The Seattle Mariners are on their
last road trip of the season, the
second largest this year. Four
games in Texas, three in Oakland
and three in Anaheim before returning
home for the last three scheduled
home games of the season.

By Amaury Pi-González
Seattle [Read more →]

The flu bug hit the Boston Red Sox Sunday as all star shortstop Nomar Garciaparra became the latest victim of the malady (I’m sure his 5-73 slump had nothing to do with his absence) that had already taken Pedro Martinez and Manny Ramirez from Boston’s line up earlier this month.

Maybe these guys don’t eat properly or get enough rest, but this team seems to suffer more “flu outs” than any other team in baseball.

Mark Buehrle didn’t help the Red Sox either as he dominated the home team for seven innings. John Burkett got tagged early by Carlos Lee, the unknown outfielder for Chicago who is hitting .294 with 30 homers and 104 RBI’s. Amazing, but Chicago tried to trade this guy all winter without success.

The Angels got an excellent performance from former A’s farmhand Kevin Gregg and edged Seattle 2-1 with the winning hit coming on a single by Scott Spiezio off a 95 MPH fastball from Rafael Soriano. Ichiro, Brett Boone, and Edger went 0-11 and that’s all she wrote as the Mariners are now 3 1/2 behind the A’s in the West.

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So who is the most unheralded power hitter in the game today?

Try Richie Sexson. Saw him hit two bombs at Pac Bell Saturday, pitches crushed into Barry Bonds territory. He is no Dave Kingman, big slugger from the 70’s and 80’s who struck out all the time as well as hit long homers. Sexson can play first base, run, and is languishing in obscurity in Milwaukee.

Some enterprising GM will make the Brewers a legit offer and get this guy, he can be an MVP.

Ken Macha told me in December that he wanted to bat Erubiel Durazo in the second spot in the batting order. Wonder why it took 140 games to make the move? No matter, Durazo looks like a force in the low pressure two hole. After seeing Jose Guillen play three or four games, I suggested he would look better in the five spot, glad Macha made that move too.

With all these moves, the key to Oakland is still pitching. Tim Hudson, Barry Zito, Ted Lilly and three relievers Bradford, Rincon, and Foulke are making this run happen, notwithstanding the hitting which is coming around at the right time.

Jermaine Dye hit two rockets last night, what a week he is having.

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The sole remaining issue for the Giants is whether they are going to overcome the Braves in their race for homefield advantage and, in any event, how best to position themselves for the playoffs and the following World Series. In any short series, whether the initial five game setup or in the following seven game battles, pitching will be the usual predominating factor.

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With only three weekends of baseball left in the regular season, all the races still up in the air have critical matchups beginning today.

Some people say that a win in April is just as important as a win in September, they all count the same, one game in the standings. I don’t buy it.

A bullpen collapse in September can carry over to the next game, with only 15 games left to play, the cushion of making up for a blown save is gone. A head on loss to a rival counts two games in the standings, there may not be enough games left if you do that too many times.

In other words, when you have 100 games to go, you can make up for your mistakes, with three weekends to go, it may become too late. That is why clutch players are remembered (Yaz, Giambi, Frank Robinson) in history, especially during the stretch run, since they keep the team on track for the playoffs.

Tonight Barry Zito faces Texas, a team he has beaten nine straight times. The game is in Texas which means nothing will be easy for Oakland this weekend. Zito has pitched some of the best games of his career in Arlington and faces Cal alum Ryan Drese, a righty who seems to give up three or more in the first inning whenever he starts a game.

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The White Sox’s Esteban Loiaza can solidify his Cy Young credentials today when he faces the Minnesota Twins and Brad Radke. Minnesota got back to within one game of the lead behind lefty Johann Santana and two excellent relief outings from LaTroy Hawkins and “Everyday” Eddie Guardado. Shannon Stewart (MVP?) drove in two runs as the Twins won the game 4-1.

With the Boston Red Sox on tap for the weekend for Chicago, both Minnesota (who goes to Cleveland) and KC (who will play the 1962 Mets, I mean Tigers) have a chance to pick up some ground or in the Twins case perhaps take the lead if the White Sox falter in Fenway.

So, pressure falls on Loiaza today to extend the lead back to two games in the Central over the Twins. May not be that simple as Brad Radke has been here before in big games and has pitched better as of late.

Absolutely no doubt that Ted Lilly is in the A’s playoff picture if they get to the postseason. With only Hudson and Zito as sure bets to start, and with the A’s only throwing Hudson on three days rest if necessary, the A’s will need two more starting pitchers. Lilly is first up and deserves it. Next, Rich Harden, simply because there is no one else available that the manager would trust in that situation. This is the spot where I thought Pat Hentgen would have fit in perfectly.

