Mail Call!

so its obvious how much you hate that piece of shit macha, and trust me i hate him just as much. but i was wondering if you give him any credit at all for our turn around at the end of may? i mean we played pretty damn bad, and then to completly turn it around. does that at least count for something? and what if by the grace of god he doesnt fuck us up and we win it all in the next three years, do you think you could ever give him any credit? but that would all be contengent on ginter and hatteberg never touching a baseball again, chavez growing some balls, harden nutting up and pitching through some pain, and macha taking a class on how to properly write line ups and use the bullpen. btw i love your blog, its perhaps one of the funniest things ive ever read. i check it multiple times a day hoping for updates. thanks for the time,
steve, loyal reader #5

Thanks, Steve, for for your loyal support and for your continued hatred of Ken Macha. I'll do the best I can to answer your questions.

So do I give Macha any credit at all for the turnaround at the end of May?

No.

First and foremost, I give credit to the players. They played A LOT better in June than they did in April and May. Here are some stats that I posted for the "June is my Bitch" entry that I wrote up in July.

........... Hitting....................... Pitching...
......Runs.. AVG.. OBP. SLG%.. OPS... WHIP.. BAA.. OPS.. ERA
April...89. .241. .314. .343. .657... 1.30. .244. .684. 3.65
May....112. .245. .325. .347. .672... 1.48. .263. .784. 5.43
June.. 148. .291. .356. .464. .820... 1.07. .219. .626. 2.86

The team just played better in June. And, as everyone knows, the improved play coincided with Bobby Crosby's return from the DL. Does Macha get some credit for batting Crosby third? Maybe a little. But Crosby was HOT. I don't think it would have mattered if he had batted in front of or behind Chavez. Chavy would have benefited from both. And I don't think it was because of Macha's critical thinking that Crosby was inserted into the three spot. It was his stupid insistence on a R-L-R-L line-up.

June was also the first month of the season that Dan Johnson took a significant number of ABs away from Scott Hatteberg. And I think Billy Beane deserves more credit for that than Ken Macha. Ken Macha would have continued to bat Hatteberg clean-up if Beane hadn't have stepped in.

"But Ken Macha is just Billy Beane's puppet. He's just following orders."

Blah, blah, blah...

That's why I hate him so damn much. Ken Macha is spineless idiot. For a black belt, he sure is a pussy.

"I said if he wants to move me out (of the No. 3 spot), to move me out. It would be good to shake things up."

--Eric Chavez, May 8th

Chavez made these comments following a 5-0 loss to the Yankees. Up to that point in the season, the A's had been shut out in five of their 30 games played. They had scored three or fewer runs in 18 of those games. Things couldn't POSSIBLY have gotten worse if Macha had decided to shake things up a bit. But, of course, he didn't and Kotsay, Kendall, Chavez and Hatteberg were once again at the top of the A's order the following night.

And our A's got shut out.

Again.

By Kevin Brown.

Because Macha's an idiot.

"I don't see where shuffling guys around will make a dramatic difference, but perhaps it would. I don't know."

--Ken Macha, May 9th

Of course you wouldn't know, Ken. So instead of doing anything that might actually contribute to the success of your team, you just stood there, enjoying all the free Juicy Fruit you could get your stupid hands on.

And our A's lost their next six games in a row.

Making it eight straight losses.

Because you're an idiot.

During that stretch of losses, I guess Macha DID make an attempt to get his team riled up. He got himself thrown out of a game for the first time in his managerial career to fire up the troops.

"I wish I'd said something that warranted getting thrown out, but I don't think I did. I thought the pitch was low and said something and (Carlson) said, 'I warned you.' I only complained once."

--Ken Macha, May 10th

Whoops. Guess not.

Recalling just how big of a pussy this idiot is is really starting to piss me off.

Serenity now.

