Home Runs

"thisplanetsux" <thisplanetsux.RemoveThis@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:32865ba1-46ea-4297-a1be-09bbcb15b7a8@v23g2000pro.googlegroups.com...

> This team will hit home runs at a greater clip than we've seen so
> far. I expect Barton, Crosby, and Cust will all get hot with the long
> ball as the weather warms up. Suzuki, Ellis, and Buck, we know, can
> jack a bit. Ryan Sweeney looks like a really talented hitter who
> might get around to hitting 15 or so this year. I'm not worried, why
> should you be?

I'm worried because there's no reason for those players not to have been
hitting homers in April like players on other teams are.
Oakland is warmer in April than most MLB cities. It's colder in Cleveland,
Detroit, Boston, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Seattle, Chicago, Pittsburgh, you
name it, yet every one of the teams that play there have more homers than
the A's do.

I'm not complaining, I'm pleasantly surprised by how well the A's are
playing. But I do think that our lack of homers may prove a real problem,
as teams lose fear of putting our hitters on base.

Even though their pitchers bat, every NL team has hit more homers than the
A's have thus far.

No team has played more games than the A's have. Yet every team has hit
more homers than the A's have.

And yet we're in first. Hooray for that, I just hope our early trend of not
hitting many homers doesn't sting too bad.

Shooty
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On Apr 20, 7:23 pm, thisplanetsux <thisplanet....DeleteThis@yahoo.com> wrote:
> On Apr 20, 3:22 pm, "Shooty Canseco" <shootycans....DeleteThis@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> > The A's are playing pretty well, but wow, we sure play station to station.
>
> > Seven homers entering play on April 20? Lowest in the bigs? Not good.
>
> >http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/stats/byteam?cat=Overall&sort=706
>
> > Winning is winning, but it does make me wonder where the runs will come
> > from, given our mediocre OBP.
>
> A) They've faced some pretty good pitching in a tough early schedule
> B) They've played in a lot of cold/cool weather
> C) Some power guys have just not hit well yet
>
> This team will hit home runs at a greater clip than we've seen so
> far. I expect Barton, Crosby, and Cust will all get hot with the long
> ball as the weather warms up. Suzuki, Ellis, and Buck, we know, can
> jack a bit. Ryan Sweeney looks like a really talented hitter who
> might get around to hitting 15 or so this year. I'm not worried, why
> should you be?

Because he's an idiot who doesn't understand baseball.

The A's are 24th in SLG and 20th in OPS -- those are more significant
measures than mere home runs, especially when the A's are 11th in
doubles and 1st in triples overall.

I'm more concerned about the .257 BA, since you still need to get hits
to win baseball games.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/stats/aggregate?statType=batting&group=9
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On Apr 21, 12:42 am, "Shooty Canseco" <shootycans... RemoveThis @yahoo.com> wrote:
> "thisplanetsux" <thisplanet... RemoveThis @yahoo.com> wrote in message
>
> news:32865ba1-46ea-4297-a1be-09bbcb15b7a8@v23g2000pro.googlegroups.com...
>
> > This team will hit home runs at a greater clip than we've seen so
> > far. I expect Barton, Crosby, and Cust will all get hot with the long
> > ball as the weather warms up. Suzuki, Ellis, and Buck, we know, can
> > jack a bit. Ryan Sweeney looks like a really talented hitter who
> > might get around to hitting 15 or so this year. I'm not worried, why
> > should you be?
>
> I'm worried because there's no reason for those players not to have been
> hitting homers in April like players on other teams are.

Well, there's an 800 lb. gorilla in any conversation of this sort.
It's that darned, small sample, random walk thing... After 20 games,
with nobody at 100 plate appearances yet, you might be trying to solve
a non-problem. I mean, there's a 1 in 8 chance that the first 20
games you play will be the 20 game block where you hit the fewest home
runs, right?

