GRAY TO PITCH MAY BE RIGHT DECISION for A's AFTER ALL

GRAY TO PITCH MAY BE THE RIGHT DECISION for A's!  After more research on our part - and the A's 'smart' folks 'upstairs' it looks like their decision to Start young Sonny Gray Is probably correct. Off the several factors 1) Gray's last excellent start under similar conditions 2) Colon's poor track record against Detroit including last outing troublesome first inning, 3) Gray's seeming unflappability. Detroit is one of the few teams Colon has not fared well against - and we missed that. So, go A's for the good research. With no more questionable homeruns, perhaps the A's will be allowed to stay on course with good judgement and get the win and playoff series today! GO A'S Meanwhile for MORE A's and A'S STORE and   review and analysis of the homrerun (it should not have counted three ways)  

We're still concerned about probably managerial mistakes, however, these could have perhaps resulted from quick turnaround after controversial homerun and upset and pressures to make quick decisions:
1) Not hitting Gaiaspo (fifth lowest strikeouts in the league) for Reddick (proliffic stikeouts)  or Vogt with runners on second and third and no outs in the seventh inning
2) bringing in Brett Anderson, not a true reliever and untested of late to pitch the sixth inning. Blevins would have been a better bet

Melvin believes in 'lefty-right' matchups only when it comes to hitting but perhaps he should rethink this , on occassion, as well as with pitchers - io the opposite direction. But again, much of Tuesday's game downfall may have been the result of momentum shift and sudden pressure following the controversial homerun (which should not have been called a homerun -see elsewhere

After the A's took the three run lead you could literally feel the wind go out of the sail of the Detroit ship with four innings left to go. The A's were sailing along. Straly had given up only 1 hit. But that's the time one must not take anything for granted, about the time starters can get tired in the fifth or sixth inning... Hopefully the A;s and management will be on top of their game tonight

A’s Fall Short in First Playoff Game vs. Detroit Despite Fans’ ’10th Man Effort

 

 

Video of As 1st playoff vs Detroit shows strong fan contribution

 A’s Fall Short in First Playoff Game vs. Detroit Despite Fans’ ’10th Man Effort

The Scrappy Oakland A’s were the underdogs in the first American League playoff Game against Detroit  and   Cy Young  Pitcher Max Sherzer.  Their own ace, 40 year old wonder Bartolo Colon was, perhaps affected more by the five day  layoff  after the end of the season and gave up three runs in the first inning. But, after that, the A’s were the winners, scoring the only other runs of the game in the sixth inning  on Yeonis Cespedes’ two run homerun that  put them only one run down. With 48,000 screaming fan exhorting the A’s on almost every pitch one almost expected A’s Magic to happen again as it has so many times during the season. But the top pitcher in the American League and Detroit’s bullpen was just a little more than the A’s could handle; perhaps the layoff and first game jitters could account for part of their weak hitting performance ( only 3 hits on the night for a team with a .295 average against Sherzer; of course, the other side had to contend with the same layoff and jitters though it might have been harder for a 40 year old pitcher and an A’s team of younger players.  The second game on Saturday will truly show what the A’s have in them, if they can bounce back – but it won’t be easy with another top pitcher, Verlander , going against them.  


But, this game has to go down as one of the more exciting games for the home fans, despite the loss. As a   fan next to me said, the enthusiastic A’s fan base may have gotten Cespedes’ juices going to hit the big home run that brought the A’s back to within one run.  But one player’s performance a game does not make – Cepedes had two of the three hits – and the A’s needed fewer strikeouts and better performances from some other players this night. Our guess is that the A’s will show definite improvement in Game 2 with the first one under their belt.