The Oakland A's Monday #22

Random, knee-jerk and irrational observations from tonight's Oakland A's vs. Boston Red Sox game:

A's starting pitcher Doughy Joe Blanton looked dominant through the first four innings before obviously tiring in the fifth and sixth. I'm one of the few A's fans who isn't enamored with this fat slob (he's a solid #3 starter on a good team and the de facto ace on this one) but, he's not without talent. Could bring a good haul at the trade deadline if the offense scores enough for him. Not sure why that isn't the A's '08 motto.

Dice-K, on the other hand, made the A's look ridiculous. Three hits? That's all the A's got were three goddam hits? (You can't say "goddam" on the air.) Don't worry, nobody's listening.

Need proof we're in midseason form? OF Emil Brown hacked wildly at a 2-0 pitch after the previous batter had walked on five pitches. Popout to 2B, end of inning. It's like watching Jeremy Giambi's approach all over again. How I've missed it.

A's f*cked up a bunt. I mean, seriously guys…either do it (and practice it) or don't. I'm OK with the "Moneyball" approach. And, I've seen the stats that show sacrifice bunts are overrated, but Jesus…

Eric Chavez fill-in Jack Hannahan had a terrific defensive game at 3B. He had a rough night at the plate, though, so we can take comfort in that six year/$66M contract the A's handed Chavez in 2004. He'll show up any season now, I can feel it.

Meanwhile, 1B Daric Barton lived down to his defensive reputation by letting a foul pop "drop" off of his shoulder…without ever getting leather on it. Seriously, I haven't seen pop flies tracked this poorly since a 17-year-old Aaron Cameron twisted himself into the infield dirt at Stearns Park.

DH Jack Cust homered in the 2nd inning. I read an article during spring training in which Cust claimed to have added "27 pounds of muscle" in the offseason. Not surprisingly, the reporter didn't axe a follow-up question, like "You DO know that's impossible to do naturally, right?"