OAKLAND -- On the evening of July 31,
with the A's playing host to the Cleveland
Indians, the news began to travel through
the dugout.
Third baseman Mike Blowers got the word
from one of his teammates, he can't
remember which one, and -- like a lot of
people -- he was dumbfounded. "I think
there was confusion, for myself and for
everybody," Blowers said. "It was like,
"What's going on?"'
What was going on was that the A's had
made a trade to acquire Ed Sprague,
another third baseman, just before the
trading deadline, at a time when they were
expected to be dumping rather than
gathering.
Nearly three weeks later, Blowers has
become a bit player, starting just five times
in the 17 games since Sprague arrived --
and only three of those starts were at third
base. The most recent was Wednesday at
the Coliseum, when he was plopped into
the cleanup spot and helped drop the
White Sox, 6-0, with a three-run homer
off Chicago left-hander Mike Sirotka.
Blowers got the start because he hits lefties
so well (.306) and because he has crushed
the White Sox this year (.462, with three
homers, 18 runs batted in and eight runs
scored). So, with Chicago starting another
lefty Thursday night, Blowers will be in
the lineup again. "For me, I'm just going
into games happy to be playing," Blowers
said of his few chances lately. "I just have
to play hard and see what happens."
What happened Wednesday is that
Blowers gave plenty of cushion to rookie
right-hander Blake Stein, who actually
didn't need any of it. Stein pitched a
two-hitter and went the distance for his
first complete game and his first shutout.
The White Sox's only two hits were Mike
Caruso's bunt single in the first inning and
Magglio Ordonìez's out-turned-triple in the
second, when A's second baseman Scott
Spiezio and right fielder Jason McDonald
collided while trying to make the play on a
shallow fly.
Prior to Wednesday, Stein hadn't pitched
past the fifth inning in four of his previous
five starts. He said a slight twinge in his
shoulder had kept him from his workouts
between starts, but, with that soreness
gone, he was able to prepare better for
Wednesday. "You don't pitch well for a
while and you wonder what it's going to
take to get over the hump," Stein said. "To
go out and do this is beyond my wildest
dreams."
Meanwhile, for Blowers, life has mostly
been a nightmare lately. After a so-so first
half, not only did he slump badly after the
All-Star break, but it also became clear he
couldn't be effective against right-handed
pitching (.189). Plus, his defense (16
errors) wasn't exactly stellar. Shortly
before the trade, he endured an 0-for-27
slump.
Still, few expected the A's to make a
change. And yet they did, though the
move hasn't helped. Since his arrival,
Sprague is hitting .151 with five errors.
"My reaction was disappointment, I was
just wondering why," Blowers said. "That
was the question I asked, and I really
haven't gotten an answer."
Blowers said the day after the trade he
asked both manager Art Howe and general
manager Billy Beane why the team made
the deal. "Billy said he felt we were losing
and needed to make a change," Blowers
said. "... I'm just going out and playing,
and if it's not good enough for them, that's
the way it is."
It was good enough Wednesday, though
the A's also have the White Sox to thank,
at least in part. Sirotka should have been
out of the fifth inning, but two misplays
left him facing Blowers with two outs and
two on.
First, Sirotka had Jason McDonald picked
off, but first baseman Greg Norton was
out of position and wound up unable to
make the tag. Then, Jason Giambi hit a
routine but apparently deceptive fly to
center, and Chicago's Mike Cameron
slipped while trying to recover from
retreating too far.
The ball dropped for a hit, and Blowers
followed with his ninth homer of the
season and his first of the year at the
Coliseum.
Fainaru-Wada, Mark. "Blowers rises to challenge". San Francisco Examiner. 20 Aug., 1998.