Kuzul

The Oakland A’s came in tonight’s game against the American League West division leading Texas Rangers, but yet again the A’s were burned by a pitcher being left in a game too long. 

Vin Mazzaro didn’t have an easy time with the Rangers lineup. At one point Michael Young, Vladimir Guerrero, and Josh Hamilton combined to go 6-6. The telling stat though is the fact in five and a third innings Mazzaro gave up 12 hits! 

What really makes for A’s fans disgusted with Geren was the fact that in the sixth inning the A’s rallied from a 4-1 deficit to a 4-3 deficit. The big clue for Geren that Mazzaro needed to be relieved was the fact that starting the bottom of the sixth inning he had already given up nine hits. 

It wasn’t like the bottom of the fifth inning was a breeze for Mazzaro either. He did a great job pitching out of a jam and for a 23 year old that should have been enough for him to keep his confidence for his next start. 

That inning saw Young double, Josh Hamilton single moving Young to third, Guerrero then hit into a double play scoring Young, and Nelson Cruz struck out swinging. It says something about Mazzaro being able to get out of a jam like that when facing the Rangers potent lineup. 

Instead Mazzaro of course was allowed back out. The first batter was David Murphy and Mazzaro did a good job of getting ahead of him, but Murphy worked the count a little more to his favor and hit a hanging slider way out to right field. 

After the homerun Mazzaro should have been relieved, it wasn’t like the A’s didn’t have anyone up in the bullpen in case Mazzaro got into trouble. The next hitter was Mitch Moreland and he got a pitch that he just missed hitting out to center field. Another sign to Geren that Mazzaro was done. 

Still, he was left in to face Joaquin Arias who hit a slowly hit ball toward Cliff Pennington. Instead of charging the ball Pennington waited to receive the ball and use his arm to get Arias, but he beat out the throw by Pennington. 

Was Mazzaro taken out of the game after Arias got on? Nope. He was left into face Taylor Teagarden, it was understandable that maybe just maybe Mazzaro would be able to get Teagarden because coming into the at-bat he was hitting .034 on the season with no homeruns and no RBI. 

Well, Teagarden finally got a pitch he could hit and he drove the ball out for a two run shot to make the game 7-3. Any momentum the A’s had from getting with in one run was still there because when Murphy hit his homerun the A’s were still within two runs.  But, when Teagarden launched his two run homerun any thought of making the game interesting was gone. 

Tonight was just another perfect example of why Geren needs to be fired immediately. 

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Bob Geren’s legacy as manager of the Oakland A’s will always be his legendary incompetency. No manager in Major League history is as clueless at using their bullpen as Geren has been.

Tonight illustrates a perfect example of how Geren can destroy the confidence of a young pitcher. Henry Rodriguez came into the ballgame to face Paul Konerko in the top half of the eighth inning, and Rodriguez did his job keeping the game close at 3-1. 

Rodriguez’s biggest problem has been his wildness. So, getting the last out in the eighth inning could have been a huge boost to his confidence, especially knowing that he came in during a key situation and was able to retire the All-Star Paul Konerko. 

Instead, Geren kept Rodriguez in the game. It wasn’t like the A’s bullpen wasn’t rested, considering the A’s had an offday yesterday. There were plenty of choices that Geren had to use in the ninth inning. The list includes Craig Breslow, Ross Wolf, Michael Wuertz, or Brad Ziegler. 

The A’s again paid for another mistake by Geren. Rodriguez was wild in walking the first man he faced in Carlos Quentin, and because Rodriguez has a big leg kick it made it extremely easy for the White Sox to steal on him. 

Andruw Jones pitch ran for Quentin and he stole a base rather easily. Mark Kotsay had a tremendous at-bat against Rodriguez but then again, this isn’t is the minor leagues and hitters aren’t going to be blown away by a high 90s fastball. 

Kotsay served the ball into left field for a single, Jones stopped at third. Brent Lillibridge ran for Kotsay and easily stole second. A.J. Pierzynski followed that up with a single right up the middle driving in both runs. 

