I’m gonna commit the baseball sin here and catch myself looking ahead. Replay comes into the fold starting Thursday, and McAfee Coliseum will be one of three parks where it will debut.

One simple question for the readers: What do you think?

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Saw the the E! network was broadcasting Saturday Night Live’s Top 101 moments of all time, so I was inspired to used the “Random Thoughts,” that were so hysterical. Those of you from the Internet age are probably too young to remember.

Anyway, here are a couple of A’s-related things as they prepare to get swept here in Anaheim.

— I was surprised that my game story revolving around Jack Hannahan generated more than a couple of e-mails. I’m wondering if he’s become a bit of a fan favorite. Dude is one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet, and he’s overcome some pretty big demons, so it’s hard not to root for him. I wrote in an earlier post that he “stinks” and maybe that was harsh. I’m pretty skeptical when it comes to A’s third baseman, because they’ve had so many good ones. Hannahan reminds me a bit of Wayne Gross, who perhaps didn’t stink, but did when you compare him with Sal Bando, Carney Lansford and Eric Chavez. Same goes for Hannahan, although so many people are still high on him in the organization that perhaps it’s premature to right him off.

— A small thing, but Daric Barton had five hits over the final three games in Seattle. That was the first time he had five hits in a three-game span since June. Now, this is a guy who has hit at every level he’s ever been, so I definitely think it’s far too early to write him off. He’ll be an interesting guy to watch over the final five weeks.

— Hearing from a couple of insiders that managing partner Lewis Wolff is starting to work his connection with Bud Selig in an effort to gain access to the “territorial rights” the Giants own in Santa Clara. Stay tuned on that one.

— Also, the A’s want out of their Comcast Sports Net affiliation. What do you make of that?

The game story will be posted later, and I wrote heavily about the team’s injury woes. So a lot of the game stuff was overlooked. That’s kind of the way it is this time of year when a team is out of the race. The individual game doesn’t mean that much.

That’s what’s wonderful about the blog. Can get some leftovers in it right here, so away with go.

— Frank Thomas didn’t stick around to discuss his sixth-inning ejection by home-plate umpire Bill Hohn. Thomas apparently wasn’t happy with the way pitchers were being called inside. Looked to me like he didn’t do anything; I had to ask a couple of the TV people what exactly happened, because I didn’t notice anything out of line from where I was in the press box. Bob Geren, as insightful as ever (yes, that’s sarcasm), said: “I’m not quite sure.  It’s still arguing balls and strikes, and you’re not supposed to do that. He’s been around a long time. He knows.”

— Greg Smith had better command, and that’s just what the doctor ordered. Geren said the A’s talked to Smith about strike-zone effeciency between starts, and he wound up throwing 48 of his 90 pitches for strikes. That number doesn’t say a lot, but Smith was ahead 0-2 and 1-2 all night. That seems to indicate he’s not feeling the fatigue of pitching more than 100 innings this season.

— Smith also had the quote of the night, saying, “I think we’re about to come out of our funk.” Yeah, one win in a row. Woo-hoo.

You probably have heard this by now, but the A’s put pitchers Justin Duchscherer and Sean Gallagher on the disabled list. Duchscher has hip inflammation and Gallagher a “fatigued arm.” That’s big news, because the A’s have now used the DL 23 times this season, and that surpasses the club record set last year.

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OK, last night was extra bad. And in the context of what the A’s are doing lately, that’s really saying something.

In one park, you had Sean Gallagher getting lit up like a firecracker. In another, you had Rich Harden dominating.  That just says so much about the state of the A’s, and why that state would earn an “F.”

It’s not just that Gallagher has stunk lately and that Harden has been outstanding. It’s that Gallagher already has had issues with a sore shoulder (and I wonder if it isn’t bugging him; he just can’t be as bad as he looked last night), and that Harden has had no physical maladies at all since going to Chicago. Even pitching on four days’ rest has seemed to agree with him in a way it never seemed to for the A’s.

Now, if I’m Billy Beane, I want to know why the heck that is? What does that say about my team’s training methods, our exercises, etc. I can’t recall too many teams being rocked this many injuries two years in a row, and it’s not just old, breaking down players who are feeling the pain. Gallagher is only 22. Harden’s ailments were particularly galling, because he just now is approaching 27. It seems that donning an A’s uniform brings any physical issue to the forefront, and at some point, that’s on the A’s and not the player. I think the A’s passed that time a long time ago, and the Gallagher-Harden trade has put it into even sharper focus.

