Vinnie Had His Turn

It was bound to happen, boffins. Vinnie had to have a bad game at some point. Don't worry though - it didn't go on his record. The earned runs were Smith's runners and Smith got the loss.

But still Vinnie did give up 2 hits to let some guys he inherited get home. We were tied when he came in and lost by the time he left.

McAllister didn't do all that much better. He had a 4-run lead which got down to 1 run when he gave up a bunch of hits and a walk in the 4th. But then again his ERA is 3.64 so it stands to reason he'd give up the 4th run to tie it in the 5th. He was doing quite well with getting out of jams and then having a 1-2-3 inning in the 3rd. He just...lost it.

Inbetween McAllister and the ill-fated Smith was Sipp who went 2/3 of an inning with no hits or runs. Yeah!

Not all on the pitchers today, though. Our guys could not get anything going at the plate for nothin'. Only 6 hits and 1 walk, against a pitcher who did not warrant only 6 hits.

Asdrubal had a good night! He went 2 for 4 with a double, for the second night in a row! Asdrubal has 13 hits in his last 10 games. Unfortunately, Choo and Kipnis are struggling around him and neither guy got a hit today.

Santana went 1 for 3 with a walk. He's slowly climbing out of the gutter but has a lot of early-season crud to overcome to get his average back up there.

Brantley and Donald each went 1 for 4. Brantley also got on via an error, which is when he came in to score a run. Donald actually has a 5-game hitting streak going on and has only not hit in 1 game since his return. Huh! Zeke came in to replace him in the late innings and just this once didn't get a pinch hit.

Shelley Duncan, though - look out! SHELLEY EVERY DAY! THE DUNC TANK! GRAAAAAND SLAAAAM! Man how many grand slams have we had this year? Two? There's been a dearth, no doubt, considering how our guys usually clam up when the bases are juiced (especially Johnny Damon who always seemed to be up aaarrrgghh!) Tonight Shelley had the bat magic to send it out! The TV commentator said the guy should have thrown him a changeup because throwing Shelley a fastball was "like trying to throw a pork chop past a wolf." Ha!

That was it, though. No one else hit, no one else scored. Not even Shelley. Heck not even Asdrubal by that point. The A's brought in their bullpen with their ridiculous Vinnie-like ERAs and that was all she wrote.

On a more positive note - check out this car I painted for my friend's kid! I fixed up a used, abused, faded Little Tikes Cozy Coupe with paint. Tomorrow is his first birthday party, pretty excited to give it to him:

Turns out Krylon makes a paint for plastic so you can do all sorts of crazy stuff to kids' toys. I have extra blue and some decals left...perhaps his outdoor swing needs a makeover next?

Anyway so that should leave you warm and fuzzy until tomorrow's game at 9:05. It's Corey Kluber versus RHP (3.55). A guy you're sure to remember. Imagine a little boy lighting up at the sight of his new toy car. Then imagine the Indians going to clobber one of the oldest dudes in baseball. If nothing else, perhaps you can create a really solid drinking game based around how often Tom Hamilton brings up Colon's age and "special medicine."

See you there!

Radio Chatter:
"Rosie decided to taste every grape in Napa Valley."
- Tom Hamilton on Jim Rosenhaus's anniversary in San Francisco

"This and at Oakland Raiders games - a lot of folks are picked up by their parole officers to go home."
- Tom Hamilton

"Nothing says romance like the Oakland Coliseum."
- Tom Hamilton

"There is nobody who gives a hoot about the Boston and Yankees series this weekend. [...] That's what happens when one team's not good and the other team is bad."
- Tom Hamilton

"It's almost like he wants to scream 'Why?! Why can't I throw this slider for a strike?!'"
- Tom Hamilton on Vinnie Pestano

"I wonder how many people are going to ask Bartolo Colon for the phone number of his doctor. The first one will probably be Jane Fonda."
- Tom Hamilton