We had our first warm weather of the year this week in the Bay Area, but I missed it. I was spending my days in front of the computer, getting this site off the ground.

My lawn, however, did take in the sunny weather. I looked out my window yesterday and my lawn was suddenly two inches higher than I remembered it. Man, I gotta get out of the house.

So what a better thing to do than spend Saturday afternoon outside, doing yardwork while listening to the A's-White Sox game?

Some clippings from the mower:

• Rich Harden started the game, and was awesome. Struck out the side in the first. Gave up a solo homer to Carl Everett in the fourth, but that the only trouble he had.

  I think Harden's ready to have a big year. He seems to be improving as a pitcher every time I see him. For some reason, PECOTA does not agree with me. PECOTA predicts a 4.46 ERA for Harden this year, a regression to the same ERA he had as a rookie. The other projection systems: Marcel predicts 4.02, while ZiPS is the only one that actually predicts Harden to improve over last year's 3.99 ERA, at 3.89. I'll take the under on all of them.



• Eric Chavez launched his first homer of the spring, a three-run shot off Jose Contreras. He's also leading the cactus league in walks, after leading the AL in walks last year despite missing six weeks with a broke hand.


• Octavio Dotel had a bad outing. Ray Fosse said his slider looked flat.


• Daric Barton, in first spring training AB after having his appendix removed, worked a walk. Did you expect anything else? He ended up scoring the winning run.


• Kurt Suzuki has impressed behind the plate. He's thrown out four runners trying to steal this spring.


• Keiichi Yabu, 1-2-3 inning in the eighth, then allowed just a single in the ninth to close out a 7-6 A's win.