The Good, The Bad, This Year?

RobDogBucky · February 23rd, 2007, 03:08 PM

Okay, so I made this list a while back:

Good = last season's story with Frank Thomas leading the way.
Bad = Frank is gone
Good = Piazza will take his place
Bad = Lost the last of the Big 3
Good = New Big 3 emerges; Harden, Haren, Blanton/ELO
Bad = Tarps on 3rd deck
Good = Made playoffs after winning division, despite tarps
Bad = Lost to Tiggers in ALCS
Good = Swept the Twinkies in the ALDS
Bad = Lost JayPay
Good = Signed Shannon Stewart
Bad = Saw Crosby injured again and w/Chavez made few offensive contributions
Good = Saw Milton emerge as the player he was destined to be

What will be this year's Good and Bad?

My name is RobDogBucky and I am an A's boardaholic

Later,
RDB

whobob · February 24th, 2007, 03:17 AM

Blanton/ELO? Really?

this year's good: Bradley will be the player he was REALLY destined to be

and the bad: Bradley is gone.

RobDogBucky · February 24th, 2007, 10:06 AM

Who;

I think the good will include Piazza and Stewart contributing big time, ala Frank and JayPay. I know it is unrealistic to think they could get as lucky as Big Frank's team-leading effort, but likewise I don't think they will have as bad an injury-plagued year as last year's either. Kind of like water finding its own level after sloshing back and forth, like the angle of repose.

As for someone becoming the third part of the new Big Three, I have long thought that Country Joe holds the ability, just needs a good kick in the butt or something to get him awake. He has such economy of motion that if he ever finds the permanent groove like I hope he will, he will remain consistently good for the long haul. Loaiza, well he has shown sparks of brilliance, especially last year after his drinking thing, when he basically led the league in pitching in August. I just think barring injury, and with renewed vigor on offense, that one of these two will step up and get 'er done, as they like to say.

Bradley, Bradley, Bradley. C'mon, don't be so pessimistic (maybe realistic), as someone has to commit to staying here for the long haul and the new stadium, etc. I would rather think that it would be Piazza moving on, and I would like to dream that Milton will excel and stay here to call the Athetics his home and become a real leader and realize his potential for all to see. As long as he is not seen to spill anyone's coffee or anything. He did make some bonds with the team at the end of last season and I sure hope all that good will at the end translates into his blossoming into the undisputed team leader. Such potential.

All that went well last year was born out of struggle and perseverence and new-found strength and loyalties. With the new player-friendly attitude from Geren, hopefully it will be just enough to get these A's over the hump and get to the WS this time.

What is a Whobob doing up at 5AM on a Saturday? (that is the time stamp on my home computer for your postings)

My name is RobDogBucky and I am an A's boardaholic

Later,
RDB

whobob · February 25th, 2007, 02:51 AM

Quote:

Loaiza, well he has shown sparks of brilliance, especially last year after his drinking thing, when he basically led the league in pitching in August.

so did Corey Lidle, but you didn't hear anything about a big four. Blanton, for some reason, dominated the Mariners, which kept his stats respectable.

I really think Bradley can come up big this year, and the only way he stays is if other teams think he's only contributing because he's not in a media frenzy large market.

I'm not terribly optimistic about Piazza. Lifetime NL hitter, been on the decline-- not at all like Frank was. I think Stewart has a better chance of reaching his career norms than Piazza, who I don't think will be very useful.

As for me:

Lids down, I count sheep
I count heartbeats
The only thing that counts is
that I won't sleep
I countdown, I look around

Hala Hala Hala

MikeV · February 25th, 2007, 09:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whobob

so did Corey Lidle, but you didn't hear anything about a big four.

Actually they mentioned it quite a bit (jokingly) when Lidle was the best pitcher in baseball for about 2 months.

RobDogBucky · February 26th, 2007, 06:53 AM

"....Blanton, for some reason, dominated the Mariners, which kept his stats respectable."

And the fact that St. Louis would have had a losing record if they had not played the NL West, and if the Skanks had better competition in their own division would they have been steamrolled by the Tigers?

Why did the team in the playoffs with the worst record, the most key injuries, beat the team with the league's best record over the course of the year? That is baseball I guess.

Any minor set of cherry-picked stats could be set up as straw man to try to prove any point, nonetheless, the A's as a team dominated the Semen of Seattle. Winning those games you are supposed to win and getting reliable performances out of your regulars, along with run support when your starters go out there (Blanton's run support = Tim Hudson's A's run support), and being one of major leagues' most effective pitchers over a 2-year period, resonates with me more.

