The gray clouds parted over Phoenix this morning, allowing for Spring Training to resume as originally planned. The AN contingent amassed at Papago Park and saw a tale of two games - with the A's regulars winning over the Angels 3-2, only to see the subs outscored 3-1 the rest of the way for a final tally of 5-4, erasing memories of a strong outing by Haren, and home runs by Eric Chavez and John Baker, who went 2 for 3 in his role as the A's DH.In "the other game", the A's downed the Rockies 9-5 on the back of a 2 hit, 4 RBI game from Dan Johnson that also featured home runs by Mark Ellis and Adam Melhuse. Though Jason Kendall was rumored to try and start both games, the space/time continuum came into effect and blocked that plan cold.
One consistency in both games was the A's continued struggles on defense. The first play against the Angels was an error by Keith Ginter, which eventually allowed Chone Figgins to score. In fact, of the five Angel runs, only two were earned. In Colorado, two errors led to an unearned run in the 9th off of Matt Roney. Through our biased eyes, the infield at Papago Park left much to be desired, and likely contributed to some of the sloppiness.
Also of note - Crosby started his first game at shortstop, without injuries to himself or nearby teammates, while clubbing a double, and Haren pitched four solid innings, while Kurt Suzuki and Mac Suzuki were the featured battery for the A's in the fateful 8th inning. It was unknown at press time whether Ichiro was aware of the proceedings.