After giving up that hit Rodriguez finally settled in striking out the next three batters, but not until the damage was done. Two runs that pushed the lead to 5-1 and with Mark Buehrle in complete control the game was over before the bottom of the ninth even began.

With a 3-1 lead the White Sox had at least the A’s could have made something of the game, but instead Geren threw in the white flag by keeping Rodriguez on the mound. 

It would have been much better if Geren had removed Rodriguez from the game after he induced the ground ball hit by Konerko because it would have built his confidence up and then gradually Rodriguez could be put into the game to pitch an inning. 

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Larry Ellison may not have been able to purchase the Golden State Warriors from Chris Cohan, but there’s another opportunity for Ellison. In fact, the team he can buy is in a lot better shape than the one he was going after. 

The Oakland A’s would be the perfect team for Ellison to buy. For one, he would make an immediate impact for the A’s because it would mean that there is no more Lew Wolff ownership. 

Under Wolff’s direction, the franchise went from a perennial playoff team to a team that struggled to stay out of the American League West cellar. Another issue with Wolff was his unwillingness to allow the signing of free agents. 

Only one deal for a premiere player has been made recently by the A’s. That was the acquisition of Matt Holliday from the Colorado Rockies and even then, the A’s were the losers in that trade. 

Over the years with Wolff as owner, the A’s have watched Miguel Tejada, Jason Giambi, and Barry Zito leave via free agency. The A’s have also seen the like of Dan Haren, Tim Hudson, Joe Blanton, and Mark Mulder traded because Wolff wasn’t going to open his wallet to sign any of them.

So, as the seasons have progressed with the trades that were made, the A’s have been able to develop some solid young pitchers such as, Brett Anderson, Trevor Cahill, Gio Gonzalez, and coming into his own right now is Vin Mazarro.

The same question remains: What happens in a few years when it comes to re-signing them? Will Wolff continue the same habit of letting players develop but when they become free agents or close to free agency will he trade them or will he let them go because he won’t spend the money?

Wolff is supposedly hoping for a new stadium for the A’s, but it won’t be in Oakland. It will be in San Jose. While Wolff tries to figure out how to get a stadium built in San Jose, A’s fans are subjected to a team that has some solid talent, but won’t be making the playoffs without help.

As in taking on some salaries so the team can be successful, but Wolff won’t do it because he’s too busy wanting to move the team.  

This is where Ellison comes in, because he has the money to buy the team. Hopefully, he would do a better job of trying to find a place in Oakland to build the stadium, not have some secret agenda to get the team to San Jose. 

Even if the team did move to San Jose, Ellison wouldn’t be afraid to open his wallet to field a competitive team. Meaning not only locking up key young players like Kurt Suzuki, Cliff Pennington, Anderson, Cahill, Gonzalez, and Mazzaro, but also going after the teams needs. 

This season, the A’s need a big bat in the lineup. That means going after Jayson Werth, Corey Hart, and Prince Fielder. An owner like Ellison would try to put the best team on the field even if it means spending money. 

According to ESPN, the A’s payroll is at just under $51 million. Only Arizona, San Diego, and Pittsburgh have a lower payroll. 

Ellison just made an offer to buy the Warriors for nine times that amount! There’s no question that Ellison could afford to buy the A’s. The only questions is would he be willing to? 

As an A’s fan, one can only hope. There’s nothing like thinking about the A’s putting a team on the field with a credible lineup because with the A’s pitching right now they’d be running away with the American League West.

It also would go from a different direction as well where Wolff was counting every penny he made and keeping the payroll down the exact opposite can be said about Ellison. 

Ellison didn’t get to where he is today as the sixth richest man by counting pennies. 

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

It’s been rumored that Ryan Sweeney is undergoing knee surgery that will end his season. There’s no question that Sweeney is a valuable asset for the A’s playing excellent defense in right field, but more importantly versatile enough to play all three outfield positions, and he possesses a strong arm as well. 

