| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | ||
| KC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| OAK | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | X | 6 | 9 | 0 |
ANGELS ACQUIRE ALBERTO CALLASPO FROM ROYALSOakland Athletics Postgame Alert
July 18, 2010
Oakland 9, Kansas City 6 at Kauffman Stadium
Oakland Record: (46-46)
Kansas City Record: (39-52)
Winning pitcher - Vin Mazzaro (5-2)
Losing pitcher - Brian Bannister (7-8)
SV - Andrew Bailey (20)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | ||
| OAK | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 10 | 1 | |
| KC | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 2 |
| Oakland Athletics Postgame Alert July 17, 2010 Oakland 6, Kansas City 5 at Kauffman Stadium Oakland Record: (45-46) Kansas City Record: (39-51) Winning pitcher - Craig Breslow (4-2) Losing pitcher - Joakim Soria (0-2) SV - Andrew Bailey (19)
GAME LINKS: Recap Full Box Score Photo Gallery Highlights Visit oaklandathletics.com for more information » Standings » Game Notes » Next Oakland Game: July 18, 2010 01:10 PM CT vs. Kansas City Royals Upcoming Oakland Home Games: vs. Boston Red Sox, July 19, 2010 07:05 PM PT Purchase Tickets vs. Boston Red Sox, July 20, 2010 07:05 PM PT Purchase Tickets vs. Boston Red Sox, July 21, 2010 12:35 PM PT Purchase Tickets |
C.J. Wilson is coming off a complete game, has pitched at least six innings every start and is among the best in the American League with a 1.51 ERA.
Well, this is the first pre-season game for both teams. It seems interesting to me that Hillman, the Royals manager, shifted his rotation to accomidate for the change in starting pitcher. He switched his starter when the Rangers went with Benson instead of Harrison. I do not have a picture of Benson, so I went with a baseball picture.
Actually, since I never cease... I found a picture of the fella...
Scouting Report:Rangers to Watch:
This looks like it will be a fun game, even though both starters will only last two innings tops, and that probably means the hitters will be doing the same thing and get pulled five or six innings into things... if that late. Still, welcome to pre-season.
Forecast: Not knowing how and when each player gets work, if they get work in the game at all, and the starters only throwing 30 pitches or so, it is almost impossible to figure out what will take place today. And then there is the question of how effective Benson will be in his 30 pitches or so... I am going to say that the Rangers will take this one, although start off slow and then tapper off once things get started. Score: Rangers win this: 6-4.
Home Plate
Game 160: The Twins have the inside track with a fairly easy opponent in the Royals. Still, this is the majors and one shouldn't count the other out until they have a 20 run lead...
Scouting Report:
Game 159: The White Sox and Twins are neck and neck, with the Twins having a 1/2 game edge. The Sox have a tougher opponent in the Indians... and then one game against Detroit, should it be needed.
Scouting Report: 
Forecast: Here's the thing. The Twins should just be given two of these next three games, meaning that the White Sox need to win three out of their next four to force a tie. Well... I do like the Royals chances in this one, but the Twins will take it with a score of 4-2. For the Sox, they are sending Danks, who should be a Ranger... (bitter much?)... and has great enough numbers, that he should take this one for the Sox... with a score of 3-2.
Here was the previous time I covered Bannister in a start against the Ranger: Game 68. I guess the questions I have about this team this year: Do they have enough spirit left in them to finish above 500? With the worst ERA in the majors, will the pitching ever step up with the players we have now, or do we have to find other pitchers?
One thing is for certain, Harrison is an answered prayer for the Rangers rotation. He is still very, very green, but he is getting it. I guess you could say that I am on the Harrison band wagon. And when Neftali gets to Arlington, I will be on that band wagon, as well. Both have thrown no-hitters for Frisco this season and both will be very strong in the majors.The current roster is 12-48 with 2 doubles, 4 HRs, and 8 RBIs.
Matt Harrison comes into this one with a higher ERA than Bannister and way less ML experience. He is 5-3 with a 6.27 ERA this season and is 2-1 with a 9.00 ERA on the road. Opponents are hitting him for a .364 BA on the road and .299 overall. He has never faced the Royals. His last start against Cleveland he only lasted 3.2 innings, but before that start, he went eight innings against the Rays. Oddly enough, he seems to do well against the better teams and lets his guard down against the cellar teams. And it doesn't get any more cellar than the Royals, am I right?
Forecast: I noticed that I have more posts this month than in any other month. My previous high was two months ago. Interesting. Anyway... it troubles me that games Harrison should seriously dominate, he fizzles. How will he do in this game? Well, my prediction of a hammering should simply state my feelings. Rangers drop this runfest by a score of 14-9.
