NEW YORK -- You pretty much have to hate your offense to bring your infield in with the score tied 0-0 in the bottom of the second inning and the other team's No. 9 hitter at the plate. But while Bob Geren obviously wouldn't admit to such dramatic motivation, that is what he did Tuesday night against the Yankees. And he did cite his team's offensive struggles as the reason for the move.
"The way we've been scoring runs, we just wanted to not give up a weak run right there with the 9-hitter up," the Oakland A's manager said after his team's 5-3 loss at Yankee Stadium.
Just Geren's luck, the A's gave up two runs right there as Brett Gardner grounded a single past second baseman Mark Ellis. And just like that, Oakland was staring up a hill. And these A's don't have what it takes to do the climbing.
Frank Thomas and Barry Bonds are looking for a home. Will you be the one to provide for them in this time of need? Your support brings food and shelter to men like Frank and Barry for only pennies a day. For only a billion pennies, every day.
Today's Dugout deals with that important moment in everybody's life when their fortunes change and they have to move on, but have absolutely no clue what the words "move" and "on" mean.
A team starved for offense lost another of its top hitters Wednesday when second baseman Howie Kendrck, who was batting .327, went on the 15-day disabled list because of a broken bone in his left hand.
Kendrick, hit by a Chad Gaudin fastball in the seventh inning Tuesday night, returned to Southern California on Wednesday for an MRI test and CT scan, which revealed a non-displaced fracture at the base of his middle finger.
The team has no set timetable for when Kendrick will return but he's likely to be out until the start of June.
In case you haven't been paying attention, here's the list of Angels who've spent time on the DL this season.
As for the struggling Angels offense, I'm not sure that's a fair assessment. You have to have an offense for it to struggle, and the Angels haven't had one period lately. After being shutout by Dan Haren and the Athletics on Wednesday night, the Angels have scored six runs in their last six games. Not coincedentally, they're 0-6 in that span.
To replace Kendrick on the roster, the Angels are expected to bring up the promising Brandon Wood from the minors.
The Athletics shortstop that missed the end of last season with a lower back injury, hurt his back in Anaheim on Friday night. Crosby dove for a ball up the middle and landed hard before he flipped the ball to second base. He didn't come out of the game immediately, but after fouling out in his next at bat he was replaced at short.
After the game, Oakland manager Bob Geren downplayed Crosby's early departure, saying, "He felt tightness in his upper back but it was nowhere near (last year's) injury. It was one of those precautionary things."
Geren was unsure if the double-play ball contributed, but he saw Crosby look uncomfortable during his final at-bat and he asked him if he was OK when he came back to the dugout.
"I saw a look on his face like it was bothering him, and it was," Geren said.
Injuries are nothing new for Crosby. Ever since he won the Rookie of the Year in 2004, it seems he's spent more time on the disabled list than on the field. I already mentioned last season's back troubles, but he's also missed time the last few seasons due to a broken ankle and cracked ribs. The injuries have caused Crosby to miss 144 games since 2004.
The Athletics would go on to lose their game 5-2 as Vladimir Guerrero continued to kill any pitch he sees with another three-run blast. The loss dropped the Athletics to 2-3 on the season.
The 2006 season was a lost year for Rich Harden. Thanks to elbow and back problems, the young righthander was only able to make nine starts for the Athletics last season. Wednesday night, he did everything he could to make Oakland fans forget about it.
Harden went seven innings and only allowed three hits as the Athletics shut out the Mariners 9-0 to avoid being swept to start the season.
It's not the first time Harden has left the Mariners helpless. In 10 career starts against his division rivals, he has an ERA of 1.28, and is 5-0 with a 0.86 ERA at SafeCo Field.
"I just love coming up here, pitching in that cool weather," said Harden, "I'm wanting to put last year behind me, take the focus off that. Hopefully, now I'll stop getting asked that question."
While Harden's performance could have been expected against the Mariners, Mark Ellis' came out of nowhere. The ninth hitter in the Oakland lineup went 2-for-5 with 5RBI, including a bases clearing double with the sacks packed in the second inning.
The A's were also able to celebrate manager Bob Geren's first win in style, as they doused him in beer afterwards. Such a waste....
Last season A's starter Esteban Loaiza had to miss a month due to a problem with his right trapezius muscle. So when he started experiencing the same problems this season, the Athletics were obviously concerned. The hope was that Loaiza could make a rehab start in Sacramento on Thursday, and make his first start with Oakland on April 10th.
Well, you can put those plans on hold. Loaiza flew back to Oakland Tuesday morning to undergo more tests after the A's found some things in a recent MRI they didn't like. While the team would not state what they found, Billy Beane was pretty honest in his assessment.
"It's inconceivable that he won't miss at least two [turns]. Conceivably more," Beane said. "There's a little activity in there they want to quiet down before he throws again."
Chad Gaudin is Loaiza's replacement in the rotation for now, and is scheduled to pitch against the Angels on Thursday. Beane says it's manager Bob Geren's call whether or not Gaudin will make a second start next week, but he's just hoping that the team only needs him for one more.
The Athletics are used to dealing with injuries, so this is nothing new for them. The difference this year is the lack of a Barry Zito, or a Mark Mulder and Tim Hudson. The A's rotation is thinner this year as it is, and injuries to any of their starters could be devastating to the teams chances to repeat as AL West division champions.