Defensively he’ll be missed although Gabe Gross does have a very good arm in the outfield as well. Offensively is where the A’s will miss Sweeney the most though as he had the highest batting average, among the team leaders in RBI, and doubles. 

The injury though could be a blessing in disguise for Sweeney. At 6’4 225 he has not shown any signs of being the power hitter he was projected as. On the season before his injury he hit just one homerun.

Sweeney’s career high in homeruns is just six. Also, notable career highs are the 53 RBI he had last year and the 31 doubles also set last year. He was on pace to surpass those highs just not the homeruns.

What has made Sweeney an effective hitter is that he can take the ball the other way, he rarely if ever pulls a pitch. He does have the ability to turn on a pitch, but it’s a rare circumstance. 

The fact that Sweeney is normally batting third in the lineup says something as well. He’s a consistent hitter but if he does turn on a pitch it’s normally not in the air and it tends to be on the ground which means if there’s a runner on base he has the propensity to hit into double plays. 

With power hitters that hit third or fourth in the lineup that’s not a huge drawback, but for the A’s it is because of the lack of power in the A’s lineup. 

As for Sweeney it’s bad news for the A’s because they do lose their best hitter average wise and of course his defense. But, in the long run it could be a blessing in disguise for Sweeney and the A’s. 

For Sweeney he swings a good bat he knows how to take the ball into left field. The hope is thought during the time off rehabbing is that he continues his approach to hitting the ball to the opposite field, but more importantly learning to turn on pitches more. 

There’s no excuse for why Sweeney right now is not hitting 15-20 homeruns a year. He has the size to take the ball out of the ballpark, but he just doesn’t do it. When he first came to the A’s they thought that Sweeney was just learning how to hit at the Major League level and give him a few years and he’d be hitting homeruns. 

Well it’s been a few years for Sweeney and in fact his power numbers have not shown up yet. When Sweeney comes back healthy here’s hoping that the rehab process and his recovery will lead him to discovering that he can hit for power while still taking the ball to left field. 

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The Oakland A’s have had an up-and-down season so far.

They were in first place in the American League West at the beginning of June.

At the All-Star Break the A’s are now 43-46 and seven-and-a-half games out of first place and three games out of second.

Now is time to take a look at the grades for each player the A’s have had at the break. I’ll start with the infield, then outfielders, relievers, and then the starters for the A’s.

Begin Slideshow

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim need help to reclaim another American League West division title. With the Texas Rangers adding Cliff Lee to their rotation it’s going to be tougher than ever for the Angels to catch the Rangers. 

Currently the Angels own a 47-42 record and are four and a half games out of first place. Yet, if the Angels would like to catch the Rangers and pass them for first place the Angels could use some help.

Where does the help come form? The Oakland A’s. They’ve got two players that would improve the team considerably. When making a trade with the A’s the Angels don’t have to give up players who are already at the Major League levels, just some prospects. 

Now the Angels could actually trade for two players from the A’s. One players alone would help them with their fielding problems and give them a bat in the lineup, and take away from the platoon at third base. 

Kevin Kouzmanoff has had an up and down season with the A’s hitting the ball. He’s aggressive and not very patient, but he would fit right into the Angels lineup. Not only that he wouldn’t have to be hitting so high up in the lineup as he had done with the A’s. 

He’s hitting a decent .269, with 89 hits, 16 doubles, eight homers, 40 rbis, and a stolen base. Kouzmanoff would definitely be an improvement of Brandon Wood, Macier Izturis (currently injured), and Kevin Frandsen. 

Defensively he improves the Angels dramatically. Of the group of players that have seen time at third base for the Angels they’ve combined for 14 errors while Kouzmanoff has only seven errors.

The other player that would benefit the Angels would be Michael Wuertz. After an outstanding season with the A’s last year he’s been inconsistent this year, but a fresh start may help him regain the magic that he had last year. 

