Athletics Survive Road Trip

When you have an 18-35 record on the road, every single victory is sweet, so when a team returns home with a record of 2-3, you cling to it as a small victory, especially when one of those wins comes in Yankee stadium. They hadn't won in 11 tries there, so to finally get one felt pretty good.

Great play from the Yankees to get Sogard at the plate:


If you missed the MLB.com recap from yesterday:

The good news: "The A's are batting .308 as a team since the All-Star break."

The bad news: "But they went 2-3 on this road trip, with the losses resulting in a combined 22 earned runs in just 11 1/3 innings from their starters."

LINK to the recap

Somehow, dear friends, the A's strengths have completely flip flopped in their nine games since the break. Never fear A's fans, this will too disappear soon. Cahill and Gonzalez will pitch their finest once more. Oh, and the bats will finally hold. Oh, and the A's will win the West. Oh, and I am actually next in line for the English throne.



So yeah, maybe it won't happen. But one can dream.

The win on Saturday was very satisfying. Even the loss on Sunday wasn't terrible. Why? They got hits. They got hits with two out. Yeah, the way the game ended was unfortunate, but at least DeJesus got good wood on the ball. It could just as easily been a game tying double. I'm feeling almost positive about this team right now.

Look at this even, from the Chronicle recap:
"Matsui isn't the only one heating up. Pennington, who put together a 2-for-4 day, has hit safely in each of his last six games, batting .440 over the stretch. Moreover, Coco Crisp has nine hits in his last 22 at-bats, and the last of two on Sunday marked his 200th career double."

LINK to the recap

If they continue to hit, they will win more games. Maybe they'll climb out of this hole. Maybe they'll return to being respectable. They're in this thing.♦

Stat of the day courtesy of Susan Slusser:

Matsui hits home runs like a champ.

Also, this may have been the greatest thing ever invented. I encourage each and every one of you to install it.

Make Derek Jeter disappear

Up next, a 7 game homestand. Four against Tampa Bay and then a weekend set against Minnesota. This season isn't over yet. One winning streak and they could be respectable. Of course, they could also sell off most of the outfield, but hey, then we get to watch more exciting prospects! Go A's!

Song of the post:

I played volleyball yesterday.... here's how I envision everything happening when I play beach volleyball.