[thehatfield]

Next Up: 3-game series on the road against Chicago White Sox

We had owned the American League Champions with a 5-0 record against them this year and they came into the series licking their wounds with a 3-7 record in their last 10 games including a 3-game sweep at our hands in Oakland last week but the rest of the American League Central was so bad they still held a ½-game lead over Detroit at the top of the division with an 18-19 overall record. The bashing White Sox had a deadly core of their lineup as center fielder Damario Rosado and left fielder Brandt Wurz were tied for second in the American League in home runs with 12 apiece while catcher Roberto Darna was fourth with 11. Those three players combined have 35 home runs while we as an entire club have just 39 (third in our division behind the Angels (56) and Mariners (44)).

Tanyon Meagher was going to start the first game of this series because Cornelius McInally needed the day off. To be on the safe side we were going to sit Edgard Galdames for the entire series in favor of Reydel Vazquez. But here’s what the new regular lineup was looking like:

1. Yamasita CF
2. Galdames SS
3. Revelez LF
4. Guevaro 3B
5. Byers RF
6. Arce 1B
7. McInally C
8. Quinenes DH
9. Page 2B

The draft pool for next month’s draft was released and I dispatched Head Scout Gaspar Zelaga to find out what he could about the draft eligible players. Unbeknownst to Zelaga, I also asked 63-year old veteran scout Lucio Ubeda to do the same thing. I just wasn’t trusting 47-year old Gaspar anymore thinking that perhaps he wasn’t experienced or savvy enough, and I was going to need backup from Ubeda in order for me to fully trust any of his assessments. It was certainly looking like late days for Gaspar as Head Scout.

I received some information from my toady Herb Watson about the top-selling Oakland Athletics jerseys at the moment:

1. Rowley Dickson #10
2. Fred Cake #85
3. Tomiichi Yamasita #34
4. Jose Arce #5
5. Fairfax von Schoening #25
6. Teddy Revelez #12
7. Ken O’Bryant #22
8. Bill Mathis #29
9. Francisco Quinenes #14
10. Cornelius McInally #13


Sunday, May 16, 2021
Game 38 at Chicago White Sox
4-1 Loss; 40,480 in attendance
W: Nanez (5-4) L: Frank (0-1) SV: Thurber (1)

Recap: Reliever Josh Frank walked three and gave up a hit to squander a 7-inning, 2-hit performance from starter Neifi Villaluazo to get the loss but didn’t get much help from Fairfax von Schoening who allowed 2-of-3 inherited runners to score in this close-‘til-the-end encounter in front of over 40,000 baseball fans. The White Sox owed us one and got a great performance from their own starter Alberto Nanez who gave up just 3 hits while walking 2 though 8 strong innings in a Player of the Game performance. Third baseman Dome Guevaro hit his team-leading 10th home run of the year in the 6th inning of off Nanez but Chicago second baseman Michael O’Toole’s 434-foot shot off Villaluazo in the 3rd inning was the homer of the night. The final score here didn’t tell the whole story as the White Sox threatened in almost every inning, leaving 16 runners on base. We really just looked flat all-around in this one.


Monday, May 17, 2021
Game 39 at Chicago White Sox
13-9 Win; 40,306 in attendance
W: Nakamura (6-1) L: Grimley (0-4)

Recap: It was a nice start for us through 3 innings as Dome Guevaro’s 11th home run of the year helped stake us to an early 4-0 lead. A 2-run double from Teddy Revelez in the top of the 4th inning gave us a commanding 6-0 lead and knocked White Sox starter Chip “Joker” Grimley out of the game after 3.2 innings, 8 hits, 3 walks and 6 earned runs. In the 7th inning Revelez hit a double with the bases loaded off of Chiacgo reliever Chad Allen to drive in 3 more runs as we extended our lead to 12-2. With a 13-2 lead Nori Nakamura turned the ball over to Gregg Basnett, who proceeded to give up 7 earned runs on 4 hits and 3 walks in the 9th inning before striking out the side in a very unusual ending. 36-year old Chicago starter Grimley, who has spent his entire 15-year Major League career in a White Sox uniform, picked up his 4th loss against no wins in his 6th start of the season and the media is just killing him with nonstop talk about his career being finished. 23-year old Basnett’s ERA has exploded to 12.15 in his 13.1 innings pitched and he’s just about proven to me that it doesn’t matter if the pressure is on or off when he pitches. One or two more poor performances and my mind will be made up that he’s just not ready to be in our bullpen.


Tuesday, May 18, 2021
Game 40 at Chicago White Sox
19-3 Loss; 40,455 in attendance
W: Baker (4-3) L: Cake (2-2)

Recap: Our starter Fred Cake allowed a grand slam to 31-year old right fielder Dayton Craye in the first inning and 5 runs overall before he recorded his first out in this contest. 4 more home runs in the bottom of the 2nd inning had Chicago ahead 11-0 and Cake was just staying in the game so as not to destroy the bullpen. But after giving up 4 more runs on another grand slam off the bat of Damario Rosado in the 3rd inning, his second homer of the game, Manager Jeff Hance had no choice but to pull the 32-year old veteran so as to avoid further embarrassment. Cake’s final line set a new Athletics record with 15 earned runs allowed in 3 innings pitched, 10 hits, 6 home runs (another record), 2 grand slams, and 6 walks. We never had a chance and were buried in our worst loss of the season 19-3. Player of the Game Rosado brutalized us with 6 RBI, Craye finished with his 4 and Brandt Wurz had 3 on 2-for-3 hitting and 4 runs scored. Reydel Vazquez went 2-for-3 for us in our only highlight. Chicago starter Scott Baker got his 4th win of the year going 6.1 4-hit innings. Despite White Sox relief pitchers allowing 7 walks we left a combined 23 men on base in this blowout.


Current Oakland Record: 27-13

We just haven’t been playing good baseball as we lost back-to-back series for the first time in 2021. With a big series victory against the Red Sox the Angels had shaved another game off our lead and sat 5 games behind at 22-18. Fred Cake was absolute garbage on Tuesday, no other way to say it. This guy looked like a completely different pitcher than the one that picked up victories in his first two starts for us this season. Mumbles Yamasita has his second down series in a row going 3-for-12. We now had an off-day to travel to Los Angeles to play the Dodgers at the beginning of a 13-games-in-13-days stretch (including 7 at home) that would take us to the end of the month.