Did the A’s forget their bats?
I know the A’s probably packed quite a bit into their suitcases for this lovely weekend in Detroit, but did they forget their bats?
Over the first seven innings of today’s game, the A’s went 2-for-22, getting an infield hit from Jason Kendall and a single to right by Marco Scutaro.
Sure, Kenny Rogers is on a roll, but the A’s just didn’t seem to be taking good at-bats and they are on the verge of going down 0-3 in this best-of-seven series.
I did get to cover Boston’s epic comeback from 0-3 against the Yankees in 2004, but that seemed different. In that case, the Red Sox were mystified as to why they were in that position in the first place. They felt they were a better team and ultimately they proved it.
The A’s don’t seem to share that sense of disbelief. The Tigers are doing all the things you need to do to win this time of year. Solid starting pitching, timely hitting, execution, strong defense. Jim Leyland‘s crew has it all covered.
Maybe the A’s will ultimately show some life in this series, but I’m not seeing it.
later.
Ian.
2006 ALCS: Tigers vs. Athletics 
To Whom It May Concern:
In the bottom the seventh inning of Game 3 in the ALCS there was clearly a bad call at third when Curtis Granderson (my Tiger) was called out. It ended up costing at least one run in the inning due to the Third Base Umpire?s complete ineptitude. At a minimum anyone could tell it was a tie that goes to the runner. I believe this is a perfect reason for instant replay which can be controlled by an official MLB Umpire in a booth who has replay power. As we have seen in college football, replays without time to watch them have had major implication on the national championship picture. These happenings are frustrating to all who are fans of the game. In addition I would like to recommend that the umpire be fined and suspended for the rest of the ALCS.
Jason
I agree about the A’s. Where is the O? I know that pitching is what mostly brought them this far, but they should at least be scoring a few runs.
Jeff L.
http://www.bosoxbanter.mlblogs.com
Green–The A’s beat themselves again today eh?
Yeah, the A’s are done, and their chance to win a World Series will have to wait at least a few more years, especially since Zito and Payton will be gone due to free agency. We also can’t expect Frank Thomas to duplicate this year again. The A’s got cold when they had every reason to being feeling good after beating the Twins.
Once again, the A’s are done, we don’t have the same fire power that those Red Sox had.
Well the Tiger pitching has put some containment on them.
Wow, Jason, I don’t know about that. Grandy is my Tiger too, and I also thought he looked safe, however, that’s a darned close play and whichever way the call went, someone wouldn’t like it. I’ve had some complaints with umpires this year, but it had do with inconsistent strike zones, inning to inning and even hitter to hitter.
I would never want to see instant replay in baseball. In the first place, it’s not instant. I don’t want to wait around for five minutes to get the call, the game is already too slow. I don’t even like it in football. The Big Ten started using it and they still get the call wrong about half the time.
These are just my opinions, of course, and you make good points too.
I’m a Tiger fan but I want to defend the A’s. Read “Moneyball”. The A’s are a team that’s based around OBP. They have to stand around and take pitches. Detroit is killing them because the pitchers are throwing a lot of strikes. You can’t stand around under those circumstances. You have to be more aggressive at the plate.
The Tigers, on the other hand, are free swingers who have put their bats on their shoulders and are taking pitches. The A’s staff hasn’t adjusted and are still throwing off the plant waiting for the Tigers to chase. They are getting more men on while the A’s are getting less men on. Add it up and you have what we are seeing now.
PS This should change in the series. If the Mets make it through, the Tigers will be far more aggressive hitters.