By Rich Funk
Recognize the guy above?
You shouldn't. That's Bobby Thigpen, the current record holder for most saves in a season.
Francisco Rodriguez of the Anaheim Angels has 48 saves with 6 weeks to go. Not only will he most likely break Thigpen's record, he's on pace to completely shatter it.
So we ask the eternal question: If someone breaks the single-season saves record, but it happens in the toilet of Anaheim Stadium, does anyone care?
By Governor X
Old news right? What has he done this time? He insulted baseball legend Vin Scully.
Jeff has never exactly been a fan favorite. The cop stache, attacking younger better players at every turn, being a former Giant, and generally being an asshole has caused Dodger fans to tolerate him when he's playing well (which he hasn't in years) but never embrace him.
Attacking Vin Scully is akin to attacking puppies or moms. Its just not done in polite society.
By Rich Funk
Being a Cubs fan, I haven't really ever had any interest in most teams here out west. But all of that has changed this season. Now that the Dodgers have clawed their way back into the NL West picture, I have to root for them.
Why the sudden change of heart? It's purely for selfish reasons.
If the Cubs win the NL Central, chances are that they'll have the best record in the NL. And since it looks like the Wild Card winner is also going to come out of the NL Central, the division winner will get to play either the East or West winner, whoever has the worst record.
So if everything goes according to plan, the Cubs will wind up playing the Dodgers in the NLCS. If that happens, for at least one game, the Cubs are coming to California, which gives me at least one more chance to see them.
So I'll root for the Dodgers to succeed, even though things between Manny and I aren't very good right now.
Does that also mean that I'll root for the Angels to make it to the World Series so the Cubs would have a chance to come back again if they were to make the Series as well? God no! A man has to have
some kind of standards.
By ,
Brad Ziegler's scoreless streak ended today at 39 innings when he gave up a run in the top of the 9th during today's game against the Tampa Bay Rays. His ERA now stands at .22...That's still pretty damn good if you ask me.
So Ziegler, congrats on your awesome, record-breaking scoreless streak. May you continue to kick ass out of the bullpen...
In other news, the A's have won 4 games since the ASB, and unless my math is wrong, they've scored 3 or fewer runs in 19 of their 25 games since the break.
What? I should have another beer? Ok...
By Governor X
A lot of things have been going on lately, but as you can tell, no one has posted anything here. I can only assume my cohorts, like the rest of the world, are pretending to give a shit about women's 200 meter underwater archery in Beijing. Xiao Jan Tu got the silver? Boo!
I have no excuse other than laziness, so here is a comprehensive update from the world of Finley...
Nomar is back, AndrEw is gone
Nomar Garciaparra returned from the DL Tuesday night ending Angel Berroa's reign of terror, at least until this Saturday when he goes back on the DL after contracting foot and mouth disease. He went 0 for 3 last night.
To make room for Nomar, a flimsy excuse was created to send AndrEw Jones to the DL. Good riddance.
My soccer team is in shambles.
LA Galaxy coach Ruud Gullit quit and the team fired Alexi Lalas on Monday. Cobi Jones will coach the team for the rest of the year. What?
People expecting an MLS Cup this year seem to have forgotten just how bad they were last year. A healthy and old David Beckham alone was never going to put them over the top. This year under Gullit they were nothing if not exciting, scoring and allowing goals like there was no tomorrow.
Firing Lalas may be an odd move, but at least it shows ownership isn't willing to just sit on a bad team and rake in all that Beckham money.
The Spanish basketball team offends 1 billion Chinese people.
The People's Liberation Army is marching on Madrid as I type this.
By Governor X
The Dodgers' medical staff has concluded that like Barbaro here, Jason Schmidt is beyond repair and its time to send him off to the glue factory. Remember Jason Schmidt? Think WAY back and you may recall one of his 83 mph fastballs getting hit out of Chavez Ravine.
Schmidt looks like he is officially done for the year, but honestly, did you really expect him to ever pitch for the Dodgers again? With a three year deal worth $47 million, Schmidt has made a total of 6 starts for LA, but hasn't seen a big league field in over a year. If you're curious, that works out to $7.83 million per start.
By Rich Funk
It's August, so time to make some crazy claims about the rest of the season out West. If I'm right about any of them, I'll rub it in everyone's faces. If I'm wrong, I can just delete the post. It's really win-win for me. And it's win-win for you, the reader because A) I'm awesome and B) you get to read the awesome stuff I'm writing. So if you and I are doing all this winning, who's losing? Why the Mariners, of course!
Prediction #1: Manny's Arrival Will Not Get The Dodgers Into The PlayoffsIf you look at the Dodgers and Diamondbacks, they have basically the same team. Run differentials, home/road records, number of players that have dated Alyssa Milano...all pretty much the same. The D-Backs are looking for a spark from Max Scherzer coming back, while the Dodgers are hoping Brad Penny can make a return.
