Hey, the A’s won again! And it was a drama-free win! I like it when the the A’s win and when they win easily. It was also nice to see them hand Jason Vargas a loss, which they never seem to do.

It was the A’s who struck first again, scoring their first run in the third after Andy Parrino doubled and Jed Lowrie drove him in with a single. Their biggest inning was in the sixth, when they scored four runs, sealing the fate of the series. With one out Derek Norris doubled, Josh Donaldson followed with a home run and put the A’s up 3-1. Seth Smith doubled and Jason Vargas intentionally walked Coco Crisp to get to Chris Young. Vargas was then replaced by Kevin Jepsen, who coughed up a double to Young, which scored Crisp.

The offense was nice, but AJ Griffin was the true hero of the night. Griffin lasted eight innings tonight, the longest for any of the starting pitchers this season, and only allowed one run. The only trouble he really had was in the fourth inning, when he allowed back-to-back singles with one out to both Josh Hamilton and Mark Trumbo. Howard Kendrick followed up with a double, scoring Hamilton and with runners on second and third with only one out, he struck out Chris Iannetta and got Peter Bourjos to ground out to third base to end the inning.

After the first two nights of the series, this game was pretty uneventful for the team, besides the monster home run Yoenis Cespedes hit to center field to lead off the seventh inning. The A’s scored their final two runs in the ninth of off a two-run double by Seth Smith. Evan Scribner finished the game, retiring all three batters he faced on two fly outs and a pop up to to second base.

Lines of the Day:

• The team really needed AJ Griffin to go deep into this game and that’s what he did, he pitched eight innings, allowed five hits, one run, walked one and stuck out two.
• Seth Smith had another big night for the team, going 4-5 with two more doubles and an RBI.
• Josh Donaldson, who has struggled a bit at the plate this year, had a 2-4 night with a walk,  he also hit his first home run of the season and drove in two runs.

Ugly Lines of the Day:

• It was a clean win and every player collected at least one hit tonight, so I will spare the players an “ugly line” tonight.

Another day, and another win for the A’s. Tonight they defeated the Angels by a final score of 11-5. It was slightly less ugly than the night before, but it still didn’t come easy for the team…well, not until the sixth inning at least.

The A’s were the first to score again tonight, this time it was on an RBI ground out by Jed Lowrie in the first inning. The Angels immediately tied up the game in the bottom of the same inning on a Josh Hamilton sacrifice fly. The A’s took the lead again in the third inning, scoring three runs off of an RBI single by John Jaso and a 2-run triple by Brandon Moss.

Tom Milone was about as sharp as Jarrod Parker was the night before, he lasted through five innings, but struggled the entire time. He needed 106 pitches to get through five and allowed at least one base runner in every inning. His cleanest was in the fourth, when he walked Chris Iannetta to lead off the inning, but got Peter Bourjos to ground into a double play and struck out Mike Trout to end the inning. The last inning he would see, was also his ugliest. He walked Alberto Callaspo to start the inning, then Albert Pujols hit a ground-rule double, putting both runners on second and third with no outs. He then struck out the next two batters he faced, but allowed a single to Howard Kendrick, which scored both Callaspo and Pujols.

Only up by one in the sixth, the A’s rallied to score five in that inning. Eric Sogard led off the inning with a single and with one out, John Jaso also singled, putting runners at first and third. Jed Lowrie walked and with the bases loaded  Yoenis Cespedes walked and Eric Sogard scored. With the bases still loaded Brandon Moss walked, scoring Jaso. With two outs Seth Smith singled, scoring Lowrie and Cespedes and Josh Donaldson followed with a single of his own, driving in Moss.

Chris Resop relieved Milone in the sixth, he allowed one hit, but no runs. Jerry Blevins pitched the seventh and got into a bit of trouble, allowing runners on first and third with only one out, but recorded the last two outs by getting Howard Kendrick to strike out and Brendon Harris to ground out. Pat Neshek replaced Belvins in the eighth inning, and he had another shaky outing, allowing two hits, one run and a walk. Evan Scribner finished the game, he allowed two singles, but no runs.

Lines of the Day:

• Brandon Moss had another big day for the team, going 3-4 with a home run, a triple, two walks and five RBI.
• Seth Smith also went 3-4 with two doubles and two RBI. Smith is now 7-17 on the season with four doubles, five RBI and three walks.

