2007 Oakland A's - No way Jose

[BichetteMan]

May 30th - June 5th 2007

We contnue against the strong AL East with 3 games each against Rays and Jays. The Rays come into this series having won 8 in a row. We saw the Jays last week and had a few close games. Maybe we can turn a few of those around in our favor.

May 30th 2007
Tampa Bay Rays(27-23) @ Oakland Athletics(22-27)
Rays 15 - A's 1
WP: Scott Kazmir (5-4)
LP: Joe Blanton (2-3)

Everyone struggles in this game. On the pitching side, Joe Blanton only went 3.1 letting up a huge 8ER. The bullpen fared no better giving up 6ER in the next 5.2 innings. The offense did no better getting only 4 hits off a hot Kazmir who struck out 9 in 7 innings.

May 31st 2007
Tampa Bay Rays(28-23) @ Oakland Athletics(22-28)
Rays 5 - A's 6
WP: Huston Street (2-1)
LP: Ruddy Lugo (1-1)

It looked like we were going to lose again but the offense came through late. In the 9th inning Milton Bradley led off with a solo shot to bring us within two. Then back-back-back doubles by Swisher, Ellis and Scutaro tied up the game. In the 10th, Swisher and Ellis did it again. Swisher doubled with two down and then Ellis singled in the winning run. Huston Street picked up his 2nd win by pitching a perfect tenth frame.

Bad news for the Yankees backstop. Jorge Posada will be out a minimun two months. He injured a disc in his back in a collision at home plate against the Baltimore Orioles.

A little end of the month business:

American League Standings


National League Standings


Overall League Leaders


Oakland Batting

2007 Batting             Team    G   AVG    AB    H  2B  3B  HR   BB    K   SB  CS    R  RBI   SLG   OBP
Bradley, Milton           OAK   50  .298   205   61   5   2  10   24   42    3   1   31   28  .488  .375
Crosby, Bobby             OAK   11  .171    41    7   2   0   2    4    9    0   0    4    7  .366  .244
Durazo, Erubiel           OAK   51  .236   195   46   6   1   6   25   41    0   0   22   19  .369  .323
Ellis, Mark               OAK   50  .239   197   47  10   2   4   14   40    0   0   24   21  .371  .292
Jimenez, D'Angelo         OAK   41  .250   128   32   8   1   2   27   26    0   0   16   17  .375  .396
Kendall, Jason            OAK   48  .291   182   53   5   1   0    8   21    3   3   17   12  .330  .340
Kielty, Bobby             OAK   35  .301   136   41   6   4   4    7   28    1   0   20   19  .493  .347
Kotsay, Mark              OAK   36  .274    95   26   6   0   0   12   10    1   1    7   10  .337  .367
Merloni, Lou              OAK   23  .385    26   10   3   0   1    1    3    0   1    4    2  .615  .429
Perez, Antonio            OAK    1  .750     4    3   0   0   0    0    1    0   0    1    3  .750  .600
Piazza, Mike              OAK   20  .277    47   13   5   0   1    0    9    0   0    5    9  .447  .277
Scutaro, Marco            OAK   48  .288   160   46   9   3   2   19   30    3   1   22   17  .419  .363
Stewart, Shannon          OAK   46  .326   172   56   4   2   2   10   21    5   0   19   15  .407  .360
Swisher, Nick             OAK   51  .254   193   49   9   0  12   32   48    0   0   28   31  .487  .368
Thomas, Charles           OAK    3  .250     8    2   1   0   0    1    0    2   0    3    0  .375  .333 

Oakland Pitching

2007 Pitching            Team     IP   ERA    G  GS   W   L  SV    K   BB   R/9
Street, Huston            OAK   15.0  0.60   17   0   2   1  11   13    3 10.80
Embree, Alan              OAK   24.0  1.88   21   0   2   0   0   20    7  9.00
Gaudin, Chad              OAK   31.0  3.48   19   0   1   0   0   16   15 12.19
Duchscherer, Justin       OAK   32.1  3.62   21   1   1   1   1   30    5 11.41
Windsor, Jason            OAK   66.1  4.21   11  10   4   2   0   55   21 12.89
Haren, Danny              OAK   70.1  4.86   11  11   2   6   0   60    9 10.75
Ramirez, Erasmo           OAK   19.0  5.21   17   0   1   1   0   12    1 12.32
Robertson, Connor         OAK   19.2  5.95    5   3   1   2   0    9   17 16.02
Calero, Kiko              OAK   16.2  7.02   17   0   1   1   1   22   10 17.82
Harden, Rich              OAK   60.0  7.05   12  12   3   3   0   44   39 17.10
Kennedy, Joe              OAK   46.2  7.71   11   9   2   7   0   25   14 16.59
Blanton, Joe              OAK   40.1  8.48   13   4   2   3   1   13   15 16.29
Dunn, Scott               OAK   11.1  8.74    7   0   1   1   0   14    9 17.47 

10-17 for the month of may. We had a couple injuries so that wasn't so bad. Our bullpen was teriffic for the workload they had to shoulder. Our offense was middle of the road and sort of veering into oncoming traffic near the end of the month. Our Starting pitching was absolutely horriffic. No other way to put it. The draft is in about a week and I have keyed in on a few players for our team. Hopefully I can land a couple of them.

June 1st 2007
Tampa Bay Rays(28-24) @ Oakland Athletics(23-28)
Rays 6 - A's 2
WP: Wade Townsend (2-1)
LP: Connor Robertson (1-3)

This is getting really frustrating. Connor Robertson struggled through 4.1 innings while giving 6ER. We NEED better starts. The bullpen came in and let nothing up as usual. The offense consisted of a solo shot by Nick Swisher(13) and an RBI single by Bobby Kielty.

Josh Beckett of the Red Sox was hit by a line drive today. He fractured a bone in his hip and will be out for at least a month.

June 2nd 2007
A nice off day at home for the players. I am shuttling around and checking out a few more players for the draft in a couple of days. I really have to get this one right. These will be the building blocks for the future of my team. The Blue Jays are in town and have lost 2 in row. Hopefully we can continue that streak for them.

June 3rd 2007
Toronto Blue Jays(31-23) @ Oakland Athletics(23-29)
Blue Jays 7 - A's 2
WP: Scott Downs (3-1)
LP: Danny Haren (2-7)

A somewhat good performance from Danny Haren. 4ER in 7.1 innings pitched. He held the Jays to 1 run over the first 7 innings but struggled to start off the 8th. I can take that but the offense certainly didn't help. Erubial Durazo was the only player with more than one hit and the only player with an RBI as he hit a 2 run double in the 8th. Too little, too late!

Omar Vizquel was probably headed to hall anyways but his 2500th hit will certainly help. He sit a single in the 7th inning yesterday to reach this milestone in a great career. Congrats Omar!

A trade:

Boston sends:
Justin Masterson P
Michael Bowden P

Pittsburgh sends:
Jason Bay OF

Boston certainly gets a great offensive threat here in Jason Bay. He has 12 Homeruns on the season and is batting at .280. At what cost though. They give up two very impressive young prospects in the deal. Pittsburgh has set up its pitching for the future. Hopefully they can hadle these prospects well. In the short term Boston seems to have gotten the best as their offense is now almost unstoppable. Only time will tell though.

June 3rd 2007
Toronto Blue Jays(32-23) @ Oakland Athletics(23-30)
Blue Jays 7 - A's 9
WP: Rich Harden (4-3)
LP: Roy Halladay (2-5)
SV: Huston Street (12)

The Jays score 7 again but we get 9 to beat them. The offense started early and often. They started with 3 in the first with a 2 run shot by Milton Bradley. Then they scored 2 runs each in the 4th and 5th. Urubial Durazo was the leader of those two innings going deep in one and drving in a run in the other. He was overall 4-5 on the night. Rich Harden started and held the Jays to 1ER over 5.1 innings. He simply throws too many pitches and will have to work on that to be a more effective pitcher. The pen almost gave up the game in the 9th as Alan Embree allowed 5ER in the innings while getting no one out. That is where it ended as Huston Street came in to shutdown the comeback, while earning his 12th save.

June 3rd 2007
Toronto Blue Jays(32-24) @ Oakland Athletics(24-30)
Blue Jays 3 - A's 4
WP: Alan Embree (3-0)
LP: Jason Frasor (2-1)
SV: Huston Street (13)

A rare quality start from Joe Blanton. He went 7 innings and allowed 2ER. He only walked one which has been a strong suit of his all year. Huston Street struggled a bit in the ninth giving up a run on 2 hits and a walk. He pulled it out and got his 13th save on the year. Leading the offense again was Bobby Kielty. He has been a real surprise since I put him at the top of the lineup. His line was 1-3,2BB,2R,1HR,2RBI. Very impressive for someone who figured to be a bench guy this year.

A 3-3 record has become pretty standard for this team. Not exactly how I would like it but hopefully I can make some improvement over the next month, via trade, and still compete. We are only 4 games out in what seems to be a very weak West division this year. Who knows if we get hot we could do some damage. The draft is up next. I will be giving the top ten picks with a little info and all my picks 1-6 with a bit reasoning.

[BichetteMan]

June 7 2007

2007 Amateur Draft

Tampa Bay Rays
1.Steve Starbuck(RP) - This kid had a great senior year of High School. 1.36 ERA and 69K's in only 33 innings pitched. Throws a high 90's fastball. Looks as though he could be an immediate contributor for the Rays.

Kansas City Royals
2.Brion Walgrove(RP) - This kid had good stuff. A little older at 19 than most high school prospects. Throws in the mid 90's. His senior year was good as he had a 1.30 ERA and 41K's in 32.1 IP.

Chicago Cubs
3.Kevin Muldoon(SP) - The first college prospect taken. Comes out of Auburn where in his So. year he put up a 9-3 record with a 1.95ERA. If he develops right the Cubs could have a staff Ace.

Pittsburgh Pirates
4.Tom Burruss(RP) - Another High Scool Reliever taken. Throws in the low 90's and could develop nicely given some time.

