The A's staff couldn't catch this?!

http://tinyurl.com/6saotr

As power numbers decline, MLB teams have been more aggressive on the
base paths. To stifle the running game, you need a pitcher who's
attentive and quick to the plate to go with a catcher who gets rid of
the ball in a hurry and makes strong, accurate throws.

Oh yeah -- the entire process has to unfold in 3.2 seconds or less.

Kendall, who threw out a woeful 13 of 124 base stealers with Oakland
and the Cubs last season, is enjoying a defensive rebirth at age 33.
He's the best in baseball with a 21-for-46 success rate (46 percent).

All it took, apparently, was a mechanical adjustment. Brewers manager
Ned Yost, a former catcher, watched tape during the offseason and
noticed that Kendall was sitting back and waiting to catch the ball
before starting his release. Yost and bench coach Ted Simmons helped
Kendall address his footwork issues in spring training, and his
results show his improvement.

"Now we have him moving toward the ball," Yost told the Milwaukee
Journal Sentinel. "So instead of -- bang, bang -- being safe, they're
out. As soon as I saw it, I knew it would make a big difference."

Suppan makes effective use of the slide step to hasten his deliveries
to home plate. Only two of seven base stealers have made the trip
successfully with him on the mound.

----------------------------------------

Not that Kendall's bat was worth a plug nickel, but ... the A's really
blew this one, didn't they?