Idiots Write About Sports

No driving on the sidewalk by Keith Foulke tonight. With the A’s up 5-3, the Oakland closer was brought in against Boston in the top of the eighth, with runners on second and third, nobody out, and Mueller, Garciaparra and Manny Ramirez due up.

Mueller K’d. Garciaparra lined out sharply to third. Ramirez hit a sharp grounder that riccocheted off Foulke’s chest and then fell right in front of the mound for an easily 1-3 putout to end the threat.

In the ninth, Foulke retired the Sox in order on three fly balls to earn the legitimate, no-doubt-about-it save and the coveted Gordon Biersch Marzen star of the game honors (Yes, when I’m at a baseball game keeping score, I award a star of the game based on what beverage I was drinking that night. Tonight, Gordon Biersch. Many Gordon Bierschs.)

Now, it wasn’t a perfect outing by Foulke — the Garciaparra liner required a nifty play from Eric Chavez and Kevin Millar’s lead-off hit in the ninth forced Terrance Long to make a diving catch. But Foulke pitched well, and the A’s won the ballgame because of it.

No, tonight’s grievance was the way in which the A’s handled their pitchers. The only reason Foulke needed to recorded six outs to get the save tonight was because Ken Macha left Chad Bradford in way too long.

Bradford came in during the sixth, when the A’s were in another jam, and induced an inning-ending double play. He retired the side 1-2-3 in the seventh, striking out two Sox. Job well done and hit the showers, right? Especially with Jason Varitek and Johnny Damon, two lefties, due up in the eighth and Ricardo Rincon fresh as a daisy in the bullpen.

Well, no. Macha left Bradford in there. And Varitek leads off with a screaming line drive to the right field corner — only Varitek’s slow-as-molasses running and a great throw by Jose Guillen held him to a single. Certainly now, it’s time to bring in a new pitcher, especially with the left-handed Damon heading to the plate.

Wrong again. After a brief visit from A’s pitcher coach Rick Peterson, Bradford was left to work his way out of trouble. Predictably, Damon doubled — again, Varitek’s slow wheels forced him to hold at third — the A’s yanked Bradford, and the 26,000 in attendance were treated to the passion play described at the outset of this post. But that doesn’t change the fact that an otherwise solid outing from Bradford was marred and that he was put in a position to be the goat simply because Macha didn’t pull the trigger quickly enough on the pitching change. It didn’t bite the A’s in the ass tonight, but it very well could before the season is over.

“Boy, they are not listening to you tonight,” my wife said, as I fumed after the Damon double. “The mind-meld must not be working.” And that’s probably my real beef.