Ugly Lines of the Day:

• Tom Milone made his second start of the season, and just like last year, he seemed to struggle outside the confines of the Coliseum. He lasted just five innings and allowed seven hits, four earned runs, three walks and struck out five.
• Every player had a hit tonight, but Chris Young was the only player to not reach base at least twice going 1-6 with two strike outs.

A’s Extras:

•  The team announced earlier that Scott Sizemore has torn his ACL and will miss the rest of the season. Andy Parrino was recalled from Sacramento and saw one at-bat today, in which he flew out to center in the ninth inning.
• Coco Crisp did not hit a home run today, but he did go 1-4 with two walks and a stolen base.

I will get the bad news over with first: the A’s lost a game today. Along with everyone else in the Cactus League, the A’s were not able to beat the Kansas City Royals. The Royals scored four runs in the first inning, which turned out enough to defeat the A’s, who only score two runs over nine innings. The final score of the game was 8-2.

Bartolo Colon did not impress in his second spring outing. He allowed seven hits and five runs over only two innings. He threw forty-eight pitches, thirty-two for strikes, did not walk a batter and struck out two. In two appearances this spring he has allowed twelve hits and eight runs over four innings while walking none and striking out six. I still think it’s entirely too early to be in any sort of panic mode with these players, but he has definitely not been enjoyable to watch so far.  Right-handed pitcher, Evan Scribner, also pitched in today’s game and went one inning while allowing two hits, no runs or walks and struck out one. Travis Blackley also pitched two innings; he did not allow a hit or a walk and struck out one. James Simmons was the only other pitcher to allow runs in today’s game, he pitched one inning and allowed four hits and three runs.

The offense wasn’t really there today, as the team only combined for two runs on nine hits and two walks. Grant Green was the only true stand-out player of the game, going 2-4 with two doubles.

• Daric Barton started at first base in this game and went 0-3 with a walk and a strikeout.
• Chris Young started in center field today and went 0-4. He is now 4-16 this spring with no walks and four strikeouts.
• Josh Donaldson played third and went 0-3 with a walk.
• Hiro Nakajima collected another hit today, going 1-3 with a double and strikeout. He is 4-17 with 9 strikeouts this spring.
• Michael Choice played right field and went 1-4 with a strikeout.
• Shane Peterson was in left field and went 2-4 with a strikeout.

» Continue reading “A’s Spring Training Games 11 & 11 1/2: One Loss, One Win”

It wasn’t only the pitching that helped the team defeat the Colorado Rockies today, but it was what stuck out most to me today after yesterday’s loss. The final score in today’s win was 6-3.

Andrew Werner was the only pitcher in today’s game to allow any runs, he pitched the sixth and seventh inning today and allowed three earned runs on five hits and a home run. Tom Milone was today’s starter and he only allowed a walk over two innings, while striking out one. Pitching prospect, Sonny Gray, pitched two innings and allowed a hit and a walk while striking out two. Mike Ekstrom pitched a clean inning of work, allowing only a walk.

Most of the runs scored in today’s game came off of two home runs; Josh Reddick hit his first of the spring (a 3-run home run) and Brandon Moss hit his first as well (a solo in the fifth). The team scored their six runs on ten hits and five walks and went 3-9 with runners in scoring position.

• Coco Crisp returned to the lineup today and went 2-3 with a run. Michael Choice replaced Crisp in the sixth and collected another hit and RBI.
• Josh Reddick started in right field today and went 2-2 with a home run and three RBI. Michael Taylor replaced him in the sixth and he went 0-1.
• Yoenis Cespedes was the designated hitter today and he went 0-3 with two strike outs. He is now hitless in eleven at-bats this spring with four walks and two strikeouts.
• Seth Smith was in left field today and went 1-2 with a walk. He was replaced by Shane Peterson, who has had a great spring so far. Peterson collected two more hits today and is now 9-20 this spring with one home run and three RBI.
• Hiro Nakajima was the starting shortstop today and he went 0-1, was hit by pitch twice, stole his first base of the spring and scored one run.
• John Jaso was the catcher today and went 0-2 with a walk, a run and a strikeout.

The A’s will face the Colorado Rockies on Sunday and AJ Griffin will be making his second start for the team.

