2006 Oakland A's Thread - Page 67

JDOldSchool · 06-13-2006, 05:27 PM

Am I the only one not too concerned about Harden being gone? I might have too much faith in the guys the A's have, but when has Harden not been gone for some period of time? It's to the point where having him is a bonus, but I think they'll be fine without him.

johnnyshaka · 06-13-2006, 06:00 PM

Well, we're at .500 without him. If you think that .500 is going to win the division, then I guess you're right. I bet we'll miss the 10 or so wins he would've put up had been healthy the rest of the way...albeit, who says he would've been healthy the rest of the way?!

mikev · 06-13-2006, 06:23 PM

I think we really, REALLY need the Loaiza that started in Cleveland, and not Estella Blowaiza from the pre-DL part of the season.

I think we also need an upgrade over Scutaro (hopefully it can be Rouse) at 2B with Ellis out. Macha obviously isn't going to give Perez any playing time.

Last, Bradley, Thomas, and Crosby need to stay healthy. The improvement we get with Bradley over Kielty/Payton is huge, and Thomas is have a Comeback Player of the Year season so far.

Green & Gold Heart · 06-13-2006, 06:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JDOldSchool

Am I the only one not too concerned about Harden being gone? I might have too much faith in the guys the A's have, but when has Harden not been gone for some period of time? It's to the point where having him is a bonus, but I think they'll be fine without him.

It concerns me a bit, but really, did any of us expect him to start 35 ballgames this year? We knew we couldn't count on him. And if Loaiza can actually be himself and give the A's some good innings, we'll be OK. Espeically once the bullpen gets back together (remember, we're still missing Duke and Kennedy) things will start to look up.

Hell, we're already 9-2 since the Kendall home run.

mirrf · 06-13-2006, 09:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikev

I think we really, REALLY need the Loaiza that started in Cleveland, and not Estella Blowaiza from the pre-DL part of the season.

I think we also need an upgrade over Scutaro (hopefully it can be Rouse) at 2B with Ellis out. Macha obviously isn't going to give Perez any playing time.

Last, Bradley, Thomas, and Crosby need to stay healthy. The improvement we get with Bradley over Kielty/Payton is huge, and Thomas is have a Comeback Player of the Year season so far.

And both Bradly & Crosby have to hit better. ~.700 OPS is not going to do it for either of these guys.

JDOldSchool · 06-13-2006, 10:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnnyshaka

Well, we're at .500 without him. If you think that .500 is going to win the division, then I guess you're right. I bet we'll miss the 10 or so wins he would've put up had been healthy the rest of the way...albeit, who says he would've been healthy the rest of the way?!

Nah, don't like that at all.

The A's are at .500 without Harden, Loaiza, Kennedy, Duchscherer, Street, Ellis, Chavez, Crosby, Thomas, Bradley, Witasick, Kotsay, and Calero for various points during the season. They're actually a game above .500 despite having a totally decimated team.

They'll be fine. They're running away with this division even without Harden, as long as the others can come back soon.

Green & Gold Heart · 06-13-2006, 10:43 PM

Good to see Frank in there. So the strained quad wasn't really anything.

Kotsay
Kendall
Chavez
Thomas
Crosby
Bradley
Swisher
Payton
Scutaro

mikev · 06-14-2006, 02:01 AM

Street is back to form it appears.

Hopefully his arm doesn't fall off.

Good to see a great start by Fat Joe, even though it was Seattle.

Luis_Rivera · 06-14-2006, 01:17 PM

Another Harden update in today's UTK:

Quote:

Every once in a while I write something and realize after a flood of e-mail that I could have phrased it better. In striving for clarity and brevity, I miss the mark from time to time. Rich Harden is dealing with a “moderate to severe” UCL sprain in his pitching elbow, the type of injury that will often lead to Tommy John surgery. Despite the A’s current stance that Harden will rehab the elbow and return without surgery, sources indicate that the team acknowledges this is, at best, a coin flip. It makes good medical and baseball sense to try and rehab the injury, so don’t take this as criticism. Some pitchers are able to come back; without the proper medical information, I can’t make any sort of informed estimate on how Harden’s injury compares to, say, Brandon Backe's. The most likely course of action still points to eventual surgery, but playing long shots sometimes leads to a big payoff.