But the worst was still to come. Here's what Greg wrote when he made his debut on FireMacha.com:

On May 26, our beloved Athletics had just finished being swept by the Devil Rays. Yes, the Devil Rays. Worse, it was the A's 14th loss in their last 17 games. At that point, they weren't even scoring four runs a game for the month of May. Nobody was hitting. Nobody was comfortable at the plate. Fans were screaming for the lineup to be tweaked. Nothing happened. Jason Kendall and Mark Kotsay, the team's leaders, begged Macha to change the lineup. They even inconspicuously handed him a piece of paper with a suggested lineup on it. They weren't looking to show Macha up and make him look stupid (as if that's hard to do), they just wanted the best possible lineup out there. Nothing happened.

Our team was in the midst of a month-long slump. A WHOLE MONTH! EVERYONE could see that something needed to be done.

Macha's analysis?

"We'll have to see when we get to the ballpark tomorrow. But I don't see how moving a guy from three to four [in the lineup] or from four to five is going to help us very much."

-- Ken Macha, May 26th

So, NO, I do not give Macha any credit for the turnaround. He was the same moron in June, July and August that he was in April, May and September.

Now, would I give credit to Ken Macha if we were to win a World Series Championships with him at the helm?

Probably, but not definitely.

It IS possible for the A's to win a title in spite of Macha. Not very probable, but possible.

This team almost made the playoffs with Ken Macha "leading" it. As a matter of fact, we probably would have make the playoffs if not for all the injuries. If the A's had a better manager, I believe that Oakland would have made the playoffs in '04 and '05, despite all the injuries.

Macha cost the team wins. When the Loss-O-Meter has tallied up all of Macha's fuck-ups, I'm pretty certain you're going to see a double-digit figure. And we lost the division by seven games.

That's another reason why I hate him so much. His bullpen decisions WHEN WE HAD THE LEAD cost the team wins.

Serenity now.

Anyway....a healthy Oakland A's club SHOULD be talented enough to make the playoffs for the foreseeable future. Over the course of a 162-game season, talent shows itself. Talent alone CAN get a team into the playoffs. Can a manager alone?

Hell no. Look at Lou Piniella.

So how much, if any, of the credit should a manager get?

It depends on the job he does.

As of right now, the Oakland A's owe Ken Macha over $2.5 million. He's going to get that money no matter what. Now's the perfect time for him to manage the club the way HE wants. He's gonna get paid either way. So if he showed some balls, SOME REAL BALLS, and stood up to Beane, I'd be the first to give him credit.

NO ONE would be happier than me if the 2006 Opening Day lineup had Ellis batting lead-off, Chavy batting anywhere but third, and Kendall batting ninth.

I WANT the team to win.

I WANT Macha to help the team win.

But if he can't put the team in the best position possible to win, I'm going to have to keep berating him because I'm going to have to assume that either:

1) he's too much of coward to set his own lineup,
2) he's too stupid to even see what the "best" lineup is, or
3) he's both.

So if Macha was 1), 2) or 3), I couldn't see myself giving Macha much credit for a World Series victory. If he was none of the above, I could.

Thanks again for the e-mail, Steve. I hope you got your answers.

Keep the letters coming, folks.

Prospects 25 - 21

25. Ryan Webb, SP
Comments: As the first early-round high school pitcher drafted in the Moneyball era, Webb quickly became a favorite of mine. This 6'-6" right-hander spent all of 2005 in Kane County, posting some fairly unimpressive numbers. The command he showed in rookie ball seemed to take a hit and considering that he doesn't yet have a plus pitch, he got knocked around pretty good. He is still 19 years old, so I'm hopeful that he'll fill up that huge of frame of his and add some velocity to his fastball (which, currently, doesn't even hit 90 mph).

24. Brian Snyder, 3B
Comments: I thought Brian Snyder would be this year's Mark Teahen, but injuries (and perhaps laziness) limited him to just 2 PAs this season. In 2004, he showed some great plate discipline and a little pop too. But after missing an entire year, his future is clearly uncertain. If he can come back strong in AA and repeat the kind of season he had in 2004, he might get back into my good graces, but as of right now, my only hope for him is that he can put up some good enough numbers that we can trade his first-round ass.