Baltimore Orioles
5.Forrest Pride(SP) - The youngest of the early selections. At 16 now, he will be 17 during his first pro season. Throws in the mid 90's. Looked good with a 5-1 record and 2.27 ERA in his senior year.

Washington Nationals
6.Pat Pinson(1B) - The first positional player taken in the draft. A solid firstbaseman defensively. Has some good pop batting 10 homers and a sported a solid .317 average in his senior year.

Milwaukee Brewers
7.Lance Putnam(1B) - A solid first baseman who was selected after a very impressive 19 homer season at Cal. He also had a .344 average in his first collegiate season.

Arizona Diamondbacks
8.Juan Tavira(C) - Appears to be a very solid defensive catcher. His offense blossomed in his senior year when he batted .375. Not much for the power bud led his high school team to the state championship.

Colorado Rockies
9.Shayne Harris(SP) - A very solid pitcher who throws in the mid to high 90's. Strikes out a bunch of batters with his excellent fastball and curve combo.

San Francisco Giants
10.Justin Walley(C) - Second catcher taken in the top 10. Solid defense and a good bat. Batted .328 in his senior year.

Oakland Picks

Round(Overall)

1(25). Cristian Peruz(SP) - This is why I went down to Mexico a few weeks ago. A very solid senior season that featured a 5-2 record with a 1.36ERA in 79.2 innings. He also struck out 93 batters. A low 90's fastball to go with a plus cutter(best pitch), changeup and slider. By the way, he's a lefty and only 17 years old. All that mixed with no major health concerns, good control and high endurance will hopefully make him a cornerstone of my pitching staff for the future.

2(55). Chuck Grenville(SP) - Couldn't pass up another young pitcher with good control and endurance. I need lots of that in my system. He had a 2.38ERA in 53 innings to go along with 71K's. Could project to a 3rd or 4th starter. My only concerns are health and fastball velocity. Hopefully his work ethic will counter those concerns.

3(85). Nathan Dismuke(1B) - A solid lefty first baseman. Had good power that he displayed with his 11 Homers and 32RBI in his senior season. Has the average to go with as shown by his .310 senior season. Will hopefully be my starter at 1B someday.

4(115). Graham Corr(3B) - Has decent fielding ability. Not much power but displayed ability to hit for average with a .377 senior season. Has a good eye with 24BB's in his senior year which boosted him to a .497 OBP. Borderline major leaguer with some work ahead of him.

5(145). Jeff Kellerman(2B) - Average fielder with a decent eye for the ball. Had a .324 averge and 8 homers in the season. Talent is too raw to judge. May be better with some development time.

6(175). Angelo Merales(SS) - A project player who has the ability to be a utility infielder at best. If he can make the majors I would be ecstatic.

I took all High Schoolers as they were the best available at the time and have the most time to develop. The only player older than 18 was Merales and he doesn't figure to be a factor on my major league club. Peruz and Dismuke were two of my targeted players and I was very happy to get them. Hopefully they can develop like I want them to.

[BichetteMan]

June 7th - June 12th 2007

We have an east coast interleague roadtrip this week. We start the week in the Philly for three and then head to D.C. for three more. This week I decided to call up Dan Johnson after his time in the minors. It took a bit longer than I had hoped but he played in 19 games and had 4HR and 13RBI with a .246 average. I need a a little pop off the bench and backup outfielder Charles Thomas isn't producing when given the chance. I also think Mark Kotsay can handle the outfield if I need him to.

June 7th 2007
Oakland Athletics(25-30) @ Philadelphia Phillies(28-28)
A's 6 - Phillies 11
WP: Freddy Garcia (5-5)
LP: Joe Kennedy (2-8)
SV: Scott Mathieson (2)

While I was drafting the future of my organization, the present was getting beat. Joe Kennedy struggles again allowing 8R, 5ER, in merely 3 innings. Milton Bradley continues to be hot going 2-4 with a HR and 2 RBI. Mike Piazza also put his 4th homer into the stands. It looks like this is going to be a tough roadtrip.

Congratulations to Bobby Abreu who scored his 1000th run of his career. Way to go Bobby!

June 8th 2007
Oakland Athletics(25-31) @ Philadelphia Phillies(29-28)
A's 0 - Phillies 6
WP: Adam Eaton (4-4)
LP: Danny Haren (2-8)

Danny Haren does his usual. He gives up 5ER in 4 innings and doesn't look like the ace I projected him to be. The offense has nothing either as they get shutout while collecting only two hits. I can only look at it one way, at least it can't get worse. The only two A's to get a hit on the day were Loooou Merloni and Jason Kendall. Way to go guys!

June 9th 2007
Oakland Athletics(25-32) @ Philadelphia Phillies(30-28)
A's 0 - Phillies 4
WP: Esteban Loaiza (3-1)
LP: Rich Harden (4-4)

Did I say it couldn't get any worse? Well Esteban Loaiza, who I traded away, just threw a CG-4H shoutout. Wow. At least they doubled the producion in the hits category. The runs stayed the same though. Rich Harden pitched okay. He went 5 innings and gave up 3ER while striking out 7. If we could ge some run support it would be nice. Philly is now riding a 7 game WIN streak after they swept us out of town. At least it's not a long trip to D.C.

June 10th 2007
Oakland Athletics(25-33) @ Washington Nationals(24-36)
A's 0 - Nationals 10
WP: Joel Hanrahan (2-6)
LP: Jason Windsor (4-3)

Jason Windsor had been the only bright spot in the starting rotation. That is before he got hurt. He makes his return and promptly gives up 7ER in 2.2 innings. My starters are abysmal and I am unfortunately stuck with them for a little while longer. The offense does nothing again and gets another CG-5H shutout pitched against them. They have to shake this funk soon.

It seems that the Red Sox must have a crystal ball. Coco Crisp sprained his knee in yesterdays game and there appears to be some ligament damage as well. The doctors say he will be out for a few weeks but may be up to a month. That Jason Bay trade is looking mighty good right now. Losing Coco will hurt though because he was hitting at a .354 clip so far this year.

June 11th 2007
Oakland Athletics(25-34) @ Washington Nationals(25-36)
A's 7 - Nationals 3
WP: Joe Kennedy (3-8)
LP: Mike O'Connor (2-7)

It is nice to see the team win but I am not going to get too excited. The rotation is just not consistent enough. Joe Kennedy tosses a quality start going 7 innings and allowing just 1ER. He looked pretty good but I want a few good starts before I get too high on him. Kielty, Stewart and Ellis all had good games driving in 2 a piece. Ellis also put his 5th longball into the bleachers. I was getting worried when we got shutout 3 games in a row but they finally got back on track.

Longtime Lefty starter Aaron Sele decided to hang up the cleats today. He played for 4 major league teams over a 14 year major league career. He won 145 games and registered a career 4.59 ERA.

June 12th 2007
Oakland Athletics(26-34) @ Washington Nationals(25-37)
A's 7 - Nationals 3
WP: Connor Robertson (2-3)
LP: Ryan Drese (2-6)

Back-to-Back good starts makes me happy. Especially when one of the guys is someone I consider to be part of the future of the franchise. Conor Robertson went 7.2 innings and gave up 3ER. Thats two quality starts in row. The offense was led by a HR for Milton Bradley(13) and a pich hit shot by Erubial Durazo(8). Shannon Stewart also had a good day going 3-5 with 2 RBI.

A tough road trip to start but 2-4 is alright when we are going across country and playing under NL rules. Taking the last two games was key because hopefully we can carry some MOmentum into our upcoming homestand. The team is still only 5 games behind LA and you never know when a team can heat up. I'm going to be looking for some deals in the next few weeks to get the rotation in a little better shape for the second half. Maybe there are some better days ahead.

[BichetteMan]

June 13th - June 19th 2007

The 13th is an off day to get back to Oakland. After that we play 13 straight days against the Braves, Marlins, Angels and Giants. Hopefully we can win a few of these. If we keep going the way we have it is going to be a long end to this season.

June 13th 2007

While the team was just getting back from D.C. I was busy hammering a deal out with the Orioles. I've been looking to dump Joe Kennedy because of his performance and figured since he was a lefty someone would want him. I decided to package him up with some one else to get some more value. The deal looks like this:

Oakland sends:
Joe Kennedy SP
Donnie Murphy 2B
Cash - 2,000,000

Baltimore sends:
Kieron Pope LF
Billy Rowell 3B
Sam Bracetty RP

I really like Popes power at the plate. My outfield lacks power and hopefully a few years down the road he can help us out. The same goes for Rowell but his fielding is above average as well. I have been looking for that future replacement for Chavez as well. Bracetty has a great fastball in the mid 90's and good control. Overall I think I got good value for and underachieving Kennedy and prospect Murphy. To accomdate this trade Joe Blanton has been moved back into the rotation and I called up Santiago Casilla.

June 14th 2007
Atlanta Braves(36-28) @ Oakland Athletics(27-34)
Braves 6 - A's 7
WP: Chad Gaudin (2-0)
LP: Bob Wickman (0-3)

Danny Haren puts in a good performance through 6 innings. In the seventh he gave up 2 runs and in the 8th he gave up 3 to let the Braves back in the game at 6-5. He gave way to Huston Street who uncharacteristically blew a save. The offense was paced by Bradley and Swisher who both hit their 14th homers of the season. The hero in the 10th inning was Erubial Durazo who singled home Mark Kotsay from third with two down. A solid win but could have been a bit easier. Congratulations to Chipper Jones who got his 2000th hit in this game! Congrats Chipper!

Another milestone to celebrate as Scott Rolen drove in his 1000th run today.

June 15th 2007
Atlanta Braves(36-29) @ Oakland Athletics(28-34)
Braves 6 - A's 3
WP: Lance Cormier (5-3)
LP: Rich Harden (4-5)
SV: Bob Wickman (19)

I think giving up 5ER for my starters is a requirement. Rich Harden was no exception here as he gave up 5ER in just 5 innings. The bullpen was good again as they only gave up 1 unearned run in the last 4 innings of the game with recent call up Casilla going two scoreless frames. The offense was led by the leadoff man(Kielty) and the bottom two(Ellis and Jimezez) who all had 1 RBI.

