Author Topic: The A's and the Cardinals, sneaky good suddenly  (Read 1154 times)

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Offline EasyAce

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The A's and the Cardinals, sneaky good suddenly
« on: August 15, 2018, 07:50:05 pm »
By Yours Truly
https://throneberryfields.blogspot.com/2018/08/the-as-and-cardinals-sneaky-good.html


Chad Pinder, Ramon Laureano, and Stephen Piscotty
(l to r) have lots of reasons to feel good as the A's
season heads to the stretch . . .


A St. Louis-vs.-Oakland World Series probably seems about as realistic as Donald Trump admitting he's been light years better at building a brand than he's been at building businesses. Except that the way the Cardinals and the A's have been playing lately, it might not be that realistic to bet against the idea.

It's not that the Boston threshing machine looks like it's going to break down ignominiously over the final third of the season. (Careful when you say that.) Or, if they don't break down then, break down somewhere between season's end and Series' beginning. But as Satchel Paige once said, don't look back---something might be gaining on you.

Two somethings are gaining, one in each league. What a difference a third of the season makes.

Where the hell did these A's come from? As late as 10 July they were ten out of first in the American League West while the defending world champion Astros seemed to have another death grip on the division, a hiccup or three notwithstanding. That was despite a surge in the making that kicked off in earnest 15 June.

But since that 10 July date the A's have baseball's best record (21-7) and a 49+ run differential . . . while the Astros since the same date have a 4+ run differential while having gone 11-15. On Tuesday night they beat the Mariners while the Astros went down to the Rockies. They're now one game out in the AL West.

Yes, the Astros look like a M*A*S*H unit's post-op ward. Carlos Correa is back after a 37-game disabled list absence (back), but defending AL Most Valuable Player Jose Altuve is down with a knee injury, defending World Series MVP George Springer is down with a thumb injury, regular catcher Brian McCann is out with a knee injury, stalwart pitcher Lance McCullers is out with an elbow issue, and relief pitcher Chris Devenski is out with a hamstring injury though due to begin a rehab assignment in the minors.

But they're also stuck all of a sudden for ways to win at home. As of Tuesday night they're on the third-longest home losing streak in their history. Even their top of the line starting rotation hasn't been able to solve it. Even Justin Verlander isn't immune; gifted a 1-0 lead after five, if "gifted" is the word, Verlander got two quick outs in the sixth before surrendering a single up the pipe and then Nolen Arrenado's two-run homer. The bullpen surrendered two more (including a two-run bomb by Trevor Story) and the loss was 4-1.

Meanwhile, the A's won a squeaker against the Mariners with their bullpen holding the fort admirably over the final four innings, including---pay careful attention---former National Blake Trienen shaking off a pair of hits to close it out without a blemish otherwise. It must be a ball playing pressureless baseball, entering a season with no expectations and barreling toward the home stretch like you've suddenly found a source of superpowers.

Why, the A's may have even yielded someone into the MVP conversation. Between coming almost out of nowhere with an authoritative bat in the right spots (he has eight runs batted in since 3 August), and playing third base in ways enough to make you think of Casey Stengel's lament over Brooklyn third base legend Billy Cox (That ain't a third baseman, that's a bleep acrobat!), Matt Chapman is beginning to find mention in the same breaths as Mookie Betts, J.D. Martinez, and---until he went down with a wrist injury and then away for his brother-in-law's premature death---Mike Trout.

In some ways, the A's may even have been better off than the Cardinals when their unlikely resurrection began. Five days after the A's sat ten out, the Cardinals executed manager Mike Matheny, who never had a losing record on that bridge, but who finally wore out his welcome when his oft-suspect in-game management was joined by his having inadvertently turned the Cardinals clubhouse into a nervous wreck, especially deputising in-house snitches, possibly including one too many who hadn't been raised in their system.

The Cardinals were seven and a half out when Matheny and two coaches (including hitting coach John Mabry) were ushered out. With bench coach Mike Shildt taking the bridge on an interim basis that may not stay interim for very long, now, the Cardinals have since gone 18-9, have only one pair of back-to-back losses, and are now riding a nine-game winning streak.

They swept the dissipating Royals this past weekend and have taken the first two of a four-game set with the reeling Nationals. Monday night, after a back-and-forth tussle, shortstop Paul DeJong ended it with a leadoff blast over the center field fence. Tuesday night, Nationals starter Gio Gonzalez relapsed following a solid outing against the Braves last week and the Cardinals dismantled him for five earned runs, including a hefty two-run homer into the left field seats by . . . Cardinals starting pitcher John Gant.

Oh, they still needed Kolten Wong's two-run double in the fourth and his solo homer in the sixth to stay one jump ahead of the Nats, who managed to add three in the late innings on Bryce Harper's two-run bomb and Daniel Murphy's RBI single, both in the eighth, but Dakota Hudson and Jordan Hicks held the fort and the 6-4 win.