All that aside though, I was stunned to see that the A's are hitting .
321 with runners in scoring postion. That ranks #1 among all 30 major
league teams. I hope that's not just a flukey early season stat of no
consequence!
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On Apr 21, 1:41 pm, thisplanetsux <thisplanet....DeleteThis@yahoo.com> wrote:
> On Apr 21, 12:42 am, "Shooty Canseco" <shootycans....DeleteThis@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> > "thisplanetsux" <thisplanet....DeleteThis@yahoo.com> wrote in message
>
> >news:32865ba1-46ea-4297-a1be-09bbcb15b7a8@v23g2000pro.googlegroups.com...
>
> > > This team will hit home runs at a greater clip than we've seen so
> > > far.  I expect Barton, Crosby, and Cust will all get hot with the long
> > > ball as the weather warms up.  Suzuki, Ellis, and Buck, we know, can
> > > jack a bit.  Ryan Sweeney looks like a really talented hitter who
> > > might get around to hitting 15 or so this year.  I'm not worried, why
> > > should you be?
>
> > I'm worried because there's no reason for those players not to have been
> > hitting homers in April like players on other teams are.
>
> Well, there's an 800 lb. gorilla in any conversation of this sort.
> It's that darned, small sample, random walk thing...  After 20 games,
> with nobody at 100 plate appearances yet, you might be trying to solve
> a non-problem.   I mean, there's a 1 in 8 chance that the first 20
> games you play will be the 20 game block where you hit the fewest home
> runs, right?
>
> All that aside though, I was stunned to see that the A's are hitting .
> 321 with runners in scoring postion.  That ranks #1 among all 30 major
> league teams.  I hope that's not just a flukey early season stat of no
> consequence!

They are all flukey early season stats, IMO. But it's a good start
and the A's have been good at improving via trades during the season.
No key injuries and you will have a good season.
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"thisplanetsux" <thisplanetsux.TakeThisOut@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:189a5c4b-ded7-46b5-8d99-8d584dc359eb@w4g2000prd.googlegroups.com...

> Well, there's an 800 lb. gorilla in any conversation of this sort.
> It's that darned, small sample, random walk thing... After 20 games,
> with nobody at 100 plate appearances yet, you might be trying to solve
> a non-problem. I mean, there's a 1 in 8 chance that the first 20
> games you play will be the 20 game block where you hit the fewest home
> runs, right?

I agree, we're still dealing in small sample sizes, relative to the season
as a whole. But it is likely that what we've seen over the first 20 games
is representative of what we'll see over the eventual 162.

Yay, we're going 97-65 and gonna play a one-game playoff with the Halos!

Shooty
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On Apr 22, 10:54 am, "Shooty Canseco" <shootycans....TakeThisOut@yahoo.com> wrote:
> "thisplanetsux" <thisplanet....TakeThisOut@yahoo.com> wrote in message
>
> news:189a5c4b-ded7-46b5-8d99-8d584dc359eb@w4g2000prd.googlegroups.com...
>
> > Well, there's an 800 lb. gorilla in any conversation of this sort.
> > It's that darned, small sample, random walk thing... After 20 games,
> > with nobody at 100 plate appearances yet, you might be trying to solve
> > a non-problem. I mean, there's a 1 in 8 chance that the first 20
> > games you play will be the 20 game block where you hit the fewest home
> > runs, right?
>
> I agree, we're still dealing in small sample sizes, relative to the season
> as a whole. But it is likely that what we've seen over the first 20 games
> is representative of what we'll see over the eventual 162.
>
> Yay, we're going 97-65 and gonna play a one-game playoff with the Halos!

But what's to be done about all the bodies of Tigers fans littering
the streets of Detroit?
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On Apr 22, 2:05 pm, thisplanetsux <thisplanet... DeleteThis @yahoo.com> wrote:

> But what's to be done about all the bodies of Tigers fans littering
> the streets of Detroit?