So you gotta look at the schedule. Starting Monday, August 11, the Dodgers have to host Philly (4 games), Milwaukee and Colorado, and then head up to Philly for 4 more against the Fightin's. I would not be surprised if the Dodgers went 4-11 over those 15 games. As soon as that's over, they get Arizona the next week. Seeing how the Diamondbacks are starting to hit at home again...watch out.
Besides, I'll take Harden and Webb over Lowe and Billingsley any day.
2. Texas will finish behind Oakland in the AL West.Check out Texas' run differential. It's currently at -27, meaning that on the season, Texas has been outscored by their opponents by 27 runs. According to some math equation that I won't even pretend to understand, Texas
should have a record of 54-59 right now, and the A's should be at 58-53. Throw int he fact that Oakland should play better now that the trade deadline is past, and Texas can expect to be in 3rd again this season.
3. The Padres Will Continue To Chase The Mariners For The Best Record In BaseballOh, by "best record", I really mean "worst record". It's opposite day. Wait...no it's not. Yes it is. Wait...
By ,
Gio Gonzalez - one of the pitchers the A's got in the Nick Swisher trade -
has been called up, and will start tomorrow against the Blue Jays.
Gio is 8-7 with an ERA of 4.24 in AAA (not the American Automobile Association) this year. And although those numbers aren't too stellar, he seems to be improving - in his last start, Gio went 8 innings, giving up 2 hits and no runs with 9 K's. Legit!
I'm really excited. The A's are really struggling right now, and it'll be nice to see one of the young guys pitch. The A's say they're in "rebuilding" mode, so let's see what "the future" can do.
Just don't expect much of any run support, Gio. At this point, I think myself, my neighbor's Labrador, and the homeless guy that hangs out by the gas station down the street could score more runs in a game than the A's offense right now.
By Rich Funk
Knock it off right now. Seriously, just stop. You know who you are.
All those people in Orange County at their laptops and typewriters or whatever spewing forth this bile that K-Rod sould be the MVP? They can all die in a fire.
No.
No.
Stop it. Don't even think about it.
Seriously...stop it.
By ,
"Dude, why am I terrible?"When Daft Funk came home from
Thunderfist 2008, I was bombarded with tales of stolen motorcycles, Butch Walker, and losing one's eyebrows in Vietnam. But although I tried to listen, there was something else on my mind - the Oakland Athletics are playing some lousy baseball. They have won 2 games since the All-Star Break. They have scored 2 runs or fewer in over half of their games since the break. Chavy is out for the season. And although our pitching has been alright (with the exception of a few bad outings...But you can't be perfect every time), you can't expect to win a ton of games if you can't score more than 2 runs. And what's going on with Huston Street? Argh...Why don't they just change their name to the Oakland Awfuletics?
Anyway, after we were swept by the Red Sox over the weekend, I decided that I had 2 choices - I can either develop an ulcer, or I can start looking on the bright side. I don't have the money to pay for medical treatment, so I chose the latter. This was
supposed to be a re-building year. We were
supposed to finish in the basement of the AL West (although thanks to Seattle, that prediction probably won't come true). I think I just got my hopes up because the A's had a surprisingly good first half. But now I'm beginning to get a picture of what the A's were
supposed to play like, and it ain't pretty. But there are bright spots to focus on...
1. The bullpen: Brad Ziegler has yet to give up a run since he made his debut in the majors - he's had a 0.00 ERA for over 30 innings. Jerry Blevins has an ERA of 1.23. Joey Devine is back. Santiago Casilla seems to be returning to form - he hasn't given up a run in his last 6 appearances. Huston Street is well...um...nevermind. Let's move on...
2. The young guys. Ryan Sweeney has an average that hovers around .300. Kurt Suzuki has been hitting the ball well. Carlos Gonzalez is looking good in center field. Watching those guys gives me hope that the A's will develop into a good, young team over the next couple of years. Which leads me to one more bright spot for the A's...
3. The farm system. Ours seems to contain quite a bit of talent. Trevor Cahill, Brett Anderson, Gio, Aaron Cunningham, Adrian Cardenas. I am excited to see what these guys can do. Or maybe Beane can flip some of the prospects he got in his various trades for a stud hitter. (although I think I'd be peeved if he traded away Cahill, Anderson, or Cunningham). Either way, I think the future is looking pretty bright.
So although the A's currently cause me to drain 6-packs of Schlitz (what? I'm broke), I will keep watching games and focus on the good. Besides, anything is better than watching ESPN give minute-by-minute Brett Favre updates. Ugh.
A lot of things have been going on lately, but as you can tell, no one has posted anything here. I can only assume my cohorts, like the rest of the world, are pretending to give a shit about women's 200 meter underwater archery in Beijing. Xiao Jan Tu got the silver? Boo!
My soccer team is in shambles.
