(Photo: Dinur/Flickr)

The A’s have announced a trade earlier today, one that sent Tyson Ross and A.J. Kirby-Jones to the Padres in exchange for INF Andy Parrino & LHP Andrew Werner.

Tyson Ross, who was once a top prospect in the A’s organization, pitched in 18 (13 started) games for the A’s last season. Over 73.1 innings he had a 2-11 record with a 6.50 ERA, 4.80 FIP and .360 BABIP. He struck out 46 and walked 37, good for a 1.24 SO/BB ratio.  In 53 games (21 started) over parts of 3 seasons he finishes his Oakland career with a 6-18 record, a 5.33 ERA, 4.26 FIP & .334 BABIP.

A.J. Kirby-Jones played in 115 games in Single-A Stockton last season and over 490 plate appearances posted a .248/.382/.461 slash line with 21 HR and a .374 wOBA.

Andy Parrino started in 55 games for the Padres last season and over 138 plate appearances he posted a .207/.345/.392 slash line while posing a .253 wOBA and 61 wRC+.

Andrew Werner started 8 games for the Padres last season he had a 2-3 record with a 5.58 ERA. Over 40.1 innings he posted a 4.09 FIP, a .328 BABIP and a 7.81 SO/9 & 3.12 BB/9 rate. Between Double-A & Triple-A he started 22 games and posted 5-10 record with a a 3.70 ERA.

As someone who is familiar with all four players in the deal, this is definitely not an impact trade in my opinion. The A’s did not give up a lot, but did not receive much in return. Andy Parrino should be a utility player, leaving either Eric Sogard or Adam Rosales as the odd man out. Susan Slusser tweeted out earlier that Parrino will be in the mix as the starting shortstop, but I find it hard to believe he will be the every day starter. Or maybe I am just in denial.

Andrew Werner, I assume, fills the starting spot that Tyson Ross once had with the Sacramento Rivercats and probably will not make a start for the A’s next season.

Rangers:  5  Athletics:  4

Another day, another walk-off.  From a fan’s point of view, this has been extremely frustrating trip for the team.  We knew it wasn’t going to come easy, but I don’t think we expected this.

Dan Straily pitched a great game tonight in Arlington, over 6.2 innings he allowed 5 hits, 2 runs (1 earned) walked two and struck out a career high of 8.  His only real mistake was a one out home run to Josh Hamilton in the fifth inning. The fifth was really the only inning he struggled in, after allowing a home run to Hamilton he allowed a double to Adrian Beltre, but he was picked off by Derek Norris when he tried to moved to third on a ball that dropped a foot in front of Norris.  He then allowed a double to Nelson Cruz, but the threat ended when he got Michael Young to pop up.

The A’s scored first tonight off of a 2-run home run from Josh Donaldson in the second inning.  They scored again in the third inning off of a solo home run by Yoenis Cespedes.  Their final run scored was in the sixth off of a two out RBI single by Cliff Pennington.

They knocked Derek Holland out of the game after only 3 innings, they only collected 4 hits off of him, but two of those hits were home runs.  He also walked 2 and struck out 4. The A’s could not do much against the Rangers bullpen after Holland was pulled, only combining for 4 hits, 2 walks and 1 run over the next 6 innings of the game.

When Dan Straily left the game in the seventh inning he left with the bases empty and was in line for the win.  Jerry Blevins came in to record the final out of the inning, but walked Josh Hamilton.  Pat Neshek came in to relieve Blevins, he did record the last out, but not before giving up a 2-run home run to Adrian Beltre.

The A’s did not do much in the eighth or the ninth.  Josh Reddick walked in the eighth, but was stranded and Stephen Drew walked with 1 out in the 9th, but was stranded after he was caught stealing to end the inning.

Ryan Cook came in to pitch in the bottom of the eighth, he was able to retire all three batters he faced.  Unfortunately, Tyson Ross, who came in to pitch in the ninth, did not have the same success.  Ross allowed two singles to Mitch Moreland and Ian Kinsler to lead off the inning.  Elvis Andrus then sacrificed both runners over to second and third with a bunt.  Ross then intentionally walked Josh Hamilton.  With the bases loaded Adrian Beltre (yes, again) came up to the plate and smacked a single up the middle and the ballgame was over.

