Baseball is a funny game, but apparently horse racing is too.

Let’s see if I have this straight. It’s OK to hit a horse with a whip while flying down the home stretch, but not OK to shock the horse with a hand held buzzer?

Just checking?

Torii Hunter cost his team the game Saturday night in Minnesota with one of those throws that cause mangers to say why.

Manny Ramirez was on third, Jeremy Giambi (.159) hit a short fly to center with less than two out, Ramirez wasn’t going to be able to score on the play, Hunter threw a rocket to the plate, it one hopped the catcher and squirted away, in the Twins effort to corral the throw they inadvertently left home plate uncovered. Ramirez seeing this, took off for home and scored the decisive run in the game.

The Red Sox will get help in the pen as Robert Person, a pitcher I’ve thought has good stuff, will be activated any minute. Much travelled lefty Bruce Chen is also in the Boston picture after they signed him this week.

Click Read more because there is more! [Read more →]

Marty’s evaluation of the A’s and Yankees, with his conclusion that the A’s are the better club right now and the likely winner if they meet in the postgame season gives rise to some thoughts respecting not only the A’s but
the Giants as well.

Since the start of the season I have been comparing the Giants with the Yankees, being provoked by the fact that each was running away with their division. The comparison was not an evaluation of the two teams on a man by man basis. It simply assumed that the Yankees were the best team in the American League, that the Giants continued to maintain virtually identical won-lost record as the Yankees, altho the Giants appeared to have significant weaknesses.

The point of the comparison was to question what the Giants had, in addition to the obvious, that enabled them to continue to win at the same rate as the Yankees.

Click Below for Ed’s analysis. Is a Bay Area World Series a possibility? Ed looks at that also.

Marty Lurie [Read more →]

With Friday night’s game fresh in my mind, let me tell you some thoughts about how the Yankees and the A’s matched up in Oakland’s 7-2 win.

First, Tim Hudson dominated the Yankee hitters just as effectively as he did last Saturday in NY. Other than a walk to Nick Johnson, who has a great eye at the plate, followed by a high pitch to Jason Giambi that he hit out in left, the A’s righty was flawless.

Eric Byrnes continues to ignite a lethargic A’s offense. Say what you want about Byrnes’ lack of ability to hit off speed stuff, when he gets his pitch he doesn’t miss it very often. Friday night he tripled to right center, not easy to do in this park, driving in the first run, then scored the second run on a following ground out to tie the game 2-2.

Click read more and I’ll tell you how the A’s won the game and Joe Torre fell asleep at the switch. [Read more →]

The Yankees broke loose from their mini hitting woes in Seattle Thursday night beating the Mariners senseless 16-3.

After losing two of three to the A’s last weekend in NY, the Bombers now come to the Bay Area to see if they can hit Tim Hudson, Barry Zito, and Mark Mulder.

In NY, the first two simply pitched as well as they could shutting the Yankee bats down.

For the A’s to duplicate the series victory this weekend, they will need seven plus innings from the big three, continue to play flawless defense against NY, and hit in the clutch. The Yankees make the A’s hit the ball, no steady stream of free passes for the walk conscious Athletics, so offense is at a premium for the A’s.

Meaning, hitting behind the runner, scratching for runs early in the game, taking an extra base, maybe a hit and run if they have the chance, and using the dreaded sacrifice bunt late in the game.

Sounds like one heckuva weekend. Jeff Weaver and Roger Clemens, two pitchers the A’s seem to find a way to beat against Tim “sinker ball” Hudson and Cy Young winner Barry Zito, open the series on Friday and Saturday.

Click Read More for more!

[Read more →]

Bruce Magowan’s article makes great reading but leaves one with a reinforced feeling that figuring out why the Giants are where they are in the standings and where they are going to end up this year is a peculiarly difficult task.

Ed responds to Bruce’s article with questions of his own. Could it be that the Giants are a veteran team playing excellent baseball right now with all 25 men on the roster contributing? Will it last all summer?
Click “Read more” and Ed gives you his analysis.

