The A’s climbed back to a first place tie in the AL West with last night’s 7-2 win over Seattle. Considering that the A’s currently have five players on the disabled list, plus another on the bereavement list, you can’t really complain much about the status quo. Things could be far, far worse at this point (see 2005).
I’m guessing Randy Keisler gets back from his grandmother’s funeral today, and the A’s open up his roster spot by placing Joe Kennedy on the DL. Kennedy hasn’t played in nine days, and it looks like he’ll miss a few more, so it seems the logical thing to do. That would make two starters, three relievers, and an outfielder on the shelf.
Thank goodness for Billy Beane and his commitment to pitching depth. The A’s pitching is stretched pretty thin right now, but with the depth, it’s stretched to the point of nervousness, not helplessness.
I usually feel pretty calm and comfortable with Justin Duchscherer out there in the eighth, and without him, the last couple of eighth innings against Seattle have made me bite my nails a bit. And I’ll probably bite a few more with Saarloos out on the mound today. I don’t particularly like it, but I can live with it.
1. And first place is still first place. The A's fans can chant this weekend "We're slightly better! We're slightly better!"
2. I think they had to send down Roney when Keisler returned, since he was recalled less than 10 days after he was optioned to the minors, an exception only allowed when another player goes on the bereavement list. I'm not sure if this stint in the majors restarts that clock; if not, he'd be eligible to return monday. The other Sacramento pitchers on the 40-man roster (Dominguez, Komine, Meyer, Casilla) haven't exactly distinguished themselves, so most likely the team is just hoping that Kennedy will be ready soon.