I keep a daily log of stats during the season, and here’s all you need to know about the A’s this season. Of the 25 primary players on the Opening Day roster (and I’m not counting outfielders Jeff Fiorentino and Carlos Gonzalez or pitcher Dallas Braden, because they were included only because rosters were expanded to accomodate the Japan trip), only seven have stayed on the active roster all season. That’s the kind of thing you usually see with clubs that lose 95-100 games, and well, that’s where the A’s are headed.

One of the lucky seven is Mark Ellis, and it kills me him go through this, too. He’s been around long enough that what he’s seeing must seem unacceptable. The A’s right now are overmatched against every team, and it’s a waste for a guy who’s such a winning player to be stuck in such a situation.

As for the other six on the list, here they are: Jack Cust (he was in the minors 10 seasons for a reason), Kurt Suzuki (he won’t hit .290 every year if he’s always playing 145 games, and that’s the A’s m.o. for their catchers), Jack Hannahan (stinks), Rob Bowen (never plays), Emil Brown (better than expected, but you’re in trouble if he’s your main run producer),  Huston Street (a bad, bad season), and Alan Embree (not much better).

So here’s a question. How long does Beane keep getting the benefit of the doubt among A’s fans. I see a lot of comments on here from folks who think Beane should be canned. I’m not of that opinion. But unless this organization solves its health woes, produces some hitters and has acquired some better pitching than we’ve seen, I can’t promise I’ll still feel that way at this time next year.

That’s the good news. As any parent can tell you, once you have rug rats running around, six weeks goes by in what seems like six minutes, so the A’s misery will be over before we know it.

What do you want to see over the season’s final weeks? Read the rest of this entry »

Just a quick update: Reliever Brad Zielger’s consecutive scoreless streak is over at 39 innings. The A’s announced they’ll have a $1.01 ticket promotion on Aug. 29 to commemorate the 101-year-old record that Ziegler broke. The Rays’ B.J. Upton was the spoiler, doubling with one out in the ninth to score Akinori Iwamura. A’s trail by a run going to the ninth.

Your thoughts on Ziegler’s streak?

Wow, what an explosion by the A’s today. Four entire runs through the first five innings against Tampa Bay. That’s their season-average and they still have half the game to go.

Not overly crazy about Sean Gallagher yet, but I wouldn’t call the Rich Harden trade a waste, yet. I mean, I wasn’t that impressed with Harden when he first arrived.  Gallagher has had two opportunities to deliver a shut-down inning, and twice has allowed at least one run. That’s a problem with him.  The A’s have given him four such opportunities (and the definition most skippers use for a shutdown inning is an inning in which a team has scored multi-runs to take a lead) in his past five starts, and Gallagher is 0-for-4.

Anyway, while listening to the terrific tones of Ken Korach, I started thinking about all the the guys contributing for other clubs who have departed since Jason Giambi started the trend after 2001. Not to say it would’ve been realistic, or even prudent to keep all of them, but it’s interesting to consider the possibility.

Check this out: LF Eric Byrnes (Diamondbacks), 2B Ray Durham (Brewers), SS Miguel Tejada (Orioles), 1B Jason Giambi (Yankees); RF Jermaine Dye (White Sox); CF Nick Swisher (White Sox); C Ramon Hernandez (Orioles), 3B Marco Scutaro (Blue Jays), C Jason Kendall (Brewers). [And yes, I know Byrnes is hurt, but c'mon, gotta include Byrnsie].

The rotation would be: RHP Dan Haren (Diamondbacks), RHP Rich Harden (Cubs), RHP Joe Blanton (Phillies), RHP Chad Gaudin (Cubs), LHP Barry Zito (Giants)

Think that team might be doing slightly better?

Gonna be a short one today, because let’s face it, there’s not a whole lot to discuss at this point. The A’s are horrible offensively, and that fact is starting to burden the team’s pitching and defense. To me, the best embodiment of where this team is right now came when Detroit scored its final two runs on Sunday, when first Bobby Crosby, then Jerry Blevins took turns throwing the ball away on the same play. Baseball follies at its purest.

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More evidence to indicate just how bad the A’s offense is right now (so bad that you can make the argument this is the worst offense they’ve ever had). Check out this from Elias:

“The A’s have scored 17 runs over their past nine games [through Wednesday, all losses]. The last time the A’s had a nine-game span without a win with 17 runs or fewer was over 30 years ago. In June 1978, the A’s scored 11 runs over the final nine games of an 11-game losing streak.”

But on the bright side, Midland’s Aaron Cunningham (acquired in the Dan Haren trade) is fifth in the Texas League with a .899 OPS, and Chris Carter (also acquired for Haren) has 30 home runs, 87 RBI at Single-A Stockton. See, the A’s do have good hitters. It’s just that none of them are up here, yet.