It also wouldn’t hurt the Angels because the bullpen has been struggling throughout the year and the addition of Wuertz could boost some life into the bullpen. So, far Wuertz has appeared in 23 games, has a record of 2-1, with a save, an ERA of 5.71, has struckout 13 and walked 10. 

The season before that though Wuertz went 6-1, in 74 appearances, had four saves, and struck out 102 while walking 23. 

With the year that Wuertz is having though it maybe difficult for the A’s to include him with Kouzmanoff. So, Brad Ziegler could be the other option in the trade to help improve the Angels bullpen. 

Ziegler has had a decent season so far he does struggle a little bit against left handed hitters. He’s appeared in 41 games, has a record of 2-4, and has 25 strikeouts to go along with 17 strikeouts. 

As for the Angels what players would they give up in a trade to the A’s for Kouzmanoff and Wuertz or Ziegler?

Michael Kohn is a 24 year old right handed relief pitcher who’s appeared both at the Double-A and Triple A level and is having a solid year in 35 games he has a 2.08 ERA with 52 strikeouts to 20 walk, and 10 saves. 

Tyson Auer also 24 is an outfielder who can play each position who has appeared in Advanced A ball and now Double A is hitting a combined .340, with 103 hits, eight doubles, eight triples, three homeruns, 30 rbis, and 44 stolen bases. 

Also, coming over could be Casey Haerther who’s at the Single A level who has played both third base and first base. He’s 22 years old and currently hitting .315, with 90 hits, 13 doubles, two triples, four homeruns, 54 rbis, and nine stolen bases. 

Either way the trades would benefit both clubs it would bring in a reliever that the Angels could definitely use a third basemen that can not only hit but provide defense at the hot corner and the A’s like they usually do they’d be getting young talent to build up their farm system. 

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Bob Geren does not belong with the name Albert Einstein, but he does have something in common with him. That is Einstein’s definition of insanity, which is doing the same things over and over again expecting a different result. 

Well, for the Oakland A’s and their bullpen, Geren continues to make the same errors in decision making or in some cases the lack of decision making process. Tonight’s another perfect example of Geren’s insanity. 

Craig Breslow came into pitch and I have no problem with Breslow being used in the eighth inning as long as he doesn’t have to face a powerful right handed bat. He got Erick Aybar a switch hitter batting right handed on flyball to right. 

Howie Kendrick was the next batter in the inning and he gave ball a good ride to right center field. If the A’s outfielders hadn’t been playing deep it could have been trouble, but Coco Crisp easily made the running catch. 

Bobby Abreu came to the plate and he hit a soft groundball to Cliff Pennington that he had to make a tough play on and wasn’t able to get Abreu at first. Next up, Torii Hunter, a dangerous aggressive hitter.

The kind of hitter that no manager should want their left handed pitcher to be facing in a situation where if Hunter takes Breslow deep. Geren did have Curt Young the A’s pitching coach go out to talk with Breslow. 

That didn’t work out so well because Hunter unloaded on a pitch and took it opposite field for a line shot over the right field fence. The game goes from being tied at 3-3 to the Angels winning 5-3. 

Luckily for the A’s they made a comeback of their own and tied the game up 5-5, but imagine if Geren actually did what he is paid to do! Would it have been a reasonable decision to bring in a right hander to face the aggressive Hunter? Absolutely! 

Of course this isn’t the first time that Breslow has been taken deep by a right handed bat in a close game either. 

The next lack of a decision came in the top of the 10th inning. Instead of relieving Andrew Bailey, Geren left him in to go two innings. Still the move was questionable at best. 

It’s understandable that Geren wanted to get Bailey some work after all he hadn’t pitched since July 4, but one inning should have been sufficient. Considering that the A’s have two more games to play against the Angels and the games are normally very close. 

What’s even worse though is that the A’s could have built momentum going into the all-star game if they had swept the Angels who had been struggling of late. The A’s were 41-45 coming into the game and the Angels were 46-42. 