I say Blanton shines this season.

Later,
RDB

Nat · February 26th, 2007, 05:00 PM

I'm still not sold on Blanton as being anymore than an inning-eater for this team (ala Appier) but I'm sure he'll show occasional flashes of greatness at times.
I expect more from Stewart (good) than Piazza (bad) this year, but as always I reserve the right to be wrong. Harden (good)seems to have a better outlook than Crosby on the long-term injury front (bad). Ellis will be back in form (good) but Crosby, even if healthy, isn't much better than average and neither is his backup (bad). There will be a log-jam at first if Johnson comes back well (good) but that would likely mean Swisher/DJ/Piazza all playing well means one will be traded midseason (hopefully the latter).
Our bullpen is stacked (great) and should relieve the lighter-than-before rotation, but Street's shakiness late last season could continue into this one (bad).
All in all I'm optimistic and expect the A's to exceed expectations once again...

RobDogBucky · February 26th, 2007, 07:53 PM

Am curious Nat, why down on Piazza and Scutaro?

I don't think Street will have any injury probs, hence I think he can keep his head on straight as well and not melt down as many times as he seemed to last year. I know that isn't a logical cause/effect statement to make, but hey until someone can tell me how the Cards won it all, anything can happen. Maybe having his mentor, Zito, right across the Bay will be helpful for him.

I'm gonna stay optimistic on Street to continue to advance as a stellar closer and chalk both his and ELO's rocky starts last year to that WBC tournament they pitched in. From all accounts, all those pitchers abandoned their normal spring routines and pitched a lot without adequate preparation. Some have implied that the previous mgr. may have also misused him a tad at the end last year.

Not to import any stale arguments from other boards, etc., but maybe a whole year pitching to Kendall will help Loaiza also. As for the Blanton thing, we are just goin to have to agree to disagree until they show it between the lines.

As for Scutaro, Nat, how can you dis? He is the little spark plug. He really came through a lot in the last couple of years, especially against the Twins in the ALDS in that game three to sweep here. That was the best baseball day I have spent in quite a while and only look to better that feeling come October this year.

Go A's!

Later,
RDB

Nat · February 27th, 2007, 11:03 AM

Well, I know baseball is a balance, and not everyone is going to have a breakout season. I'm hoping Street overcomes his sophmore slump, but you know what they say....a pitcher is only as good as his last few outings. Hopefully with a better set of middle-relievers, he won't be used as much and not run down by Sept. this time around.
As far as Piazza/Stewart, I don't expect both to rebound well in Oakland (that may just mean a pennant-winning season after all), so if I had to choose it would be SS, due to his age and recent (non-injured) track record. Mike still has some pop in his bat tho, so I expect him to be at least servicable in his new DH position.
Scooter, well of course every A's fan loves this guy; but we tend to remember him in the clutch (which he excells, and let it be stated for the new Fanhome, clutch DOES EXIST)....whereas the every-day Scooter was average at best. Alot of 0-fers when he wasn't coming off the bench. I don't think the A's should mess with success....and he's proven to be most successful as a back-up/pinch-hitter. Same reason Olmedo Saenz was never slated to be the full-time DH...

RobDogBucky · February 27th, 2007, 12:30 PM

Well, this board is slow in updating its data as well as somehow bouncing someone out if they don't type fast enough, as I have authored replies that when I tried to post, the board demanded I refresh, log-in (which I was) and then deleted entire draft.

Nat, 3 itsy bitsy points;

1) You said "...Piazza/Stewart, I don't expect both to rebound well in Oakland" Piazza rebounding from what? Last season he was .283, with 22 homers in 126 games. That is pretty respectable for 38-year old. His BB/SO ratio could be better, but that is always the way with high SLG% type guys and he is .551 on average for a projected 162 games.

2) Stewart is younger, hits more singles and doubles, less homers, hence a higher career OBP year in/year out than Piazza, but he is 6 years younger too. Stewart used to steal bases, but has not done much since 2002. His high point for SB was in '98 when he had 51. Piazza, fogeddaboudit, doesn't steal (17 total for career)

3) As for Scoots, his only real season playing everyday, was in 2004 when he had to fill in for Ellis, after Ellis injured his shoulder running into Crosby during the last spring training game. Scutaro had a career year for him that season, 137 games, 455 ABs, 124 hits, 32 2B, 7 HR, 16/58 on the BB/SO ratio, hit .273 AV, OBP of .297 and SLG of .393. Last year he improved that OBP to .350 and the BB/SO ratio to 50/66. Not bad when he gets a chance everyday.

