospect, has continued to hit everywhere he's gone. If he continues to do so, he may find himself in the big leagues soon, despite the lack of glamorous scouting reports.

[CraigSca]

Milwaukee (Glennon 0-0) at Oakland (Tosh 0-0), 10:05pm

Milwaukee 1
Oakland 4

Barry Tosh (1-0) allowed a second inning homerun, but that was the only hit the Brewers could muster as the Oakland A's defeated the Brewers, 4-1, and took three games of the four game series. Brian Sanchez hit his second homerun in two days to lead the A's offense. Andrew Patterson went 2-4 for Oakland, raising his average to .533.

Notes: Oakland batters walked 5 times (they lead the league in this category) and struck out only 3 games. The A's have walked 16 times and their pitching has walked only 5. Tosh only needed 104 pitches in pitching his 7th career complete game.

[CraigSca]

Oakland (Trevino 0-0) at California (Oceguera 0-0), 10:05pm

Oakland 2 7 1
California 5 6 0

W. Munemori (2-0) L. McNear (0-1) S. Estrella 2
HR - Penner 2 (5), Landa (1)

Martin Penner bashed two homeruns, including an 8th inning 3-run shot to give the California Angels a 5-2 victory over the Oakland A's.

Notes: Sabino Landa hit his first homerun of the year for the A's. Andrew Patterson went hitless for the first time this year. Carlos Trevino pitched 7 innings, allowing 4 hits and 1 earned run for the A's. #1 draft pick Lorenzo Espinosa has hit 4 homeruns with 11 RBIs in 5 games at single-A ball.

[tategter]

I like your dynasty format so far. Very easy to follow. Good luck with the bum A's.

BTW...When Andrew Patterson went 2-4 he actually lowered his average to .533. I know, nitpicky. Carry on.

[CraigSca]

Special thanks to Notepad for the horrible formatting :)

Oakland (Tookes 1-0) at California (Dowden 0-0), 10:05pm

"Mr. $9.8 million", Mario Nuss, will be given the day off. After going 2-4 on opening night
with a homerun, Mario has since gone 2-13, including 1 for his last 10. I figured I'd
give him a day off to rest his uh....laurels :).

Oakland 8 13 1
California 3 7 2

W. Tookes 2-0 L. Dowden 0-1
HR - Hillard (1)

Ok, I have to say I am really liking this team. We scored runs in each of the first six innings
to take the big lead and then let our bullpen do the rest of the work. Steve Tookes
pitched 6.1 innings, allowing 3 hits and 1 run while striking out 6. He also only walked
one batter which is a great sign as walks have been a huge issue with him in the past.
If he can continue like this (2 walks in 13.2 innings), he should be looking at a breakout
year. Offensively, Andrew Patterson is going nuts. We've placed him in the #2 spot in the
order, and he contributed another 2 hits, 1 walk and 2 runs scored. I love the fact that we're
putting together innings like this: walk, single, sac fly = run. Last year, we had very
little patience at the plate, but we've seemed to turn it around this year.

Notes: Raymond Armstrong stepped in for Mario Nuss and went 0 for 5 with a strikeout. Brian
Sanchez (our one true talent) went 4 for 5 with and RBI. 2B Rene Ferrant went 1 for 3, scored
2 runs and also stole 2 bases, giving him 3 on the year. SS Paul Labastida contributed for
the first time offensively, going 2 for 4 with a triple and 3 RBIs.

General impressions: I've noticed a couple things this year: Our defense is much better,
and so far we have learned the value of drawing a walk. Also, our pitching has always been "ok"
but allowed too many free passes. Through 6 games (VERY small sample), we have flip-flopped
on this. I'm hoping this can keep up. If so, we're going to turn some heads this year.


Oakland (Munoz 0-0) at California (Pais 0-1), 4:05pm

Oakland 8 13 0
California 9 13 0

W. Taro (1-0) L. Nunez (0-2) S. Estrella 3
HR - Hillard (2), Penner (6), Sanchez (3), Landa (2), Labastida (1), Teasley (1)

Wow, what a game! We were continually down but continued to scratch back. Down by one in the 9th,
we load the bases with nobody out. Cancio strikes out, then Mario Nuss lines into a
game-ending double play. Ugh! Brian Sanchez went 3 for 3 with 3 RBIs and 2 walks (.480 AVG) and
Andrew Patterson went 3 for 5 to raise his AVG to .464. Mario Nuss returned to the lineup
and went 0 for 5 (.174 AVG). Martin Penner, LF for the Angels is God-like against us. He's only
22, and went 7 for 11 against us with 2 homeruns. At his young age, he already has 80 HRs
217 RBIs. I hate him :).


