Idiots Write About Sports

So whenever the A’s are getting killed, and it’s the late innings where they come to bat, I turn to whoever’s sitting next to me and say, “And so begins the greatest comeback in A’s history.” It’s predictable rituals like this that make it such a chore to be around me for any amount of time.

After a lovely day admiring livestock and crafts at the Alameda County Fair followed by drinks with enjoyable social companions, Lisa and I were driving home when the bottom of the eighth began with the A’s trailing 6-0. That’s when I did my “greatest comeback” bit, which Lisa responded to with stony indifference.

And damn if Oakland didn’t nearly pull it off.

All the same, I thought to myself this morning, I hope that the Athletics are taking no comfort in Saturday’s eighth inning uprising. Up until the eighth, the A’s had managed four hits since the fourth inning of Thursday night’s contest — or, exactly four more hits than you and I had combined during that same time frame. And for most of the game, Jerad Weaver had the Oakland offense effectively neutered. Most of the A’s output occurred against Brendan Donnelly, who should really just change his name to Done-ly at this point and consider a career change. Perhaps there’s a picket line at some factory he can cross.

So what I hope is that the A’s realize they’ve been playing some pretty awful ball the last couple of days and that they make the necessary adjustments in today’s pre-All Star Break finale, rather than point to one inning against a declining reliever as a sign of great things to come.

That’s your cue, Nick Swisher.

“It’s good for us to start to show sings of life,” Oakland’s Nick Swisher said. “Even though we came up short, this was good for us to go right into tomorrow — because the game is in like five hours. I think people need to realize we’re still in first place, regardless of how things are going.”

Uh huh. Well, at least no one’s going to another lackluster Joe Blanton effort — 9 hits and 3 walks in just 5 2/3 innings — on something as inane as one questionable strike call.

Melhuse and Blanton (8-8) both thought the previous pitch [to Maicer Izturis before his third-inning homer] was a strike. “That looked like a pretty good pitch, and we went back to it, and he put the good part of the bat on the ball,” Melhuse said. “That’s one of those things: If we get the call, we get out of it. It’s kind of the way things have been going.”

Fabulous.

Currently wondering what songs Swisher might be singing in the "sings of life". "It's Not Easy Being Green?"

For the first time in history, a typo on this site that I'm not responsible for! Take that, San Francisco Chronicle!

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