The A’s lost tonight by a score of 10 to zip. The
neat thing about baseball is that a team can lose a
laugher one day and then come back and win the
next game or 2 and take the set. Tha A’s must in Saturday. If they lose the season is done. Zito
must be in top form. One has to wonder if Mulder
is suffering from a tired arm. It happens a lot in baseball. That’s why pitch counts are important. But
arms get tired late in the season and while the mechanics look good, the velocity just isn’t there.
So, all the A’s fans let’s hope that Barry Zito can
pitch a great game saturday and prolong the season for 1 more day. The A’s still have a chance
to win the division. It won’t be easy but there is
no quit in this team. Give your best shot guys.

Jerry Feitelberg [Read more →]

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 →]

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 →]

The 3 game sweep by the Red Sox has left The A’s
battered and bruised. The Indians now come in with
some real good young players and a so-so pitching staff. Sabathia and Westbrook can be tough . The A’s now have to dig down deep and find a way to win. They
must win the division or they will miss the playoffs.
The A’s have been and are a team that does not quit.
That is a testament the last 3 managers that have
run the club. They must turn the page and focus
on cleveland then texas.

Jerry Feitelberg [Read more →]

The A’s concluded their 3 game series with the White Sox with a big win. The Angels lost again to the rampaging Red Sox and moved 4 games ahead of the halos. The Blue Jays are next for the A’s and they must not be taken lightly. Ken Macha has the guys playing hard but sometimes an inferior opponent can get you if you get sloppy or lose focus. The Jays would love nothing better than to be spoilers and derail the A’s express. The Angels
are off to Cleveland. The Indians have a good young team with big hitters but their pitching is
woeful. The Angels should take a couple of games there but if they don’t and the A’s do well in Toronto
the gap could be 5 games back by Labor Day.
The A’s need to win as they face the red hot Red Sox staring Monday night. The Sox do not play well
on the road but this is a new team since the big trade. They have improved markedly on defense
with Cabrera and Mintk, well you know who I mean.
Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz are definite
contenders for MVP. Schilling and Pedro are still
excellent and Lowe has done better since the defense has improved. If you are a sinker pitcher,the boys in the infield have to field the
grounders. Giving teams 4 outs bites you in the
rear end every time. The Red Sox are now on
a mission to catch the hated Yanks. They have picked up 7 games and who knows. They have been waiting since 1978 to get even. Early on, it
was noted that the Yankee starting pitching was suspect and maybe the old arms on the roster
are tired. We are in the home stretch ,folks and
it sure is fun.

Jerry Feitelberg [Read more →]

The addition of the wild card to the divisional races
is a stroke of genius. We all know the 3 divisional winners are going to be in the playoffs but the race for the 4th spot gives fans in all 3 divisions hope that their favorite team has a chance. Right now
3 teams in the AL west are neck and neck in as thrilling a divison race that one could imagine. The A’s win 6 out of 7 and lose a game to the Angels.
The Rangers rally from 2 down to beat the Twins
to stay in the race. Meanwhile in the Al central
Minnesota has a comfortable lead since the White Sox and Indians went on losing streaks. Nonetheless,they still have a remote chance.
Over in the east the Red Sox have about the same record as the A’s. They have to win. They gained some ground on the Yanks but may be too far back to win the division. Over in the NL, The Giants,Padres,Dodgers are in a race that mey go down to the wire. The Dodgers don’t look the same since the big trade and their bullpen may not hold up. Over in the central, the Cards are the class of the division and probably the league as well
but the Cubs are fighting for the 4th spot. Over in
the East it’s going to be Atlanta again. How do they do it? 37 games left and the fans should be piling into the parks. Looks like 7 million people will see
baseball in the LA area and over 5 million fans
will see baseball in the Bay area. How can anyone say baseball is dull and boring?

Jerry Feitelberg [Read more →]

The A’s ended their eleven game road trip with 7 wins against 4 losses. They played 3 first place teams, the Rangers,the Yanks and the Twins. They could have had an even better record and taken 2 out 3 from the Yanks but they didn’t but they showed their grit by taking 3 out of 4 from the Twins and the
series with the Twins was as advertised. Two tough
gritty teams playing each other hard and never giving in, although today’s game was a laugher of sorts for the A’s. Both teams had to be tired after
the 18 inning marathon on Sunday. I said earlier that the A’s would be okay if they got a slpit in
Minnesota. They did better than that. They took 3 out of 4.They come home with a game and half lead over the Angels and 2 and 1/2 over the Rangers who were swept by Baltimore.
The A’s seem to be getting help from everyone
up and down the lineup. They now play Detroit ( lost 2 of 3), Kansas City and, yikes, the suddenly hot Orioles led by our old friend, Miguel Tejada who is now leading the American League with runs batted
in.Ouch ! Detroit is slipping in the standings (big deal) and
Kansas City is out of the race. However, you can never let up against teams like these.They have
a way of rising up and can beat you . The A’s always play hard and I don’t think Macha will let up. Can Macha hit for this team?
This team plays well in Oakland and let’s hope they can open up a bigger lead on the Angels.

Jerry Feitelberg

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A small blurb appeared in the paper a couple of days
ago that said the New York Yankees were seeking to build a new stadium near the present Yankee Stadium
for about 750 Million dollars.

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How much does good defense play ? It matters a lot.
Last night’s game between the A’s and the Mariners
emphasize the importance of good fielding. The A’s
made 3 double plays. The double play is the pitcher’s best friend. How many times have you seen an infielder
allow a runner to make it to 1st base by making a miscue and that play comes back to haunt the team.
Right now the A’s are leading the American League in best fielding percentage. That means pitchers know that they can count on the guys to make the plays to get the hitters out. Many times a game has turned
because the pitcher got the batter to make an out but has to go an extra batter due to a botched play.
As we are now entering the final 3rd of the season
every facet of the game is important.The A’s seem
to be putting it all together for the stretch. Good
hitting,good pitching especially the bullpen the last
few games, and good fielding. These are the ingredients for success.

Jerry Feitelberg [Read more →]