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My Dan Haren fast ended as soon as it began. Haren threw eight shutout innings, and Huston Street closed out a 1-0 victory over the Twins in the Hubert H. Humphrey House of Horrors.
Even though the A's had held a lead in all six games between the two teams in Minnesota this year, it was the first time the A's had held on to win.
Now that Haren's fixed, I'm not sure whom I should fast next. My first thought was Dan Johnson, but then I view the fasting as wanting to see players perform the way they're capable of performing, and I'm not sure Johnson is really capable of performing better. I think he might just be your prototypical AAAA player, and what we're seeing is what we should expect. Maybe Zito or Blanton needs to get snapped back into shape, instead. I'll think about it.
You've already fasted Blanton, so if it's one of the two, try Zito.
Why not fast until he goes five innings without walking anyone?
Oh, if only I was a writer at an A's-themed blog where I could express such a sentiment in longer format!
And yet, the posts keep coming.
Another dilemma: if I start a Zito fast, I may never watch another start of his in an A's uniform. I don't want that, either.
Well, fast Zito, but tape the game :) Watch it if only if the fast works.
There are no other great needs really, than those you've mentioned or fasted - except for Harden to come back injury free. Dunno how you can turn that into a fast.
BTW, I haven't heard anything about the existence of a backup catcher in a while - maybe I just missed all his ABs somehow...it's so bad that I'm not even sure it's still Melhuse - maybe he got shipped out when I was not looking. Anyone seen him play?
I have until tomorrow to decide on my next fast. I was thinking about Johnson again, and realized the reason we're seeing Johnson play at all is that Kotsay is missing. If Kotsay is healthy, he's in center, Payton's in left, Swisher's at first, and Johnson's on the bench. The A's need Kotsay back. But that's kinda like needing Harden back; how do you turn that into a fast?
I'm still thinking about Bradley. He's getting on base just fine, but he's only had one extra-base hit in two weeks. I don't know that a .370 OBP is anything to complain about, especially when he's batting in front of Frank Thomas, but I kinda expected a better SLG than .431. Then again, maybe I should leave well enough alone.
I'm not sure Zito needs fixing, either. He had that one bad game against Texas, but the only thing that really bothered me from the following game against Tampa Bay was the 0-2 fastball he threw to Jorge Cantu in the fifth that plated two runs. He missed location badly there--a better pitch, and it's a typical 6-inning, 2-run performance.
This discussion now has me very worried about the A's health and depth. With the Chron reporting that Crosby's likely done for the year, we are stretched THIN, and have been for a while - no serviceable replacements at ANY position except catcher and 1B (from the original roster). I guess some of the September callups will need to earn their pay soon.
I'm pretty confident Kotsay will be back; when his is the OF/1B depth is OK when Kielty and Johnson are backups.
I like Melhuse as the backup catcher, but he plays so little, it's hard to imagine him being able to produce in an emergency. You'd think he'd need some consistent ABs before he'd do any damage.
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