Thanks,
Marty Lurie [Read more →]

It’s amazing to me that the Giants are not only playing great baseball, but that they are a better team than they were a year ago.

Think about it for a moment: Dusty Baker is pretty much shown the door, David Bell and Jeff Kent both decide to move on, Reggie Sanders and Kenny Lofton are not resigned,

Russ Ortiz is traded, and Robb Nen is out for the year. Those are seven key components to last year’s near World Series title winner.

Yet the replacements have for the most part, exceeded what their predocessors did.

Click Read More and I’ll explain what has happened with the Giants.

Article submitted by Bruce Magowan, in my opinion one of the most astute baseball observers in the Bay Area. Bruce’s love for the game of baseball is exceeded by few in baseball.
Thanks,
Marty Lurie [Read more →]

Mike Mussina ran his record to 7-0 with another dominating performance Wednesday night in Seattle. Moose struck out 12 and kept his team in the game until they could get loose against Joel Pineiro.

Mussina is throwing a lot of pitches. Last night, he threw 114 in eight innings. At his age, he must be watched carefully because he will be expected to go to the post 34 times before October.

Mussina will open up any playoff series the Yankees are in. I don’t trust David Wells, Roger Clemens, Jeff Weaver, or Andy Pettitte in the big game. Mussina is the one that must lead this staff, scary for a team that MUST win.

How do the A’s stack up against NY?

Click below and I’ll match them up. [Read more →]

On August 12, 1979, the A’s Rick Langford hooked up against the Twins Jerry Koosman in the Metrodome. Minnesota won the game behind Koosman’s ten hit shut out one to nothing.

The game was played in one hour and forty three minutes. Last night the A’s and White Sox finished their game in one hour and forty nine minutes, the A’s fastest game since that getaway day in Minneapolis in 1979.

Mark Mulder and Mark Buehrle had a lot to do with last night’s game, getting the ball and thowing it back towards the hitter with accuracy, walking few, few three ball counts, and generally a well pitched game on both sides.

Tonight it’s Ted Lilly versus Esteban Loiaza, two pitchers who take their time on the mound and get deeper into the count.

Lilly needs to be aware of his pitch count and Loiaza has to be aware of the fact that he is known as an April pitcher and the calendar now shows May on its front page.

The Sox aren’t hitting, but they are definite contenders in the mediocre AL Central, thus there is no need to panic and threaten to fire the manager.

Just let them get away from Oakland and Seattle and things will be fine on the Southside of Chicago.

Click below for today’s games. [Read more →]

Seattle, May 6, 2003.

The Mariners just swept the Chicago

White Sox in Chicago, Seattle’s

first over Chicago since May 17, 2001

and ended their road trip

with a 4-2 record.

Tonight a 3-game series against

the New York Yankees is the

‘talk of the town here in the

Emerald City.

By Amaury Pi-Gonzalez [Read more →]

With the first month of the season history, the story of 2003 now begins to become more significant in May.

The Diamondbacks in a strange way may be in better shape than people think. When your team is built around two aging starters, it may be a blessing in disguise when Randy Johnson will not pitch until the end of the month, thereby saving his arm for the tough summer months ahead. Same for Curt Schilling who normally would have 50 or more innings by now, as he works his arm strength back to starting form.

These two just may lead Arizona on a summer charge because they didn’t wear themselves out early in the year.

It seems that the Royals are in wierd bull pen games every night. That isn’t good as the pen with Jason Grimsley leading the way, will never make it through the summer. The Royals need to have some bull pen reserves ready for the games in August and September if they hope to stay close.

Same reasoning applies to the Red Sox especially because Derek Lowe is not looking like the 20 game winner of one year ago. When the Royals and Red Sox meet, you don’t have to start watching the game until the seventh inning, that’s when all the action begins.

Is Nomar Garciaparra going to turn his miserable start around? He makes errors nightly, goes in batting funks, and is not looking happy in Boston. Is it crazy to think Billy Beane would consider a trade of Miguel Tejada for Garciaparra? Stay tuned on this one, it may not be as absurd as you think.

Click Read More for more baseball. [Read more →]