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A's Bats Struggle in Extras Loss to Cubs
The A's took the field at Capitol tonight looking to right the ship against the always tricky Cubs. Patrick Najor got the nod tonight and wove his way thru the Cubs lineup 2+ times, going 6+ strong with a boatload of Ks while only allowing a 2-run homerun. On the offensive side, the A's bats continued to need a blood transfusion after suffering some offseason anemia, as they were only JUST able to match the 2-runs of the Cubs desipte having multiple chances to score more throughout the game. Thus, the game entered into extras with Isaac taking over from Najor. The 8th inning passed without much fanfare, but eventually, the Cubs offense exploded in the 9th as they took a near insurmountable 4 run lead in the top of the 9th. The A's pushed 2 runs across in a bottom of the 9th rally, but ultimately came up short.
The A's are back to work next Monday, hopefully with some better bats, against Team USA in the late tilt at Bicentennial.
Player of the game: Patrick Najor, dominant pitching performance, just didn't get any offensive support
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A’s Take 6th of Last 7, Move to 6-9 (nice)
The A’s were back on the diamond tonight for the early game at Capitol against the mighty Brewers of the opposite division. After getting iced by Frank’s CG in the previous affair, Najor was raring to go tonight; and did he deliver. Going 6 strong, Najor allowed 1 run (1 unearned as well) on 4 hits and a sloppy 4 errors from the fielders behind him while fanning 4 Brewers batsmen. Aside from a few more sloppy plays from the A’s fielders, they battened down the hatches well, with E tracking down a few deep flies, and twisting, yet again, 2 double plays to work out of some sticky spots.
What wasn’t mentioned was the blistering pace at which this game transpired, with a game time of just a shade over 100 minutes, Mike Juliano will have to check the record books on this one… At the plate the A’s did just enough to secure enough runs in regulation. Major contributors were E with a screaming double to deep center and a major league bloop single that evaded the converging SS and CF, Max Mohring continued his impressive July with a 2/3 night with 2 sticks as well, including the go ahead RBI, and Crazy Threes finally got the rocket ship off the ground with a double to plate the tying run in the 2nd inning.
Dalton then came out of the pen to a raucous rendition of “Enter Sandman” graciously played by the Brewers bench to slam the door shut on the Brew-Crew to give the A’s a narrow W by a score of 3 to 2.
The A’s await the Devil Rays on Saturday morning in the 10am game from Hazel Park
Player of the game:
- Max Mohring - about time we give him a nod here
- Patrick Najor - looked phenomenal today on the bump
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Rachwalkoff Saves A’s Finale
The Dog Days of Summer came to a dramatic conclusion tonight as the A’s met up against the Devil Rays for the 3rd time this season looking to go 3-0 over their divisional foe. Capitol, dubbed “Najor’s Playground”, proved true once again tonight as the A’s hurler went 5 scoreless against the D-Rays before turning the ball over to Frank for the remainder. In the field, the A’s held down the fort, with E making a nice sliding grab on a liner, a galaxy brain deke throw by Denk to get the lead runner, a nice running scoop and throw by Frank, and a solid pick out of the dirt by Train at 1st.
At the plate, the A’s were woeful tonight, but that was also in part to the Devil Rays pitcher being very precise with his arsenal tonight. The innings ticked by with neither team pushing a run across until the bottom of the 7th when Jake started it off with a Little League triple (missed pop up, errant throw), followed by an Emerson blooper that Jake couldn’t commit to run home on. Frank then reached base to load them up for Najor, who blooped out to the pitcher (1 out). Dalton then came up and struck out. Then the man of the hour, Michael Rachwal came up to the plate and worked the count full. The payoff pitch was a squib grounder to the second baseman that Michael legged out by a half step to score the walk-off run for The A’s! The water bottle showers were in full effect as The A’s capped off their regular season with a W.
The A’s await their final seeding as the rest of the league finishes out their games before round 1 of the playoffs begin next Wednesday.
Final line on the A’s regular season: 11-12-1
Player of the game (3-way split)
- Patrick Najor - don’t let him pitch at Capitol, nuff said
- Frank - Edwin Diaz out of the pen
- Michael Rachwal - walk off winner
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A’s Wrap Up Roller Coaster Season
Another year, come and gone, and The Bloomfield A’s dynasty had one of its most interesting seasons to date. The year started with the heartbreaking passing of our long time coach turned team President, Dr. Almany, which left us all a bit more empty inside. The A’s front office grew in number with The Skipper, Nick Spillane, bringing on E and Train to add their collective minds to the day to day operations of the ball club, which started with the pre-season draft; a first for the A’s as continuing roster moves, jobs, school, etc. continue to be a manpower issue for the squad. The A’s picked up Adam Eason (aka “Turbo”) from the draft along with adding: Andre, Isaac, Frank, Jake, Dalton, Max Manoogian, and Michael Rachwal to the 25 man. The bottom line goal was to improve the roster and avoid the perils of years past when we would be scraping the bottom of the barrel looking for players for a 6pm game at Hazel Park. The A’s ultimately accomplished that goal, only once or twice did the A’s tap into the “I know a guy” bin to complete a roster.