Oakland (Moralez 0-0) at Seattle (Snyder 1-0), 10:05pm

Oakland 0 2 2
Seattle 2 8 0

W. Snyder 2-0 L. Moralez 0-1 S. Horn (3)

Tonight we ran into a juggernaut called Andrew Snyder. He held us to two singles, and we
couldn't muster a thing. Tommy Moralez pitched well for us (6 inn, 3 hits, 1 ER), but it
wasn't enough. We really need more depth offensively, and I don't trust our bullpen at all.


Oakland (Tosh 1-0) at Seattle (0-0), 10:05pm

Oakland 5 9 0
Seattle 10 14 1

W. Vela 1-0 L. Tosh 1-1
HR - Cottrell (1), J. Davis (2), Patterson (2), Almanzar (2)

So....Barry Tosh throws a 1-hitter his first game and his second game forgets how to get
anyone out. Barry's line: 1.1 IP, 8 hits, 9 ER, 2 BB, 0 K. Yuck. Andrew Patterson has yet another good game (2 for 4, triple, HR). Yawn. We're now 4-5 and 2.5 GB the first place Mariners.


Oakland (Tookes 2-0) at Seattle (Leist 0-0), 10:05pm

Oakland 2 7 1
Seattle 3 5 0

W. Leist (1-0) L. Tookes (2-1) S. Horn (4)

Ugh, the losses just keep on coming. That's our 4th in a row, and we drop to 4-6, 3.5 games
games out first. Patterson went 2-4 and is now 6 for 7 with runners in scoring position.
Tookes pitched well, but was just outdueled by Leist. The lack of bench depth is killing
me. Im going to have to check the waiver wire or something so I can send some of these kids
that don't belong on the roster back to the minors.

Notes: Not that it matters, but I put Mario Nuss on the trading block. Through 10 games
he's batting .206 with 1 HR and 2 RBIs.


Kansas City (Armenta 1-1) at Oakland (Munoz 0-0), 10:05pm

Kansas City 3 5 3
Oakland 5 6 1

W. Munoz 1-0 L. Armenta 1-2 S. Cobo 3

Well, we finally take one. Munoz pitched great (8.1 IP, 5 hits, 1 ER, 2 walks, 6 Ks), and
Mario Nuss collected 3 RBIs (2 via a double, another via an RBI groundout). I rested our
leadoff hitter, Phillip Candler, with Jonas Camarillo and he promptly went 0 for 3 with 2
Ks and an error. Yet more evidence we have absolutely no depth.

Who's Hot:

Brian Sanchez, 14-28, .500 AVG, 2 HR, 7 RBIs
Andrew Patterson, 10-25, .400 AVG, 1 HR, 4 RBIs

Who's Not:

Sabino Landa, 3-16, .188 AVG, 1 HR, 3 RBIs
Ben Cancio, 2-20, .100 AVG, 0 HR, 1 RBI

Still nothing on the waiver wire, and no one is really lighting it up in the high minors
for us except an aging 33 year old rightfielder. We supposedly have the 7th best farm
system, but the majority of this talent is in the lower minors.


Kansas City (Isom 0-0) at Oakland (Trevino 0-0), 10:05pm

Kansas City 3 7 0
Oakland 2 9 0

W. Isom 1-0 L. Trevino 0-1 S. Keels (5)
HR - Reyes (6)

We outhit them and wasted many key opportunities. Trevino pitched a complete game, but like
many of our starters was let down by our lack of offense. Besides Patterson, Sanchez and Landa, we have no one batting above .250. I've decided I'm going to bring up Frank Culbertson from our AAA team. He's a 33 year old rightfielder who is a lifetime .228 hitter with 7 HRs and 56 RBIs in 859 career atbats. Ok, not great statistics, but he has some base stealing ability and is batting .311 in limited time in AAA this year. That has to be better than a bunch of suspect prospects who aren't ready for the majors anyway.


