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Baseball
AL West - the toughest division there is
The A's are 67-52; Texas is 66-52; and Anaheim is 65-54. Their remaining schedules are all equivalently tough. They've got 13 or 14 games against one another. The division is just too close to call, and with Boston making a nine-game West Coast road swing at the beginning of September, the fight for the Wild Card is just as tough. There are no more trades. Nothing can help. Two playoff spots -- four indistinguishable teams. If anything, Boston is a slightly better team, leaving a real dogfight for the other spot. More
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Baseball
Leading off…who?
The A's have the best pitching staff in the AL and probably in the majors, but what comes up time and time again? Their supposed inability to "manufacture" runs! In particular, the Chronicle's Bruce Jenkins claims that A's leadoff man Mark Kotsay is not suited for the role. Jenkins' own choice for the ideal leadoff hitter would be Juan Pierre, though Carl Crawford, Ichiro Suzuki, Tony Womack, Alfonso Soriano, Matt Lawton, Rafael Furcal, Johnny Damon, Cesar Izturis and sometimes Ray Durham and even Kenny Lofton are also preferable in his mind to Kotsay. More
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Baseball
Barry Zito, a new man?
The other day, I heard somebody on ESPN say that the A's second-half success this year has been due to Barry Zito's resurgence. More
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Baseball
Moneyball Drafts & Temper Tantrums
Sept. 13: I can't remember the last time I saw a player -- in any sport -- throw anything into the crowd, let alone a folding chair. Well, Frank Francisco crossed into the realm of idiocy. He's a rookie, so it's not like he's got deep pockets to turn inside out in a lawsuit. Having had raw fish thrown on my entire team while playing hockey, I can't really imagine what projectiles professional players have to face. But if it's just some fool swearing at you from the crowd? That's something you have to overcome before you get out of Little League. More
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Baseball
More statistical misconceptions in the San Francisco Chronicle
Will they ever cease to be? If ever I'm at a loss for topics, all I need to do is open the lovely local newspaper. On Tuesday, A's beat writer Susan Slusser told us: 1) Barry Zito's first half was inconsistent (but not his second half); and 2) Mark Mulder's velocity is off, which has resulted in a 7.58 ERA in a whole three starts in September. More
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Baseball
I've got my eyes closed
Damned A's and their damn collapse! The Angels are a better team and the only thing that's standing in their way is spending the end of the season on the road, while the A's are at home. I can't bear to watch them for the rest of the season. Somebody wake me up on October 4th and tell me what happened. More
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Baseball
Better Luck Next Year
Let the 2004 Oakland A's epitaph read: "It only took Anaheim an extra $42 million to beat us." But let's be honest -- the A's weren't good enough to win the AL West. While bad luck kept the A's from winning in the playoffs the last few years, good luck kept them from being eliminated a month ago. I have no doubt that with $102 million (or even the Giants $82 million) to play with, Billy Beane would have beaten the Angels. Of course, they didn't need to remind us of the 1987 Toronto "Blow" Jays with their collapse in the final week. More
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Museums
By Melissa Broder
The Cartoon Art Museum changes their Gorey at Bay exhibit every three months, presenting Edward Gorey lovers with a perennial buffet. For the rest of the population, a trip to the Cartoon Museum is inherently a mind-expanding experience. The current Gorey Stories exhibit altered my perspective on the validity of cartoons, both within a social context and in an aesthetic framework. This exhibit will continue until November 17th, when it will then be replaced by Gorey Details on November 23rd. More
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Restaurants
Chic, Authentic Neapolitan Cuisine
Chestnut Street's A16, named for Campania's main road, Autostrada 16, opened in February 2004, much to the delight of local fans of high-end food in a casual atmosphere. Sleek, unassuming and comfortable, the space that once housed Zinzino and Savoia has been renovated to house Chef Christophe Hille's gorgeous, easy-going regional Italian fare. After working under Laurent Manrique at Campton Place and in France, Hille became a certified pizzaiolo in Naples, and on our visit, he hand-tossed and wood-oven baked every single 12" Neapolitan treat in the restaurant. More
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Music
Indie Rockers Return for Treasure Island Music Fest
Less than a month after an intimate gig with a string section at Café Du Nord to celebrate the release of Mentor Tormentor, Earlimart return to San Francisco for the second day of the Treasure Island Music festival, a two-day musical extravaganza featuring Modest Mouse, Thievery Corporation, DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist, and Built to Spill, among others. Founding member Aaron Espinoza -- Ariana Murray is the only other original band member -- spoke with SF Station before a gig in New York. More
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