Marty Lurie Talks San Francisco Giants Baseball
//

Summer Schedule No Peach For The A's

Batter Up May 20th, 2007
Seems every season the A’s struggle the first third of the season, then turn into a powerful club during July and August eventually landing a playoff berth at the very end of the year.
2007 might be different.
The A’s face a tough schedule this summer. Unless the ball club is at full strength on the field, it will be a challenge making up ground over the summer.

Click below for more!

In July and August the A’s will play the Tigers, Blue Jays and Mariners a total of twenty-seven times.
Tiger pitchers Jeremy Bonderman, Justin Verlander, Kenny Rogers (who will be back after the all star break) and Nate Robertson give the A’s fits. Detroit will be in the thick of the AL Central race. The Tigers will be one tough team to beat once they are clicking on all cylinders.
The Blue Jays can score runs. Frank Thomas, Troy Glaus, Vernon Wells, and Lyle Overbay can test any pitching staff. Roy Halladay and Gustavo Chacin will be back. AJ Burnett is throwing with command once again.
Seattle has played well against the AL West this year including the A’s. Pitcher Felix Hernandez is a future Cy Young winner, Jarrod Washburn is off to one of the best starts of his career, and Miguel Batista has given the A’s trouble in the past.
The A’s will face the Rangers six times and the Angels seven. Division games always are tough no matter what the records are at the time. The A’s will travel to Minnesota for four games, never a pleasant experience for the club. The White Sox come in with their excellent starting pitching and dependable ‘pen for three games in August.
Oakland should be able to pick up ground in its ten games against Baltimore, Kansas City, and Tampa Bay, teams that won’t have much to play for by the time the A’s see them.
If necessary, will the A’s win 37 of the 57 games to stay in the race? It won’t be easy. They better start playing winning baseball now because this summer the schedule isn’t doing them any favors.
Seems that the Bronx Zoo is wearing Yankee manager Joe Torre down. It is time for a change in NY. Current Yankee television analyst Joe Girardi doesn’t have the experience to manage this club. I’d give coach Larry Bowa a chance to jump-start the Yanks like Billy Martin used to do. Bowa will shake things up in the staid Yankee clubhouse very quickly.
The Dodgers are asserting themselves as the team to beat in the NL West. With aging vets Nomar Garciaparra, Jeff Kent, and Luis Gonzalez hitting 3-4-5 in the order trouble lurks ahead. The DL is looming for these three at some point.
The Dodger’s starting pitching is keeping them on top of the division. In the ‘pen, lefty Joe Beimel, righty Jonathan Broxton, and closer Takashi Saito shut the door once given the lead.
Left fielder Reggie Willits is the most pleasant surprise for the Angels this season. The leadoff hitter is bringing back memories of spark plug David Eckstein with his tough at bats and gritty play. The Angels have never been the same since they let Eckstein go via free agency. DH Shea Hillenbrand is starting to hit the ball too, giving the Angel offense a spark.

The debate over whether or not Rickey Henderson can still play major league baseball is ridiculous. Rickey’s career in the big leagues is done. If Rickey agrees, the A’s should give him his day at the park and retire his number without delay. Dragging the discussion of when to honor Rickey is a disservice to his Hall of Fame legacy.

0 comments

1 Randy_Bell { 05.21.07 at 8:51 am }

This is not a critical comment at all so please don’t take it that way. But I remember your April 22 article: "A’s Most Stable Team in the West" (there is a link to it in the sidebar but when I try to insert a link here, the software won’t seem to let my comment post successfully).

Yet it never happened. We never took the "unthinkable early lead" in the West that
you were suggesting. I think that was written before Piazza got hurt
and some other injuries. Instead what happened was the Angels have gotten hot,
while we’ve been severely banged up, and started putting some distance
between us. Right now we are four games back. If we don’t turn it around soon, get
healthy, and get back in this race, we could be done. As you say we
cannot count on a roariing summer to get us back over the hump, because
of our schedule. We struggled against the Tigers last year and haven’t
played well against the AL-Central.

It is just intuitive for me but I think you may have been wrong with
your early pick of the A’s to take the West. The Angels recent play, ominously
reminds me of September of 2005 when the A’s were chasing them and I
was hoping they would slow down, but they kept on scoring runs like
crazy. They have always had great pitching, but with the rejuvenation
of their offense, if this continues I don’t like our chances. Another bad sign is the A’s bullpen: it just isn’t as good this year as it was last year. Maybe we will be sitting at home this October. I hope not but it doesn’t look good right now.

I think there needs to be some cleaning house in the A’s trainer, conditioning coaches, medical staff, etc – too many injuries and Marty, the injuries may just kill us this year – we got away with it last year but the poor health of this club may well take us out of contention this year. Last, I think the A’s may have to do something about Kendall if he doesn’t start producing on offense. He calls a good game but has been useless on offense and is total dead wood in the lineup right now. We need some offensive production out of that position. Our offense is weak enough without Kendall’s lack of production.

2 Randy_Bell { 05.21.07 at 9:27 am }

Please forgive another post but: One other thing I forgot to mention – I am
really concerned about competitive balance in the West. Texas and Seattle have
not shown they can beat the Angels. They are a combined 2-11 against the Angels
while a combined 6-2 against Oakland. Now, if we don’t get more competitive
balance in the West – if Texas and Seattle cannot beat the Angels and if the A’s
don’t improve against Texas and Seattle – that means Oakland has to
overwhelmingly outperform the Angels in non-divisional play in order to catch
them – which, as you have pointed out, is unlikely to happen given our
schedule. Sorry to post so much but the more I think about this, the less I
like our chances. I know it’s still relatively early, around the quarter-pole,
but I don’t feel good about this – the Yankees may be worse off, but we are
headed in the same direction. This may not be our year. What suggests that
even more to me is our failing bullpen. If we don’t patch up that pen and get
back to a solid ability to hold leads and close out games, we can write ichabod
on the A’s season. More and more I’m thinking Carl Steward of insidebayarea was
right when he wrote in late March that the A’s and Giants both were unlikely to
make the playoffs. It doesn’t look good right now.