Kansas City (Barboza 1-0) at Oakland (Moralez 0-1), 4:05pm

Kansas City 9 8 1
Oakland 10 11 1

W. Adams (1-0) L. Keels (0-1) S. Cobo (4)
HR - Greco 2 (3), Hughes (1), Reyes (7), Candler 2 (2), Sanchez (4)

Wow, what a game! Back-to-back homeruns gave us a 7-1 lead after two, and Moralez left the game in the 7th clinging to an 8-5 lead. Domingo Otero came in and made me realize how truly awful our bullpen is. He promptly gave up 4 runs and we entered the 8th inning, down 9-8. In the bottom of the 8th we staged a rally and yet still found ourselves down by a run
with men on 2nd and 3rd and 2 out (after having a runner thrown out at home on the previous play). Sabino Landa smashed a single through the infield, scoring Phillip Candler and Brian Sanchez, giving us the 10-9 lead heading into the 9th inning. Fortunately for us, Sabino Cobo was able to shut the door, and we held on for the victory. Candler ended up
2 for 3 with 2 HRs, 4 runs scored and 4 RBIs. Sanchez was 3 for 5 with a HR and 3 RBIs. Frank Culbertson was called up from our AAA team at the beginning of the day and started in place of Andrew Patterson and contributed 2 hits in 4 atbats. The victory this afternoon puts us at 6-7 on the year, 3.5 GB first place Seattle.

[CraigSca]

Another trip on the train, so therefore another Oakland A's update...

First place Seattle (9-3) comes to town for a 3 game series. Seattle is 3rd in the majors in hitting, 7th in homeruns, and 2nd in stolen bases. All this adds up to 6th overall in runs scored and tied for first in runs allowed

Individually, they have 6 regulars who bat above .300. On the pitching front, they don't look particularly deep, but there offense has so far overcome any glaring weaknesses.

For us, our pitching has held up, but our offense has been disappointing. Beyond Brian Sanchez, Sabino Landa and Andrew PAtterson we have very little offensive capability. Starting 3B Ben Cancio is 0 for his last 20, and SS Pedro Labastida is 2 for 15 in his last 5.

Seattle (Vela 1-0) at Oakland (Tookes 2-1), 10:05pm

Seattle 4 9 1
Oakland 8 13 0

W. Tookes 3-1 L. Vela 1-1

HR - Cottrell (4), Ferrant (1), Garofalo (1), Almanzar (3)

We coasted to an 8-1 lead and gave our bullpen a chance to pitch without the game on the line, to see if they could come through. Pedro Nunez prompltly gave up 3 runs in the 9th, so that didn't work. However, our offense really came through. Culbertson, starting again for Nuss, had yet another big game: 3 for 4, a double and a stolen base. Rene Ferrant hit his first home of the year, and Zoilo Garofalo homered in his first official atbat of the year. WE may need to have him pinch hit! Steven Tookes had another great game (7 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 0 W, 4 K), picking up his 3rd victory.


Seattle (Aldridge 1-1) at Oakland (Munoz 1-0), 10:05pm

We're 6-2 at home. We must protect this house! :)

Seattle 7 15 0
Oakland 2 7 0

w. Aldridge 2-1 L. Munoz 1-1
HR - Fessenden (3), Almanzar (4)

As you can see, we didn't really protect this house very well. Munoz was killed and McNear threw gas on the fire, giving Seattle an easy 7-2 victory. The lone bright spot was Brian Sanchez's 3 for 4 day.


Seattle (Leist 1-0) at Oakland (Tosh 1-1), 10:05pm

Seattle 9 10 0
Oakland 10 14 0

We literally stole this one in the bottom of the 9th. Down by one with 1 out, Sabino Landa singled. We pinch hit Ben Cancio for Marion Nuss and pinch run Jonas Camarillo for Landa. Camarillo steals his first base of the year. Cancio strikes out for the second out of the inning. Ferrant comes up next a bloops a single, scoring Camarillo for the tying run. Ferrant then steals his 5th base of the year and is brought home by Govea's game-winning RBI single. Quite a game, and we take 2 of 3 in the series.