In case you weren't aware why Seattle's Felix Hernandez is called King Felix, the young man went out and showed you on Opening Day. Hernandez pitched eight innings, gave up only three hits and struck out twelve Athletics as the Mariners won 4-0.
Hernandez lost 20 pounds over the offseason after a disappointing sophomore campaign in 2006, and so far it looks like it may pay off. The Athletics never really had a chance against Felix all day.
Lost in the performance of Hernandez was the strong start of Oakland's Dan Haren. Haren was cruising through the fifth, and induced an inning ending double play grounder that Bobby Crosby booted. Richie Sexson then came to the dish and crushed a three-run homer to straight away center, and impressive feat at SafeCo Field.
It was just the icing on the cake for Crosby on Monday, as he went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts and two errors.
Still, the day belonged to King Felix. He became the youngest pitcher to start a game on Opening Day since Dwight Gooden did it for the Mets in 1985 as a 20-year old, and all he did was set a new career high with his 12 strikeouts along the way. Oh, and the win also ended a 15-game losing streak that the Mariners had against the Athletics.
Todd Walker's had a bit of a tough spring training this year, what with arbitration and his inability to hit the ball and his subsequent release from the Padres -- and loss of his $3.85 million deal -- this week. Tough times, indeed.
The move gives the A's flexibility with their infield after losing first baseman Dan Johnson to a hip injury this week. Walker has played first, second and third during his 11-year major league career.
"In light of some of the injuries we've had, we need as many choices as possible," A's assistant general manager David Forst said. "The guy's a major league veteran. If you're out there looking for players at this time of year, you don't know what you're going to get so Todd Walker's a nice guy to have."
Correction: Todd Walker was a nice guy to have like two years ago. Now, after batting .225 (14-40) in spring training, Walker could be nearing the end of his usage as a professional baseball player. On the other hand, he could just be in a slump, and will revert to better-than-average OBP and BA during the season.
Knowing Billy Beane's history of redeeming talent for bargain-basement price, I'm leaning toward the latter.
Peter Gammons tossed out an interesting blind item in his ESPN Insider blog this weekend:
As it turns out, the reason the 2002 All-Star Game ended up tied was that a pitcher on one of the two teams was imbibing in the clubhouse and was not in condition to pitch, hence the game ended.
And that's how home-field advantage is decided in the World Series, not by regular-season excellence. But then again, what owner thinks about the guys who spend their money on tickets?
Interesting theory, and given Gammons' stature (if anyone is connected enough to know the whole back story, he's the guy) I'm willing to accept it as fact. I'm calling B.S. on his "not by regular-season excellence" assertion, though, since home-field advantage was never decided by a team's record but by alternating between leagues each year.
But still, just who was the player who single-handedly (or not -- maybe he was double-fisting?) gave meaning to the outcome of America's favorite exhibition game?
After Barry Zito hopped across the bay this offseason to be with his hetero lifemate Barry Bonds, it left a hole in the Athletics starting rotation. This is a problem that the Athletics are familiar with though, as they've lost Mark Mulder and Tim Hudson in recent years too.
The team was hoping Joe Kennedy would be able to move from the bullpen into the fifth spot of the rotation, but that plan isn't working out as well as they'd like. Oakland will tell you that the spot is still Kennedy's to lose despite the fact he's put up a stellar ERA of 20.48 this spring, but word out of Denver is that the Athletics are doing what they can to help Kennedy lose the spot.
With the back of their rotation a growing concern, the Oakland A's have shown interest in available Rockies starter Byung-Hyun Kim, according to multiple major-league sources...Kim's name was connected with Oakland when he became a free agent after the 2005 season. He's guaranteed $2.5 million this season, a portion of which the Rockies would likely have to absorb in any trade. Josh Fogg, in whom Baltimore has shown interest, appears to have the edge on Kim for the Rockies' fifth starter's job.
Kim went 8-12 with a 5.57 ERA in Colorado last season, and so far this spring he's sporting a 9.00 ERA in 13 innings, but if you add both of those numbers up it's still less than Kennedy's 20.48, so it's an improvement, right?
NEW YORK -- You pretty much have to hate your offense to bring your infield in with the score tied 0-0 in the bottom of the second inning and the other team's No. 9 hitter at the plate. But while Bob Geren obviously wouldn't admit to such dramatic motivation, that is what he did Tuesday night against the Yankees. And he did cite his team's offensive struggles as the reason for the move.
Another day, another player 
Bobby Crosby 
The 2006 season was a lost year for Rich Harden. Thanks to elbow and back problems, the young righthander was only able to make nine starts for the Athletics last season. Wednesday night, he did everything he could to make Oakland fans forget about it.
Last season A's starter Esteban Loaiza had to miss a month due to a problem with his right trapezius muscle. So when he started experiencing the same problems this season, the Athletics were obviously concerned. The hope was that Loaiza could make a rehab start in Sacramento on Thursday, and make his first start with Oakland on April 10th.
In case you weren't aware why Seattle's Felix Hernandez is called King Felix, the young man went out and showed you on Opening Day. Hernandez pitched eight innings, gave up only three hits and struck out twelve Athletics as the 
Todd Walker's had a bit of a tough spring training this year, what with arbitration and his inability to hit the ball and his subsequent release from the Padres -- and loss of his $3.85 million deal -- this week. Tough times, indeed. 
Peter Gammons tossed out an interesting blind item in his 
After Barry Zito hopped across the bay this offseason to be with his 
