Say it ain't so, Joe.

OAK 6, TB 14

For awhile, Blez over at Athletics Nation referred to Joe Blanton as "Smokin'" Joe Blanton. Joe sure got smoked tonight.

I'd be lying to you if I say I didn't imbibe the Billy Beane kool-aid in the offseason. I knew with the loss of two of the Big Three and a whole bunch of rookies in the mix, the A's would be a long shot for the postseason. But, at least they won't suck.

Well that's what I believed at the start of this season.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the A's truly suck.

Even though I did drink the Billy Beane kool-aid, I was never that high on Blanton so I never expected too much from him. However, I didn't expect this kind of performance from him:

0.1 IP, 8 R, 7 ER, 1 BB, 0 K

Some of Blanton's detractors claim that since he had excellent command but questionable "stuff" after a while the league would catch up to him. Well tonight, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays sure did catch up to him. That or the poor defense behind him is affecting his confidence.

Look on the bright side, at least the A's finally got some hits with the bases loaded. But the LOB numbers are still pretty atrocious:

Team LOB: 11

The A's are a mess right now, the most pivotal players are either hurt (like Dotel, Calero, Crosby, etc...) or grossly underperfroming (Yes, I'm talking to you, Chavez, Kendall and Durazo). This team is easily the Oakland Triple-A's with all of the River Cats on the roster. I wonder how Billy Beane has been treating his furniture lately. Time for a trade?

And why the hell is Kendall still batting third? Drop him in the order!