W. Otero 2-0 L. Horn 0-2
HR - Fessenden (4), Cottrell (5), McCarthy (4), Sanchez (5), Landa (3)

Ben Cancio continues his horrible hitting and is now 1 for his last 26.

Next up, a trip to the Bronx to play the 7-8 Yankees. We're 8-8 and 2.5 games out of first.


Oakland (Moralez 0-1) at New York (Tedeschi 1-1)

Oakland 4 8 1
New York 1 4 0

W. Moralez 1-1 L. Tedeschi 1-2 S. Cobo 5

We got 5 innings of 1-hit ball out of Moralez, and then our bullpen actually lived up to their end of the deal by giving up a run over 4 innings. Offensively, Brian Sanchez led the way going 3 for 5 with a double, homerun and 3 RBIs. We're now 9-8 (woohoo!) and remain 2.5 GB the first place Mariners.

Oakland (Trevino 0-1) at New York (Ripley 1-1), 7:05pm

Oakland 2 7 2
New York 3 8 0

W. Ripley 2-1 L. Trevino 0-2 S. McCraw 4
HR - Sanchez (7)

Ugh, I left Trevino in one batter too many. Trevino (2.91 ERA) was cruising with a 2-0 lead until the 6th inning, where he gave up a series of singles and 3 runs. He had awaful control tonight, but was doing just enough to get everyone out until that fateful 6th inning. Sanchez (.441, 7 HR, 19 RBIs) was 2 for 4 with a double and another homerun. Mario Nuss (.208, 1 HR, 6 RBIs) went 1 for 4 with a double, but hit the ball hard his other 3 atbats. I'm hoping I can put him in the lineup more often. Otero (4.91 ERA) and Adams (2.84 ERA) combined for 2.1 innings of one-hit ball in relief.


Last game of the Yankees series, then we head to Minnesota.

Oakland (Tookes 3-1) at New York (Arredondo 0-1), 1:05pm

Oakland 8 14 1
New York 10 13 3

W. Burgos 2-0 L. Cobo 0-1
HR - Labastida (2), Lindley (1), Koons (3)

An absolutely amazing game. Since my ace, Steven Tookes (3.62 ERA), was on the mound, I decide to give Brian Sanchez his first game off. I figure we wouldn't need much offense anyway. Boy, was I wrong. Tookes gave up 6 runs through 3, and we continued to trail 7 to 3 heading into the 8th. We pick up what looks to be a meaningless run in the 8th to cut the lead to 3. In the meantime, our bullpen has been holding the Yankees to nothing - at the least giving us a shot at respectability. In the 9th inning with two outs, our team strings along a series of singles plating not only the tying run, but giving us an 8-7 lead heading into the 9th. At this point, I bring in Sabino Cobo to notch his 6th save. The first two batters strikeout and ground out - I'm feeling pretty good. Just in case, I guard the lines for Brian "The Brain" Hawkins and he singles in the hold between short and 3rd. ARGH! The next batter, Robert Lindley, singles as well. Finally, with men on 1st and 3rd, two out, bottom of the 9th, Dennis Koons jacks his 3rd homerun of the year in the left field seats for the game-winner. Koons exits the game with a .155 average. GRRR. Yankees take 2 of the 3 game series, dropping us to 9-10, still 2.5 games behind first (Seattle and California are now tied). Now, to head to 8-11 Minnesota.

BTW, Ben Cancio has dropped to 1 for his 31. Good grief.


April 24, 2006

Oakland (Munoz 1-1) at Minnesota (Norberg 1-3), 8:05pm

Oakland 5 10 2
Minnesota 8 11 3

W. Mora 1-1 L. Reed 0-1 S. White 3
HR - Candler (3), Sanchez (8), Nuss (2), Franklin (2)

This game was back and forth the entire way. Munoz lasted 6 innings for us (6 IP, 7 H, 4 ER) and then errors in the field cost our exhausted bullpen (2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 0 ER). For some reason, one of our middle relievers is tired even though he hasn't pitched for two days. This is really taxing the rest of our bullpen. For us, LF Philip Candler went 2 for 4 (.230, 3 HR, 9 RBIs) and Alfredo Govea (.375, 0 HR, 3 RBIs) went 3 for 4 in place of Ben Cancio.

We've now dropped to 9-11, and have lost 3 in a row. We're 7-3 at home and 2-8 on the road.