June 16th 2007
Atlanta Braves(36-29) @ Oakland Athletics(28-35)
Braves 6 - A's 3
WP: Beau Jones (3-1)
LP: Jason Windsor (4-4)
SV: Bob Wickman (20)

Another poor performance from my rotation. Jason Windsor gives up all 6ER in this game. He only went 3.2 innings and gave up 9 hits. The offeense was once again led by Bobby Kielty. He was 1-3 with 2BB and scored all three times he reached base. Milton Bradley also had a good day driving in 2 runs.

June 17th 2007
Florida Marlins(32-34) @ Oakland Athletics(28-36)
Marlins 6 - A's 5
WP: Dustin Hermanson (2-3)
LP: Santiago Casilla (0-1)

An 10 inning affair taken by the visitors. Joe Blanton gives up the 5ER he is supposed to and the game is tied going into the 10th. Casilla has been pitching well but had a tough tenth where he gave up back to back doubles to untie the game. A Piazza double and a Mark Ellis home run both drove in two runs on the day. Kielty stays hot at the top of the order going 2-5.

June 18th 2007
Florida Marlins(33-34) @ Oakland Athletics(28-37)
Marlins 8 - A's 6
WP: Ricky Nolasco (2-1)
LP: Connor Robertson (2-4)
SV: Jorge Julio (19)

God my starters are horrible. Robertson gives up 7ER in 4 innings of work. I think they are trying to get me fired in my first year. None of my starters have looked impressive in the slightest. Had some offense again but not enough. Scutaro, Ellis and Stewart all went deep and accounted for all the RBI's on the day.

The washington Nationals released RP Brandon Puffer today. I decided to sign him to a 1yr/$750,000 contract minor league contract. He will be assigned to AAA and hopefully be able to contribute in the Majors later this year.

June 19th 2007
Florida Marlins(34-34) @ Oakland Athletics(28-38)
Marlins 4 - A's 7
WP: Danny Haren (3-8)
LP: Dontrelle Willis (3-5)
SV: Huston Street (14)

A nice quality start from Danny Haren. Someone on this team has to make a good start some time. I know we can't lose every game. Haren went 8 innings giving up 2ER and striking out 8. A very solid performance that finally took his ERA down under 5.00 on the season. The offense was led by Erubial Durazo who went 3-3 with walk, run scored and 5RBI. A very nice day from Erubial. Since we brought Dan Johnson back Erubial has really stepped up his game.

2-4 seems to be the norm around for wins and losses in week. Not to happy about that but I am building for the future. I am acquiring the pieces now so that we can be successful for a long time down the road. The team has a long week ahead of them after this week and hopefully we can show some more improvement.

[PotatoOfCouch13]

Nice job so far! Just thought I should throw in my 2 cents about this:

A trade:

Boston sends:
Justin Masterson P
Michael Bowden P

Pittsburgh sends:
Jason Bay OF

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

[BichetteMan]

Thanks Potato, I was thinking the same myself but Boston is loaded after all. Jason Bay is coming in handy right now with Coco out. If I'm not going to make the playoffs I'd like to see the hometown team win it. I did toss them another Gold Glover at third earlier in the season.
***********************************************************************

June 20th - June 26th 2007

We comeplete this 13 game stretch with four at home against the Angels and don't have to go very far for three at the Giants. I'd like for my team to compete a bit with the Angels. Bonds is 15 away from tying Hank for the all time home run record. Good thing we won't be giving that up.

June 20th 2007
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim(35-33) @ Oakland Athletics(29-38)
Angels 6 - A's 7
WP: Rich Harden (5-5)
LP: Bartolo Colon (3-6)
SV: Huston Street (15)

A nice win for the ballclub. Rich Harden come out and tosses a nice game. He went 6 innings giving up 4 runs, 2ER. Marco Scutaro had a costly error in the 6th that let the Angels tie the game up. In the bottom half of the sixth my sluggers Bradley and Swisher went back-to-back, home run #15 for each, to take a three run lead that we never gave up. Casilla struggled a bit giving up two more runs but Street tossed a perfect ninth for his 15th save.

Some league transactions to discuss:

Arizona sees something they like in Alberto Callaspo and signed the 24 year old to a two year 2,050,000 extension.

Also a trade:

Milwaukee sends:
Darren Ford CF
Angel Salome C

Cincinatti sends:
Dave Ross C

A solid deal on both ends. Milwaukee gets the solid defensive catcher they are looking for. Cincinatti gets a young and speedy CF in Ford and a potential catcher of the future in Salome. But two potential starters for one 30-year old gives the nod to Cincinatti.

Also the garbage man Jose Lima decided to retire today. I think it was just about time for him.

June 21st 2007
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim(35-34) @ Oakland Athletics(30-38)
Angels 2 - A's 3
WP: Jason Windsor (5-4)
LP: Hector Carrasco (1-3)
SV: Huston Street (16)

Jason Windsor bounces back from a couple tough starts after his injury. He went a very strong 8 innings and although he gave up 10 hits he didn't walka single batter. This allowed him to give up just 2ER and his 6K's helped as well. The spark plug tat makes my offense go has been Bobby Kielty. He hits a home run out of the leadoff spot in the 7th inning to give us the lead for good. Milton Bradley also chipped in two doubles and the other RBI in the game. Huston Street continues to dominate getting his 16th save.

Ken Griffey Jr. scored the 1500th run of his career today. Congrats to you Griffey!

A trade as well:

Pittsburgh sends:
Chris Resop RP

Los Angeles of Anaheim sends:
Jason Grabow RP

Pittsburgh gets the youth and potential and LAA gets the reliever who can do the job now. I guess they don't like losing to me--lol. Seems pretty even to me.

June 22nd 2007
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim(35-35) @ Oakland Athletics(31-38)
Angels 2 - A's 3
WP: Justin Duchscherer (2-1)
LP: Scot Shields (4-2)

It looked as though our three game win streak was at an end entering the bottom of the ninth. That would not be the case though. The inning started with a fielding error by Kendrick at second followed by a Milton Bradley double to set men up at second and third with no outs. Scot Shields came into the game and promptly let up the game tying single for two RBI's to Nick Swisher. Unofortunately Nick Swisher was gunned out at second after an attempt to take an extra base on the throw home. That didn't matter because Jason Kendall singled and an Erubial Durazo sacrifice put him into scoring position. Looooou Merloni, who was subbing for a sore Marco Scutaro, took advantage of his time and doubled the winning run across. A very exciting win.

June 23rd 2007
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim(35-35) @ Oakland Athletics(31-38)
Angels 9 - A's 5
WP: Kelvim Escobar (5-5)
LP: Connor Robertson (2-5)

Can't say I am very happy about this loss but to go 3-1 in the series against the Angles was teriffic. Robertson got smashed in this game giving up 8ER in just 3 innings. The other part of the game I was a bit disappointed about was the fact that we got 15 hits to their 13 and couldn't capitalize more. Bobby Kielty did it again going 4-6 on the day. I'm really liking the offense and solid defense I am getting from him. A solid series regardless of this game.

I got a call from Kansas City to inquire about a minor leaguer I have and with their trades this season I had to listen. We were on the phone for about five minutes and the deal was done.

Kansas City sends:
Esteban German IF

Oakland sends:
Ron Flores RP

I like German for my team. Another solid defender and very good speed and contact. Flores seemed like he was going to be stuck at AAA for a while and I have Delcarmen and a few others coming up behind him. I win--lol.

To make room for German I sent Antonio Perez to AAA. German will probably see a lot of time at SS with Jimenez struggling in the 9 spot.

Just to note:

Florida sends:
Kevin Gregg RP

Washington sends:
Micah Bowie P
Dmitri Young 1B
Chrisitan Guzman SS
Barrett Britt RP
Zach Berry LF

The keys in this trade are Berry and Britt. They were Washingtons 3&4 picks in the draft this year. If they pan out to anything it is a slam dunk for Florida.

June 24th 2007
Oakland Athletics(32-39) @ San Francisco Giants(34-39)
A's 2 - Giants 10
WP: Matt Morris (3-6)
LP: Danny Haren (3-9)

Back to Back terrible starts. Haren gives up 8ER in 3.2 innings. The offense hit the ball around a bit getting 11 hits but couldn't push them across the plate. Not a very good performance overall.

June 25th 2007
Oakland Athletics(32-40) @ San Francisco Giants(35-39)
A's 2 - Giants 4
WP: Matt Cain (4-4)
LP: Rich Harden (5-6)
SV: Armando Benitez (15)

Simply put Rich Haren needs to be in the game longer. He may have given up the 3ER in 5 innings to lose the game but we need him to go a bit further to be successful. The offense did the usual lots of hits and not many runs. Stewart and Kielty drove in the two we got.

June 25th 2007
Oakland Athletics(32-41) @ San Francisco Giants(36-39)
A's 1 - Giants 13
WP: Noah Lowry (5-5)
LP: Jason Windsor (5-5)

The Giants seemed to be a bit much in this series. Windsor gives up 8ER in just 2 innings. The bullpen had to do a bit too much work and suffered because of this. The offense didn't show up and gave us no chance here. Nick Swisher drove in the only run and Looooou went 2-4.

This week started off nicely with the three wins against the Angels but went downhill and quickly after that. The rotation always seems to take two steps forward and then five steps back. I guess it is going to be our fatal flaw this year. I know what I need to improve and I'll be looking to improve it.

[BichetteMan]

June 27th - July 3rd 2007

With a much needed off day to start the week I hope the team can get enough rest to break this 4 game skid. We have 3 in Anaheim and 3 at home with the Mariners.

June 27th 2007
A much needed off-day. The team took the trip down to Anaheim to get ready for a three games series. I'm not going because I have a lot of work to do back here in Oakland. I've got some trades on the table and some minor league development issues to deal with.

June 28th 2007
Oakland Athletics(32-42) @ Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim(36-39)
A's 13 - Angels 5
WP: Joe Blanton (3-3)
LP: Hector Carrasco (1-4)

A nice offensive explosion for the team. Swisher, Bradley and Kielty all smashed home runs in the game. The rest of the team each had a least one hit. New addition Esteban German went 2-4 with 3RBI. Blanton put in a good start going 6 innings and giving up just 3ER. A very nice effort on the road.