23. Shane Komine, SP
Comments: Komine's a guy that has done nothing but defy the odds. Even though he stands at only 5'-8", Komine has excelled in the lower levels of Minor League Baseball. And although he's almost a foot shorter than most power pitchers, he has (in the past) displayed a fastball that consistently hit 95 mph. He has also displays excellent control and can throw about every pitch in the book (curve, change, cutter, forkball).

Komine came back strong this year following Tommy John surgery, topping out at around 93 mph. "They" say the second year following TJ surgery is when a pitcher can fully expect to be back at 100%, so I'm pretty excited to see what he can show in '06. I'd love for him spend the entire year at AAA. With such a veteran presence at that level, I think that if can show some success, that he'll have a legitimate shot of making the bigs as a starter. But because of the plethora of #5-type pitchers currently in the upper levels of the A's system, I can see Komine being used in an Aaron Harang-type trade in 2007.

22. Ramon Alvarado, OF
Comments: Alvarado really opened my eyes this year after posting some really good numbers as a 20-year-old in rookie ball. Had a quad injury not slowed him, he would have hit over .300 with an OBP over .400 and a Slg% over .500. I'm really intrigued by Alvarado because he seems to have it all. This Venezuelan hit for average AND power, showed some speed, covered a lot of ground in the outfield, and displayed a strong arm. If Alvarado can show these same skills over the course of a full year in A-ball, don't be surprised if he becomes one of the A's top-10 prospects as soon as next year.

21. Jason Ray, RP
Comments: Ray is the first player from the 2005 draft to enter my rankings. A converted outfielder, Ray has been pitching for just two years. Used exclusively as a pitcher last season, Ray displayed a 93-95 mph fastball, that occasionally touched 96 mph, with respectable control. He also threw a curveball and circle-change, but was inconsistent with those pitches. Although he kept his velocity deep into games, Oakland moved him to the bullpen following the draft, where he absolutely dominated the competition in short-season A-ball. Fifty-six of the 89 batters he retired while pitching for Vancouver were by way of the strike out. That means that he K'd just about two hitters per inning . And that's unheard of.

I'm hopeful that his move to the 'pen was in part to save his arm after his first full season as a pitcher and in part to give him extra time to work on his off-speed pitches. Obviously, he'll have much more value as a starting pitcher, so I think it would be a real disservice to move him to the bullpen so early in his career.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prospects 30-26
30. Jeremy Brown
29. Alexi Ogando
28. Shawn Kohn
27. Gregorio Petit
26. Brad Knox

Change of Pace

Bobby's idea got me thinking. And those thoughts led to this:

30. Jeremy Brown, C
Comments: This fatass may prefer selling jeans to playing another year in Midland. He's shown flashes of brilliance and, supposedly, calls a great game. A strong second half, along with a slight power surge, kept him from falling off my list completely.

29. Alexi Ogando, OF
Comments: I don't even know where this guy is right now. Visa problems kept him out of the States for the entire 2005 season. But this toolsy kid showed a tremendous amount of potential as a 19-year-old in Rookie ball. The plate discipline he has displayed isn't very encouraging, but is quite typical for a young Dominican.

28. Shawn Kohn, RP
Comments: This submarining right-hander has put up decent ratios at just about every level. He spent all of this year at AA, after slitting time between A and AAA ball last season. The one hiccup he had was in AAA, so I'd like to see how he performs at that level next season before getting to0 excited.

27. Gregorio Petit, SS
Comments: This 20-year-old opened my eyes this season by hitting .289 in Kane County. This was higher than Javier Herrera. As a matter of fact, it was higher than EVERYONE in Kane Countly. He also showed a little pop, as 28% of his hits went for extra bases. It should be noted that injuries limited him to under 300 ABs, but his production for his position simply cannot be ignored.

26. Brad Knox, SP
Comments: Knox spent all of 2005 in Stockton, jumping up half a level from where he was in 2004. The "jump" really seemed to effect his ratios. The 10.02 K/9 ratio he put up in 2004 dropped significantly to 7.50. More troubling was the hit his K/BB ratio took, which fell from 7.29 to 2.74. His age was about average for his league and considering that his "stuff" isn't all that spectacular, this guy will really have to show some significant improvement next season for me to jump back on his bandwagon.


