Last night was the worst loss of the year. It hurt, bad.
The A’s had two outs in the ninth and a two-run lead when Michael Morse singled in two to tie the game. Somebody get a scouting report on this guy; he hit .253 in AAA; he’s hitting .397 in the majors. He can’t be this good. He must have plenty of holes in his swing somewhere.
Then with a one-run lead in the twelfth, Bobby Crosby dropped a throw from Ryan Glynn that would have been a game-ending double play. Next batter singles, and Eric Byrnes has a chance to throw the runner out at home, but he boots it, too.
Just when I had a little bit of hope, when I thought the A’s had a chance to make a really good run, this happens. I like the pitching matchups against San Francisco this weekend. With Harden back, I thought they had a good chance to get on a winning streak, and pull close to .500 before the All-Star Break.
Suddenly, hope is the furthest thing from my mind. I can’t get my mind around this loss. It just knocked all the air out of me; I can’t think of anything except the stunning fact that I just got punched in the stomach, and I can’t breathe.
1. Let me try to relieve your pain on that double play. Ichiro was the one who hit the ball, and he has only hit into one double play this year. I think that Crosby knew he had to execute perfectly in order to get the double play and subsequently tried too hard. But if you get the out at second base, Adrian Beltre is batting next, and he's not been entirely worthy of his huge contract.
Also, the A's got Ichiro to go 0-6. That sounds impressive.
2. I know Ichiro hit the ball, and I still think they would have turned two if Crosby had caught the ball. I saw his one GIDP earlier this year, and it was also against the A's, IIRC. That doesn't relieve the pain at all, but the win today (Thursday) helps.