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/ar...articleid=5196

As for whether or not I'd be concerned about what losing Harden means to the A's... sure they have enough without him to make the playoffs and maybe even win the World Series. Would it vastly improve their chances to have who is probably one of the top 5 pitchers in the majors when healthy in the rotation come September, though? Hell yes.

My biggest concern, though, as a fan of his and the organization would be the long term ramifications. Like I said.. this is a guy who is quite possibly headed for greatness. I've been a fan of his for a while, and I'd hate to see his career knocked off track... but unfortunately injuries happen, and have done this to plenty of pitchers in the past.

johnnyshaka · 06-14-2006, 04:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JDOldSchool

Nah, don't like that at all.

The A's are at .500 without Harden, Loaiza, Kennedy, Duchscherer, Street, Ellis, Chavez, Crosby, Thomas, Bradley, Witasick, Kotsay, and Calero for various points during the season. They're actually a game above .500 despite having a totally decimated team.

I think you're exagerating a little bit, here...Kotsay has played in all but 5 games, Chavez in all but 8 games, Crosby in all but 9 games and Thomas has only missed 10. If you were to compare to last season I'm sure you'd be ecstatic about the number of games these guys have played so far this season.

mikev · 06-14-2006, 06:52 PM

Johnny's right.

However, the extended time that Duke, Calero, Street, Bradley, and Ellis have missed/are missing is really not cool.

I'm not even going to count Harden until he goes a full season without being hurt. Until then, he's Mark Prior.

johnnyshaka · 06-14-2006, 07:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikev

Johnny's right.

However, the extended time that Duke, Calero, Street, Bradley, and Ellis have missed/are missing is really not cool.

I'm not even going to count Harden until he goes a full season without being hurt. Until then, he's Mark Prior.

Street missed two weeks...what's that, 5 or 6 innings?? Calero is on pace to eclipse his career high in innings pitched isn't he?? Sure, it sucked, but they weren't gone for very long at all.

Ellis, Bradley and Duke have hurt the most.

mikev · 06-14-2006, 10:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnnyshaka

Street missed two weeks...what's that, 5 or 6 innings?? Calero is on pace to eclipse his career high in innings pitched isn't he?? Sure, it sucked, but they weren't gone for very long at all.

Ellis, Bradley and Duke have hurt the most.

He didn't pitch from April 18 to May 2. Luckily, it wasn't later in the season.

Green & Gold Heart · 06-14-2006, 10:19 PM

Lineup, d00ds:

Kotsay
Swisher
Chavez
Thomas
Crosby
Johnson
Kielty
Kendall
Scutaro

Why does Macha seem to always start Kielty against righties but not lefties (like Moyer last night)? Bradley sits today, which is OK because he has been sucking.

EDIT: Kielty is actually hitting slightly better against RHP (.275) than LHP (.263) this year.

bananapancakes · 06-14-2006, 11:17 PM

a big WTF for mlb.tv, the game is showing up as archived?

JDOldSchool · 06-14-2006, 11:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnnyshaka

I think you're exagerating a little bit, here

Is there another team in baseball that has had half the team miss some time because of injury? The drop off between Chavez and Perez is huge. Heck, it could be the biggest drop off between starter and backup in baseball (I didn't look this up, but it seems possible). Crosby and Scutaro? Even with Crosby struggling it's a huge difference. And whenever Thomas is out of the lineup, that means Kielty or Payton or Melhuse are playing.

I think the situation has been worse than last year when it comes to injuries, even if total time on DL might not be the same.

Green & Gold Heart · 06-14-2006, 11:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bananapancakes

a big WTF for mlb.tv, the game is showing up as archived?