I'll finish up my list before the weekend's over. Libro it.

Return of the Sith Head

I'd like to thank loyal readers JP & Nico for the latest submission to FireMacha. This one isn't a story, but a beautiful piece of art.



Excellent work, guys. I feel like a proud papa. I'm going to print this out and put it on my fridge.

Keep 'em coming.

Long Live The King

Blown Jobs - Jay Witasick Edition

Jay Witasick appeared in 16 games for our A's, posting a 2.87 ERA and 1.21 WHIP with 19 K's in 15.2 IP, before blowing his first save as an Athletic.

Blown Save Number: 1
8/29/2005
Oakland at Baltimore

Kirk Saarloos pitched four innings of one-hit ball, taking a 2-0 lead into the fifth inning.

After getting little Davey Newhan to fly out to center, Saarloos walked Sal Fasano and gave up a two-base hit to Brian Roberts. The next man up was Melvin Mora. He pounded an 0-2 pitch to leftfield for a double, scoring both runners. With the game now tied at two, Saarloos faced Miguel Tejada. I guess Tejada didn't get his recommended dose of B-12 that day because he proceed to strikeout. I think that may have been Saarloos' only strikeout this season. I could be wrong.

One out from escaping the inning with minimal damage, Saarloos got ahead 0-2 on Javy Lopez. Again Saarloos gave up an 0-2 hit. Lopez's RBI single drove in Mora, gave the O's a 3-2 lead and ended Sarloos' night. Macha called in Ricardo Rincon from the bullpen and he retired B.J. Surhoff on two pitches to end the inning.

Dan Johnson gave the lead back to our A's in the top of the sixth, clubbing a first-pitch three-run homer off of starter Erik Bedard.

Now up 5-3, Macha sent Ricardo Rincon to start the bottom of the sixth. The lead was cut in half only two pitches into the inning when Jay Gibbons blasted a solo shot into the rightfield stands. Rincon walked the next batter, Alejandro Freire, on five pitches. Davey Newhan then sacrificed Freire to second and Ricardo's night came to an end.

Jay Witasick was called in from the bullpen and quickly retired Sal Fasano and Brian Roberts to end the inning.

Oakland still had a 5-4 when Witasick took the mound to start the bottom of the seventh. He quickly retired Mora and Tejada before walking Lopez on four pitches. B.J. Surhoff hammered a 1-1 pitch into the gap in right-center , scoring the slow-footed Lopez all the way from first.

With the game now tied at five, Macha replaced Witasick with Duchscherer and he got Gibbons to pop out to third to end the inning.

The game remained tied at five until the top of the 12th, when the A's offense exploded for five runs. Kiko Calero retired Lopez, Byrnes and Gibbons in order to secure the win for our Athletics.

Oakland - 10, Baltimore - 5

One bad pitch from Witasick quickly turned an impressive performance into a blown save. I can't blame Macha for that. That doesn't change the fact that he's a stupidass, though.

Blown Save Number: 2
9/13/2005
Oakland at Cleveland

Kirk Saarloos gave our A's a strong start, allowing only three hits and four walks over six scoreless innings. Holding a slim 2-0 lead, Ken Macha turned to Jay Witasick as the first man out of the bullpen. The lead was gone only three pitches into Witasick's appearance. THREE PITCHES! An infield single and Ben Broussard homerun would tie the ballgame up at two.

The game still tied at two, Macha went with Justin Duchscherer to start the 8th. After striking out Jhonny Peralta on three pitches, The Duke gave up back-to-back singles to Travis Hafner and Victor Martinez. Duchscherer then struckout Ronnie Belliard to bring up Big Ben Broussard with two on and two out. He would hit his second homerun of the night to bust the game open 5-2.

With only three outs to score three runs, our A's were doomed. Bob Wickman, naturally, faced the minimum in the ninth to secure the win for the Tribe.

Oakland - 2, Cleveland - 5

This game might have been Macha's worst display of bullpen "management" this year. He pulled Kirk Saarloos after only 87 pitches even though he was on nine day's rest, his longest of the season. He pulled Saarloos with Belliard, Broussard and Boone due up. In this game, Cleveland's "Killer B's" were a combined 0-5 off of Kirk, managing just one BB.