Later,
RDB

RobDogBucky · March 5th, 2007, 10:06 AM

Yes, the whole board to myself!

Well, self, the A's sounded pretty good, what few there were against the Padres yesterday in AZ. Swish, Durazo, Dan Johnson, along with starter ELoaiza and Rich Harden in 2 innings of relief.

Harden, wow, facing 6 hitters, 1 hit, 5 strike outs. I think he will be fine and what a smart thing to do to bring him back for a few innings at the end last season and in the playoffs. He sounded like he looked confident and Ray and Ken and Vince all sounded like they were really impressed with his outing. Rich made Branyan, both Giles and Gonzalez look out of synch at the plate from the sounds of it. ELO got into bases loaded trouble in his first, but got out unscathed. Good to hear he is rounding into form, with a normal spring routine this year hopefully setting him up to continue where he left off last season. Jay Marshall, described as a left-handed Chad Bradford with a submarine delivery, closed it out.

Ruby banged out two good hits, the first driving in the first run of the game. Isn't this San Diego team the same one that went to the playoffs last year? Why did they get rid of Bochy? Seems they have all their parts, save for Klesko and Piazza, to pick up where they left off. They played a lot more starters yesterday than the A's.

Yes, I know it was Cactus League and none of it means anything, but I like the sound of Ruby and Swish and even DJ getting hits against MLB pitching of any kind. Charles Thomas played in center, Goleski in left, Swish started in right, then left the game, and his replacement, Fazon (sp?) got a couple key hits after misjudging a flyball and giving up the lead to the Pads. Infield was weird, with Durazo at first, Donny Murphy(?) at second, A. Perez at short and Lew Merloni at third, with Melhuse catching. I think Kevin Mellilo also played some infield yesterday too. But there was no Bradley, Piazza, Stewart, Chavez, Kendall, Ellis, Crosby, etc.

Kurt Suzuki came in the game in the late innings as well. The pre-canned evaluations by David Forst, et al, really add to the broadcasts with so many young and minor league guys playing in these spring games. Ray Fosse loading up on the popcorn and ice cream cones, just because "baseball is on again," really made my day listening to them while puttering around the house.

Love the new FM signal from 106.9 FM too!

Good win yesterday against the mostly starting lineup of one of the NL's better teams. Why did they fire Bochy again?

Go A's!

Later,
RDB

ak4na2 · March 5th, 2007, 02:36 PM

i think the bochy firing was some sort of power struggle in the padres front office..

best thing about harden is he only threw fastball and change only.. which i think he should do in regular season games.. throw the splitter and slider every now and then.. to keep the hitters honest..

February 23rd, 2007, 03:08 PM	#1 (permalink)
RobDogBucky Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 118	The Good, The Bad, This Year? Okay, so I made this list a while back: Good = last season's story with Frank Thomas leading the way. Bad = Frank is gone Good = Piazza will take his place Bad = Lost the last of the Big 3 Good = New Big 3 emerges; Harden, Haren, Blanton/ELO Bad = Tarps on 3rd deck Good = Made playoffs after winning division, despite tarps Bad = Lost to Tiggers in ALCS Good = Swept the Twinkies in the ALDS Bad = Lost JayPay Good = Signed Shannon Stewart Bad = Saw Crosby injured again and w/Chavez made few offensive contributions Good = Saw Milton emerge as the player he was destined to be What will be this year's Good and Bad? My name is RobDogBucky and I am an A's boardaholic Later, RDB

February 26th, 2007, 07:53 PM	#8 (permalink)
RobDogBucky Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 118	Am curious Nat, why down on Piazza and Scutaro? I don't think Street will have any injury probs, hence I think he can keep his head on straight as well and not melt down as many times as he seemed to last year. I know that isn't a logical cause/effect statement to make, but hey until someone can tell me how the Cards won it all, anything can happen. Maybe having his mentor, Zito, right across the Bay will be helpful for him. I'm gonna stay optimistic on Street to continue to advance as a stellar closer and chalk both his and ELO's rocky starts last year to that WBC tournament they pitched in. From all accounts, all those pitchers abandoned their normal spring routines and pitched a lot without adequate preparation. Some have implied that the previous mgr. may have also misused him a tad at the end last year. Not to import any stale arguments from other boards, etc., but maybe a whole year pitching to Kendall will help Loaiza also. As for the Blanton thing, we are just goin to have to agree to disagree until they show it between the lines. As for Scutaro, Nat, how can you dis? He is the little spark plug. He really came through a lot in the last couple of years, especially against the Twins in the ALDS in that game three to sweep here. That was the best baseball day I have spent in quite a while and only look to better that feeling come October this year. Go A's! Later, RDB Last edited by RobDogBucky; February 26th, 2007 at 07:55 PM.