It’s easy to put the blame on one individual, but, in my opinion, it was another group effort.  You could say that it was poor management of the bullpen, but there was another costly error in the second inning which lead to an unearned run.  The team struggled again offensively, only going 2-8 tonight with runners in scoring position and leaving 7 on.

Is it panic time for the A’s?  Probably so.  I have tried to remain optimistic through this entire road trip, but they are now only 2-4 over their last six games with 3 left to play in Texas before heading home.  They have 9 games left, 6 of which are against the Rangers.  They are now 5 games out of first place, 1.5 games behind the Baltimore Orioles for the first wild card and only hold a 2 game lead over the Angels for the second wild card.  I don’t necessarily think it’s time to give up on them, but they are going to have to make a tremendous turnaround if they want to hold onto the second wildcard spot.

Yankees:  10   Athletics:  9

I never enjoy when the A’s lose, in fact if it were up to me I would have them win every game of the season, but today has had to be the biggest heartbreaking loss of the season.  This is a game the A’s should have won.  There were many missed opportunities for the team today, three costly errors, a bad call by the second plate umpire and a four run lead that could not be held onto.

It started off good for the A’s, the lead off the game with back-to-back-to-back doubles, immediately putting themselves up 2-0.  Then with Cespedes on third and only one out, Chris Carter struck out swinging and Josh Reddick flew out to end the inning.  Travis Blackley, who was in to replace Brett Anderson, struggled in the bottom of the inning, after getting Derek Jeter to fly out he allowed a solo home run to Ichiro Suzuki and then walked Alex Rodriguez.  With Robinson Cano batting he was able to pick off Rodriguez at first, but the umpire called the pick off a balk (which it wasn’t) and Rodriguez moved over to second.  Cano then hit a double, scoring Rodriguez and the game was tied 2-2.  Nick Swisher then walked, Casey McGehee struck out and a routine ground ball to Josh Donaldson, which would have been the third out of the game, turned into an error and the bases were loaded.  With the bases loaded Andruw Jones walked and the Yankees took the 3-2 lead.  Blackley was able to collect the final out of the inning by getting Chris Stewart to ground out.

The Yankees scored another run in the second inning, an unearned run, this time coming off of an error by Cliff Pennington.  It was the last inning Blackley saw, only lasting two innings, allowing 4 hits, 4 runs (2 earned), walking 3 and striking out only 1.  Blackley needed 59 pitches to get through the first 2 innings of the game and only threw 30 strikes.  The A’s scored two runs, one in the third and one in the fourth, tying the game up to 4-4.  The Yankees retook the lead in the fifth off of a solo home run by Raul Ibanez and the A’s tied it up again in the seventh off of a sacrifice fly from Chris Carter.

» Continue reading “A’s Blow 4-Run Lead in 13th Inning, Lose In 14″

Orioles:  9  Athletics:  5

I want to be happy that the A’s took two out of three against the Orioles, but it’s hard to feel optimistic when today’s game was absolutely ugly.

I felt good about the A’s in the first, Dan Straily had an easy inning getting the first two batters to pop up and then striking out the final to end the inning.  Collin Cowgill lead off the bottom half of the inning with a double and two batters later Josh Reddick hit his 29th home run of the season putting the A’s up 2-0. Yoenis Cespedes then doubled, Chris Carter then walked, but both were stranded after Josh Donaldson hit into a double play.

The A’s lead was then cut in half after Straily allowed a solo home run to Matt Wieters in the second.  The Orioles then tied it in the third inning off of an RBI single from JJ Hardy.  The Orioles then took the lead in the fourth inning when Matt Wieters hit his second home run of the game to lead off the inning.  The A’s would never see the lead again after that.