Meaning that the A’s were four games back at the start of tonight’s game if they had won the A’s could have been only three games back of the Angels for second place in the American League West.

Instead the A’s are now five games back and can only hope to win the next two games of the series and be three back when the A’s had a chance of being only a game back at the break. 

Tonight’s just another example of just how bad a manager Geren is. There’s no excuse for the way he manages a game and furthermore, how he has kept his job for so long is beyond any A’s fans comprehension. 

Yes, Geren’s General Manager Billy Beane’s best friend, but there comes a point in time where Beane has to man up and fire his best friend. At the all-star break would be a great time to do it. 

Also, along with Geren hitting coach Jim Skaalen can go too!  

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

There was a point in time in the season where the Oakland A’s could have made a surprising run at the American League West division title, but all hope are pretty much gone after another dreadful performance against the New York Yankees. 

So, what is there for the second half of the season for the A’s? Well there’s five things the A’s have to have to show they could become a contender in the American League West division. 

First, regardless of the batting average of Chris Carter he needs to be called up to provide a big bat in the lineup. For the Sacramento Rivercats, Carter has hit 17 homers and driven in 60. Along with the 17 homers he also has 22 doubles and two triples. Meaning in 83 games 41 of his 74 hits have gone for extra bases. 

Those numbers are something that the A’s are in desperate need of a big bat. 

For the second thing that has to change is Daric Barton needs to stop taking so many pitches and start swinging the bat more.

He’s leading the league in walks, but I don’t know how many times I’ve seen him get a pitch to hit and he’s either taking it or fouling the ball off or in a big time situation he gets caught looking at a close pitch. 

That happened against the Yankees. The A’s were trailing 5-1 at the time and this was a game changing situation. With the bases loaded and a 3-2 strike count in the bottom of the fifth inning.

CC Sabathia threw a fastball on the outside corner instead of fouling the pitch off like he did on the previous pitch he didn’t swing. Mike Winters the man calling balls and strikes ran Barton up. 

Barton was upset and immediately slammed his helmet down and was ejected. When hearing the call on the radio I thought hey here’s another example of the Yankees getting the benefit of the doubt.

But, today when I saw the replay of that inning with Barton taking the third strike. I could only shake my head and think to myself what was Barton thinking? That was a perfectly placed pitch by Sabathia it was a strike and even if it was a ball that pitch was way too close for Barton to be not swinging. 

The third thing the A’s need to see is Gio Gonzalez continue to mature. When he gets in trouble in games he lets it bother him. Against the Yankees there’s another perfect example of the growth that needs to be shown from Gonzalez. 

For the game he had way too many baserunners. In the top of the fourth he let his concentration get away from him even after he got a double play. 

Gonzalez allowed a single to Brett Gardner with the two outs. He attempted to throw over a number of times, but none were successful at keeping him from stealing second. 

Ramiro Pena was the batter and he fell behind him and with a 3-1 pitch threw a fastball to the outside corner which Pena blooped into shallow right and Gardner scored easily. 

Pena was able to take second on a wild pitch by Gonzalez. Derek Jeter then with his patented inside out swing hit a groundball past Barton for a single allowing Pena to easily to score from second. 

Nick Swisher was up next and again he was wild getting to a 3-1 count. Gonzalez got lucky on a ball hit down the leftfield line but fortunately it went foul for him. Next pitch though was not even close, walking Swisher. 

The very next hitter Mark Teixeira didn’t have to wait long to get a pitch to hit. He drove a fastball out to dead center. So, the A’s came into the inning winning 1-0 by the end of the inning the A’s were then trailing 5-1. 

The inning started for the Yankees with two outs. All Gonzalez had to do was get the third out. After Gardner got on and stole second, that’s when Gonzalez should have gone right after Pena instead of pitching him carefully. 

I get the fact that the Yankees have a scary lineup, but Pena doesn’t exactly strike fear into many pitchers and it shouldn’t have happened to Gonzalez. 

