Dear A’s, prove to us that we should still care
It’s hard to imagine being this disappointed and pessimistic about a 56-44 team that stands in current playoff position. I still think the Oakland A’s will make the postseason, and I still think they can be contenders, because you don’t have to be the best in October you only have to be good enough to be the hottest at the right time.
But dang. It’s difficult to watch this team right now. They just refuse to play a full good game from start to finish, and they insist on doing all of the most frustrating things possible — stranding baserunners with poor at-bats in the clutch, handing out late runs to opponents in weird and wacky ways, and generally failing to beat opponents when they have the chance.
I can’t in good conscience advise that you watch today. I think the A’s will win and salvage the split, but even if they do it will probably be a bad game because it’s against the Seattle Mariners, and A’s/M’s matchups are always terrible every year. Something like 2-0 Oakland but both runs are unearned and the whole thing takes nearly four hours somehow.
Go enjoy your Sunday. Check back tonight and I’ll let you know what happened here. The A’s will be fun to watch again soon, probably, but not yet.
A’s lineup (away)
- LF Mark Canha (R)
- 2B Tony Kemp (L)
- 1B Matt Olson (L)
- CF Ramon Laureano (R)
- DH Jed Lowrie (S)
- C Sean Murphy (R)
- 3B Matt Chapman (R)
- SS Elvis Andrus (R)
- RF Stephen Piscotty (R)
- LHP Cole Irvin
Maybe this arrangement will score runs.
Mariners lineup (home)
- SS J.P Crawford (L)
- RF Mitch Haniger (R)
- 1B Ty France (R)
- 3B Kyle Seager (L)
- DH Luis Torrens (R)
- C Tom Murphy (R)
- CF Jarred Kelenic (L)
- 2B Dylan Moore (R)
- LF Jake Bauers (L)
- LHP Marco Gonzales
How To Watch
- Date: Sunday, July 25
- Time: 1:10 p.m. PT
- TV (local): NBC Sports California
- Radio: 960 AM (more listings here)
- Streaming (watch): NBCS website (with cable sub)
- Streaming (listen): A’s Cast