Dan Straily was not good today, only lasting 4.2 innings while allowing 5 hits, 4 runs, 2 home runs and walking 5.  Home runs have been one of his biggest issues in the majors, having allowed 8 over 28.1 innings since his call up.  His next scheduled start is in Yankee Stadium, so it will be interesting to see if his start is skipped or if he gets another shot in the home run friendly stadium.

Six pitchers came out of the bullpen today, Travis Blackley pitched 2/3 of an inning and allowed 1 hit, 1 walk and no runs.  Evan Scribner replaced Blackley in the fifth, faced one batter, allowed a hit and then was replaced by Pedro Figueroa.  Figueroa threw one pitch, getting Chris Davis to pop up, before being replaced by Tyson Ross.  Ross struck the last batter out to end the inning.

Tyson Ross came out in the seventh and walked the first two batters before he coughed up an RBI double to Manny Machado and a two run single to Endy Chavez. Jim Miller then came in to replace Ross, allowed a single to Robert Andino, but then struck out the next three batters.  Miller then pitched a clean 8th inning, walking 1 and striking out 1.

The A’s scored two more runs in the eighth off of a 2-run home run by Stephen Drew, their first runs scored since the first inning.  Jesse Chavez came in to replace Jim Miller in the ninth and allowed back-to-back doubles and a run to start of the inning. He then recorded two outs, but allowed an RBI single to Chris Davis.

The A’s tried to make a come back in the ninth, but fell short.  With one out Brandon Moss walked and Seth Smith struck out swinging.  Josh Reddick singled and Brandon Moss scored.  Yoenis Cespedes then kept the rally going by also hitting a single.  Jim Johnson then came in and got Chris Carter to ground out to end the game.

The pitching was not great today, having combined for 13 hits, 9 earned runs and 9 walks.  Those 9 walks were the worst to me, there is no way you can win a game by allowing 9 walks.  The offense was just as poor as the pitching, although the combined for 11 hits and 5 runs, they also struck out 12 times and were 2-10 with runners in scoring position and left 9 on.

Tom Milone forgot he was pitching in Oakland today.

Angels: 8  Athletics:  3

Well, the A’s winning streak has ended at nine.  Today was not pretty, but if you’re going to lose, might as well lose big.

Tom Milone was not good today.  He allowed 10 hits, 2 of which were home runs, and 5 runs over 3 plus innings.  He threw 67 pitches today, and if you’re looking for any positives in this performance, he did not walk a batter.

The bullpen did most of the work today, Pat Neshek relieved Milone and pitched 1.2 scoreless innings while only allowing a double and striking out 1.  Pedro Figeroa pitched 2/3 innings and allowed 1 hit, 2 walks and 3 runs (2 earned).  Most impressively was Tyson Ross, who was called up today, he pitched 2.2 innings, allowed 1 hit, 1 walk and struck out 3. Evan Scribner pitched a clean ninth, allowed a hit and struck out 1.

The A’s scored their first run in the fourth inning on an RBI single by Josh Reddick, they scored again in the fifth when Josh Donaldson lead off the inning with a solo home run and their final run came from a solo home run by Chris Carter in the eighth.

The A’s combined for only 8 hits and 3 walks and were 1-5 with runners in scoring position today.  Josh Donaldson was the stand out today, going 2-4 with a home run and a double.  Jonny Gomes also had a multi-hit day, going 2-3 with a walk and a double.

Athletics:  6  Red Sox:  2

The A’s outscored the Red Sox 33-5 this weekend and not one of their three starting pitchers made it through 4 innings.  Today, the A’s knocked Daisuke Matsuzaka out of the game after only 3.2 innings.  He coughed up 7 hits, 6 runs, 4 walks and 2 home runs.

Coco Crisp walked to lead off the first and Seth Smith followed with a 2-run home run, putting the A’s up 2-0.  The following inning Stephen Drew hit his first home run as an Athletic, it was a solo to right field.  The third inning they scored two more runs, Coco lead off with a walk and stole second, Seth Smith  singled,  Coco reached third and Josh Reddick hit a sacrifice fly to score Crisp.  After Yoenis Cespedes flew out, Brandon Moss singled and Josh Donaldson walked.  With the bases loaded Stephen Drew singled and Smith scored.