A big crosstown trade in the Windy city:

ChicagoN sends:

Josh Kroeger LF
Josh Lansford 3B

ChicagoA sends:

Mark Buehrle SP

Looks like the White Sox couldn't work out a long term deal with Buehrle and had to send him away. A nice move for him as well because he goes from a 4th place team to the best team in the league with the Cubs, who hold a 9 game lead in the NL central. Some youth comes to the White Sox which may or may pan out. The Cubbies definitely got the best of this deal.

June 29th 2007
Oakland Athletics(33-42) @ Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim(36-40)
A's 3 - Angels 7
WP: Jeremy Haynes (1-2)
LP: Danny Haren (3-10)

Haren puts out the usual 5 innings and 4ER. He might just lose 20 game this year. At least then it can only get better for him. Durazo provided all the offense on a three run homer.

I worked out one of those trades that was on the table:

Oakland sends:

Mark Kotsay CF
Erasmo Ramirez RP

Los AngelesN sends:

Tony Abreu 2B
Steven Johnson SP

Kotsay is a good CF but he is making a ton of money for the next few years and I have a youngster ready at AAA to some in and play so he was expendable. Ramirez is a decent reliever who was sitting in AAA and not very happy about it. Abreu and Johnson are both young and have the potential to be good players for my team. I needed a future second baseman because I don't feel Ellis is my future 2B.

Also:

Tampa Bay sends:

Andy Sonnastine P
Seth McClung P

Cincinatti sends:

Bronson Arroyo P

The Rays pick up a quality starter to help them in the AL East race that is tight from 1st-4th. They send away a couple young pitcher that can have very bright futures with the Reds. Time will only tell with this trade.

Congratulations to Frank Thomas as he hit his 500th home run of his career. Nice Job Frank!

June 30th 2007
Oakland Athletics(33-43) @ Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim(37-40)
A's 7 - Angels 15
WP: Jered Weaver (6-3)
LP: Rich Harden (5-7)

The pitching staff got absolutely shelled. No need to go into detail except that anyone that pitched gave up a run except Gaudin who went 2 innings and gave up no runs. The offense was there as all but one person got a hit. Bradley(17) and Stewart(4) put the ball out of the park.

I made another one of those deals:

Oakland sends:

Adam Melheuse C
Lou Merloni 3B

Texas sends:

John Koronka P
Matt Kata 2B
Wes Shibanuma SS

Texas is in first by a lot and they needed some depth at C and 3B. I took some young talent and Kata will immediately come to majors to be on my bench. Lou and Adam probably were not going to be here next year anyways.

Some League Business

American League Standings


National League Standings


League Leaders


Oakland Batting Stats

2007 Batting             Team    G   AVG    AB    H  2B  3B  HR   BB    K   SB  CS    R  RBI   SLG   OBP
Calero, Kiko              OAK   32 1.000     1    1   0   0   0    0    0    0   0    0    0 1.000 1.000
Perez, Antonio            OAK    5  .417    12    5   1   0   0    0    2    0   0    2    4  .500  .400
Kendall, Jason            OAK   73  .309   275   85   8   1   0   16   30    3   3   23   21  .345  .360
Kielty, Bobby             OAK   61  .305   249   76  14   6   7   17   53    1   0   43   33  .494  .356
Bradley, Milton           OAK   76  .304   312   95  11   3  17   33   65    5   1   52   47  .522  .374
Stewart, Shannon          OAK   68  .297   263   78   9   2   4   14   31    6   0   28   26  .392  .331
Scutaro, Marco            OAK   68  .293   225   66  10   5   3   26   42    3   1   30   20  .422  .367
Durazo, Erubiel           OAK   74  .272   261   71  11   1  10   33   53    0   0   33   35  .437  .354
Piazza, Mike              OAK   28  .254    59   15   5   0   2    1   11    0   0    6   14  .441  .267
Thomas, Charles           OAK    3  .250     8    2   1   0   0    1    0    2   0    3    0  .375  .333
Swisher, Nick             OAK   77  .234   290   68  11   0  16   45   76    0   0   38   41  .438  .344
Ellis, Mark               OAK   75  .234   286   67  16   2   7   24   64    2   0   34   35  .378  .299
German, Esteban           OAK   34  .224   107   24   7   1   1    5   19    1   3   14   10  .336  .272
Jimenez, D'Angelo         OAK   55  .215   172   37   8   1   2   34   31    0   0   19   21  .308  .357
Crosby, Bobby             OAK   11  .171    41    7   2   0   2    4    9    0   0    4    7  .366  .244
Johnson, Dan              OAK    6  .111     9    1   0   0   0    0    1    0   0    0    1  .111  .111
Kata, Matt                OAK    3  .000     3    0   0   0   0    0    1    0   0    0    0  .000  .000
Haren, Danny              OAK    2  .000     2    0   0   0   0    0    0    0   0    0    0  .000  .000
Harden, Rich              OAK    2  .000     4    0   0   0   0    0    3    0   0    0    0  .000  .000
Windsor, Jason            OAK    3  .000     1    0   0   0   0    0    1    0   0    0    0  .000  .000
Blanton, Joe              OAK   10  .000     1    0   0   0   0    0    0    0   0    0    0  .000  .000 

Oakland Pitching Stats

2007 Pitching            Team     IP   ERA    G  GS   W   L  SV    K   BB   R/9
Street, Huston            OAK   20.1  1.33   24   0   2   1  16   21    5 13.72
Gaudin, Chad              OAK   47.1  2.66   30   0   2   0   0   28   22 11.22
Embree, Alan              OAK   38.2  3.49   35   0   3   0   0   33   16 11.64
Duchscherer, Justin       OAK   42.2  4.22   33   1   2   1   1   38    8 12.66
Casilla, Santiago         OAK   17.2  4.58   10   0   0   1   0   21    6 14.26
Calero, Kiko              OAK   34.1  5.50   32   0   1   1   1   44   20 15.99
Haren, Danny              OAK  105.1  5.64   17  17   3  10   0   88   13 11.79
Windsor, Jason            OAK   82.2  5.88   15  14   5   5   0   67   28 14.59
Blanton, Joe              OAK   70.1  6.65   18   8   3   3   1   30   26 14.72
Harden, Rich              OAK   88.1  7.03   18  18   5   7   0   67   60 17.42
Robertson, Connor         OAK   38.2  8.61    9   7   2   5   0   19   38 19.09
Dunn, Scott               OAK   11.1  8.74    7   0   1   1   0   14    9 17.47 

July 1st 2007
Seattle Mariners(35-43) @ Oakland Athletics(33-44)
Mariners 8 - A's 7
WP: Jon Huber (3-2)
LP: Huston Street (2-2)

Lots of early scoring in this game. 14 runs total in the first 4 innings. Then the scoring stopped and the game went to extras where Huston Street gave up and unearned run and took the loss. Erubial Durazo had home run and German continues to impress going 4-4 with RBI.

July 2nd 2007
Seattle Mariners(36-43) @ Oakland Athletics(33-45)
Mariners 9 - A's 8
WP: Arthur Rhodes (2-0)
LP: Santiago Casilla (0-2)
SV: J.J. Putz (15)

Another slugfest where if you played in the game you got a hit. The pitching staffs both stuggled but we couldn't come out on top losing by 1 run again. Another good day from German who went 2-4 with 2 runs scored and 2 RBI on the day.

A trade.

Cincinatti sends:

Brandon Phillips 2B

Cleveland sends:

Asdrubal Cabrera 2B
Vinny Alvarado CF

Cincinatti gets youth with Asdrubal and Cleveland #2 pick in the draft this year with Alvarado. Cleveland gets the established player in Phillips. Another one that will take time.

July 3rd 2007
Seattle Mariners(37-43) @ Oakland Athletics(33-46)
Mariners 4 - A's 8
WP: Connor Robertson (3-5)
LP: Justin Thomas (1-1)
SV: Huston Street (17)

Erubial Durazo and Milton Bradley both went deep. Bradley went 4-4 with 4RBI as well. Robertson made a good start giving up 4 runs, 2ER, in 6.2 innings. Street came into a jam in the ninth and shut the M's down for his 17th save.

A tough week at 2-4 but it seems like this team won't be jelling this year and I have already started planning for next year and the future. I have month to make some more trades to set us up.

[BichetteMan]

July 4th -July 10th 2007

Another tough week before we get to the All Star Break. We have 3 at the Tigers and then 4 at the division leading Rangers who have really heated up lately. A couple wins would be nice.

July 4th 2007
Oakland Athletics(34-46) @ Detroit Tigers(30-50)
A's 4 - Tigers 5
WP: Joel Zumaya (3-5)
LP: Alan Embree (3-1)
SV: Todd Jones (17)

Danny Haren had to be scratched because of a sore back. The bullpeb did a good job in the game but gave up one too many runs. The offense was decent but needed to push across a few more hits and runs. Shannon Stewart led the offense with a home run and two RBI.

Jason Windsor strained his back today and is expected to be out for a couple starts. We decided to play it safe and put him on the 15 day DL. I called up
Jay Marshall from AA to make a couple starts until Windsor comes back. The 24 year old Marshall is 9-2 with a 3.27 ERA in 113 innings pitched this year. He will be making his first major league appearance and start in two days.

A little trade today:

New YorkN sends:

Bobby Parnell P

Cincinatti sends:

Javier Valentin C

New York were looking for a veteran catcher. Cincinatti has been trading a lot of veterans for youth and nothing changes here. Cincinatti gets the youth and edge.

July 5th 2007
Oakland Athletics(34-47) @ Detroit Tigers(31-50)
A's 3 - Tigers 1
WP: Rich Harden (6-7)
LP: Nate Robertson (4-7)
SV: Huston Street (18)

Rich Harden looks like the Ace we need him to be. He goes a very strong 7 innings allowing 1ER on a solo shot by Magglio Ordonez. Huston Street shuts the door in the ninth for his 18th save. The offense was paced by Nick Swisher who hit two home runs on the day and had all three RBIs for us. A nice road win.

