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Archive for October, 2012
Most of my time as a sports blogger has been spent writing about the Detroit Tigers. During that time, there were few relievers I feared pitching against Detroit more than Pat Neshek in 2006 and 2007.In five appearances vs. the Tigers in 2006, Neshek allowed one run over 6.1 innings for a 1.42 ERA. He struck out 10 batters while walking none. Overall, Neshek had a 2.19 ERA in 32 appearances with a rate of 12.9 strikeouts per nine innings.In 2007, Neshek emerged as one of the best relievers in MLB. He compiled a 2.94 ERA in 74 appearances, striking ...
The Detroit Tigers took Game 1 of the 2012 ALDS, beating the Oakland Athletics 3-1. Though the team is down one game in a five-game series, there's no reason for worry—yet. The game opened up with excitement as leadoff batter Coco Crisp hit a home run against Tigers ace Justin Verlander. However, Verlander regained composure as the game progressed, striking out 11 A's batters along the way. Jose Valverde came into for the save. It was a pitching duel—one decided by defense. Though the A's didn't hit particularly well, there was still plenty of positive takeaways from the Oct. 6 ALDS opener. Here are nine ...
The Oakland A's were quite good in the second half of the 2012 season. So good, in fact, that they had us all asking the same question every time they actually lost a game:"Wait a second, how the heck did that just happen?"Here we are on this Saturday night asking this question after Oakland's 3-1 loss to the Detroit Tigers in Game 1 of the American League Division Series. What the heck kind of person/thing/ominous force sucked the life out of this A's team?It was mostly Justin Verlander's doing, of course. He was better than we've ever seen him in the ...
Pat Neshek came into Saturday night's American League Divisional Series game in the same tight situation that he's seen many times before in his six-year career.With men on first and second for the Detroit Tigers, the Oakland Athletics reliever's main job was to escape the jam with a two-run deficit intact.At first glance, it seemed like a regular appearance for Neshek. However, when you look at what Neshek has had to go through in the past week, it was so much more.The reliever has had to go through a lot in his career. After beginning with his home town Minnesota ...
The bottom line of Game One in Detroit: Justin Verlander continued his dominance of the A's offense.The Tigers won 3-1, largely on Verlander's powerful right arm. But in a series that could very well be a matter of Oakland needing to win the three games he doesn't start, there was a positive to take away—the poise of rookie starter Jarrod Parker.The overall line won't blow you away: 6 1/3 innings, seven hits, three runs (two earned) with a walk and five strikeouts. But it was not the numbers as much as how well Parker ...
Coco Crisp boosted the Oakland A's early on, giving them a lead four pitches into the game. Then, the A's couldn't do anything right on offense.Despite struggling to keep his pitch count to a minimum, Justin Verlander struck out 11 through seven strong innings as the Detroit Tigers beat the A's 3-1 in Game 1 of the ALDS. Verlander picked up the win, while Jarrod Parker, who allowed three runs (two earned) in over six innings, took the loss.Parker made an error that brought home a run for the Tigers, and he allowed a home run to Alex Avila. Despite ...
Pitching: Detroit: A-Justin Verlander headlines a pitching staff that has a nice mix of young arms and veterans with postseason experience. Max Scherzer, Doug Fister and Rick Porcello round out the rotation, while Drew Smyly was added to the playoff roster for depth. As a group, they can pile up the strikeouts, but also can lose their command and issue too many walks. They should get plenty of run support with an offense that features Miguel Cabrera, Prince Fielder and Austin Jackson, so the pitching likely just has to be good, not great, for the Tigers to advance.Oakland: B+The power of ...
Oakland Athletics co-owner Lew Wolff announced Oct. 5 he will not be removing the third-deck tarps for postseason home games, according to Carolyn Jones of SFGate.com. Though the third deck should be available for playoffs, Mount Davis should still remain covered.Wolff cites an "intimate fan experience" as his reasoning for denying additional seating to A's fans' first postseason action since 2006.That's a poor excuse.This is the playoffs. The Athletics haven't played baseball in October for six years. Furthermore, attendance has been terrible all season, yet now that the team is winning, games are sold out.Worried the postseason won't sell out?Game ...
The AL West champion Oakland Athletics have announced their 25-man roster for their upcoming American League Division Series against the Detroit Tigers according to MLB.com's Jane Lee.The roster includes left-handed pitcher Brett Anderson, who boasts a 4-2 record this season with a 2.57 ERA. The move to include Anderson is somewhat surprising though considering that he has not pitched since he lost 6-2 at Detroit on September 19.Anderson suffered an oblique strain a few weeks back according to Lee, but could be the A's starter in a potential close-out situation for either side in Game 3. The Athletics will travel to ...
The Oakland A's stunned the baseball world on Wednesday, completing a three-game sweep of the two-time defending AL champions Texas Rangers and clinching the AL West title. It was the first time since April that the Rangers weren't in at least a tie for first place. General manager Billy Beane has been up to his old tricks this season, assembling a World Series contender with a Dollar General payroll. Thanks to his young, talented pitching staff, Oakland won 94 games and sported the second best ERA in the AL. However, some have questioned whether the A's are legitimate World Series ...