And all this has been achieved without Carlos Martinez (on the disabled list over his shoulder, but possibly being ticketed for the bullpen when he returns) Adam Wainwright (once their staff ace, now rehabbing in Florida, and possibly having a ticket to the bullpen waiting for him, too, though his team leadership remains invaluable), and Michael Wacha (the one-time super-prospect rebuilding endurance on rehab to return to the rotation).

On the day of Matheny's execution FanGraphs had the Cardinals with only a 21 percent shot at the postseason. Today they have a 34 percent chance. It won't be simple; they only have three more to play against the Cubs, but those will be in Wrigley Field---and the Cardinals are ahead in the season series between the two. They have six more against the Brewers, ahead of them now by two in the division and the wild card, but they're all in St. Louis. Including those two teams, the Cardinals still have 42 games left to play and 36 of them will be against teams now at .500 or better.

Don't bet against them just yet. The way they've been playing since Shildt took the bridge, these Cardinals could send the bat boy out there and he's liable to make a game-changing difference when you least expect it. And they could yet fall into a tie with the A's for the season's best feel-good story when it shakes out in the end.

Who would have thought the Cardinals and the A's would be this much fun after the ways their seasons once threatened to shake out? And who's to say it wouldn't be a kick if---big "if"---they ended up in the World Series? Don't get that hope up too high . . . but don't think it's entirely impossible. Both teams have played improbable baseball in the middle third of the season.

And baseball has its ways of reminding you that, in seasons of improbables, the impossible can happen.
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« Last Edit: August 15, 2018, 07:54:52 pm by EasyAce »


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Offline GrouchoTex

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Re: The A's and the Cardinals, sneaky good suddenly
« Reply #1 on: August 15, 2018, 08:19:51 pm »
Astros have dropped 5 straight, a 4 game sweep by the Mariners, and a Rockies loss last night, all at home,and during the legends weekend here.
The AL west and The NL west, where the 2 2018 world series teams came from, has just become real interesting.

Offline AllThatJazzZ

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Re: The A's and the Cardinals, sneaky good suddenly
« Reply #2 on: August 24, 2018, 01:15:05 am »
Interesting. Having watched as the A's have gotten on a hot streak, I don't mind telling you that they've made me a little nervous for the past few weeks -- especially in light of so many of our top tier players on the DL. One by one, we're getting healthy again, so have fun speculating.





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Offline GrouchoTex

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Re: The A's and the Cardinals, sneaky good suddenly
« Reply #3 on: August 24, 2018, 01:57:01 pm »
Astros did take 2 out of 3 from the Mariners, so that was a good sign.
In Anaheim for the weekend.
1.5 lead today, over the A's.
When Tyler White came up in the past, he hit two home runs in his first week, and was named player of the week.
Then he dropped off.
This time, he has 98 a bats, hitting .306 with 8 home runs and 17 rbi.
Looks like he's come around.
Pushed Evan Gattis out of the line up.

Offline AllThatJazzZ

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Re: The A's and the Cardinals, sneaky good suddenly
« Reply #4 on: August 24, 2018, 04:52:03 pm »
@GrouchoTex

Seems like when one cools down, another comes along to fill that gap. Maldonado has also been impressive. I'm not unhappy with our lineup. Regardless of who is at bat, it's not a foregone conclusion for me that his AB will be fruitless. Yes, they could be hotter. Still, I always believe that the next pitch has the potential for a big play by the 'Stros.

Hoping Springer will be playing tonight.

A shout-out to the Rangers and Twins, for throwing some cold water on that hot streak the A's have been on.  :beer:


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Offline GrouchoTex

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Re: The A's and the Cardinals, sneaky good suddenly
« Reply #5 on: August 24, 2018, 05:21:59 pm »
@GrouchoTex

Seems like when one cools down, another comes along to fill that gap. Maldonado has also been impressive. I'm not unhappy with our lineup. Regardless of who is at bat, it's not a foregone conclusion for me that his AB will be fruitless. Yes, they could be hotter. Still, I always believe that the next pitch has the potential for a big play by the 'Stros.

Hoping Springer will be playing tonight.

A shout-out to the Rangers and Twins, for throwing some cold water on that hot streak the A's have been on.  :beer:

@AllThatJazzZ

Looking forward to Springer coming back as well.

Offline EasyAce

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"The question of who is right is a small one, indeed, beside the question of what is right."---Albert Jay Nock.

Fake news---news you don't like or don't want to hear.

Offline GrouchoTex

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Offline AllThatJazzZ

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Re: The A's and the Cardinals, sneaky good suddenly
« Reply #8 on: August 24, 2018, 07:43:14 pm »
Hmmmmm...

The line they put out this week was that it was quad soreness.

Actually, one of the announcers did mention that he was still having some trouble with his thumb. In typical fashion, everyone seems to try to downplay the injury. It looked so bad when he first did it, I was surprised he was back as soon as he was.


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