It doesn't appear as though Craig Biggio will getting his 3000th hit this year as he suffered a major shoulder separation and will be out for the remainder of the the season.

Bernie Williams will be making his comeback but not for the Yankees. He signs a 1yr/$2.45M deal with the St. Louis Cardinals.

July 6th 2007
Oakland Athletics(35-47) @ Detroit Tigers(31-51)
A's 1 - Tigers 9
WP: Justin Verlander (4-5)
LP: Jay Marshall (0-1)

Jay Marshall steps in and tosses a decent game in his first major league start. He goes 6 innings and gives up 4ER. Would have liked a little better but not bad for a rookie just being called up. The offense did nothing. Jason Kendall had most of the hits going 3-4.

Some trade news:

Detroit sends:

Marcus Thames RF

Toronto sends:

Jeremy Accardo P

Toronto gets a little offesnse to help them make the push in the AL East. Detroit shores up their poor bullpen for the future. I'd say advantage Toronto because they need more offense than pitching and Accardo isn't going to help in Detroit as of now.

July 7th 2007
Oakland Athletics(35-48) @ Texas Rangers(47-37)
A's 7 - Rangers 2
WP: Santiago Casilla (1-2)
LP: Joaquin Benoit (4-3)

A very solid effort by Joe Blanton who went 8 innings and gave up only 1ER. He left the game with a run one lead and passed the baton to Street. Unfortunately our shut down closer gave up a run to blow a save. The game continued scoreless until the 13th inning when we blew up for 5 runs in the top to take the game. Mark Ellis hit his 8th homer and Dan Johnson hit a pinch hit homer for his first of the season. A very nice win against the division leaders.

July 8th 2007
Oakland Athletics(36-48) @ Texas Rangers(47-38)
A's 5 - Rangers 1
WP: Connor Robertson (4-5)
LP: Jamey Wright (5-3)

Back to Back solid starts from the rotation. Conor Robertson went a great 8 innings and gave up the 1ER that Texas scored. The offense was sparked by Bradley who went 2-4 with 2 RBI on the day. Very exciting to beat the division leaders two games in a row. Gives some hope for the future.

July 9th 2007
Oakland Athletics(37-48) @ Texas Rangers(47-39)
A's 5 - Rangers 12
WP: Edinson Volquez (1-0)
LP: Danny Haren (3-11)

Another bad start from Danny Haren. Another 8ER in just 2.1 innings pitched. He is not doing the job. Nick Swisher has been hitting for a lot of power this year and has his 19th homer of the year. The only bright spot today.

Another White Sox deal:

ChicagoA sends:

Rob Mackowiak IF

Minnesota sends:

Kevin West CF
Erik Lis 1B
Denard Span CF

Mackowiak is a solid infielder defensively who will help the Twins in their hunt for the AL central title. The White Sox get some potential for the future with a couple quick CF and powerful young 1B. Give it time to develop.

July 10th 2007
Oakland Athletics(37-49) @ Texas Rangers(48-39)
A's 4 - Rangers 3
WP: Rich Harden (7-7)
LP: Kevin Millwood (6-7)
SV: Huston Street (19)

Another nice start from Rich Harden. He goes 7 innings and gives up only 1ER. He struck out 6 batters as well. These are the kinds of streaks we need Rich Harden to go on. Erubial Durazo powered the offesnse going 3-4 with his 13th home run and two RBI. Street picks up his 19th save with a perfect ninth.

To take 3 out of 4 against the Rangers is very nice. To take 3 out of 4 on the road against the Rangers is excellent. I am very happy with the team before the all star break. Overall a 4-3 road trip is nice no matter who you play or what your record is. On that note, we may not have a great record and we may not make the playoffs. That is fine because I feel like the team is starting to take the shape I want.

[BichetteMan]

2007 AL vs. NL Allstar Game
@ AT&T Park San Francisco, CA
Home of the San Francisco Giants



American League Allstars

Starters

1. C - Kenji Johjima - Seattle Mariners
2. 1B - Travis Hafner - Cleveland Indians
3. 2B - Tadahito Iguchi - Chicago White Sox
4. 3B - Alex Rodriguez - New York Yankees
5. SS - Carlos Guillen - Detroit Tigers
6. LF - Jason Bay - Boston Red Sox
7. CF - Milton Bradley - Oakland Athletics
8. RF - Bobby Abreu - New York Yankees
9. SP - Kyle Farnsworth - New York Yankees

Positional Reserves
David Ortiz - BOS, Miguel Tejada - BAL, Jamey Carroll - KCR, Vladimir Guerrero - LAA, Justin Morneau MIN, Rocco Baldelli - TBD, Troy Glaus TOR, Mark Texeira - TEX

Pitcher Reserves
Roger Clemens - BOS, Johan Santana - MIN, Mike Mussina - NYY, B.J. Ryan - TOR, Jake Westbrook - CLE, Curt Schilling - BOS, Eric Gagne - TEX, Mariano Rivera - NYY, Fernando Cabrera - CLE, Jesse Crain - MIN

National League Allstars

Starters

1. C - Josh Bard - San Diego Padres
2. 1B - Lance Berkman - Houston Astros
3. 2B - Ray Durham - San Francisco Giants
4. 3B - Scott Rolen - St Louis Cardinals
5. SS - Stephen Drew - Arizona Diamondbacks
6. LF - Barry Bonds - San Francisco Giants
7. CF - Carlos Beltran - New York Mets
8. RF - Bill Hall - Milwaukee Brewers
9. SP - Carlos Zambrano - Chicago Cubs

Positional Reserves
David Wright - NYM, Aramis Ramirez - CHC, Andruw Jones - ATL, Ken Griffey Jr. - CIN, Todd Helton - COL, Miguel Cabrera - FLA, Jeff Kent - LAD, Aaron Rowand - PHI, Jose Bautista - PIT, Nick Johnson - WSN

Pitcher Reserves
Randy Johnson - ARI, Ben Sheets - MIL, Jake Peavy - SDP, Jason Schmidt - SFG, Ryan Dempster - CHC, Dan Wheeler - HOU, Blaine Boyer - ATL, Jorge Julio - FLA

The American League came out on top 11-7 to continue their dominance in the All Star Game. Kenji Johjima of the Mariners was named the games Most Valuable Player. He went 3-5 with a home run and 2 RBI in the game. Here is the boxscore for the game:

American League All Stars at National League All Stars
July 12, 2007

                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 +  R  H  E
      All Stars (AL) 4 4 0 0 0 0 3 0 0   11 13  0
      All Stars (NL) 0 2 0 0 0 3 1 1 0    7 14  0

AMERICAN LEAGUE      ab  h bb  r hr bi  k sb     avg
B. Abreu (RF)         5  2  1  2  1  2  0  0    .320
C. Guillen (SS)       6  3  0  2  0  0  1  0    .301
A. Rodriguez (3B)     5  1  1  0  0  0  2  0    .281
T. Hafner (1B)        4  0  1  0  0  0  3  0    .322
J. Bay (LF)           2  0  3  2  0  0  0  0    .302
K. Johjima (C)        5  3  0  1  1  2  0  0    .315
M. Bradley (CF)       2  1  3  1  0  1  0  0    .298
T. Iguchi (2B)        4  1  1  1  0  1  0  0    .318
K. Farnsworth (P)     0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
 D. Ortiz (P)         2  1  0  1  1  1  1  0    .315
 M. Mussina (P)       0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
 J. Santana (P)       0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .143
 J. Morneau (P)       1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .378
 B. Ryan (P)          0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
 M. Mussina (P)       0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
 V. Guerrero (P)      1  1  0  1  0  1  0  0    .308
 J. Crain (P)         0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
 R. Baldelli (P)      1  0  0  0  0  0  1  0    .282
 F. Cabrera (P)       0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
 E. Gagne (P)         0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
TOTALS               38 13 10 11  3  8  8  0

   2B:  V. Guerrero
   HR:  K. Johjima, B. Abreu, D. Ortiz
   GIDP:  T. Hafner, M. Bradley

                   ip  h bb hr  r er  k pit    ERA
   K. Farnsworth  1.0  0  1  0  0  0  2  22   3.91
      M. Mussina  3.0  7  3  2  5  5  1  74   3.91
      J. Santana  1.0  0  0  0  0  0  1  13   3.55
         B. Ryan  1.0  1  0  0  0  0  1  19   0.89
        J. Crain  1.0  3  0  0  1  1  2  29   2.17
      F. Cabrera  1.0  2  1  0  1  1  2  41   2.51
        E. Gagne  1.0  1  0  0  0  0  2  20   2.21
          TOTALS  9.0 14  5  2  7  7 11 218

NATIONAL LEAGUE      ab  h bb  r hr bi  k sb     avg
C. Beltran (CF)       4  0  2  1  0  0  2  0    .242
S. Rolen (3B)         2  0  1  0  0  0  0  1    .326
 A. Jones (P)         2  1  0  0  0  0  1  0    .270
L. Berkman (1B)       4  2  1  2  0  0  1  0    .331
B. Bonds (LF)         5  2  0  1  0  1  2  0    .313
S. Drew (SS)          5  2  0  1  1  3  2  0    .321
R. Durham (2B)        5  1  0  1  0  0  1  0    .308
B. Hall (RF)          3  2  0  1  1  2  0  0    .273
 K. Griffey (P)       2  1  0  0  0  1  1  0    .253
J. Bard (C)           2  1  0  0  0  0  0  0    .282
 A. Ramirez (P)       2  1  0  0  0  0  0  0    .279
C. Zambrano (P)       0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .163
 R. Johnson (P)       0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .207
 M. Cabrera (P)       0  0  1  0  0  0  0  0    .338
 J. Peavy (P)         0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .231
 D. Wright (P)        1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .316
 R. Johnson (P)       0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .207
 T. Helton (P)        1  1  0  0  0  0  0  0    .309
 R. Dempster (P)      0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
 B. Boyer (P)         1  0  0  0  0  0  1  0    .000
 D. Wheeler (P)       1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
TOTALS               40 14  5  7  2  7 11  1

   2B:  B. Hall, A. Ramirez
   HR:  S. Drew, B. Hall
   HBP:  A. Ramirez
   GIDP:  B. Bonds

                   ip  h bb hr  r er  k pit    ERA
     C. Zambrano  1.0  3  3  1  4  4  0  42   3.26
      R. Johnson  2.0  6  2  2  4  4  4  71   4.95
        J. Peavy  3.0  1  1  0  0  0  0  46   3.80
     R. Dempster  0.2  3  2  0  3  3  0  42   1.39
        B. Boyer  1.1  0  2  0  0  0  2  26   1.74
      D. Wheeler  1.0  0  0  0  0  0  2  16   2.39
          TOTALS  9.0 13 10  3 11 11  8 243

     WP: K. Farnsworth
     LP: C. Zambrano

     Temperature: 78F
     Wind: 4 MPH (in from left)
     Attendance: 41,503
     Time: 4:59 

It was exciting to see all of Milton Bradleys hard work pay off and result in an All Star Game appearance. On top of that to be named a starter in CF and go 1-2 with 3 walks and an RBI was incredible. Congratulation to Milton on his accomlishment!