The season began with a dramatic loss to the Redbirds 3-2 that ultimately spiraled out of control into an 0-8 start, with an anemic offense and sketchy defense to thank for that. The pitching was maybe the best it’s ever been this year. A team WHIP of 1.18, ERA of 2.68, and opponents slugging of .288, the A’s staff was on point this year. Headlined by the 4 man rotation of Dalton, The Skipper, Najor, and Frank the bullpen was always on point to deliver the goods. The A’s should be very happy with the year on the mound collectively, which was probably the one shining achievement from the roster this year.
The A’s then moved on from their 0-8 loss to win the next 12 of 16 games of the season, owing in part to playing some lower division opponents, the hitting coming around, the fielding sharpening up, and the pitching staying dominant.
At the plate, the A’s were headlined by standout phenom, Andre who boasted a team best in weighted average, slugging, and OPS. Hot on his heels was (maybe?) a surprise in everyday catcher Max Mohring who hit his first ever home runs (2) this year in the MSBL! Other offensive producers were: Jake, Najor, Frank, Rachwal, Emerson, and Denk.
Ultimately, the A’s magical run into the postseason came up short to the Yankees, but everyone will be counting the days until the 2023 campaign gets underway and the A’s can have another shot at a second franchise title.
Hard to believe it’s been 8 years for the A’s dynasty, although the faces have changed over the years, the core and vibes have always been the same. We couldn’t do this without you all and your dedication to the team and making each passing summer that much more enjoyable.
Roster shout outs:
- Mike Almany OF: Michelob got into med school and couldn’t play an entire year with us, but when he did, he always brought positive vibes and his infectious energy. A true piece of the mid season turnaround
- Isaac Beiter OF: played most of his debut season on the losing third of the season, but provided great depth and a solid bat at the plate for the A’s, we hope he is doing well in Pennsylvania
- Andrew Denk SS: our sweet handed, galaxy brained shortstop had a rough start to the year at the plate, but turned it around towards the end and helped contribute to the playoff push and run
- Adam Eason (Turbo) 1B, C: 1st round draft pick, sweet swinging lefty, hype man, he does it all. May or may not be the father. We’ll see you next year
- Frank: gas pumper, clean up hitter, Jack Sparrow look alike, Frank came into the MSBL with 1 goal in mind, dominate. He did.
- Jake Godoshian C, OF: Jake came in mid season and provided some meat to the heart of the order and a solid glove and hustle in the field, a true Donnie Kelly if there ever was one
- Dalton Greyerbiehl P, OF: a key member of the rotation, and a sure handed outfielder when not pitching, Dalton was instrumental to the A’s this year on so many levels, we look forward to having him be a year over year player for us
- Andre Hutchins IF: team leader at the plate in the leadoff spot, blasted 3 tanks, sure as they come in the field as well. Without him, our offense would have truly been a walking corpse for the majority of the year
- Max Manoogian 3B, OF: vibe master, Max brought a lighthearted and comedic presence to the A’s roster whenever he showed up, just an all around great guy we look forward to having back
- Emerson Misch CF: E may tell you he had a “down year” (my words), but he always is a presence to be reckoned with at the plate and in the field, chasing down long flies like it’s nothing, 1/3 of the brain trust Front Office squad, and a great guy we love having E on the squad
- Max Mohring C: Max had a phenomenal year at the plate and was our everyday catcher, truly an instrumental part of the team as a whole, he’s a great team presence and always has his head in the game
- Patrick Najor P, 3B: what an improvement for Naj this year on the mound! The King of Capitol reigned supreme this year as he mad opponents look foolish at the dish while swinging a sweet bat himself
- Michael Rachwal OF: a true “happenstance” acquisition for the A’s, Rachwal was a great middle of the order bat and an solid glove in the outfield, another name we are happy to have on the squad going forward
- Pat Spillane IF, C: part of the A/B squadron at the bottom of the order, Pat provided some key hits to flip the lineup over and keep innings alive while providing key innings in the field and being 1/2 of the Spillane battery
- Nick Spillane P: the man who makes the clock tick for the A’s, our Skipper and GM, another 1/3 of the Front Office brain trust, Nick ate some solid innings on the mound this year and absolutely dealt against the Rockies in the quarterfinal game
- Kyle St. Aubin 1B: the 1st base stalwart, Train admittedly had a tough year at the plate, but got on base enough to make it worth the pain. The final third of the brain trust and esteemed write up guy. Train will be an A for life.
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Bloomfield A's Schedule