Agony!

What a brutal series! The easy thing to say here is that we got it handed to us by a superior team, but the frustrating thing is that prior to this series the A's had a worse run differential than the Mariners!!! So they really weren't all that, though they sure seem like it after leaving Seattle.

Today's loss was particularly frustrating as the M's stranded 20 runners. 20! They got 10 hits off of Blanton and only 3 runs.

In the fateful 3rd inning, Meche simply could not finish guys off. He was ahead of nearly every guy he faced. After striking out Ellis to start the inning, the next 6 batters looked like this:

Got to a 1-2 count on Jason Kendall, walked him.
Gave up a single (2-1 count) to Kotsay, got a ground out from Bradley (first pitch).
0-2 to Big Hurt, see ya later. Seriously, there almost certainly was a meal on that flight.
Got to a 2-2 count on Chavez, walked him.
Got to a 2-2 count on Payton, RBI double.

That's 4 guys he got to two strikes, and he got 2 walks a double and a homer. He did also get two outs on two strike counts, but you see my point. It was painful to watch.

Obviously the division is weak enough that the M's haven't taken themselves completely out of it. But if we lose the division by a couple of games, this series is really going to hurt.