Official Game Thread - 4/29 - Bucs @ A's

[Surgnbuck]

leadoff walk, strikeout, GIDP for the Bucs.

Now a single, a sac bunt, and a double for the A's, ti's 4-1

[Surgnbuck]

Falter pitching like he knows the game's already lost

[Surgnbuck]

well, I'm off to bed, I'm whooped, maybe the Bucs will surprise me and rally back

[JollyRoger8]

This is unwatchable.
Send a message to the players.
Send Cruz, Davis, Suwinski to AAA

[Bobster]

I watched some. Fell asleep. Woke up. Turned it off. Couldn’t sleep. Turned it back on. Very boring. Turned it off. Turned it on.

One hit in each of the first and 9th innings. 4th, 5th and 7th batters all under .200. Not really a slump. Most of the lineup is not expected to hit. Another masterful job of assembling a roster by Cherington.

[Surgnbuck]

They must have lossened the leash on the announcers. I'm still shocked at how openly candid Brown was about how bad this team has been lately.

In the past, I'd almost expect a comment like, "Amazing, the Bucs play an error free game, but that's just not enough to get the win."

[Wildwoodcoach]

Two damn hits !!
The A's starting pitcher had an ERA of 7.13

[Wildwoodcoach]

To quote Bailey Falter, "we aren't clicking on all cylinders right now but it's early
in the season and we are going to figure it out and going to be great" I wonder what
he has been smoking?

[Bobster]

Similar to last year when you could look at the roster and wonder how many players could even be expected to hit satisfactorily, the same question applies a year later.

Based on past performance, Reynolds and Hayes are expected to hit.
Triolo? Yes, based on .298 in SSS (181 ABs) as rookie in 2003. But it's a SSS.
Davis? No. Hit .213 last year.
Suwinski? No. combined .215 in previous 2 years. Only hit .239 in minors.
Cutch? No. Declining at age 37. His .256 in 2023 was his highest BA since 2019.
Tellez? No. Batted .219 and .215 the previous 2 years. Career .231 hitter.
Taylor? No. Hit .220 last year. .239 career.
Olivares? No. Modest hitting utility OFer. Career .259.
Cruz? Maybe, hopefully, but not certainly. Essentially missed 2023 and hit .233 in 2022. And the Rennie Stennett-effect of the injury cannot be ruled out.
Joe? Maybe. Capable platoon player but hit just .238 and .247 the previous 2 years.
Williams? Not expected to hit after batting .198 in 2023 but so far a pleasant surprise in a SSS.
Bart? No. Taken off scrap heap when SF DFA'd him. Career .220.

So when we say, "they're just not hitting yet" or "they're just in a slump," I don't know if there's any reason to expect much more than what we see. A real team would have added a couple established hitters to have a few players they could count on to hit in case guys like Davis, Suwinski, Triolo or even Cruz or Cutch struggled. Instead, they added Tellez and Taylor, who were known to be poor hitters and Oliveras who they could only hope would hit. The strategy of, "gee wiz, maybe everyone will do better than we have any reason to expect" just isn't working out."

[Wildwoodcoach]

Excellent reporting Bobster!!