"One of the great things about books is sometimes there are some fantastic pictures." -George W. Bush 
Zack comes into this game with a 9-9 record and a 3.86 ERA. Kansas City has a better team ERA than the Rangers (who happen to rank dead last with a 5.41 ERA). Zack is 2-3 in his career against Texas and has a 4.11 ERA. He has given up 5 HRs in 35 innings and the Rangers hit him for a .268 batting average. His last start, he went seven innings and lost, only giving up two runs on four hits and no walks. The two runs were solo HRs and he struck out 9 batters in the process.The Rangers are going to be in trouble for this one. Hamilton is 0-3 against him and Vasquez and Kinsler own some pretty good numbers on him... they will be out due to injury.
Millwood. His ERA is high... he's 7-7 with a 5.24 ERA. He's started 10 games against the Royals and is 5-3 with a 5.22 ERA. In Millwood's last start, he went 9 innings and gave up only one run in a victory over the Tigers. In his last start, he saw his ERA drop from 5.58 down to 5.24. Could he be back on track?
The current Royals team is 67-201 for a batting average of .333. The Royals ahve 15 doubles, 2 triples, and 5 HRs with 38 RBIs. Millwood could make this one interesting.
Forecast: After twelve years of therapy my psychiatrist said something that brought tears to my eyes. He said, "No hablo ingles." And this Rangers season not grabbing a winning record at the end... why that is bringing tears to my eyes. Seriously, the Rangers drop this one, 4-3.
I'm just getting so bummed out at how the Rangers just couldn't manage to put together a win. It feels so heart-breaking. I know we've hit the part of the season where we simply say "next year", but I would still like to see the guys out there playing at least 500 baseball... too much to ask? Honestly, I do not think so...
The Rangers have lost six of Feldman's last seven starts and his last five in a row. What will make today any different? Probably not much. The Rangers are colder than a Popsicle in Antarctica during the ice age. And, the Rangers just got swept by the Indians... granted the Tribe is playing good baseball, but a sweep? Come on. I think it was a combined hotness vs. coldness.The current Ranger roster is batting .308 (41-133) with 10 doubles, 2 triples, 5 HRs, and 19 RBIs. You can do the math to figure out what the rest of the roster (roster minus Young, Blalock, and Laird) musters together.
Forecast: I believe the Rangers woes will continue. Meche is pitching well and the Rangers are pitching just bad enough to lose. The sticks are pretty limpy and the offense fights real hard to try and stay in these games... and they fail. The loses of Kinsler and Murphy have hurt the team in motivation and spirit. And until the two return, it will be difficult at best for the Rangers offense. Royals take this one 7-4.
Home Plate
Pitcher Eric Hurley, the 30th overall selection in the 2004 draft, will make his Major League debut on Thursday against the Kansas City Royals. Hurley has a 5.30 ERA in AAA this season but has pitched much better lately. If you didn't read my review of his season on Sunday, you might want to check it out. Hurley has been homer-prone, but Kansas City is batting .258/.311/.370 as a team with an MLB-worst 37 homers.
Hurley’s first seven starts:Hurley’s last six starts:
Homers remain a problem for Hurley. 20% of his outfield fly balls left the yard in his early starts. Since then, the homer/fly rate is 21%. His rate of walks plus HBPs has been league-average in both his older and recent starts.
Brian Bannister is a career 1-1 against Texas and in his last start, he gave up seven runs in three innings of work. His career ERA on the Rangers is 6.30 and the Rangers hit him for a .262 batting average.
This season, Bannister is 5-6 with a 4.98 ERA. Opponents hit him with a .275 batting average. In 13 starts, he has thrown 6 innings or more 7 times and being held to under five innings twice, including his last start against the Yankees.
He opened the season with three straight wins. Kansas City is 5-8 when he starts.
Rangers to Watch: (most a player has is 4 at-bats)... but as a team, the Rangers are 8-27 (.296 BA) with three home runs and seven RBIs. Hamilton, Bradley, and Boggs all have homeruns and they are the ones with the RBIs, as well.
Forecast: I simply wonder if Hurley is going to have any debut jitters. He's been hot in the minors of late... but it was his first time in AAA and we can see how he adjusted to that... it took seven rough starts to work out the bugs. Will the bugs revisit him in a Ranger uniform? Yes. Rangers will still win it by a score of 8-5. Hurley still gets his first ML win, despite the rough outing. Johnny Out.
SPOTLIGHT PUTTING A FINGER ON WOES
This is an older picture of Kyle Davies. I guess he played for the Barbies in the off season or something. Davies is a career 0-3 in three starts. He has 12.1 innings against the Rangers with 12 runs (11 earned) on him for an 8.03 ERA. The Rangers knock him for a .345 batting average. He's also issued 9 walks over that stretch. This season, Davies is having a great start. He's 2-0 in two starts with 11.2 innings and handled the Yankees and the Indians masterfully. And it was NY in NY, so that does say something. He's given up one run in each of his two starts. That's a 1.54 ERA.
Rangers to Watch:
As a team, the current Ranger roster is 14-41 (a .341 BA), seven doubles, 1 HR, and 6 RBIs.
