Do you think the Halos will keep Shields in the rotation? He made a pretty good starter...
Not sure yet. I hope so. I think he could do very well as a starter.
Even with the implosion against Detroit last year.
Yes doctor, I am sick. Sick of those who are spineless. Sick of those who feel self-entitled. Sick of those who are hypocrites. Yes doctor, an army is forming. Yes doctor, there will be a war. Yes doctor, there will be blood.....
ramble2 wrote:The West should be fun next year. But with Zito, Hudson, Mulder, Harden and (?), the A's will be fine. They may start off slow in the runs department, but by the end of the season they'll be producing enough to win.
Question: If they start off slow in run production, what will make it increase towards the end?
Don't say getting another bat. They need to do that now, in my opinion.
Yes doctor, I am sick. Sick of those who are spineless. Sick of those who feel self-entitled. Sick of those who are hypocrites. Yes doctor, an army is forming. Yes doctor, there will be a war. Yes doctor, there will be blood.....
ramble2 wrote:The West should be fun next year. But with Zito, Hudson, Mulder, Harden and (?), the A's will be fine. They may start off slow in the runs department, but by the end of the season they'll be producing enough to win.
Question: If they start off slow in run production, what will make it increase towards the end?
Don't say getting another bat. They need to do that now, in my opinion.
Agreed. The A's are basically Eric Chavez and then a bunch of Jeff Duncan's.
ramble2 wrote:The West should be fun next year. But with Zito, Hudson, Mulder, Harden and (?), the A's will be fine. They may start off slow in the runs department, but by the end of the season they'll be producing enough to win.
Question: If they start off slow in run production, what will make it increase towards the end?
Don't say getting another bat. They need to do that now, in my opinion.
Well, I said that for a few reasons.
1. Optimism.
2. I'm hoping that the young players (e.g., Crosby) will mature as the season progresses.
3. Durazo finally started doing what Billy wanted him to do at the end of last season. Kielty and Kotsay may take some time to get comfortable in the A's system too.
4. Over the last few seasons, the A's have followed the same pattern. Start off slower than anticipated. Then tweak, fix, trade, cobble, bandage and pray, and they start clicking. I don't think that's a coincidence, and I think it will probably repeat again next year.
5. Billy Beane. I agree they need a bat now. But it's easier for a team like the A's to get a bat in a trade than it is in a free agent. There will be another trade this summer.
They won't be as explosive an offense as other teams, but once the players get comfortable and figure out the system, there will be a lot of guys who are tough outs in that lineup. They'll work pitchers and get to bullpens. They'll get on base. And when you get on base enough, eventually you score some runs.
"The game has a cleanness. If you do a good job, the numbers say so. You don't have to ask anyone or play politics. You don't have to wait for the reviews." - Sandy Koufax
Madison wrote:Question: If they start off slow in run production, what will make it increase towards the end?
4. Over the last few seasons, the A's have followed the same pattern. Start off slower than anticipated. Then tweak, fix, trade, cobble, bandage and pray, and they start clicking. I don't think that's a coincidence, and I think it will probably repeat again next year.
I was just about to say that. The last few years, the A's have been a 2nd half team, for one piece of evidence, look at Chavez's 1st and 2nd half splits:
Career BA/RBI/OPS/K's:
1st half: .256/222/.802/275 2nd half: .301/244/.902/187
Obviously this isn't the whole picture, but Chavy's splits are pretty obvious, as are Tejada's from the last 2 yrs.
I do agree that typically the A's bats are slow starting. If I was the manager or owner, I'd be irritated that they don't start hitting sooner. Imagine how much better they would have been the last couple of years if they would come out of the gates ready to hit.
Yes doctor, I am sick. Sick of those who are spineless. Sick of those who feel self-entitled. Sick of those who are hypocrites. Yes doctor, an army is forming. Yes doctor, there will be a war. Yes doctor, there will be blood.....
Madison wrote:I do agree that typically the A's bats are slow starting. If I was the manager or owner, I'd be irritated that they don't start hitting sooner. Imagine how much better they would have been the last couple of years if they would come out of the gates ready to hit.
It would pay to be an A's fan if they did that. Imagine if Chavez hit like that all year?
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by pkarr5000 » Sat Dec 06, 2003 11:59 am 