So why'd Macha pull him?

'Cause he's a stupidass, that's why.

With the game tied and still very much winnable, Macha handed the ball over to Justin Duchscherer. After watching The Duke give up back-to-back singles to Hafner and Martinez, Macha didn't get anyone up. Let me repeat that: After watching The Duke give up back-to-back singles to Hafner and Martinez, MACHA DIDN'T EVEN GET ANYONE UP!

I'm not suggesting that Macha should have pulled Duchscherer right then and there, but that asshole didn't even pick up the phone! Ben Broussard, the LEFTY that tied the game up with just one swing of his bat ONE INNING EARLIER, was still scheduled to bat that inning. Ben Broussard, the LEFTY who had hit 14 of his 17 homeruns on the season off of right-handers, would face RIGHT-HANDER Justin Ducscherer in the eighth unless Duchscherer managed to get the speedy Belliard to hit into a double play.

He didn't.

And Broussard hit another homerun.

Because Macha's a idiot.

[ring,ring]

Bob, it's Ken. Ken Macha. Get Rincon up.

Okay.

[click]

That's all it would have taken to ensure that the game didn't get out of hand.

Now, I know Rincon isn't the best left-hander in the game, but he doesn't suck. He's good enough that Eric Wedge surely would have countered Macha's move...with Jose Hernandez, and he DOES suck.

But Macha's inability to think ahead (or at all) again led to an Oakland loss. And for that:


YOU CAN. PUTITONTHEBOARD!


YEEEESSSS!

Up next: Ricardo Rincon

Previous Blown Jobs: Joe Kennedy

It's Official, God Hates Me

Fuck.

Another Moron's Wishlist

The Road Less Traveled

With Macha's name in the news lately, a lot of new people have found their way to our little blog. I have a pretty bad habit of of constantly checking out who's on the site. I'm not really concerned about with the number of people, but by HOW people got here, WHERE they came from, and WHY they're here. In journalism, I believe they call those "The Three R's."

I could be wrong.

A lot of people get here in pretty normal ways. A lot of people come from here:



And here:



And here:



But then there are those who get here through their favorite search engine. Some may be just looking for some information on Ken Macha. Some may be wondering if a site like this really exists. Some get to us by accident. And some...well, they're just some sick fuckers.


















So whether you're a Macha hater or a masterbater, a time waster or a testicle taster, thanks for stopping by.

A Moron's Wishlist

"What Now?"

I think it's pretty damn hilarious that all the people that have asked me that question since Macha got canned have related it to this here blog...and not to our beloved Oakland A's. I guess the general consensus of my audience is "Anybody but Macha."

Morons.

I really DO want what's best for our A's. Ken Macha clearly wasn't what was best. He was continually costing our A's wins with his poorly-constructed line-ups and horrid bullpen management. And that's how this all started. I was sick of him putting our team in the worst position possible to win. It was his short-comings as a major league manager that bothered me to no end. I guess, after a while, it just got personal.

But just because HE'S gone, doesn't necessarily mean our work is done.

When the next a-hole starts costing our team wins, believe you me, we're gonna write about it. If he bats Jason Kendall lead-off, or Chavy third, or Hatteberg at all, we're gonna sound off. So rest assured that until Greg and I are named co-managers of the Oakland Athletics, we'll be keeping you entertained with our expert analysis.

In the meantime, express your thanks to Billy Beane with a t-shirt. I think a public show of gratitude to the man that rid us of that white-haired, gum-chewing fool is the least we could do. I hope to see plenty of these floating around Phoenix Muni this Spring and around The Mac on Opening Day.

CafePress set the prices. If I could have set them lower for you, my faithful readers, I would have. But I couldn't. I'm not making a single penny from these shirts. Really, I'm not.

So open up your wallets and show some gratitude, ya cheap bastards.

See Ya!

"Negotiations" have come to an end and Ken Macha's tenure with our beloved Oakland A's is finally over.

What a truly wonderful day.

Thanks, Billy.