varaven45

Well, at least we are consistent with our signings. Should fit in nicely at our castle - aka Shawshank

Good article but in the end it naturally, always boils down to winning. In the NFL, if you win, you are great; if you don't, you are not..

I don't have a clue. I think they are just playing it cautiously. I don't like Manny being out - screws up lineup, chemistry, not too mention his recent power surge. But I'd rather him get right and let Flaherty et al fill in. If this lingers past this weekend and Manny is not ready for Angels next week, then we got a concern on our hands.

Yep and w/o Machado no less. Impressive win ! Tonight will be extremely challenging w/ the M''s Felix on the hill. I m glad Buck is using Gausman tonight, followed by Norris and Gonzo.

And if nothing else, it will put Pierce, Forsett in the spotlight for the first 2 weeks of regular season . By the time week 3 rolls around, Rice should be ready to explode and put the "bad" season and 2.2 ypc behind.

Looks like we are getting Seattle's Best - and I'm not talking about their damn java. We are facing a very tough rotation, starting with iwakama (sp.) tonight and Hernandez tomorrow. We need to get back on track and finish the west coast swing on a positive note

At least we are bringing the matter to closure.

Sick pup !

2 innings , much less 1, is too long for Home Run Hunter.

Yep. In the words of the Meatloaf song "Two out of three aint bad "

Good point.

It all sounds great; I'm ready to see how these words will translate on the field.

Nothing like a little spirited dialogue on hump day!

Yep. Huge series win; could pay dividends later.

We need some "mo" going into Seattle - tough weekend series and even tougher pitcher matchups than LA. We've drawn relatively favorable matchups w/Halos; not so favorable against the Ms. Plus, Seattle has been tough on the Os- witnessed many a late night horror show (blown save/walk off hit) in that joint. Still, we've already exceeded my expectations thus far in LA'; lets see it carry over to Seattle.

Actually pretty competitive until Schoops blow. But the W is sweet and an Os Series win is secured. A sweep would be awesome.

So who is/are the leader/s on D ? Suggs, Webb, Ngata, eh ?

You called that Crav. Following your logic, tonight's game is a tossup ?

Pounded today 10-2. And to think, we were a blown save Friday night from winning the series. Tough matchup these As.

Huge win tonight! And maintained the 4 game cushion over Yanks and Jays.

Yep. At least we kept our 4 game lead. Let's see if we can turn this ship around tonight . We knew this series would be tough.

You may have already discussed why the As will falter. I don't think the As are listening or care. For starters, lets reconnect after this weekend series. Concur 100 % with your concern over the Angels and Ms.

Yeah, if the Oakland As and Detroit Tigers weren't in the AL

Crav, got the same good advice as well from my folks. Even if the incident occurred ca, 9:30 PM, drugs trump everything. Lets hope that's not the issue here. If it is, as they used to say on I Love Lucy, Smith may 'have some 'xplaining to do" !!!!

I agree with the ten parameters or measures used by the writer; just not his assessment of each. For example, item 2 - the unacceptability of 8-8 and mediocrity. Its one thing to say the owner wont tolerate and team isn't accustomed to a non-winning season; its another thing for the team to actually show it on the field. At the risk of making a self serving remark, I said a year ago that after the Boldin debacle, Pitta loss, and the O's debacle with opening game, that the bad karma would lead to a unsuccessful year and Harbaugh would get a mulligan (after winning the SB). Hardly a soul commented on the observation and the team grinded last year with a .500 season. I believe that Harbaugh (and Oz) got a mulligan, but don't believe the team and organization have done enough to suddenly dismiss last year and assume success will instantly return in 2014. These incidents, from Rice to Smith, are a legit concern and will influence team chemistry and character in 2014. As far the other measures, I like but don't share the writers' optimism or purple tinted glasses. I see a season similar to last year and hinging significantly on our OL, running game and the Kubiak/Flacco dynamic.