In a bit of funny news the White Sox took advantage of the break and one of their players making the All Star Game:

ChicagoA sends:

Tadahito Iguchi 2B

Cleveland sends:

Andy Pratt P
Rafael Perez P
Manuel Agellegos P

Cleveland picks up an All Star 2B who is having a great season and should be productive for a few more years. Chicago picks up a couple decent arms with Pratt and Perez and Clevelands 3rd round pick in this years draft. I'm giving it to Cleveland who got the better player and he will make an immediate impact.

[BichetteMan]

Another boring sunday. I'm trying to get through the first season very quickly so I can start my team on the path I want.
******************************************************************************** **************

July 13th - July 17th 2007

We have a four game series after the break at home with the Yankees to close out the week. The Yankees are hot and tied atop the AL East with the Red Sox. Should be a tough matchup.

July 13th 2007
An off day for the players to get back to Oakland for our series with New York. Maybe we can take a game or two and help out the Red Sox in the AL East race.

In order to make room for young speedster Ryan Goleski in the Lineup I traded Shannon Stewart to the Nationals. It looked like this:

Oakland sends:

Shannon Stewart LF
John Koronka P

Washington sends:

Esmailyn Gonzalez SS
Jhonny Nunez P

Stewart was only making 1M so it was a bargain for the Nats and Koronka wasn't going to be in my plans. I got two real young prospects who can etiher hit or miss. I'm pretty happy with this deal. With the move I will be calling up Hiram Bocachia to fill in from the bench.

July 14th 2007
New York Yankees(52-36) @Oakland Athletics(38-49)
Yankees 6 - A's 2
WP: Chien-Ming Wang (8-5)
LP: Danny Haren (3-12)

I don't expect much from the team in this series. Haren could have done a bit better as he gave up all 6ER in just 4.2 innings pitched. The bullpen is rested after the break and doesn't let up a run for their time in the game. The lone bit of offense came from Durazo who hit his 14th home run and drove in the teams 2 runs.

July 15th 2007
New York Yankees(53-36) @Oakland Athletics(38-50)
Yankees 1 - A's 7
WP: Rich Harden (8-7)
LP: Andy Pettitte (5-6)

Looks like Rich Harden is finally starting to get it going. He shuts down the Yankees for 6 innings allowing 1ER on 5 hits with 8 strikeouts. A very nice job against a tough Yankees squad. On offense we had a very good day from most of our guys. New leadoff man Goleski went 2-5 with 3 RBI on the day. Two fo those hits were doubles. I hope he can keep on doing this for my squad. Kilety, Bradley and Kendall also had good days chipping in two hits a piece.

July 16th 2007
New York Yankees(53-37) @Oakland Athletics(39-50)
Yankees 2 - A's 3
WP: Justin Duchscherer (3-1)
LP: Mariano Rivera (3-4)

Rookie Jay Marshall was in line for his first major league win going into the ninth. Marshall had let up 1ER in 7 innings pitched while striking out 6 Yankees batters. That was all lost when Huston Street blew another save and the game went to extra innings. The team didn't give up and in the 11th inning Marco Scutaro got the Mo Rivera and singled in Jason Kendall to win the game. Another very nice win!

July 16th 2007
New York Yankees(53-38) @Oakland Athletics(40-50)
Yankees 15 - A's 13
WP: Kyle Farnsworth (8-0)
LP: Santiago Casilla (1-3)
SV: Mariano Rivera (26)

A traditional slugfest at the Colliseum in Oakland. Unfortunately the Yankees came out on top. There were 9 home runs put into the stands in the game. For the A's it was Ellis, Johnson, Scutaro and Goleski. Goleski hit his first career home run. It was an inside the park job and a grand slam to boot. What an exciting play. Johnson also hit his second pinch hit home run of the season That is what I was hoping he could do until I can clear up that spot at 1B for him. Joe Blanton looked horrible again letting up 9ER. To be fair no pitcher looked good in this game.

I can't ask for more than a 2-2 series against the Yankees. They are a tough club and could have probably taken all four if they were clicking. My team has the heart now we just need a little more talent and starting pitching. Up next is a road trip to Tampa and Cleveland.

[BichetteMan]

I'm bored and getting borderline obsessive with posting.
******************************************************************************** *************************

July 18th - July 24th 2007

A tough road trip not that there is such a thing as an easy one. We have 3 against the Rays and 3 against the Indians. Maybe grab a few from these two tough teams.

July 18th 2007

Big Trade for me today. Pittsburgh called today and had a very good trade offer for me. I took some time and looked over the players involved. I called back and offered a slightly different trade where I received an additional player and I'll explain why after this:

Oakland sends:

Mark Ellis 2B
Charles Thomas LF
Mike Piazza C
Alan Embree P

Pittsburgh sends:

Jack Wilson SS
Jose Castillo 2B

I wanted a replacement 2B for Ellis who will be leaving in the deal so I asked for Castillo and he had no problem. Wilson in my opinion is a plus-plus defender. He has the range and arm to play any infield position. He can also hit for contact decently and has a bit of pop in his bat. I really wanted his defense and that essentially made the deal for me. He is also only 29, very durable and making about 5.5M for the next 5 years which is a good deal for me. I've wanted to dump Piazza for a while as many of you know and the others are all older veterans who I can do without. I'm not really sure what the Pirates were thinking except that most of their contracts are about to expire. I'll have to figure something out when Crosby comes back in few weeks.

Another Allstar player was traded to today:

Detroit sends:

Carlos Guillen SS

Toronto sends:

John Ford-Griffin 1B
Spence Nemerovski CF

Carlos Guillen will help the Jays at the one position they seem to be lacking at. He will start for them and maybe help them make the push in that very competitive division. Griffin is a 27 year old 1B who has appeared to reach his ceiling. Nemerovski is what the tigers were after. He was the Jays 1 round pick(20th overall) in this years draft. His ceiling is very high and may be a star for the Tigers in the future.

Also Miguel Tejada drove in his 1000th career run today. Congrats Miggy!

July 19th 2007
Oakland Athletics(40-51) @ Tampa Bay Rays(49-43)
A's 4 - Rays 2
WP: Danny Haren (4-12)
LP: Jon Switzer (0-1)
SV: Huston Street (20)

I see glimpses of ability from Danny Haren but nothing too consistent. Today was one of those glimpses. He went a very strong 7.2 innings and gave up 2ER while striking out 8. A rare nice start. Huston Street cleaned up in the 9th for his 20th save. New addition Jack Wilson had a great day at the plate going 4-4 with an RBI. The rest of the offense was in sync as well getting 14 hits on the day. Nice job today!

July 20th 2007
Oakland Athletics(41-51) @ Tampa Bay Rays(49-44)
A's 3 - Rays 4
WP: Bronson Arroyo (3-13)
LP: Rich Harden (8-8)
SV: Juan Salas (22)

A tough day for Harden as he didn't have his control. He gave up 7 hits and 6 walks in 4.2 innings pitched. He couldn't go much further because he had to throw so many pitches so early. I'd say as long as he can work out some of his control issues he will be very effective. It is usually his pitch count that gets him. The offense had a god amount of hits but couldn't push enough of them across. Kendall was the star on offense today going 2-3 with 2RBI.

July 21st 2007
Oakland Athletics(41-52) @ Tampa Bay Rays(50-44)
A's 3 - Rays 4
WP: Jason Hammel (1-0)
LP: Santiago Casilla (1-4)
SV: Juan Salas (23)

Another slugfest we fall just short in. Jay Marshall got roughed up and will be sent back to the minors only because Jason Windsor is ready to come back from the DL. He went 3 innings and gave up 8ER. We hope this won't hurt his confidence because I'm sure he can be a very effective pitcher for us in the future. The offense looked real good again but like I said fell just short. Jack Wilson continues to rip the ball for us going 3-4 with 3 RBI. Durazo put in an excellent effort going 4-4 with a walk and scoring 4 times on the day. Backup catcher Jeremy Brown also hit his first homer of the year in a pinch hit situation.

Another Allstar on the move:

Washington sends:

Nick Johnson 1B

Cleveland sends:

Franklin Gutierrez CF

Cleveland gets a veteran power 1B that they need because of an injury to Ryan Garko that ended his season a couple months back. Travis Hafner has also been fighting nagging injuries so Johnson will help out. The Nats get a future CF who can play now but will continue to develop for the future.

July 22nd 2007
Oakland Athletics(41-53) @ Cleveland Indians(51-45)
A's 1 - Indians 5
WP: Jake Westbrook (11-3)
LP: Joe Blanton (3-4)
SV: Joe Borowski (20)

Blanton struggles again and lets up all 5ER in just 4.2 innings. The bullpen does nicely not letting the Indians pull away further. Jake Westbrook shut down my team and only let up a home run to Milton Bradley, his 19th of the year.

Bobby Crosby came off the DL today and was sent to AAA Sacramento. He will probably spend a week or so there and we will re-evalute based on his performance.