February 24th, 2007, 03:17 AM	#2 (permalink)
whobob Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 31	Blanton/ELO? Really? this year's good: Bradley will be the player he was REALLY destined to be and the bad: Bradley is gone.

February 24th, 2007, 10:06 AM	#3 (permalink)
RobDogBucky Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 118	Who; I think the good will include Piazza and Stewart contributing big time, ala Frank and JayPay. I know it is unrealistic to think they could get as lucky as Big Frank's team-leading effort, but likewise I don't think they will have as bad an injury-plagued year as last year's either. Kind of like water finding its own level after sloshing back and forth, like the angle of repose. As for someone becoming the third part of the new Big Three, I have long thought that Country Joe holds the ability, just needs a good kick in the butt or something to get him awake. He has such economy of motion that if he ever finds the permanent groove like I hope he will, he will remain consistently good for the long haul. Loaiza, well he has shown sparks of brilliance, especially last year after his drinking thing, when he basically led the league in pitching in August. I just think barring injury, and with renewed vigor on offense, that one of these two will step up and get 'er done, as they like to say. Bradley, Bradley, Bradley. C'mon, don't be so pessimistic (maybe realistic), as someone has to commit to staying here for the long haul and the new stadium, etc. I would rather think that it would be Piazza moving on, and I would like to dream that Milton will excel and stay here to call the Athetics his home and become a real leader and realize his potential for all to see. As long as he is not seen to spill anyone's coffee or anything. He did make some bonds with the team at the end of last season and I sure hope all that good will at the end translates into his blossoming into the undisputed team leader. Such potential. All that went well last year was born out of struggle and perseverence and new-found strength and loyalties. With the new player-friendly attitude from Geren, hopefully it will be just enough to get these A's over the hump and get to the WS this time. What is a Whobob doing up at 5AM on a Saturday? (that is the time stamp on my home computer for your postings) My name is RobDogBucky and I am an A's boardaholic Later, RDB

February 26th, 2007, 06:53 AM	#6 (permalink)
RobDogBucky Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 118	"....Blanton, for some reason, dominated the Mariners, which kept his stats respectable." And the fact that St. Louis would have had a losing record if they had not played the NL West, and if the Skanks had better competition in their own division would they have been steamrolled by the Tigers? Why did the team in the playoffs with the worst record, the most key injuries, beat the team with the league's best record over the course of the year? That is baseball I guess. Any minor set of cherry-picked stats could be set up as straw man to try to prove any point, nonetheless, the A's as a team dominated the Semen of Seattle. Winning those games you are supposed to win and getting reliable performances out of your regulars, along with run support when your starters go out there (Blanton's run support = Tim Hudson's A's run support), and being one of major leagues' most effective pitchers over a 2-year period, resonates with me more. I say Blanton shines this season. Later, RDB

February 26th, 2007, 05:00 PM	#7 (permalink)
Nat Moderator Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Ohio Posts: 1,317	I'm still not sold on Blanton as being anymore than an inning-eater for this team (ala Appier) but I'm sure he'll show occasional flashes of greatness at times. I expect more from Stewart (good) than Piazza (bad) this year, but as always I reserve the right to be wrong. Harden (good)seems to have a better outlook than Crosby on the long-term injury front (bad). Ellis will be back in form (good) but Crosby, even if healthy, isn't much better than average and neither is his backup (bad). There will be a log-jam at first if Johnson comes back well (good) but that would likely mean Swisher/DJ/Piazza all playing well means one will be traded midseason (hopefully the latter). Our bullpen is stacked (great) and should relieve the lighter-than-before rotation, but Street's shakiness late last season could continue into this one (bad). All in all I'm optimistic and expect the A's to exceed expectations once again...

February 27th, 2007, 11:03 AM	#9 (permalink)
Nat Moderator Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Ohio Posts: 1,317	Well, I know baseball is a balance, and not everyone is going to have a breakout season. I'm hoping Street overcomes his sophmore slump, but you know what they say....a pitcher is only as good as his last few outings. Hopefully with a better set of middle-relievers, he won't be used as much and not run down by Sept. this time around. As far as Piazza/Stewart, I don't expect both to rebound well in Oakland (that may just mean a pennant-winning season after all), so if I had to choose it would be SS, due to his age and recent (non-injured) track record. Mike still has some pop in his bat tho, so I expect him to be at least servicable in his new DH position. Scooter, well of course every A's fan loves this guy; but we tend to remember him in the clutch (which he excells, and let it be stated for the new Fanhome, clutch DOES EXIST)....whereas the every-day Scooter was average at best. Alot of 0-fers when he wasn't coming off the bench. I don't think the A's should mess with success....and he's proven to be most successful as a back-up/pinch-hitter. Same reason Olmedo Saenz was never slated to be the full-time DH...