We are now finishing up the first week of spring training and the A’s finish the week with a 2-5 record. Today’s loss came against the San Francisco Giants and the final score was 13-9. The good news is real baseball begins a month from today and that there is plenty of games for the A’s to play before then.

A lot of runs were allowed today, but ten of the thirteen were allowed by only two pitchers. Jerry Blevins pitched 2/3 of an inning and allowed four hits, three runs (only two allowed) and struck out one. The error that caused the unearned run to score was committed by Jemile Weeks. Travis Blackley was hit the hardest today, allowing five hits (two singles, one double, one triple and a home run), seven earned runs and two walks over a third of an inning.

Despite the thirteen runs allowed, the pitching wasn’t all bad today. Jarrod Parker started today’s game and pitched two innings in his spring debut. Parker allowed one hit, no runs and struck out two while walking none. Ryan Cook also made his spring debut and pitched an inning while only allowing a walk. Sean Doolittle also pitched for the first time this spring and only allowed a hit over an inning of work.

The offense was not a problem today, as the team combined for nine runs on fourteen hits and four walks, while going 6-21 with runners in scoring position. Here are some of the lines from the team’s hitters today:

• Jemile Weeks started at second today and went 1-3 with an RBI. He is now 6-11 this spring with five RBI.
• Chris Young returned to the lineup today and started in center field. He went 2-3 with a strikeout.
• Jed Lowrie started at shortstop today and went 0-2 with a walk and run.
• Derek Norris started behind the plate and went 1-1 before he was replaced by John Jaso. Jaso finished the day going 0-2.
• Seth Smith started in right field today and went 1-2 with a triple, a walk and a run.
• Daric Barton was at first again today and went 1-2 with a RBI.
• Michael Choice continues to hit this spring, going 2-2 with an RBI. He is now 9-16 this spring with six RBI.

Tomorrow the A’s will face the Colorado Rockies and Tom Milone will be making his spring debut for the A’s.

The funny thing about Spring Training, or baseball in general, is how quickly things turn around for a team. Yesterday my biggest concern was the lack of offense from the A’s and today that’s exactly what won them the game. The A’s defeated the San Diego Padres by a final score of 11-6, combing for fourteen hits, eight walks, four doubles and two home runs. Maybe the A’s weren’t facing the Padres best lineup or pitching, but a win is a win and the overreacting fans really needed it.

The pitching was not great again for the team, but keep in mind, most of the runs allowed today were not from pitchers we should expect to be on the opening day roster. Dan Straily, who may or may not be in the rotation, started today’s game and only lasted 1.1 innings. He allowed two hits, two runs, walked one and struck out one. The other four runs allowed came from Bruce Billings and Justin Thomas, each allowing two runs a piece.

On a side note, Chris Young was scheduled to play today, but was scratched from the lineup because Melvin wanted to give him an extra day off. Here’s what some of the players who did play did today:

• Bullpen hopeful, Pat Neshek, pitched one inning today. He allowed no hits, no runs and walked none. Also hoping to get into the bullpen is Chris Resop, who also pitched one inning and allowed one hit, no runs and no walks.
• Jemile Weeks started at second base today and went 2-2 with a home run (his first of spring), with a walk and 2 RBI.
• Seth Smith also hit his first home run of spring today, he went 2-3 with 2 RBI.
• Jed Lowrie made his debut at third base today and went 2-3 with a double and 2 RBI.
• John Jaso went 1-1 with a walk.
• Daric Barton started at first base today and went 1-3 with a double. He is now 4-7 this spring with two walks.
• Everyone’s favorite pitcher they love to hate, Jesse Chavez, pitched two clean innings; allowed no hits, no walks and struck out two.

Tomorrow the A’s will face the Chicago Cubs and Brett Anderson will be the starting pitcher. Along with Anderson, Bartolo Colon will also be making his spring debut.

On Sunday I had the chance to be a part of the A’s BlogFest portion of FanFest, but because I have not had time to transcribe any of the interviews yet, I am just going to throw out some of my (belated) thoughts on the event as a whole.

I did want to do more than just BlogFest so I arrived at the stadium around 9:30 AM and by that time the line was backed up all the way to the BART ramp. I was not able to get an autograph “coupon” so the first thing I did was line up for a picture with a player. I missed the video highlights because I was in line, but my friends were nice enough to hold my spot so I could watch the player introductions.  The energy inside the arena was amazing, actually very similar to how I left the coliseum in 2012.

