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

OPINION: CONTROVERSIAL HOMERUN Affected Game Several Ways , Why Colon Should Start, New A's Store

 

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Slow Motion video of controversial homerun only sure takeaway is that there was fan interference @LBSports http://larrybrownsports.com/baseball/fan-interference-victor-martinez-home-run-video/206621  We believe fan interference should have been called, per Baseball rule book, especially since there was no conclusive evidence whether or not 1) the ball could have been caught or not by Reddick and 2) whether the ball would definitely hit above the yellow homerun line Fan interference helps give Victor Martinez home run (Video)  

At first we didn't make much   over 'the homerun.'  I thought it could've gone either way but after thinking about it , it did have a significant role in the game, affecting Oakland negatively on several counts.

The fact it was a controversial homerun made it worse then if it were a clean home run because it changed the momentum of the game and made the As quickly regroup and try to put the pieces back together after being fairly comfortable in the driver seat .  One could say the the As missed their chances but had the homerun been caught one doesn't know how things would have played out differently. It was a bitter blow - and probably an unfair one -  to the A's in a close game.

Ideally, manager Melvin and the team would have regrouped with the game still in hand.   But, things don't happen that easily in a situation like this. It quickly puts more pressure on the team and forces some  quick decision changes   as to  which pitchers and  pinch hitters to use.

The homerun,  by the way,  may have appeared on the replay to be well above Reddick's glove to when the fans interfered ,however , it was still coming down -  almost straight down- and Reddick feels 'one hundred percent' he would've caught it  -and he's caught many like that before. 

Ideally, yes, the A's would have regrouped and stepped back a moment with two men on in scoring position and no outs; it's not like them to have two guys in a row strike out with runners in scoring position. They're usually good at battling and getting the bat on the ball, at least,  in tough situations like with Vogt the other night battling Verlander some 10 pitches . But this night it all happened so quickly after the shock of the homerun; there was little time to think about the next step and Reddick and Vogt went up rather shell-shocked, although, the previous two batters were able to get on base.

Melvin's Judgment Could Have Been Affected by Homerun, Too, re. Other Issues

That aside from the homerun controversy there were some issues in the game which we can look at. There were probably a couple decisions that may   be questioned regarding  Melvin strategies in the game, but, again, those are things he might not of done if he was not put under duress due to the 'shocking' homer .

The biggest question mark  was bringing in Brent Anderson rather then Jerry Blevins or another true reliever.

Melvin says he likes to bring in his set relievers but in this case it was after his main relievers were used up    so you could've brought anyone and we would've gone with the righty- lefty strategy which has some science to it,at least. If your remaining bull pen pitchers are of similar caliber than just figure if more righties or left handed batters were coming up next and use the one of opposite (ie lefty picther if more righty batters or vice versa).

 

Finally Melvin should've strongly considered using Guiaspo(sp)   rather than Reddick in right field. Reddick has been struggling and Guiaspo is more likely to hit the ball - and all we needed was a fly or slow infield hit with no outs in the seventh to score that run, yet Reddick and then Vogt, under additional pressue from the homerun call, not to mention facing the tuff Shirzer, both struck out .It's all hindsight but there is some science to which players are more likely to NOT strike out

SUNNY GRAY vs BARTOLO COLON To Start Game Five?

 But we must look ahead to game five we have at least even chance of winning the game  playing our home park. Perhaps the biggest question now is whether to start for Bartolo Colon or Sunny Gray. I would say to go ahead and stick with Colon,  who has been 'the man' all season, with consistency. Just because he had a hickup in the first inning of the first playoff game, just make sure he gets a lot of warm up pitches and   have Sunny Gray available and ready to come in at any time. Plus, there's no assurance Sunny Gray could repeat his shutout performance of Game Two, again; Colon has the track record that Gray doesn't have.  So,  it's like you have two chances that way. Theres no tomorrow  in this first playoff series if the A's lose and you don't have to worry so much about the upcoming starter as there will be several day break before the next series would begin.

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 OPINION: CONTROVERSIAL HOMERUN Affected Game Several Ways , Why Colon Should Start, New A's Store