A 162-game baseball season is full of peaks and valleys, winning streaks and losing skids, as even the best teams lose between 60 and 70 games a year. And as fans, we rise and fall with every one. Just as we were exultant when the A's had won ten straight, we are now despondent with them just being swept by the Diamondbacks. And the strain is wearing thin for many of us who expected the A's to not just challenge to make the playoffs, but to go deep in the playoffs, potentially for a world title.

Having reached the 81-game mark, the season is officially half done, and the stats side of me would love to look at all the data there and just double it to indicate what we'll look like at the end of the year. If only it were that simple... we could start printing playoff tickets right now.

Blez from Athletics Nation has done the hard work for us, examining every position player and pitcher, and assigning first half grades. For a first-place ball club, the A's players and pitchers don't fare all that well, with some notable exceptions. Overall, you will see a ton of C's and D's, as the offense continues to be a challenge, against good pitchers and bad.

We'll be back at the Coliseum tonight, for our 3rd game in 4 days, and are set to enjoy the festivities.

Listening to ''Head'', by Röyksopp (Play Count: 4)

I almost didn't post this after learning the news this weekend that the Bush squad opted to start surveying our domestic phone calls BEFORE September 11th, which of course has been the cause of and solution to all of life's problems, if this administration is to be believed (which they clearly can't be).

Just think of how these stories have evolved. Wars were built out of complete lies and manipulated as each story got picked and pecked away, as people learned more and more.

Now, the right-wing is furious that we are beginning to know the truth, as they have engaged in wholesale campaigns to smear the media who has been doing their jobs and reporting news dear to all of us affected. The New York Times is being made the scapegoat for their frustrations, just like it was when Bob Dole smeared the paper in 1996, and just like it will continue to be in the future, as long as Fox News and others still have a voice.

What kind of administration would so eagerly go after the private bank records, phone records, library records and who knows what else of its own citizens, and how does this not violate the Constitutional rights to search and seizure? That's right - it's completely illegal. That's why the right wing is so hopping mad that they got caught - again.

As a friend wrote me this morning, "I find that most people with a brain aren't thrilled with the current direction of our country, or of our election system." So why do all of these who lack brains continue to have the option to vote? Surely we can change the Constitution to demand a simple aptitude test? Now, wouldn't that be something...

Listening to ''Aura'', by Serenade (Play Count: 4)

When the A's traded Eric Byrnes to the Rockies last year, feelings on AN were mixed. Popular for his hustle and "grit", yet unpopular for his unconventional route to fly balls and propensity to pop up, Byrnes meant something to everyone. But, apparently the A's meant a lot more to Byrnes, a local Bay Area product. Returning to the Coliseum as a member of the Orioles in August, the Birds swept the A's in three games, which the ANtics first chronicled in "ANtics - Episode V: The Byrnes Curse".

A year later, Byrnes, now with the Diamondbacks, proved the guy can carry a serious grudge. Though not the focal point for any of the Diamondbacks' three wins, his curse lives on, and the A's again are on the losing end of a three-game sweep. The ANtics check in on the curse to see if anything can be done...


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ANtics Archive: 2005/06 ANtics | Hi-Res PDF (20 MB) | Poll

Cross-posted at Athletics Nation

When you can't rely on a team's offense to score more than 1 or 2 runs a game, whether against good pitchers like Brandon Webb, or "less good" pitchers like Miguel Batista, and Claudio Vargas, it intensifies the need for every other piece of the game to fall into place - defense, relief pitching, and game management.

Today, with the A's only offense being "YAFTS" (Yet Another Frank Thomas Solo", and Zito pitching his heart out into another 120+ pitch outing, every other piece contributed to today's failure, as could be seen by those watching at home, and from AN spies sitting behind home plate today, namely:

• Dan Johnson's 9th inning error allowed the Diamondback's offense to get started at a critical juncture. As Ron Washington has publicly stated that Swisher is the better defensive first baseman, and we have seen Payton and Kielty hot at the plate, it may be time to consider moving Swisher to 1st, and having an outfield that includes Payton, Kotsay and Kielty or Bradley, when Kielty or Bradley return.
  
• Frank Thomas - what a pickup! He homers yesterday to break up the shut out. He homers today to start off the scoring. But why is he still batting 4th, as it continues to have him leading off innings with nobody on base? Yes, the A's other hitters have to do something, but in this humble fan's opinion, Thomas is our best hitter right now, and should be in the third spot.
  
• Zito should not have been out there as long as he was. While he's the team's ace, he should not have been allowed to pitch the 9th, especially as hitters reached base. With fans yelling, "Macha, Wake Up!", the game slipped away, while Huston Street was ready to come in, both to start the inning, and later, with one out. For comparative purposes, the Yankees frequently put Mariano Rivera in to start the 9th at home in a tie game situation. Street never had a chance.
  

And when Macha finally did take Zito out of the game, he was "straight-up booed", according to those who were there, while Zito received a standing ovation.

Yes, the offense is tired. Yes, the offense didn't do squat in a three-day series at home against a lousy team from a lousy division from an inferior league. But adjustments have to be made that utilize common sense. And with the team starting off July 0-2, the heat should be on the manager and the pitching coach, and the hitting coach - as each of them could and should have done something in today's game to avert this calamity.
Listening to ''Siyncho'', by DJ Kimball Collins (Play Count: 4)