I was given a season ticket autograph session, which was with Ty Waller, but had to leave the line so I could make it to BlogFest on time. Missing out on the coupon and the season ticket autograph meant no autographs for me this year. I was, however, able to get photos with Sean Doolittle, Seth Smith, Michael Taylor and AJ Griffin so it wasn’t a complete loss.

I won’t get into too much detail about the interviews since I will be doing a separate post for those, but as expected we got to sit down with Manager Bob Melvin, assistant GM David Forst and third base coach Mike Gallego. Jarrod Parker was supposed to be there as well, but had to skip FanFest this year because he was sick. Anyway, as before, really enjoyed the experience and it was nice meeting other A’s bloggers I have been tweeting with since this blog started.

Overall, I would say it’s a vast improvement over last year’s FanFest. Even though 3,000 more people showed up this year than last, the crowds seemed to be a lot more controlled and I had a better idea where to go. I don’t know if it’s because they moved part of the autograph session outside or because they were a bit more organized this year, but whatever it was it seemed to help. That being said, I do miss the days when it was at the Coliseum and we could choose whose autograph and photo we wanted (have I ever mentioned how much I despise surprises??).  For the second year in a row I did miss out on most of the Q&A because most of my time was spent standing in line, but even with spending an hour at BlogFest, I was able to accomplish a lot more than last time.

It had it’s flaws, but I would have to give the day an A+. It was great escaping “Giants Country” for a few hours and having a day focused on the A’s and only the A’s. It’s been too long since we had something to look forward to and you could feel the optimism coming from all around. The excitement for baseball in Oakland may be at an all-time high and I think all of us (fans, players and managers/coaches) are looking forward to repeating the magic from the 2012 season.

Just one day after acquiring John Jaso, the A’s have announced they reached an one-year, $1.8 million contract with the catcher. Susan Slusser tweets that the contract also includes an “awards package”.

Not surprisingly, the A’s also came to terms with outfielder Seth Smith on a one-year deal to avoid arbitration. Seth Smith will make $3.675 million in 2013.  Seth Smith played in 125 games for the team last season and over 441 plate appearances he had a .240/.333/.420 slash line with a .325 wOBA and 107 wRC+. He also hit 14 home runs for the A’s and had a 1.4 fWAR.

With the A’s “crowded” outfield, I would assume that Smith will play a similar role as he did in 2012. I expect to see him platoon between left field and the designated hitter role, specifically against right-handed pitching. I may be one of the few, but I really like Seth Smith and as we learned last season with injuries, you can never have too many outfielders in Oakland. His batting average may be a bit of a turn off for fans, but his numbers are actually quite impressive, especially for a player who could very well be considered a “fifth outfielder” in the 2013 season.

As I said before he will see most of his playing time against right-handing pitching. Last season Seth Smith had 361 plate appearances against right-handed pitching and during (that time) he had a .259/.352/.454 with a .345 wOBA and 120 wRC+. He only saw 80 plate appearances against left-handed pitching carrying a .157/.250/.271 slash line.

What I have always found most interesting about Smith is split numbers between when he starts in the outfield and when he starts as a designated hitter. When playing left field he had a slash line of .257/.364/.514 with a .370 wOBA and 138 wRC+. over 206 plate appearances. Over 175 plate appearances he had a .227/.309/.331 slash line with a .282 wOBA and 77 wRC+ as a designated hitter. Obviously he feels more comfortable at the plate when he is playing in the outfield, but I think unfortunately for him, he will find himself playing the designated hitter role more often this season than he did last.

The A’s also announced that relief pitcher Pedro Figueroa will be their lone player in the WBC this year and he will be playing for the Dominican Republic.

Athletics: 4  Tigers:  3

I have been absolutely speechless for the past hour.  How do you put into words what just happened?  Just when I was ready to say good-bye to the 2012 Oakland Athletics, they manage to do what the 2012 A’s do and come from behind and walk-off for the fifteenth time this season.

A.J. Griffin had his struggles today, but in the long run was able to “tame” the Tigers enough for the A’s to make their comeback. He allowed seven hits and two runs over five innings while walking none and striking out only one.