The fourth thing relates to Gonzalez’s meltdown. This has to do with both Curt Young and Kurt Suzuki. 

When Gonzalez walked Swisher to put runners on first and second. Either Young or Suzuki should have been out to the mound to talk with Gonzalez to settle him down instead of allowing the next batter to come up to the plate and then hit a three run homerun. 

It was easy to tell that Gonzalez was rattled just a bit after the stolen base to Gardner. With the Yankees you can see the difference with Jorge Posada behind the plate or even Francisco Cervelli. 

When a pitcher is struggling they’ll get up from behind the plate and either make a gesture to calm the pitcher down or they will walk to the mound to talk things over. While Suzuki is still growing as a catcher he has to do a better job of understanding when a young A’s pitcher is struggling. 

That same thing can be said for Young and even though he only had one visit to the mound, he should have been out there talking to Gonzalez at some point during the inning.

The fifth thing that must happen is that Ryan Sweeney needs to start showing that he can hit for power. Otherwise in the offseason he should be traded. It’s inexcusable that a 6’4 215 pound outfielder is a slap hitter. 

Most of Sweeney’s hits have come to the opposite field and he rarely pulls the ball. Well Sweeney in the second half must show that he can learn to take the ball out of the ballpark. 

He has just one homerun this season. For his career he has just 13 in 360 career games. 

Also, it doesn’t look good for Sweeney while Carlos Gonzalez who was part of the Matt Holliday trade from last year is having an all-star caliber season for the Colorado Rockies and has settled in hitting in the third spot. On the season he’s hit 15 homers driven in 55, has a .303 average, and 12 stolen bases.

There’s nothing wrong with Sweeney’s defense he can play any of the three outfield positions and has a great arm, but offensively he leaves a lot to be desired. 

As for the sixth thing the A’s need to do is trade Ben Sheets and Kevin Kouzmanoff. Sheets needs to go to a team that can give him the offensive support he needs.

Kouzmanoff, while an outstanding defensive third basemen is as inconsistent as they come as a hitter. For a few weeks he’ll be ice cold the next few weeks red hot, and then it’s backto being ice cold. What’s worse is Kouzmanoff’s tendency to swing at pitches nowhere near the strikezone.

Finally the seventh thing the A’s need to do is change the lineup and rotation for the second half. 

Lineup: 

1. Coco Crisp CF

2. Mark Ellis 2B

3. Chris Carter 1B/DH

4. Jack Cust DH/RF/LF

5. Kurt Suzuki C

6. Kevin Kouzmanoff 3B

7. Ryan Sweeney RF

8. Cliff Pennington SS

9. Rajai Davis LF/CF

Rotation:

1. Trevor Cahill

2. Brett Anderson/If healthy at the end of the all-star break

3. Gio Gonzalez

4. Dallas Braden

5. Vin Mazzaro

As the second half approaches for the A’s and to have a successful season they must bring up Carter, Barton needs to swing more, Gonzalez needs to learn how to control himself when he gets rattled, Suzuki needs to understand when to calm his pitcher down, Sweney needs to develop his power stroke, Sheets and Kouzmanoff need to be sent packing, and the lineup and rotation must be changed. 

On one other note. A’s fans need to start going out and supporting their team. It’s an absolute disgrace that Yankees fans dominate the A’s fans when they are in town and same can be said about Red Sox fans. 

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Barry Bonds could quite go down as the most dangerous hitter Major League Baseball has ever seen. Steroids or no steroids, Bonds eye at the plate was matched by a select few.

Bonds is a guy who was walked intentionally with the bases loaded just so he wouldn’t hit a homerun. So, the question is what 10 pitchers gave Bonds the most problems with the minimum being at least 25 at-bats for Bonds?

Begin Slideshow

Bob Geren’s continued misuse of the Oakland A’s bullpen is getting very tiresome. Another game for the A’s where the decisions made by Geren were headscratching to say the least. 