July 23rd 2007
Oakland Athletics(41-54) @ Cleveland Indians(52-45)
A's 6 - Indians 8
WP: Fernando Cabrera (4-0)
LP: Santiago Casilla (1-5)

Robertson didn't perform well but the offense supported him. Robertson went 6 innings giving up 5ER and was in position to win but Huston Street struggled in the 9th again. He gave up the game tying home run to send the game to extra frames. In the 11th, the Indians pushed across two run s on a home run given up by Casilla to take the win. Bradley went 4-5 on the day and Kendall went 3-4 to help the offense. Scutaro and German also got two hits a piece.

July 24th 2007
Oakland Athletics(41-55) @ Cleveland Indians(53-45)
A's 6 - Indians 8
WP: Paul Byrd (8-11)
LP: Danny Haren (4-13)

After a good start in his last outing Haren reverts back to the usual. He goes 4.1 giving up 8ER. Not very impressive at all. These last couple of poor starts have started to take a toll on the pen and it shows as they struggled giving up 7ER in the game. The offense still performed as Swisher put out two home runs and Durazo put one out as well. They got 15 hits on the day and just couldn't take advantage of the baserunners.

The White Sox continue to unload their players as they sit in last place:

ChicagoA sends:

Juan Uribe SS

San Diego sends:

Kevin Kouzmanoff 3B
Cedric Hunter
Matt Bush

Uribe is a solid shortstop who can help the Padres compete in the NL West. The three players the Sox received can all develop and play a big role in the White Sox future. Mutually benefical but the Sox may have gotten the better end of this deal.

The week started off nice but didn't stay on that trend. 1-5 is not good but now we are just positioning for a great draft pick next year. I also am going to be seeing what some of the young guys can do. I'm thinking a few trades will be coming before the deadline next week as well.

[BichetteMan]

July 25th - July 31st 2007

This should be a pretty active week as teams look to load up for playoff run and others look to dump and build for the future. I should definitely be making a few moves. On tap for games are 3 at home with the Royals and 4 with the Indians. A couple wins would be nice especially against the Royals.

July 25th 2007
Kansas City Royals(42-56) @ Oakland Athletics(41-56)
Royals 3 - A's 1
WP: Brian Bannister (2-6)
LP: Brad Halsey (0-1)
SV: George Sherrill (20)

Rich Harden looked good going 7 innings and letting up 1ER. He also struck out a season high 12 batters in the game. Brian Bannister pitched a little better and let up 1ER in 8 innings. Durazo went deep for his 16th home run. Jack Wilson continues to be hot going 2-4 on the day.

A trade:

Washington sends:

Ron Belliard 2B

Florida sends:

Bradley McCann 1B

Not really sure what florida is doing. A young 1B prospect for an old 2B. Oh well!

July 26th 2007
Kansas City Royals(43-56) @ Oakland Athletics(41-57)
Royals 12 - A's 3
WP: Luke Hudson (6-6)
LP: Jason Windsor (5-6)

Jason Windsor struggles and gives up 8ER in 4.1 innings. I've stopped having expectations for these guys. They aren't going to give me anything and if they do I hope it can carry over to the future. Wilson and Swisher drove in the only earned runs on the day.

July 27th 2007
Kansas City Royals(44-56) @ Oakland Athletics(41-58)
Royals 2 - A's 12
WP: Joe Blanton (4-4)
LP: Odalis Perez (4-9)

Joe Blanton pitches well and the offense hit on all cylinders. Blanton went 7 innings and gave up just 2ER. On O, Goleski went 4-5 from the leadoff spot hitting a home run,scoring three times and driving in three as well. Erubial Durazo had a great day too going 3-5 with a homer and 4 RBI. A nice win to end the series with the Royals.

A couple of trades to share:

Minnesota sends:

Garrett Jones 1B
David Winfree 3B
Trevor Plouffe SS

Washington sends:

Chris Michalak P

An effective old pitcher to the Twins to gelp wrap up the division. Nats get some youth but nothing to exciting.

Los AngelesN sends:

Scott Elbert P

Kansas City sends:

Eliezer Alfonzo C

Kansas City completes a nice little flip on Alfonzo who they got from the Giants earlier this year. In return for the solid catcher they get a young pitcher who can have a big impact in the future.

ChicagoN sends:

Brian Dopirak 1B

ChicagoA sends:

Luis Terrero CF

Another Windy city deal as the Cubs get a speedy and good hitting CF who hasn't been performing like the Sox wanted. The White Sox get a young contact hitting 1B who can field well.

July 28th 2007
Cleveland Indians(55-47) @ Oakland Athletics(42-58)
Indians 8 - A's 2
WP: Cliff Lee (4-6)
LP: Connor Robertson (4-6)

Robertson put in the norm giving up 8R, 6ER, in 4.2 innings pitched. The offense was decent getting 7 hits on the day. Nick Swisher led the way with a solo shot.

Edgar Renteria scored the 1000th run of his career today. Congrats Error...umm Edgar!

I was on the phone for a bit shopping Bobby Crosby. St Louis was interested because of Ecksteins lack of production. I added in a player and came out with this deal:

Oakland sends:

Bobby Crosby SS
Kazuhito Tadano P

St Louis sends:

Blake Hawksworth P

Crosby no longer had a spot on my team with the addition of Wilson. Tadano also was not going to have much impact here. Hawksworth is a solid minor leaguer with a bright future ahead of him, IMO.

July 29th 2007
Cleveland Indians(56-47) @ Oakland Athletics(42-59)
Indians 4 - A's 8
WP: Danny Haren (5-13)
LP: Paul Byrd (8-12)

Danny Haren pitches decently and gets the benefit of a nice offensive game. Haren went 6 innings and gave up all 4 of Clevelands runs. Milton Bradley and Nick Swisher drove in two a piece for the A's. Although Goleski went 0-2 he was still productive walking 3 times and scoring each of those times.

A little big:

Cincinatti sends:

B.J. Syzmanski CF
Matt Belisle P
Brian Shackelford P
Phil Dumatrait P
Jeff Conine LF
Wil Witherden 1B
Drew Anderson 2B

Arizona sends:

Jose Valverde P
Livan Hernandez P

Lots of salaries and talent switching here. Arizona restocks a bit. Cincinatti gets a good reliever and some money off their budget at the end of the season.

July 30th 2007
Cleveland Indians(56-48) @ Oakland Athletics(43-59)
Indians 10 - A's 2
WP: C.C. Sabathia (8-8)
LP: Rich Harden (8-9)

Harden pitches decently in his 6 innings giving up 4ER. He did not get the support from the offense though. The only bright spot on the day was Ryan Goleski. He went 3-3 with a walk and an RBI on the day.

A trade:

Baltimore sends:

Aubrey Huff 3B

Florida sends:

Sergio Mitre P

Not really sure what Florida is doing yet. Although Mitre is not anything special Huff is not exceptionally good and make much more money. Maybe they are preparing for Miguel Cabrera to leave.

July 31st 2007
Cleveland Indians(57-48) @ Oakland Athletics(43-60)
Indians 5 - A's 8
WP: Chad Gaudin (3-0)
LP: Matt Miller (5-3)
SV: Huston Street (21)

Windsor pitched well in 6 innings giving up 3R, 1ER. The offense kicked into gear late in the game pushing 3 across in the 7th to take the lead for good. Ryan Goleski continues to hit hot and goes 2-5 with 2 runs scored. Nick Swisher smashes his 23rd homer of the season to go along with 3 RBI.


I had been holding out on the Blue Jays all week. J.P. called and called and called. He wanted Danny Haren badly. I kept refusing until he upped the ante at the deadline. It worked:

Oakland sends:

Danny Haren P
Juan Dominguez P

Toronto sends:

Josh Banks P
Ty Taubenheim P
Graham Godfrey P
Ricky Romero P

J.P. needed another starter to round out his rotation and Haren is short money for the next few years. Haren is still only 26 years old and J.P. wasn't discouraged by his performance here in Oakland. Haren will probably be successful and I hope he is but I was ready to move on. I got 2 high level prospects and 2 mid level prospects. They are all starters and if even one develops to where I hope this trade will be great for my team.

The week for the team wasn't very successful. I was concentrating more on making moves to provide a brighter future for the club. I got some very solid prospects and a great player in Wilson. Now the stretch run to the end of the season.

[BichetteMan]

August 1st - August 7th 2007

The week starts with an off day and then we have a road trip to KC and to Minnesota. Not too much expected on the trip but a win or two would be nice.

Some league business:

American League Standings


National League Standings


League Leaders


Oakland Batting Stats:

2007 Batting             Team    G   AVG    AB    H  2B  3B  HR   BB    K   SB  CS    R  RBI   SLG   OBP
Bradley, Milton           OAK  103  .290   431  125  12   3  19   42   91    9   1   61   61  .464  .355
Wilson, Jack              OAK  106  .306   421  129  25   3   7   34   46    1   1   55   31  .430  .361
Swisher, Nick             OAK  104  .240   400   96  20   0  23   58   94    0   1   58   59  .463  .343
Kendall, Jason            OAK  100  .301   382  115  13   1   0   21   39    3   4   39   32  .340  .345
Kielty, Bobby             OAK   86  .285   362  103  24   6   7   24   73    2   0   53   44  .442  .334
Durazo, Erubiel           OAK  101  .288   354  102  16   1  17   54   78    0   0   57   55  .483  .380
Scutaro, Marco            OAK   94  .306   314   96  16   7   4   37   56    4   1   48   31  .439  .381
Castillo, Jose            OAK   90  .205   302   62  10   1   4   27   69    2   1   26   24  .285  .278
German, Esteban           OAK   61  .276   199   55  15   2   1   15   35    4   5   28   19  .387  .336
Jimenez, D'Angelo         OAK   56  .227   176   40   8   1   2   34   31    0   0   20   21  .318  .364
Goleski, Ryan             OAK   22  .325    83   27   8   1   2    8   12    1   0   12   18  .518  .385
Johnson, Dan              OAK   14  .200    15    3   0   0   2    1    3    0   0    3    5  .600  .250
Perez, Antonio            OAK    6  .429    14    6   1   0   0    0    2    1   0    2    4  .500  .412
Kata, Matt                OAK    6  .000     5    0   0   0   0    0    2    0   0    0    0  .000  .000 