The A’s scored their final run of the game in the fourth, Cliff Pennington lead the inning off with a walk and stole second.  Coco Crisp flew out, Seth Smith walked and Josh Reddick singled to load the bases again.  Yoenis Cespedes grounded out to the second baseman and Pennington scored.  Matsuzaka was replaced by Andrew Miller after that and the A’s wouldn’t do a much against the Boston bullpen after that, only collecting a hit and a walk for the rest of the game.

Brett Anderson had another good game for the A’s today, only allowing 5 hits and 1 earned run through six while striking out 4 and only walking 1.  Anderson’s only trouble came in the sixth inning, when he walked the lead off batter and then gave up back-to-back singles with only one out.  With the bases loaded Cody Ross came in and hit a single to left fielder Yoenis Cespedes, one run scored, but Cespedes gunned down Scott Podsednik at home to record the second out of the inning.  Anderson then got Mauro Gomez to strike out swinging to end the inning.

Ryan Cook and Sean Doolittle would pitch the seventh and the eighth inning, neither pitcher allowed a baserunner and both recorded a strike out each.  Grant Balfour pitched the ninth inning and Dustin Pedroia lead off the inning with a double.  Cody Ross followed with a ground out which moved Pedroia over to third, Mauro Gomez flew out to right and Pedroia scored and Ryan Lavarnway struck out swinging to end the game.

Stephen Drew had a big day for the A’s, going 3-4 with a home run, a double, and 2 RBI.  Since joining the club he has a .262/.347/.405 slash line over 11 games with a .752 OPS.  Seth Smith also had a good day for the team, going 2-3 with a walk, a home run and 2 RBI.

A’s Extras:

• Tyson Ross will be recalled from Sacramento and expected to be added to the the bullpen tomorrow.  Dan Straily, who recorded his 202nd strike out of the season today, is expected to stay with the Rivercats until the end of their postseason.

The A’s have acquired RHP Jesse Chavez from the Toronto Blue Jays for cash considerations.  Chavez had pitched in 9 games (2 starts) for the Blue Jays this season and had a 1-1 record with a 8.44 ERA. Over 21.1 innings in Toronto he had a 11.39 SO/9 and a .333 BABIP and a 5.91 FIP.  He has a career 5.74 ERA, a 5.17 FIP  (4.43 xFIP) and a 3.57 BB/9 rate.

The club has not announced what his role will be with the club, but it seems likely he will spend most of his time in Sacramento.  He had pitched in 19 games (17 starts) for Triple-A Las Vegas this season and over 95 innings has a .294 BABIP with a 3.42 FIP.

In other A’s news, the club has optioned Tyson Ross back to Sacramento and recalled Jim Miller.  Miller has made 24 relief appearances for Oakland this season and over 33.1 innings has a 2.16 ERA, a .250 BABIP and a 4.66 FIP.  His biggest issue this season has been the walks, having a 4.86 BB/9 rate on the season so far.

Athletics:  5  Twins:  1

It’s no secret, Tom Milone has struggled on the road.  Recently, he’s also struggled at home, but not today.  In his previous three games at the coliseum he had allowed 23 hits and 15 earned runs (2 home runs) over 17 innings.  Today over 8 innings, he only allowed 2 hits, 1 run, walked 1 and struck out 5.

Milone’s only shaky inning was in the second, when he allowed a lead off single to Ryan Doumit and then a double to Matt Carson.  He then got Trevor Plouffe to to line out to Yoenis Cespedes, but the Twins scored on an RBI ground out by Drew Butera.  The inning ended with a ground out by Pedro Florimon.

Milone needed to be sharp today, because the defense was not.  The A’s committed four errors total in today’s game, one each by Stephen Drew, Josh Donaldson, Coco Crisp and Josh Reddick.

The A’s offense was better than the defense, scoring five runs on eight hits and five walks, although they were only 4-12 with runners in scoring position today.