Although, there was one decision that Geren made right was taking Gio Gonzalez out after pitching seven solid innings and bringing in Craig Breslow. This because Breslow has been the most consistent reliever out of the bullpen this year for the A’s. Every other decision after that has cost the A’s runs and the game. 

After Breslow pitched an inning, he was relieved by Andrew Bailey the A’s closer for the ninth inning. Most managers know the only reason to bring a closer into a game is in a save situation, unfortunately Geren doesn’t realize this. 

With the way Breslow had pitched in the eighth inning there was no reason not to bring him out for the ninth. Bailey came in and got the first out with a strikeout, got the second batter to fly out to shallow centerfield, but Bailey was not able to get the third out. 

He gave up a walk and then Bailey who was not paying attention to the runner allowed an easy stolen base. Jay Bruce was at the plate pinch hitting and even though Bailey got ahead of him and had him with two strikes, he left a pitch on the inside corner that was way too good of a pitch in that situation, and Bruce smacked the ball easily into right field for a single. Ryan Sweeney had no chance at throwing the runner out who scored from second. 

Bailey got out of the inning without incurring any more damage. Now, Bailey has also shown he can go more than an inning and at this point would have been left in. He didn’t take the loss because Kevin Kouzmanoff hit the first pitch he saw from Fracisco Cordero out of the ballpark tying the game up at 2-2. 

Into the game came the struggling Michael Wuertz. First pitch Ramon Hernandez sees he hits a rocket out to left field hitting the foul pole for a homerun. The next batter was Brandon Phillips who hit a single to right center. 

Wuertz was actually lucky that Phillips didn’t hustle down the line because he could have easily been at second base. Paul Janish was the next batter and he sacrificed Phillips to second. 

Joey Votto was the next batter for the Reds. Instead of bringing in a more experience left handed reliever in Jerry Blevins, Geren brought in Cedric Bowers to face Votto. Bowers didn’t help himself by falling behind to Votto with a 3-1 count. 

Instead of just letting Votto go to first, he tried to groove a pitch into Votto who was sitting dead red and hit the ball out for a two-run homerun. A game that was tied at 2-2 to start the inning was now a 5-2 Reds lead. 

Bowers should have been taken out right after he gave up the homerun, instead he was left in to face the dangerous Scott Rolen who promptly hit a solo shot off of Bowers to add to the Reds lead, 6-2.

The A’s in the bottom of the inning put some pressure on the Reds who actually showed Geren what you do in those situations. Cordero walked the first two batters of the inning. 

Baker then replaced Cordero with Daniel Ray Herrera who gave up a single to Kurt Suzuki but no runner was able to score. The A’s had the bases loaded with nobody out. 

Ryan Sweeney was the next batter up for the A’s and Herrera induced a ground ball to the right side that allowed a run to score, but now the A’s had runners on second and third with one out. 

Jordan Smith then relieved Herrera for the Reds. He got Kouzmanoff, the A’s hottest hitter, to ground out to third that allowed another A’s runner to score cutting the Red lead to 6-4. 

Jack Cust with a runner at second and the ability to tie the game just missed tying the game. He ran the count full, but ended up striking out that ended the game. 

Baker shows he’s been around for a while and he’s not going to leave a pitcher who is struggling in very long. In this case Cordero started the inning with back to back walks. 

Geren on the other hand, after Bowers allowed the two-run homerun to Votto, left Bowers in to face a dangerous hitter in Rolen. 

Not too mention the fact that Geren went in the top of the 10th inning with a reliever coming into the game with a 6.35 ERA and the pitcher replacing him had a decent ERA of 3.24 but didn’t have experience in a situation he was put into. 

It has come to the point for Geren to use Wuertz only in blowouts. It is clear that Wuertz’s confidence is not 100 percent and the only way for him to build into games where he isn’t going to blow a win. 

Yet, that’s too hard for Geren to realize. He still believes that Wuertz is the same guy from 2009 when Wuertz hasn’t even been remotely close to pitching like he did last year. 

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com