:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/47048418/usa-today-8766565.0.jpg)
Ok, so the Cardinals are all so last week, the wheel never stops turning and this weekend, we have a new challenge, the Oakland A's, who are halfway into either their rebuild or tear down as they're more akin to an HGTV series than a baseball club with all of the renovations being done in order to chase that ever elusive max value for a property that is on the fringe of a good neighborhood.
The A's have some very interesting players and yet they're still 18 games under .500. They lack any true superstar perhaps but the A's seem to grow those guys as trade chips to be traded as they're the sabermetric embodiment of the new analytics that dominate the sport these days. They have Sonny Gray who would be and should be getting as much love from the media as Chris Sale does, but he plays in Oakland, which is only a small step up from playing in Arizona as far as the media love is concerned. They have Stephen Vogt, who obviously made Norris expendable in that trade to the Padres. They have Josh Reddick and Brett Lawrie, who strike you as Ben Zobrist types, really solid, hustle players who have skills that compliment the effort that you see them exude.
MOMENTUM
The A's are 4-6 in their last 10 and they're 18 games under .500. They've lost three out of their last four series but strangely enough, swept the Dodgers in a brief two game affair as their last series win. They're better at home than on the road but they're under .500 for each.
PITCHING MATCHUPS
Sonny Gray (12-5/2.10/0.98) vs Chase Anderson (6-5/4.28/1.31)
This is one of those rain gauge affairs, will the DBacks bats still be hungover from our previous series or will they be happy to see anyone without a bird on their uniform?
Felix Doubront (0-0/2.41/1.09) vs Jhoulys Chacin (0-1/2.84/1.11)
Who knows, Doubront hasn't pitched many innings in the bigs this year and we had a good performance from Chacin in his last outing but this game could be very interesting to watch imho.
Jesse Chavez (7-13/4.00/1.28) vs Robbie Ray (3-10/3.86/0.86)
Robbie has great stats (relatively speaking) but not so great results? Can our bats thump him to a win or will this be a case of whoever has the timliest hitting wins?
TACO FACTOR
My guess this is a case of 2 out of 3. As the frustrations of the previous series are vented accordingly.
ANOMALIES
The A's sport the dual threat of Mr. Pat Venditte, who has the distinction of throwing with either hand, which isn't something that you see every day. Local favorites Jarrod Parker and Ike Davis are on the DL, so they should be available for autographs.
MADE UP FACT
Mr. Crisp, who patrols the outfield for the A's, really is cuckoo for Coco Puffs....