Kudos to young Jhonaton Solano on the occasion of his first MLB homer. Young Mr. Harper’s homer has been discussed at length elsewhere, so I will resist the urge to commit overkill here.

As a public service, here is the partial score of this afternoon’s game: Washington 5. Strasburg pitched 6, 2 R, 5H, 8K, 1 BB, 89 pitches. And a homer by Jose Bautista. No shame in giving up a homer to Jose Bautista. Rookie Tyler Moore has his first 2 MLB homers and a double.

HOWEVER… having Davis at first, Roberts back at second and a defensive stud in Hardy at short? O’s are only hurting on the hot corner. Can’t imagine how bad it would be if we had no Roberts, no 1B and Reynolds playing everyday. Oh wait, I didn suffert through the 2011 season!

The excellent blues were provided by Graham Drout and One Dead, One Missing. I should also add that birdman made a pretty good job of polishing off one of Tobacco Road’s Jurassic Park turkey club sandwiches too.

I’ve been scanning the papers and Feesh blogs this morning to see if Cooter has been given the Anthony Babington treatment yet. So far, like Dilsey, they endure.

That the A’s won was secondary, as the entertainment of watching Guthrie hang sliders in the middle of the plate was paramount to a fan base unused to power displays, at least since the late 80′s Bash Brothers or their late 90′s reincarnation in the Giambi/Tejada years.

Not that Colon was much better, but he was a little better enough, so that the Tulo (from Sunnyvale, CA) -less Rockies were unable to score in 4 IP against the A’s bullpen, now anchored by Ryan Cook (thank you, Arizona) and his 0.67 ERA.

Colon at least threw primarily fastballs, which are more predictable in the lighter air of Denver. Some of those sliders that Guthrie hung must have looked like beach balls to the A’s, so truly 5 x 5 were they centered in the strike zone.

Former A Car-Go, with his measly 1.000 OPS, simply had no protection in the lineup tonight, and fanned 3 times.

During the game the broadcast put up a list of former A’s now playing in the NL West, something like 17 guys, highlighted by Car-Go and newly-rich Andre Ethier. They couldn’t have kept all those guys, nor would they have wanted to, but did they get enough for all that maneuvering? I think the A’s record speaks plainly that they did not.

Meanwhile, the countdown to Hatteberg is at T-2.

Who said fielding percentage is the best measure of how good a defense is?

Well you technically didn’t say it, but you said this:
Just ask the yankees how valuable defense is…and the majors best fielding percentage.

So what conclusions should we draw from it? You think the Yanks value defense, and the way to show they have a good defense is via fielding %?

but Ill take a team that makes the outs theyre supposed to make over a team that misses the easy ones and makes the tough ones.

Except it’s not some 1:1 ratio. You get a great defensive team like the Rays have been running out there, and they are getting to 6-7 more balls a game than the Yankees were. So even if the Yanks make an out on every ball they get to, and the Rays throw 1/6 of those away, the Rays are still making 5 more outs on balls in play than the Yanks are.

Having said that, I would take him back in Houston right now.

The entire 6-7-8 of the Feesh order is now batting below the Mendoza line, as the recently reconstituted Gaby Sanchez showed no evidence of having figured anything out in treeple-A and both Cooter Coghlan and Black Hole Buck continued their plunge – perhaps the feesh averages are seeking out abyssal vents where they can convert themselves to a sulfur metabolism or something. I do hope Cooter has filled out and mailed in his application for the Fall term at divinity school, because it’s difficult to imagine the Feesh dragging his dead weight with them when they hit the road after tonight’s joust with the Beanbags.

Mark Buehrle pitched yet another fine unrequited game. What else? Ah yes, my auschlander companion got treated to some heart-and-soul cuisine from that large unnamed island ninety miles south of Key West where all of Macondo’s terrible drivers come from – his first maiz y queso blanco arepa. We visited my friend Roberto, who mans the umbrella pushcart just opposite the Clevelander entrance of Macondo Banana Massacre Field and sells hot dogs, chorizos and pinchos for approximately on quarter of what they’ll cost you inside. Also, you get to eat before you go in for the game so that the occasional look at Kevin Youkilis’ face doesn’t put you off your peanuts. I tell you, if I had a Shar Pei with a face like his, I’d shave its ass and make it walk backwards.