Forever And Ever

Source: FanGraphs

The above graph is the illustration of the wild game played last night in Oakland. The Angels and A's just kept playing forever and ever. 19 innings were played before the A's Brandon Moss finally sent everyone home with a game-winning home run at 1 in the morning on the West Coast. There are some other stats from this game that need to be recognized though from this very long game. (Stats via the Yahoo! and Fangraphs boxscores)

- The A's had to make two comebacks last night with the game on the line. First in the 9th inning and next in the 15th inning.
- There were 5 home runs hit in the game including two hit by Albert Pujols and two hit by Brandon Moss including the game winner.
- Three centerfielders were injured in this game and had to leave: Coco Crisp, Chris Young, and Peter Bourjous.
- The Angels in essence received TWO quality starts out of pitchers last night: Starter Tommy Hanson and "reliever" Jerome Williams.
- Oakland STARTER Brett Anderson pitched 5.1 innings in relief
- Oakland reliever Jeremy Blevins had to hit for himself in the 18th inning. He struck out.
- Did I mention that this was an AL game with a DH? And that PITCHER Jeremy Blevins had to HIT FOR HIMSELF? Yep it was that kind of game.
- There was a total of 33 men left on base, 25 strikeouts, and 12 walks.
- Three different players totaled 27 at-bat's last night.
- The game lasted over 6 hours and was the longest played in both the A's and Angels history.

This is how it finally ended.

Why You Shouldn't Go To Bed Before The Final Out

I went to bed last night after the 8th inning in the A's-Tigers game. The A's offense hadn't done much in the game, or that series to be honest, that warranted me staying up any longer to watch the A's in the ninth inning. Fail. Seth Smith tied the game and then Coco Crisp sent the series to a game 5.



Just another lesson why you shouldn't go to bed before the final out. So now both the Giants and A's, you both lost the first two games of their respective series', play in game 5 today. Also both the Cards and Yankees can finish out their series' today as well. Should be another great day of baseball.

The A's Sign Yoenis Cespedes?

I put a question mark in the headline because this is by far the biggest stunner of the MLB offseason. The Oakland A's signed Cuban outfield/defector Yoenis Cespedes to a 4-year, $36 million dollar contract this morning.

This move is a stunner because Cespedes was pretty much linked to every team in baseball except the A's. The Florida Miami Marlins especially took a big run at Cespedes and many people were pretty much under the impression that Cespedes would eventually sign with Florida Miami.

The A's take a big risk here. Cespedes claims to be 26-years old, but with all these players from the Caribbean countries we don't know if that's accurate or not. Then there's the money issue. There's not a chance in hell the A's are going to stash away Cespedes in the minors for a year and pay him $9 million dollars. Cespedes will be expected to play right away and perform at a high level.

Then there's the fact the A's basically traded away their entire rotation during the offseason. Grant Brisbee of Baseball Nation takes a look at the project A's rotation this season:

The rotation for the A's:

Brandon McCarthy
Bartolo Colon
Brad Peacock
Tom Milone
Jarrod Parker

McCarthy and Colon are health risks, but they're quality pitchers. Peacock and Parker are top prospects who'll have the kind of safety net that only 48 acres of foul territory can provide. And Milone's superlative command might be the perfect experiment for the A's in the Oakland Coliseum. It's an interesting bunch, and that's leaving off Brett Anderson and Dallas Braden, both of whom are expected back at some point this season.

Yes the A's projected rotation right now features rookies, a pitcher who can't stay healthy, and Bartolo Colon. Plus they're expecting two other injury prone starters to return.

I have no idea what's in store this year for the A's but they have certainly made themselves interesting. Add on the fact they're still looking at bringing in Manny Ramirez and all of a sudden you have a mediocre team that might be worth a follow on MLB.tv.

The Links: Perfection & Dan Patrick to Host NBC Hockey Studio

Brooklyn Decker to start the week..... R.I.P. Kevin Correia's little brother...... Dallas Braden's grandmother is awesome..... Joe Mauer returns after missing time with a heel injury..... When flopping goes wrong..... The Kimbo Slice-UFC experiment if mercifully over...... LeBron Who? Rondo is the MVP of the Celtics-Cavaliers series...... 'Iron Man 2' destroyed the box office...... Betty White boosts SNL ratings..... Tiger Woods withdraws from The Players Championship

Everything you need to know about Dallas Braden's perfect game (SB Nation)

Alex Rodriguez reacts to Dallas Braden's perfect game (ESPN NY)

A Chinese man who spent nearly 10 years in prison was set free after his supposed victim was found alive (BBC)

Everything you need to know about the NHL (Pokecheck)

How the mighty have fallen: Dan Patrick (Puck the Media)

Cal could be playing their games at AT&T Park by next year (Dr. Saturday)

After a disappointing show against Orlando, with Atlanta change direction with their coach? (Fanhouse)

Steve Nash: "Cut me Mick." (The Big Lead)

Sami Salo's ruptured testicle has a Twitter and Facebook account

Announcer slip up (Fire Andy Reid Now!)