MLB 2014 season thread

Wee Willie Keeler was listed at 5-4. He had 239 hits in 1897 and more than 211 four other times.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/k/keelewi01.shtml?redir

You sure that's not just an AL record?

 

You are right. Read MLB Network graphic incorrectly.

 

You gotta be a sports professional to catch that.

 

Scoreboard watching in Anaheim: As the Angels are wrapping up a 5-0 win over the Mariners to take the magic number down to 1, the Athletics are ahead 1-0 going into the top of the ninth.

Then the Rangers tied it up and go ahead 4-1 on Arencibia's three-run homer. A lot of the fans are still here, and post-game commentators say the players are getting ready to come back out to the field for the bottom of the ninth in Oakland.

 

And the A's go down 1-2-3 in the ninth. Angels are AL West champs.

 

Oakland's meltdown since the trade deadline is on par with that of the Wicked Witch of the West.

 

Tonight's game seemed like a microcosm of their whole season: Strong start and middle and collapse at the end. I was honestly surprised the Angels ran away with the division like they did.

 

My daughter and I went to the Angels game, too. Crazy, staying there about an hour and a half afterward, watching the feed from Oakland on the video board as the Rangers scored 6 runs in the ninth after the A's didn't score with the bases loaded and no outs in the eighth.
Then the players came out and partied on the field and spewed champagne on the fans in the front rows.

 

Oakland's specialized in the walkoff or late-inning win the last few years - or at least it seems like it every time I've had to build the baseball roundup - so I wonder at times if its a case of baseball karma coming back to bite them in the rear? That and a bullpen that's been beyond horrid all season.

 

To me, it comes down to the A's cleaning up their own back yard. There are two bad teams in that division (Houston & Texas). Oakland is 18-14 vs those two right now while the Angles are 25-10. Swap those records and it's a virtual tie in the AL West.

 

The A's trade Cespedes and tank. God bless Moneyball.

 

They could've had Lester for less, much less, as the Price trade demonstrated less than an hour later. I have to conclude Beane panicked at the deadline.