February 27th, 2007, 12:30 PM	#10 (permalink)
RobDogBucky Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 118	Well, this board is slow in updating its data as well as somehow bouncing someone out if they don't type fast enough, as I have authored replies that when I tried to post, the board demanded I refresh, log-in (which I was) and then deleted entire draft. Nat, 3 itsy bitsy points; 1) You said "...Piazza/Stewart, I don't expect both to rebound well in Oakland" Piazza rebounding from what? Last season he was .283, with 22 homers in 126 games. That is pretty respectable for 38-year old. His BB/SO ratio could be better, but that is always the way with high SLG% type guys and he is .551 on average for a projected 162 games. 2) Stewart is younger, hits more singles and doubles, less homers, hence a higher career OBP year in/year out than Piazza, but he is 6 years younger too. Stewart used to steal bases, but has not done much since 2002. His high point for SB was in '98 when he had 51. Piazza, fogeddaboudit, doesn't steal (17 total for career) 3) As for Scoots, his only real season playing everyday, was in 2004 when he had to fill in for Ellis, after Ellis injured his shoulder running into Crosby during the last spring training game. Scutaro had a career year for him that season, 137 games, 455 ABs, 124 hits, 32 2B, 7 HR, 16/58 on the BB/SO ratio, hit .273 AV, OBP of .297 and SLG of .393. Last year he improved that OBP to .350 and the BB/SO ratio to 50/66. Not bad when he gets a chance everyday. Later, RDB

March 5th, 2007, 10:06 AM	#11 (permalink)
RobDogBucky Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 118	Yes, the whole board to myself! Well, self, the A's sounded pretty good, what few there were against the Padres yesterday in AZ. Swish, Durazo, Dan Johnson, along with starter ELoaiza and Rich Harden in 2 innings of relief. Harden, wow, facing 6 hitters, 1 hit, 5 strike outs. I think he will be fine and what a smart thing to do to bring him back for a few innings at the end last season and in the playoffs. He sounded like he looked confident and Ray and Ken and Vince all sounded like they were really impressed with his outing. Rich made Branyan, both Giles and Gonzalez look out of synch at the plate from the sounds of it. ELO got into bases loaded trouble in his first, but got out unscathed. Good to hear he is rounding into form, with a normal spring routine this year hopefully setting him up to continue where he left off last season. Jay Marshall, described as a left-handed Chad Bradford with a submarine delivery, closed it out. Ruby banged out two good hits, the first driving in the first run of the game. Isn't this San Diego team the same one that went to the playoffs last year? Why did they get rid of Bochy? Seems they have all their parts, save for Klesko and Piazza, to pick up where they left off. They played a lot more starters yesterday than the A's. Yes, I know it was Cactus League and none of it means anything, but I like the sound of Ruby and Swish and even DJ getting hits against MLB pitching of any kind. Charles Thomas played in center, Goleski in left, Swish started in right, then left the game, and his replacement, Fazon (sp?) got a couple key hits after misjudging a flyball and giving up the lead to the Pads. Infield was weird, with Durazo at first, Donny Murphy(?) at second, A. Perez at short and Lew Merloni at third, with Melhuse catching. I think Kevin Mellilo also played some infield yesterday too. But there was no Bradley, Piazza, Stewart, Chavez, Kendall, Ellis, Crosby, etc. Kurt Suzuki came in the game in the late innings as well. The pre-canned evaluations by David Forst, et al, really add to the broadcasts with so many young and minor league guys playing in these spring games. Ray Fosse loading up on the popcorn and ice cream cones, just because "baseball is on again," really made my day listening to them while puttering around the house. Love the new FM signal from 106.9 FM too! Good win yesterday against the mostly starting lineup of one of the NL's better teams. Why did they fire Bochy again? Go A's! Later, RDB

March 5th, 2007, 02:36 PM	#12 (permalink)
ak4na2 Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 103	i think the bochy firing was some sort of power struggle in the padres front office.. best thing about harden is he only threw fastball and change only.. which i think he should do in regular season games.. throw the splitter and slider every now and then.. to keep the hitters honest..