Padilla is coming off his first loss since April 22nd in Detroit. The Rangers had won 7 straight when Padilla takes the hill (Padilla was 5-0 over that span). The Rangers are a total 10-3 when he walks to the mound. He is 1-1 against Kansas City in three starts and has a 4.30 ERA and a .259 BAA. That stretches over 14.2 innings.
His last start against Kansas City was on September 5th of last year. He pitched six innings and gave up ZERO runs on two hits and two walks. The Rangers won that game 3-2. The Rangers also won his other start on Kansas City last year, 4-3 on August 15th, but Padilla didn't grab a win that time. He gave up 4 hits and one unearned run and no walks. He had a season high 8 strikeouts in that game. That was his first start after coming off the DL.
Royals to Watch:
As a team, the Royals are 20-78 (.256 BA) with 2 doubles, 1 HR, and 3 RBIs. Padilla should dominate them tonight.
Forecast: Rangers dominate the Royals tonight. This time it is pretty much from start to finish, Padilla goes seven innings, gives up one run, and the Rangers win it with a score of 6-2. Johnny Out.
This is a series the Rangers should sweep. That's how I feel about it, going into it without doing any study of the pitchers. You could say that I have some extra bias. 
Kevin Millwood is 4-3 with a 4.65 ERA coming into this game. He is a career 5-3 against the Royals, and grabbed a win against Kansas City despite a poor pitching performance.The Rangers rank first in team batting average, fourth in HRs, first in slugging percentage and first in scoring runs. The Rangers also rank last in ERA, 27th in strikeouts, and last in WHIP.
Kansas City, in those same categories, 18th in batting average, last in HRs, 28th in slugging percentage, 29th in scoring runs, 25th in ERA, and 16th in strikeouts.
Gil Meche is 3-8 with a 5.54 ERA. He is 4-8 in his career against Texas and is 1-4 at home this year. His ERA against Texas is 6.68 and has given up 18 HRs in 66 innings. That is one HR in 3 2/3 innings. Texas hits him for a .295 batting average.
This is going to be a smaller post, since my computer is having a few issues.
Forecast: Despite the issues, this is going to be an easy win for Millwood. I probably don't need all the numbers to know that the Rangers win it: 6-0. Johnny Out.
Zack Greinke goes up against Sidney Ponson. This is an interesting matchup in that Sidney has one start in which he gave up five runs, but only one earned in a game in which the Rangers would eventually lose. Greinke has pitched well enough to be 5-0 going into this game.The current Royals roster bats .314 against Ponson. Last season, Ponson started twice against Kansas City and went 0-2 with a 8.71 ERA, in which he pitched 10.1 innings, gave up 10 runs and 4 homeruns. Last year, Kansas City hit .378 against Kansas City. He’s 0-2 with a 13.81 ERA in his last four games against them dating to May 17, 2005.
Donald Zackary "Zack" Greinke has a 1.25 ERA with a 3-0 record. He's already posted one complete game in his five starts and everyone is hitting a .226 batting average this season. His career against Texas isn't all too awesome. He has 7 appearances, five starts, and has a record of 2-2. The Rangers have been hitting a .291 batting average against Zack, who has put up a 4.50 ERA in all his games against Texas.
Last season, Greinke pitched three games against the Rangers, one start, totalling 7 innings of work and an ERA of zero. He gave up five hits and struck out 8 and held the Rangers to a .192 batting average. He was 1-0 last season against Texas.
Players to look for:
And that is it. There are several other players who do well against Zack, but they will not be playing due to injury. Now, the Rangers have won 3 out of their last 5, so they have a little something going. Tomorrow, the Rangers play in Oakland. Just an FYI...
No matter how I try to justify it, the Rangers just don't size up quite right for this game. I don't know if I can say that the Rangers are going to win, at least with what is written above. Forecast: Kansas City doesn't score another 9 runs, but does walk away with a win of the game/series. Score: 5-2. Johnny Out.
Well, the jokers won yesterday. The Rangers are going to make some noise in this series, though. I took some time off from posting since there wasn't too much to post about. The Mavs and Rangers just having been winning much... which makes Johnny a dull boy. I will be following Blake Beaven through the minors. He's going to be a special pitcher in the Majors, hopefully staying a Ranger for a long time.
You know, I am going to be optimistic. It's tough. The Mavs just fired their coach... and people are already itching about the skipper here. I will still give my report card later on this season on JD and Washington... and whoever I believe should be checked out. Still... oh well. Here's the forecast: Bannister can't handle the wind; Rangers win 6-3. Johnny Out.
Now the Royals have the worst ERA right now... so they are more worthy of the bashing than the Cubs, although the Cubs are still not doing great by any means. And Dusty Baker is the worst coach in the history of baseball. Period. My grandmother, who knows nothing of the sport, could do a better job than him, with all do respect. :-) And now Kerry Wood may be done. The background is a picture I took of the Ballpark in Arlington, now called Ameriquest Field... 