For the first time in the series, the Tigers were the first to score.  In the third inning, Alex Avila doubled to lead off the inning and Omar Infante sacrificed him over to third.  Austin Jackson followed with a single and Avila scored.  Griffin got Quintin Berry to fly out and Miguel Cabrera to ground out to end the inning.  The only other run scored off of Griffin was a solo home run by Price Fielder that lead off the fourth inning.

Griffin came out to pitch the sixth, but after Miguel Cabrera lead off the inning with a pop up that nobody caught for a single, he was replaced Jerry Belvins. Blevins did what Blevins does and got Prince Fielder to ground into a double play and then got Delmon Young to ground out to end the inning.

Runs did not come easy for the team today, but caught a break in the bottom of the sixth.  Coco Crisp grounded out to Prince Fielder, but an error by the first baseman allowed Crisp to reach second.  Stephen Drew then followed with a double, scoring Crisp.  Drew tried to stretch his double into a triple and was thrown out at third.  The inning was pretty uneventful after Drew’s TOOTBLAN; Yoenis Cespedes struck out, Brandon Moss walked and Josh Reddick recorded the final out by flying out to center field.

Jerry Blevins pitched a clean seventh, getting all three batters he faced to ground out.  Sean Doolittle replaced Blevins in the eighth, but struggled a bit.  Omar Infante lead off the inning with a single and Austin Jackson sacrificed him over to second base.  Then with one out Avisail Garcia singled, scoring Infante. Miguel Cabrera popped up, but Prince Fielder followed with a single and that was it for Sean Doolittle. Ryan Cook came in and recorded the last out by getting Delmon Young to ground out.

The A’s did threaten in the eighth inning, with two outs Stephen Drew singled and Yoenis Cespedes walked, but Brandon Moss struck out swinging to end it.  Ryan Cook pitched a clean top of the ninth, retiring all three batters he faced.

With Jose Valverde on the mound and down by two runs, the bats came alive.  Josh Reddick lead off the inning with a single, Josh Donaldson doubled and with runners on second and third with no outs, Seth Smith smacked a double to center, scoring both runners and tying up the game.  George Kottaras popped up and Cliff Pennington struck out looking before Coco Crisp became the second hero of the inning.  Crisp swung at the first pitch he saw, singled and Smith scored from second.

It’s up to Jarrod Parker tomorrow to save the A’s season.  No pressure, right?  He last faced the Tigers on Saturday and allowed seven hits, two earned runs, walked one and struck out five over 6.1 innings.

Athletics:  2  Tigers:  0

The last time Brett Anderson took the mound for the A’s was on September 19, also against the Tigers.  Tonight Anderson did not look like a pitcher who hasn’t pitched in a Major League game in almost 3 weeks.  He only needed eight pitches in the first inning, striking out Austin Jackson and Omar Infante and then getting Miguel Cabrera to ground out on just one pitch. He allowed only two hits over six innings, both coming in the second inning.  It would have been three hits, but thanks to a play by Coco Crisp, he was able to rob Prince Fielder of a home run to lead off the inning. He also matched his hits with two walks and struck out six. He was a little erratic today, throwing 80 pitches and only 45 for strikes.

The A’s offense was almost as equally as quiet as the Tigers, but the two runs they scored was more than enough for a win. They looked like they might do a lot against Anabel Sanchez in the first inning, Coco Crisp singled to lead off the inning, Stephen Drew walked and Yoenis Cespedes singled, scoring Crisp.  Brandon Moss struck out looking to record the first out of the inning and Josh Reddick grounded out into a double play to end the inning. The only other run the A’s scored was in the fifth, off of a solo home run by Seth Smith.

The team combined for only five hits and two runs, all coming off of Anibal Sanchez.  They walked three times and struck out only four times.

Ryan Cook came in relief for Anderson in the seventh inning, he allowed a two out single, but got Andy Dirks to fly out to end the inning.  Sean Doolittle came in to pitch the eighth, striking out all three batters he faced (Avisail Garcia, Gerald Laird and Austin Jackson).  Grant Balfour closed the game, recording his first save of the post season, he lead off the inning striking out Omar Infante, allowed a single to Miguel Cabrera, but then on a 1-2 pitch he got Prince Fielder to ground out in to a double play to end the game.

Tomorrow the A’s look to A.J. Griffin to keep their playoff hopes alive, he faced the Tigers once this season and allowed eight hits, five runs over 4.2 innings, walked one and struck out three.