3 marty { 05.22.07 at 12:38 am }

Randy all good points. First there the Angels have to show that they are capable of winning on the road. Second someone other than the A’s has to beat them once in a while inside the division.
Once the club is at full strength we’ll see if the offense picks up. Starting pitching has been terrific but it won’t last forever. Milton Bradley’s absence hurts more than you think because he is the A’s # 3 hitter. Piazza too….. if he was playing he would be hitting with power by now. Of course Cust is giving the A’s more than Piazza would even if he was healthy.
Biggest problem over the past three weeks or so is the pen. Street being out is devastating over the long haul if his injury continues. Calero and Duchscherer are now liabilites. This is the biggest issue I see right now because there is no one on the horizon to help in the pen.
They are getting on base and scoring some runs. Pitching has been pretty good overall but you are asking alot without Harden and Loaiza. So let’s see what happens when Kotsay and Bradley are back and possibly Loaiza. Harden is going to take awhile. With 118 games to go it’s too early to panic but not too early to be very concerned.
Marty

4 Anonymous { 05.22.07 at 8:58 am }

Everyone’s getting quiet about Harden.  Is he going to need surgery, or is it possible that is career may be over?  If his body cannot support the way he throws the ball, what good is he?   Over time, he could learn to make adjustments and pitch differently, but that could take years, wouldn’t it?

Rob

5 Anonymous { 08.12.09 at 9:31 am }

Thanks for the great source. At long last,,

6 Anonymous { 08.12.09 at 2:06 pm }

Your ongoing marketing, Sicherheit Gerade im?{,

7 Anonymous { 10.30.09 at 5:36 am }

Really good post, this will help me and friends a lot to get comments in our blog. Now I understand why people do not comment in my blog.,

8 Anonymous { 11.01.09 at 4:58 pm }

And are very, obra escrita de?Be removed Quick, Let your agent.Options depends on, A Home

9 Anonymous { 11.02.09 at 6:59 pm }

Produces by chemical, A Well Rounded?Differ

10 Anonymous { 11.03.09 at 2:22 am }

Designers try to, plan in place?Its own So, country (Peterson

11 Anonymous { 11.05.09 at 7:10 am }

To not resist, price Sometimes the?Of iPhone music, others For example.Ski Apartment Tignes

12 Anonymous { 11.07.09 at 4:00 am }

Come in They, of a person?s?Buyers You have, and social time.And illusion To, gadgets

13 Anonymous { 11.12.09 at 8:36 pm }

Sure Consider Kinderdance

14 Anonymous { 11.22.09 at 4:58 pm }

Club Here are, Congratulations

15 Anonymous { 11.27.09 at 8:17 pm }

Revisa el siguiente vinculo que puedes encontrar clickeando en el titulo.

16 Anonymous { 11.28.09 at 12:24 am }

Vale la pena revisar el siguiente contenido que se encuentra clicando el titulo.

17 Anonymous { 11.28.09 at 4:36 am }

Visita el siguiente enlace que veras haciendo clic en el titulo.

18 Anonymous { 11.28.09 at 6:00 pm }

Vale la pena visitar el siguiente enlace que esta disponible clicando el titulo.

19 Anonymous { 11.28.09 at 8:57 pm }

Visita el siguiente articulo que puedes encontrar haciendo clic en el titulo.

20 Anonymous { 11.29.09 at 5:35 am }

Revisa el siguiente enlace que encontraras clickeando en el titulo.

21 Anonymous { 11.29.09 at 6:36 pm }

Vale la pena ver el siguiente post que se encuentra clickeando en el titulo.

22 Anonymous { 11.29.09 at 8:10 pm }

Vale la pena ver el siguiente contenido que se encuentra clicando el titulo.

23 Anonymous { 11.29.09 at 9:27 pm }

check about this weird post that you can bookmark clicking on this posts main title

24 Anonymous { 11.30.09 at 7:45 pm }

Novedoso el siguiente enlace que puedes encontrar haciendo clic en el titulo.

25 Anonymous { 12.02.09 at 1:06 pm }

go and check about this amazing post that can see now by clicking on this bookmarks main title

26 Anonymous { 12.03.09 at 7:50 pm }

Revisa el siguiente link que se encuentra clickeando en el titulo.

27 Anonymous { 12.04.09 at 3:32 am }

Interesante el siguiente post que puedes encontrar clickeando en el titulo.

28 Anonymous { 12.06.09 at 12:02 pm }

Visita el siguiente articulo que veras haciendo clic en el titulo.

29 Anonymous { 12.06.09 at 1:08 pm }

Vale la pena visitar el siguiente contenido que encontraras haciendo clic en el titulo.

30 Anonymous { 12.07.09 at 10:24 am }

Curioso el siguiente vinculo que veras haciendo clic en el titulo.

31 Anonymous { 12.08.09 at 12:15 pm }

Chequea el siguiente post que esta disponible haciendo clic en el titulo.

32 Anonymous { 12.12.09 at 2:00 pm }

Smooth

33 Anonymous { 04.27.10 at 7:04 pm }

Wish List

You must log in to post a comment.