Game #16: A's 3, Tigers 4

April 20, 2006 | A's vs. Detroit

I can't believe we lost this series to the Tigers. The Tigers! Hold on, there is no cause for alarm. Two games below .500 isn't so bad. It's only the third week into the season. I'm not going to hit the panic button. Yeah. Sure. That Zen approach toward losses I'd successfully adopted for the last few days is wearing off a bit.

• Zito has his second consecutive good start. I'm starting to think of this as Zito's last season with the A's. Let's enjoy him while he lasts.
• Zito balks. Having no visuals, I don't know exactly what happened. Dr. Dan suggests I take a poll to see if anyone knows exactly what a balk is...
• Kotsay hit a triple. Who once told me the triple was one of the most exciting events during a game? It really makes people get on their feet.
• The Tigers catch up in the top of the 9th and the game ends with Melhuse striking out. I guess Melhuse can't be the perfect go-to guy all the time.
  
• I have a soft spot for Jeremy Bonderman. I think he thinks Billy Beane was wrong to trade him to Detroit and now Jeremy is out to prove something every time he's in Oakland. I'm making this all up in my head, but I root for Jeremy Bonderman a little.
• Huston Street is injured. It's a pectoral muscle. Oh boy. It's supposed to heal quickly but Duchscherer closed today and... let's just say the baseball gods were merciful to me. I was nowhere near a computer, a radio, or my cell phone during the 9th inning of this game. Duke has been excellent thus far, but look at the size of his ERA today (click on this image capture from espn.com):

(Game experience: Brief glimpses of Gameday during game; caught up on espn.com after game was over.)

A's record: 7-9 | streak: L-2 | well-A-meter: 2