They're going back to being Yankees fans, of course.
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> thisplanetsux wrote:
> On Apr 21, 12:42 am, "Shooty Canseco" <shootycans....TakeThisOut@yahoo.com> wrote:
> > "thisplanetsux" <thisplanet....TakeThisOut@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> >
> > news:32865ba1-46ea-4297-a1be-09bbcb15b7a8@v23g2000pro.googlegroups.c
> > om...
> >
> > > This team will hit home runs at a greater clip than we've seen so
> > > far. I expect Barton, Crosby, and Cust will all get hot with the
> > > long ball as the weather warms up. Suzuki, Ellis, and Buck, we
> > > know, can jack a bit. Ryan Sweeney looks like a really talented
> > > hitter who might get around to hitting 15 or so this year. I'm
> > > not worried, why should you be?
> >
> > I'm worried because there's no reason for those players not to have
> > been hitting homers in April like players on other teams are.
>
> Well, there's an 800 lb. gorilla in any conversation of this sort.
> It's that darned, small sample, random walk thing... After 20 games,
> with nobody at 100 plate appearances yet, you might be trying to solve
> a non-problem. I mean, there's a 1 in 8 chance that the first 20
> games you play will be the 20 game block where you hit the fewest home
> runs, right?
>
> All that aside though, I was stunned to see that the A's are hitting .
> 321 with runners in scoring postion. That ranks #1 among all 30 major
> league teams. I hope that's not just a flukey early season stat of no
> consequence!

In past years it was the lack of ability to hit singles and doubles
with men on base that was a big concern. Of course I'd like to see a
few more HRs, also, but panic-mode is a bit premature.
 >> Stay informed about: Home Runs 

Looks to me like the A's signed Frank Thomas because of the team's anemic
homer output that we've been discussing of late.

Shooty
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On Apr 24, 5:46 pm, "Shooty Canseco" <shootycans... RemoveThis @yahoo.com> wrote:

> Looks to me like the A's signed Frank Thomas because of the team's anemic
> homer output that we've been discussing of late.

Yeah, but they signed Rajai Davis, too. I'm sure he'll help with the
HR totals you're lamenting.
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On Apr 24, 5:58 pm, "tsp" <tperro....DeleteThis@verizon.net> wrote:

> Signed and scored the first run today (from a walk)! That's quick!!

Thomas and Swisher did a lot of damage together in 2006. Without that
same protection, Swisher struggled in 2007. I am assuming Thomas'
presence in the line-up will help Cust, et al, in the same way --
more so than Sweeney's presence, based on the OPS figures I posted
earlier. Thomas' BA worries me, but I am assuming it will rise with
some stability and games played (just as it did in 2006).

It's good to see Frank back, but I am concerned with the glut of one-
dimensional players who can't play at the same time. Since the A's
also picked Rajai Davis this week, he will probably spell Cust late in
games for outfield defense. It'll be hard to get Sweeney, Thomas and
Cust into the line-up at the same time without sacrificing some
defense.

I really felt Thomas should have been the AL MVP in 2006. Beyond just
numbers, he was a leader for that team who was sorely missed in 2007.
With all the roster juggling going on now, it'll be interesting to see
how this impacts the team for the rest of the season.

And they still need better starting pitching, especially with Harden
on the DL. Geren needs to manage Blanton's innings better, and Eveland/
Smith/Gaudin can't really be expected to perform this well for five
more months. If they do? Great. But ... also, DiNardo just shouldn't
be allowed to start another game. There HAS to be someone better in
the system.

The A's can't hit .253 for the whole season and expect to win
consistently with this pitching staff.
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On Thu, 24 Apr 2008, Tonawanda Kardex wrote:

> And they still need better starting pitching, especially with Harden
> on the DL. Geren needs to manage Blanton's innings better, and Eveland/
> Smith/Gaudin can't really be expected to perform this well for five
> more months. If they do? Great. But ... also, DiNardo just shouldn't
> be allowed to start another game. There HAS to be someone better in
> the system.

And with luck, they won't use him. Duchscherer is scheduled to start on
Saturday (with a 75-pitch limit).

The A's to date rank first in the American League in a number of the main
pitching stats for the team as a whole.
--

Al Eisner
San Mateo Co., CA
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Signed and scored the first run today (from a walk)! That's quick!!

tsp

"Shooty Canseco" <shootycanseco.DeleteThis@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:hMGdnasmD6ZVYo3VnZ2dnUVZ_jydnZ2d@mtasolutions...
> Looks to me like the A's signed Frank Thomas because of the team's anemic
> homer output that we've been discussing of late.
>
> Shooty
>
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