You play 157 games and figure by that time you ought to know where you stand.

No such luck.

The A’s now have five games at home to right the ship. The Angels have five games on the road to win the West.

Baseball wisdom tells me that the home team will prevail, but the A’s pitching has been abysmal. If they don’t get it right over the next two days with Rich Harden, their best starter, and Mark Redman, their worst starter at home, then it will be a tough weekend at the Coliseum. You don’t want to go in to that series down a game or two.

To make matters more appealing for Oakland, the Angels are throwing their pitchers this week on three days rest. I love the throwback to the days of Spahn, Ford, Drysdale, and Marichal, but I haven’t seen that plan work in the last 20 years.

If the A’s don’t get this one right it will be a huge upset.

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The A’s are up by one game over the Angels with 6
game left on the schedule. Last night’s game with
Seattle was a nail-biter or if you are over 60 years
old it was time to take your blood pressure pills. The
A’s built a 5-2 lead then saw it dissipate and the game
was tied at 5 apiece until the bottom of the 9th. The Angels had won their game against Texas and if the A’s
lost the teams would be tied for 1st place. In the fateful
9th last night, Durazo’s pop-up to shallow left field
might have been caught but is was a long run for the shortstop and then Ibanez,the leftfielder, bumped into
him and the play could not be made allowing Durazo
to make it to second base safely. Jermaine Dye followed with a good piece of hitting by hitting to the right side of the infield allowing the runner to advance to 3rd base with one out. The Mariners
walked the next batter to set up a double play and young Bobby Crosby followed by hitting a sac fly to right field that ended the game.
The A’s are in a must win situation every day now
for the next 6 days.Hopefully, Texas will draw blood
down in Arlington and if the A’s can get a little
breathing room before the big showdown series
this weekend with the Angels. This is the only race left in the AL to be decided. The Twins,Yanks and
Red Sox are in the party. What a great race and great season .

Jerry Feitelberg [Read more →]

Perhaps the most exciting phrase in sports is uttered at the Kentucky Derby each May.

Down the stretch they come!

Baseball got it right when they set the final week of the schedule matching the teams in the division races.

The A’s have the advantage on the Angels and Rangers with their final seven games in Oakland beginning Monday night.

The Rangers hit the ball. They knocked the A’s starting pitching around for two weeks. Who do they think they are the Red Sox? If the season had 14 games to go instead of ten, then the Rangers win going away.

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This weekend at SBC
it will not be
Juan Marichal vs.
Don Drysdale or
Jack Sanford vs.
Sandy Koufax but
it will be Jason Schmidt
vs. Kazushiro Ishi !

Amaury Pi-González
San Francisco [Read more →]

If your favorite team is in the mood to spend some dough this winter there are free agents ready and willing to open new bank accounts.

Some may actually make a difference with their new teams.

You can’t win without pitching and the smart GM’s build their pitching staffs from the back forward. The way the game is played today, the key pitchers in the pen are the set up men.

Here’s some thoughts on this winter’s potential free agents.

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Marty; There are 15 games remaining to be played, three with the Astros, and 6 each with LA and the Padres. The Giants are a half game in front of the Cubs, 2 ahead of Houston and 3 and 3 and 1/2 ahead of the rapidly failing Padres and Marlins.

Click below for Ed’s analysis of the Giants chances for the postseason.
[Read more →]

I guess the most precarious job in sports is being a
manager of a baseball team or a head coach of a football,basketball or hockey team. In professional sports the job of the head guy is to win. Some teams that are near the bottom may be willing to let a guy go a year or 2 in order to develop young players but the general rule is that you have to win.

Click below for more from Jerry Feitelberg
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In my lifetime many sports firsts have occured. The
breaking of the 4 minute mile barrier by Roger Bannister.The 1st perfect game in the World Series by
Don Larsen. The climbing of Mount Everest. Roger Maris breaking the single season record for home runs
with 61. That record was broken by Mark McGwire
and then shattered by Barry Bonds. Rickey Henderson
and Pete Rose broke long standing records. Cal Ripken
breaking Lou Gehrig’s consecutive game streak record.
We are now about to witness Barry Bonds scale
the heights of Mount Olympus. He is 1 home run away
from 700. This baseball feat has been done twice
in all of baseball history. Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron.
Bond,in my opinion, will pass the Babe early
next year and may come close to Hank’s record
if they don’t walk him 300 times during the season.
It is just wonderful to watch him do his thing on the baseball field.

Another record is in danger of falling,too. George
Sisler had 257 hits in a single season way back before most of us were born. Today, Ichiro Suzuki
has 231 hits with about 20 games to go. This man
is incredible to watch. Lots of singles,great bat control. He has speed and is a great defensive player.

Good luck to you,Ichiro, as you also scale the heights

Jerry Feitelberg [Read more →]

Mariners split the 4 game set
against the Red Sox and
are ready to take on the
Angels and Athletics and
more than likely,
one of those two will not
be invited to the party !

Amaury Pi-Gonzalez
Seattle [Read more →]

With all eyes trained on the A’s offense which continues to bail out the team with come from behind victories, that is until Boston rolled into town, the real story going on in Oakland is what happened to the starting pitching?

Beginning on August 26th, the A’s have played 13 games, most against the overmatched Orioles, Devil Rays, White Sox, and Blue Jays. The starting pitchers have given up 4 or more runs in 11 of those games, yet the A’s are 8-5, including the losses to Boston.

In 2 of the games, the A’s climbed back from 5-1 deficits to win 8-7 and 9-5.

Click below for more Batter Up. [Read more →]