jung

So you are claiming that a single player on the team being responsible for the rotation righting the ship or at least appearing to is "more encouraging" than if in fact they simply needed the work. So I guess now to extend that a little further, we better hope Sandy does not get a hangnail that sidelines him as the whole rotation will simply fall apart again!

So you are arguing what....that I didn't undershoot after all? OK...fine I concede, i may not have undershot after all. Happy now! Worth pointing out here that I also pointed out in this very thread the value of a pitcher pitching with confidence vs one that did not. Where do we think Rick dug that confidence up from last night? Oh I know, it came from the identity of the GT starter. Thats it....how stupid of me to think actual baseball issues and baseball elements faced by actual flesh and blood players have anything to do with anything.

So you don't think a pitcher knows more about pitching in his home park than he does about pitching on the road. You don't think staying at home, sleeping in his own bed, going to the park he knows by the route that he knows makes a difference? Oh I know its all what some stat geek says. Who cares that a pitcher is a living breathing human being.

From post #121 in this thread. Sorry, I undershot. Sainthood is at least a step below "a god". "Porcello was a god tonight. That is all."

I already did...we got the win. I will take the win. I am not going to anoint Rick for sainthood for carving up a lineup he should have carved up. I would have expected a starting RH pitcher at $21m per to pitching in his home park carve up that lineup. If he didn't and worse if we didn't expect him to we are a sorry lot of baseball fans indeed. I have stated several times in this forum that the rotation suffered from the lack of ST work which I can only assume was not their choice. That they are not all the dog s*** they pitched like for 4 turns through the rotation is certainly encouraging. Its more encouraging than claiming its the magical Leon is responsible.

Really....Its a doubles park and that is about it since all of the additions have robbed the place of its jet stream. Splits exist for a reason. That was a pitiful lineup the A's put out there against a RH pitcher pitching in his home park. It was so obvious that I pointed it out as I was posting up the lineup last night before a single pitch had been thrown.

Semien is 0 for a career v Rick and to ignore the fact of 7 RH hitters and two switch hitters v a RH pitcher of any merit pitching in his home park is simply indescribable.

Said it before a single pitch was even thrown in last night's game thread. Posted it when I posted the lineups. That was a tailor made lineup for a RH pitcher....virtually any even just decent RH pitcher should have carved up that lineup in his home park. Happy for the win....just realistic about the result from a pitching perspective.

So let me get this straight....Rick faces a lineup of 7 RH hitters and 2 switch hitters including one RH hitter that is 0 for a career against him and suddenly all is well? Do we think it odd that he pulls an 8 inning start out of his butt end. Frankly I would wait for a start against a competitive lineup before I would start pouring the brass for his statue. It was a much needed win but I think sainthood is uncalled for at this point. As for Sandy, you could have put a cement block back there against that lineup. To me the one notable aspect of last night's game with regard to pitching is the difference between a pitcher that throws confidently "Rick" who had every reason to throw confidently given the A's lineup and ERod who almost never throws confidently regardless of who he is facing. ERod can shrink to nothing facing Sisters of the Poor. The other notable element of last night's start is that it still appears that it took this rotation 4 regular season turns through to make up for the lack of ST work. The entire rotation has done better and just about all at the same time regardless of whether Sandy or Vaz or a block of cement is behind home plate.

X is out there coaching Rafi every game, all game long.

Atta boy Thorny...Go ahead and hit him. That would just be perfect

My God...they have given Thorny so much time to come back and it just does not appear to be happening for him or us.....OR ANYBODY!

Oh for God sake. Hopefully this lead is Thorny-proof

Poor Semien. Totally lost v Rick. Darn it...probably lost the shot at a complete game shutout on that jerk.

Atta' boy X

Well at least in my mind there is little doubt that the lack of work in ST put the rotation back 4 turns through in the regular season. Not much we really can take from this game. The A's really cannot put a lineup like this out there against even a decent RH pitcher in this league. Its almost criminal.

Does X ever have the look of the assassin. Game well in hand late, nothing really going on....guy on 1st base...X is not all that interested. Put a guy at second base, a runner he can drive in and X really bears down from the batters box.

That was actually a classic 3rd base play by Devers FOR A CHANGE! Well done.

I would let him go 115 if he was not straining and could get a complete game out of it. Did they outlaw LH hitters in Oakland?

Geezus, Davis just swings out of his shoelaces every swing.

Probably distracted by Piscotti. i actually have no idea why OFers are doing this s*** lately even in MLB. They should just get out of the way. What do they think they are doing....trying to get into the camera shot while the other guy catches the ball?

A's don't stand a chance tonight unless something totally stupid happens. 7 RH bats and two switch hitters against a RH pitcher? Could not even get 0 for a career v Rick, Semien out of their lineup for tonight. Eck acting surprised that Rick has only needed 3 pitches to blow through this team so far. He does not need more than 3 facing no real LH threats from the A's.

This could work out pretty good for Rick. A's fielding all RH bats and two switch hitters. 1. Marcus Semien ® SS 2. Robbie Grossman (S) LF 3. Matt Chapman ® 3B 4. Khris Davis ® DH 5. Stephen Piscotty ® RF 6. Kendrys Morales (S) 1B 7. Chad Pinder ® 2B 8. Ramon Laureano ® CF 9. Nick Hundley ® C 1. Andrew Benintendi (L) LF 2. Mookie Betts ® RF 3. J.D. Martinez ® DH 4. Xander Bogaerts ® SS 5. Rafael Devers (L) 3B 6. Michael Chavis ® 2B 7. Mitch Moreland (L) 1B 8. Jackie Bradley Jr. (L) CF 9. Sandy Leon (S) C

I don't see the "don't see them competing" comment making any sense. They are already competing. If we were to go out the rest of the season at the winning clip from last year (.667) we would win just over 100 games, I think 101 to be exact. Do we look like we are going to go out the rest of the season at .667? If we go out the rest of the season at the Yankee's clip from last year (.617, not a bad winning percentage at all) we would win 94 games for the year. The Rays can pitch and they have that miserable dungeon that nobody knows how to play in but them. Their home record in 2018 was .630 and they will likely improve on that a little and will likely improve their road record a good deal. Pitching tends to work everywhere a team plays. The Yankees can hit and they have that shoebox they play in that nobody knows better how to play in but them. They played to a .654 at home last year. Currently at .533 at home. That will likely improve some. At the end of the day the Yankees might be easier for us to get past than the Rays will be because the Rays pitching will be more reliable and that dungeon they play in is a miserable place to play for every visiting team. I have not posted up our 2019 winning percentage as its just too ridiculous at the moment. But we won home games last year at a rate of 7:10. That is a staggeringly good home record. I am not convinced we have anything like that in us this year. We are giving up too may bases for one thing and we are giving up ground that will make it hard to get all the way back to the top of the AL East pyramid this year given the competition. So I would contend that it is without question a competition between all three teams in the East with the likelihood that only two teams will make it into the final 5. If I had to guess, we get past one of them but not both of them.

Now that is funny! Good one.