Oakland Pitching stats:

2007 Pitching            Team     IP   ERA    G  GS   W   L  SV    K   BB   R/9
Street, Huston            OAK   29.0  1.86   33   0   2   2  21   26    6 12.72
Gaudin, Chad              OAK   60.2  2.67   41   1   3   0   0   32   29 11.42
Halsey, Brad              OAK   10.1  4.35    6   0   0   1   0    7    9 13.94
Duchscherer, Justin       OAK   56.2  4.45   47   1   3   1   1   59   11 12.55
Calero, Kiko              OAK   52.1  4.82   45   0   1   1   1   66   27 14.62
Harden, Rich              OAK  124.2  5.85   24  24   8   9   0  109   78 16.24
Marshall, Jay             OAK   17.0  6.35    3   3   0   1   0    8    8 14.29
Windsor, Jason            OAK   97.0  6.40   18  17   5   6   0   77   37 15.31
Blanton, Joe              OAK   98.2  6.66   23  13   4   4   1   40   31 14.50
Casilla, Santiago         OAK   42.0  6.86   25   0   1   5   0   43   16 15.86
Robertson, Connor         OAK   64.0  7.17   13  11   4   6   0   33   57 17.02
Dunn, Scott               OAK   11.1  8.74    7   0   1   1   0   14    9 17.47
Puffer, Brandon           OAK    3.2  9.82    4   0   0   0   0    1    3 24.55 

August 1st 2007

The team headed to KC for the next series. I've been looking over the Minors and have been trying to decide who I am going to give a look in September. It is only the beginning of August but I want to have a list of players who will get a look in the last month.

There were also a couple last minute trades to report last night:

Boston sends:

Jed Lowrie SS

Pittsburgh sends:

Damaso Marte P

Boston needs some help in their bullpen to stay on top of the AL East. Lowrie looks like he will be a quality shortstop in the future. Remember Jack Wilson was traded my way ealier this year.

Pittsburgh sends:

Paul Maholm P

San Diego sends:

Kevin Cameron P
Mike Thompson P

Not too sure why the Padres gave up such a good young player in Thompson but Maholm is decent.

Los AngelesA sends:

Jeff Mathis C

ChicagoA sends:

Joe Crede 3B

A trade of two very good defensive players. Chicago has been dumping salary this year and are in need of a new younger catcher.

Baltimore sends:

Erik Bedard P

St Louis sends:

Anthony Reyes P

Baltimore is in last place and dumps some salary and a quality pitcher. They get back a younger pitcher who may develop into something decent. St Louis needed another starter to stay in the thick of the Wild card race.

Cincinatti sends:

Ken Griffey Jr. CF
Tyler Pelland P
Dave Weathers P
Angel Salome C
James Avery P
Ray Olmedo 2B

Florida sends:

Dustin Hermanson P
Phil Nevin 3B
Matt Treanor C

Florida has to eat some big salaries to get some decent prospects. Cincinatti gets some guys who are expiring at the end of the year. Not too sure what they are doing!

Tampa Bay sends:

Micah Hernaiz CF
Elliot Johnson 2B
Fernando Perez CF
Thomas Jones P

Pittsburgh sends:

Adam Laroche 1B

Tampa Bay gets a very good power hitting 1B. Pittsburgh gets a big package of prospects including Tampas 3rd and 4th rounders in this years draft.

August 2nd 2007
Oakland Athletics(44-60) @ Kansas City Royals(44-60)
A's 5 - Royals 4
WP: Chad Gaudin (4-0)
LP: George Sherrill (2-4)

Game goes ten innings. Jack Wilson was the hero in the 10th as he puched across the go ahead run. He had a good day going 1-3 with a walk and two RBI. Blanton pitched ok with 6.2 innings and 4ER allowed.

August 3rd 2007
Oakland Athletics(45-60) @ Kansas City Royals(44-61)
A's 3 - Royals 14
WP: Tim Corcoran (3-5)
LP: Jay Marshall (0-2)

The Royals roughed up the pitching staff. The offense had a bunch of hits(11) but couldn't push many of them across. Ryan Goleski continues to impress since his call up. He went 2-3 on the day and is batting .330 for the year.

August 4th 2007
Oakland Athletics(45-61) @ Kansas City Royals(45-61)
A's 7 - Royals 8
WP: David Riske (2-1)
LP: Brad Halsey (0-2)

Rich Harden pitched fairly well with 3ER in 6 innings. The bullpen got beat up a bit and let the game go. Bobby Kielty was the star on offense going 2-4 with 4 RBI.

St. Louis makes some moves today. The sign Erik Bedard to a 2yr/4.7M deal. Also Scott Rolen hits the DL with a strained quad.

August 5th 2007
Oakland Athletics(45-62) @ Minnesota Twins(65-43)
A's 7 - Twins 2
WP: Jason Windsor (6-6)
LP: Jesse Crain (2-1)
SV: Huston Street (22)

Jason Windsor pitched very well over 6 innings. He gave up 2ER and struck out 6. The offense had a good day collecting 14 hits with the most important coming from Dan Johnson with a pinch hit 3RBI double. This is exactly what I wanted to see from him when I brought him up to hit off the bench.

August 6th 2007
Oakland Athletics(46-62) @ Minnesota Twins(65-44)
A's 0 - Twins 9
WP: Johan Santana (13-7)
LP: Joe Blanton (4-5)

Nothing much to report except that Johan Santana is very dominant as usual. Blanton wasn't so much as he allowed 7ER in 5 innings.

August 7th 2007
Oakland Athletics(46-63) @ Minnesota Twins(66-44)
A's 3 - Twins 8
WP: Boof Bonser (9-5)
LP: Connor Robertson (4-7)

Robertson struggles giving up 7ER in his 4.1 innings. The only bright spot on offense was Jack Wilson who went 1-4 with 2RBI.

Pretty much what I expected from the week.

[BichetteMan]

August 8th - August 14th 2007

We have a homestand this week. Three games against the White Sox and then three against the Rangers. Hopefully the pitchers can start to get some consistency and confidence to lead into the last month and to look forward with for the next season.

August 8th 2007
Chicago White Sox(42-69) @ Oakland Athletics(46-64)
White Sox 3 - A's 2
WP: Bobby Jenks (2-1)
LP: Brad Halsey (0-3)

Jay Marshall pitched really well going 6.2 innings and letting up just 2ER. That was enough to get the game into extras where in the 12th inning the White Sox pushed across the game winner. The offense couldn't do very much with only Swisher and Wilson getting RBI on the day.

August 9th 2007
Chicago White Sox(43-69) @ Oakland Athletics(46-65)
White Sox 2 - A's 3
WP: Huston Street (3-2)
LP: Bobby Jenks (2-2)

Another extra innings affair. This one goes 11 innings and was won when German singled in Jeremy Brown from second base. Milton Bradley played well and collected 3 hits on the day. Rich Harden pitched well enough to win but didn't get enough support. He went 7 innings and gave up just 1ER.

August 10th 2007
Chicago White Sox(43-70) @ Oakland Athletics(47-65)
White Sox 3 - A's 4
WP: Brad Halsey (1-3)
LP: Javier Vazquez (11-12)
SV: Huston Street (23)

Jason Windsor tossed a quality start with 7 innings and 3ER. He also struck out 8 but had no run support when he left in the 7th. That changed in the 8th when we drove in all 4 runs to win the game. Both Dan Johnson and Bobby Kielty drove in 2 runs. Huston Street gets his 23rd save getting 2 outs in the 9th.

August 11th 2007

A nice offday for the team at home. We can bury the Rangers this week who have been on a freefall. They have lost 9 games in a row and now sit three games back from the Angels for first. If we can take 2 or sweep we can hurt the Rangers chances a little more. Let's go team!

August 12th 2007
Texas Rangers(57-57) @ Oakland Athletics(48-65)
Rangers 5 - A's 7
WP: Brad Halsey (2-3)
LP: Rick Bauer (2-4)

Another nice win for the team. Joe Blanton goes 6 innings and gives up 4R, 3ER. The offensive stars on the day were Castillo and Scutaro. Castillo went 2-4 with a home run. Scutaro went 4-5 with a home run and 3RBI. We keep the streak going and Texas hits 10 losses in a row.

A major milestone in a career. Detroit Tigers outfielder Gary Sheffield gets his 2500th hit of his career. Congrats Gary--We'll see you in the hall!

August 13th 2007
Texas Rangers(57-58) @ Oakland Athletics(49-65)
Rangers 7 - A's 4
WP: Omar Poveda (6-5)
LP: Jay Marshall (0-3)
SV: Eric Gagne (31)

Jay Marshall goes back to struggling. He gives up 7ER in just 4 innings pitched. Both Castillo and Wilson collected 3 hits on the day. Swisher had the production driving in 2 runs on the day. Not enough though as the Rangers break their 10 game skid.

The Blue Jays decided to lock up one of their starters today as Victor Zambrano signs a 3yr/3.15M deal. He has been pitching well and the Blue Jays are very competitive in the AL East.

August 14th 2007
Texas Rangers(58-58) @ Oakland Athletics(49-66)
Rangers 4 - A's 5
WP: Kiko Calero (2-1)
LP: Kevin Walker (0-2)

The team is going to be tired after this week. Another extra innings game that goes 14 this time. In the top of the inning, the Rangers puched across the go ahead run to take the lead at 4-3. That didn't do the job as we came back in the bottom. Jack Wilson led off with a triple and was driven in on a groundout by Milton Bradley. Nick Swisher followed with a double and after a line out by Durazo, Kielty singled in Swisher to win the game. Rich Harden pitched well again and appear to have hit a groove. He went 7 innings and only gave up 1ER. Milton Bradley was the offensive star going 2-5 with 3RBI.

A very nice week at 4-2. I like beating division rivals expecially when it hurts their playoff hopes. It has been a while since the team has been over .500 for the week and it bodes well for the future.

[Red Sox Fan 734]

You mind if i use this format for my new dynasty?