I'm getting the game fine...

bananapancakes · 06-14-2006, 11:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Green & Gold Heart

I'm getting the game fine...

I couldn't get the game for the first two innings, it had the red archived tab instead of the yellow live tab. It's fine now.

And you know things are going good when Jason Kendall comes up with a big two out hit to drive in two runs.

JDOldSchool · 06-15-2006, 12:39 AM

What happened to Frank in the third? I couldn't get the mlb.tv to work then either and it showed that he hit another single to the wall and then came out of the game. Quad again?

Green & Gold Heart · 06-15-2006, 12:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JDOldSchool

What happened to Frank in the third? I couldn't get the mlb.tv to work then either and it showed that he hit another single to the wall and then came out of the game. Quad again?

The A's announcers haven't said anything about an injury. My guess is just that they were already starting to whoop up on Seattle, and he had to run the bases quite a bit the inning before, so they just played it safe and took him out.

06-13-2006, 06:00 PM	#1322
johnnyshaka All Star Reserve Join Date: Dec 2001 Posts: 680	Well, we're at .500 without him. If you think that .500 is going to win the division, then I guess you're right. I bet we'll miss the 10 or so wins he would've put up had been healthy the rest of the way...albeit, who says he would've been healthy the rest of the way?! __________________

06-13-2006, 06:23 PM	#1323
mikev Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Bay Area, CA Posts: 4,014	I think we really, REALLY need the Loaiza that started in Cleveland, and not Estella Blowaiza from the pre-DL part of the season. I think we also need an upgrade over Scutaro (hopefully it can be Rouse) at 2B with Ellis out. Macha obviously isn't going to give Perez any playing time. Last, Bradley, Thomas, and Crosby need to stay healthy. The improvement we get with Bradley over Kielty/Payton is huge, and Thomas is have a Comeback Player of the Year season so far. __________________ Global Unified Baseball Association - Vice Commish and Oakland Oaks GM

06-14-2006, 02:01 AM	#1328
mikev Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Bay Area, CA Posts: 4,014	Street is back to form it appears. Hopefully his arm doesn't fall off. Good to see a great start by Fat Joe, even though it was Seattle. __________________ Global Unified Baseball Association - Vice Commish and Oakland Oaks GM

06-14-2006, 06:52 PM	#1331
mikev Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Bay Area, CA Posts: 4,014	Johnny's right. However, the extended time that Duke, Calero, Street, Bradley, and Ellis have missed/are missing is really not cool. I'm not even going to count Harden until he goes a full season without being hurt. Until then, he's Mark Prior. __________________ Global Unified Baseball Association - Vice Commish and Oakland Oaks GM

06-13-2006, 05:27 PM	#1321
JDOldSchool Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 4,023	Am I the only one not too concerned about Harden being gone? I might have too much faith in the guys the A's have, but when has Harden not been gone for some period of time? It's to the point where having him is a bonus, but I think they'll be fine without him.

06-13-2006, 10:43 PM	#1327
Green & Gold Heart Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 5,242	Good to see Frank in there. So the strained quad wasn't really anything. Kotsay Kendall Chavez Thomas Crosby Bradley Swisher Payton Scutaro

06-14-2006, 10:19 PM	#1334
Green & Gold Heart Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 5,242	Lineup, d00ds: Kotsay Swisher Chavez Thomas Crosby Johnson Kielty Kendall Scutaro Why does Macha seem to always start Kielty against righties but not lefties (like Moyer last night)? Bradley sits today, which is OK because he has been sucking. EDIT: Kielty is actually hitting slightly better against RHP (.275) than LHP (.263) this year.

06-14-2006, 11:17 PM	#1335
bananapancakes Minors (Single A) Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 98	a big WTF for mlb.tv, the game is showing up as archived?

06-15-2006, 12:39 AM	#1339
JDOldSchool Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 4,023	What happened to Frank in the third? I couldn't get the mlb.tv to work then either and it showed that he hit another single to the wall and then came out of the game. Quad again?