Lines of the Day:

• Tom Milone: 8 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 SO.  Milone was back to being his old self at home today.  It’s nice to see, especially considering that we lost Bartolo Colon earlier in the day.
• Coco Crisp: 3 AB, 3 H, 3 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SB.  Not only did Coco record three hits and a walk, he also hit his eighth home run of the season in the seventh.  Since returning from the All-Star break Crisp has a .295/.356/.549 slash line with a .905 OPS.

A’s Extras:

• Josh Donaldson recorded two more hits today, going 2-4 with one run.
• Cliff Pennington made his 2012 debut at second base today, he went 1-4 and was one of the few players to not commit an error today.
• Stephen Drew still has not recorded his first hit as an Athletic, but he did take 2 walks in today’s game.
• Ryan Cook pitched the ninth and allowed a single and no walks.
• Tyson Ross will be called up tomorrow to start in place of Bartolo Colon.  He started in 12 games for the A’s earlier this season, going 2-8 with a 6.35 ERA, a .344 BABIP and a 5.12 FIP.  Over 13 starts for the Rivercats he has a 5-2 record with a 2.74 ERA and 3.48 FIP.

What is wrong with Cook?

Blue Jays:  3  Athletics:  1

You could say that the two teams on the field in Oakland today looked like two teams who played a 15-inning game the night before.  The offense wasn’t there today, for either teams, but it was the Jays who won in extras this time around.

After last night’s marathon the A’s needed A.J. Griffin to go out and pitch into the game as long as humanly possible, but an injury, which was soon described as shoulder tightness, took him out of the game after just 1.2 innings.  It was up to the tired bullpen to keep the A’s in the game today, which they did, shutting out the Blue Jays for the next 5.1 innings.

For the third consecutive game Ryan Cook came into the game in the 9th to save the game.  He was able to get the first batter to pop up to first base, but allowed a home run to to the very next batter and soon the game was tied.  He then was able to record the next 2 outs, but by then the damage was already done.

The A’s could not win it in the 9th, nor in the 10th when they had the bases loaded with 2 outs and Josh Reddick struck out looking to end the threat.

Jerry Blevins entered the 11th inning, having pitched in the 10th as well, and immediately gave up a single to Edwin Encarnacion, but then got David Cooper to line out to record the first out of the inning. Encarnacion then stole 2nd, but it didn’t really matter because Blevins then walked Rajai Davis.  Jeff Mathis then struck out swinging, and instead of turning a strike em out, throw em out double play, George Kottaras over threw the ball to Brandon Inge and Encarnacion scored on the error.  The following batter, Moises Sierra doubled and Rajai Davis scored, putting the Jays up 3-1.

The A’s went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning, and lost in extras for the first time since May 23rd.

The loss can be blamed on many things, Ryan Cook blowing his second game in a row, Bob Melvin for going with Cook, Jerry Blevins for giving up runs in the 11th or George Kottaras for the error that caused the Jays to score the winning run.  For me, it was the offense that lost the game today for the A’s.  You simply cannot expect the team to win when they only score 1 run.  The team combined for 4 hits today over 11 innings, they did walk 7 times, but were 1-6 with runners in scoring position.

» Continue reading “A’s Game Recap: Bad News Turns To Good News, Turns To Bad News”

Thanks, guys!

Rangers: 4  Athletics:  3

Hand another loss to the A’s bullpen!

A.J Griffin was impressive tonight against the best offensive team in baseball, only allowing 2 hits and 2 walks over 6 innings while striking out 4.

It’s unfortunate that our bullpen could not hold it together for Griffin to get him his first big league win.  It’s also unfortunate this is a reoccurring theme week after week.

Who’s really to blame for this loss?  Grant Balfour for loading up the bases on a single and 2 walks (and then walking in a run) or Ryan Cook for not being able to record the last out before giving up a bases clearing triple?  Either way, it’s frustrating to see how shaky the back end of the pen has been all season long.

In non-depressing news, former prospect Chris Carter was called up from Sacramento and started in tonight’s game.  He went 1-3 with a walk and a HR.  He was called up after Tyson Ross was optioned to Sacramento earlier today.

For more on the Texas Rangers, visit Big Game Claws.