Signature move by Ken Macha last night pulling Lilly in the sixth (he has done it with huge success all year), turning the next five outs over to Chad Bradford, then closing with a bevy of others.

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Described as a pitcher having a below average fastball and a decent breaking ball, Justin Duchscherer showed the scouts the one thing they forgot to put in their scouting reports: he knows how to pitch and isn’t afraid to throw the ball over the plate.

Displaying an excellent breaking ball (not in Zito’s class, but not bad) when he needed an out, the rookie’s night became infinitely calmer after the A’s put four runs on the board in the third, then four more in the next inning, to ice their 8-1 win.

Where does Duchscherer go from here? He certainly deserves to pitch against Anaheim next week. He reminds me of a younger version of Gil Heredia. He moves the ball around and needs impeccable control to survive.

Eric Chavez made a sensational play in the field to bail Duchscherer out of a bases loaded jam when the game was scoreless. Chavez and Miguel Tejada had big offensive nights, but perhaps the best sign for the A’s was the emergence of Jermaine Dye’s bat from its season long slump.

Dye homered, the ball leaving the yard in a blink of an eye (only he hits them like that on this team), plus his single got the first four run rally going. Big night for Dye. Erubiel Durazo batted second and drove the Angels nuts with his take, take, take approach getting two walks and an off field double, always ahead in the count.

All in all a positive night at the park for Oakland that also got a welcome boost from the Rangers and Rafael Palmiero.

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Twenty one games left to play and the Giants have an eleven game lead. Is there anything remaining to write about before the playoffs begin? Let’s give it a try. Marty writes this morning, “Other than the Giants and the Braves no other teams are mortal locks to get to play in October.” When this season started, if one was asked who the “mortal locks” would be in October, one could reasonably have answered the Braves and the Yankees. If pushed a bit further, in answer to a question respecting who were likely to be playing in October even though not a ” mortal lock”, a reasonable response might have been the Red Sox, possibly the A’s, possibly the Giants, simply because of the mediocre opposition in their division, the Cards, Seattle, or any one of a grab bag of aspiring teams. No one in their right mind would have called the Giants a “mortal lock”.

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On a rather quiet Monday many things happened that may impact the rest of the baseball season.

With only 18 games or so to go, small trends are worth noting even though things can change dramatically over the course of two or three days. So here goes.

The A’s aren’t hitting. Last night Mike Scoscia effectively worked around the heart of the Oakland order with the game on the line (1-1) in the seventh inning.

Scoscia walked Eric Chavez to get to Miguel Tejada with the lead run on third base and one out. Then he brought in Francisco Rodriguez to face Tejada. Rodriguez has the nastiest stuff I have seen out of the bullpen all year long. If Boston had anyone close to Rodriguez, George Steinbrenner would be out of his mind by now.

Rodriguez merely blew Tejada away with unhittable sliders, then took the bat out of Scott Hatteberg’s hands with a 95 MPH heater, although to Hatteberg’s credit he did hit the ball hard to second baseman Adam Kennedy.

Then the game got really interesting, raising some questions about the A’s relief corps.

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Seems like that old magic has slipped from the A’s these days, but not to worry, the Oaklanders are now home to face the Angels, a team they must give respect to, in the friendly confines of the Coliseum.

You see the A’s simply play better baseball at home. It may be the cool nights, or the fact that these young men have less pressure off the road (nightlife can be tiring around the league), or that the pitchers know how to pitch in the Coliseum.

Whatever it is, there is no better time to go for it, than tonight with your best pitcher on the mound. Tim Hudson got roughed up by the Orioles in his last start, but likes to face the Angels and will see Aaron Sele as his opponent.

The Angels are a truly professional group and will not roll over and die this month. They still have one of the better bullpens in baseball and you don’t want to get into a close game with them in the late innings. Troy Percival hasn’t been lights out, but give Francisco Rodriguez, Brednen Donnelly and Ben Weber a late lead and you can get hurt.

The Angels will test the A’s defense and push the envelope with bunts, hit and runs, and steals.

When Mark Mulder went down with his leg injury I said the A’s would be all right because the rest of the team would stand up.

Here’s the strength of the A’s right now. A dynamite bullpen when they have the lead. One of the top, if not the top, starters in the league in Tim Hudson, a superior inner defense, two players Eric Chavez and Miguel Tejada, who are as clutch as any two players in baseball right now, and a team that is chasing them (Seattle) that can’t hit a fastball.

The formula is simple go 12-7, get to 96 wins, and be glad Seattle is your closest pursuer.

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