KTE: A's @ Mets, April 10-12 -- Know your ABCs (Athletics Baseball Club)

[Frayed Knot]

When we last saw the Athletics it was way back in 2025 when the Mets were taking two of three in West Sacramento, a town that neither MLB nor the A’s seem to want to mention.

After finishing with a 76-86 record in 2025, this year they’re off to a 5-7 start, a record augmented by taking two of three in da Bronx this week losing only the opening game on an Amed Rosario 8th inning 3R HR. A 1-0 win (one-hitter) in the rubber/day game on Thursday gives them plenty of time to travel all the way to Queens where they’ll ‘Meet the Mets’ for a three-game series: Fri (7:10), Sat (4:10) and Sun (1:40)

 

So who we gonna see?

1B - Nick Kurtz: he was the AL 2025 RoY but is HR-less (36 in ’25) in the early stages of this season

2B - some guy named Jeff McNeil (6 hits, all singles in 2026) … Nope, he just hit a double as I was typing this (Wed night)

3B - Max Muncy (when/how’d he get here?)

SS - Jacob Wilson: son of 2001-2012 SS, mostly with Pittsburgh, Jack. Wait! I’m watching a player whose FATHER played in this century!!! … FUCK, I’m old.

LF - Tyler Soderstrom: another second generation player hough his father Steve pitched just three games in the majors (w/SFG in 1996)

CF - Denzel Clarke (no relation to Horace or to Washington afaik) - 2nd year player, hasn’t hit much but a speedster who plays a good CF

RF - Lawrence Butler: in his 4th year now but not the kind of bat you want in a corner OF position

C - Shea Langeliers: sounds like he should be playing for the home team but had a solid 2025 season and is currently the AL’s leading HR hitter with five round-trippers.

DH - Brent Rooker: coming off three decent/good seasons but a slow start to ’26

 

On the pitching side we won’t see Luis Severino cuz he started vs the Yanx on Wednesday, nor Jeffrey Springs who was Thursday’s hero by not just getting the ‘W’ but also by taking a no-no into the 7th in front of what must have been weeping Yanqui fans.

But we will see one time NYM farm boy John Thomas 'J.T.' Ginn in the opener matched against Clay Holmes. Ginn was dealt to Oakland for Chris Bassitt in March of ’22. This will be his 4th game but 1st start of 2026. He pitched to a 5.00 ERA in 23 G/16 Starts in the ’25 season.

Saturday brings Jacob Lopez, a 28 y/o lefty with 31 ML games/21 starts under his belt across parts of four seasons with TBR (’22 & ’23) and ATH (’25 & ’26). Kodai Senga has been named as the party of the other part.

Aaron Civale, the 31 y/o RH veteran of eight seasons off to a decent start [2 GS, 10 IP, 3 R, 6 H] after stints w/CLE, TBR, MIL, and both Chicago clubs before signing w/the A’s as a FA this winter, is slated to pitch Sunday’s game opposing Fab Five Freddie

[Gwreck]

2 minutes ago, Frayed Knot said:

3B - Max Muncy (when/how’d he get here?)

 

 

 

Fun fact:  this is a totally different guy than the one on the Dodgers.  He just happens to have the same exact name and play the same exact position.  

Great KTE.  

[Frayed Knot]

Oh yeah, I remember that now!

This one, Maxwell Price Muncy, is the longer, leaner, younger one. A former 1st round pick now starting his second ML season.

And just for one more coincidence, Maxwell Seven Muncy also started his career with the Athletics, a 5th round pick in 2012 out of Bayor U., but was released by them after two partial seasons. He's now been with the Dodgers for the last nine years which is where he's hit 210 of his career 215 HRs. 

[metirish]

Excellent KTE 

 

I'm sure Jeff will get a rousing welcome 

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

i cant read the green letters, comes off aquamarine

[Edgy MD]

I could have gone my whole life not knowing there were two Max Muncys.  I would have just gone from Athletics series to Dodger series for years and assumed he was being traded back and forth.

Denzel Clarke comes from a family of serious jocks.  Jamaican-Canadian jocks.  The Naylor brothers (Bo, Josh, Myles) are second cousins, and his mother was an Olympic heptathlete, who once broke the Canadian long-jump record twice in one day.

 

[whippoorwill]

Me too!  I did not know that!

 

remember there were two Bryon Giles?  There was also one in my HS class

[MFS62]

I hope they have better luck against this Max Muncy because the other one is a pain in the ERA.

Nice KTE, FK.

Later

 

[Frayed Knot]

2 hours ago, Johnny Lunchbucket said:

i cant read the green letters, comes off aquamarine

Go 'Dark Mode'.. I cut n pasted this from a word document and had to choose something light otherwise it was black on black.

[seawolf17]

Well, this is one way to force us all to use Dark Mode!

[Frayed Knot]

Let's see if this works better on light mode

 

When we last saw the Athletics it was way back in 2025 when the Mets were taking two of three in West Sacramento, a town that neither MLB nor the A’s seem to want to mention.

After finishing with a 76-86 record in 2025, this year they’re off to a 5-7 start, a record augmented by taking two of three in da Bronx this week losing only the opening game on an Amed Rosario 8th inning 3R HR. A 1-0 win (one-hitter) in the rubber/day game on Thursday gives them plenty of time to travel all the way to Queens where they’ll ‘Meet the Mets’ for a three-game series: Fri (7:10), Sat (4:10) and Sun (1:40)

 

So who we gonna see?

1B - Nick Kurtz: he was the AL 2025 RoY but is off homer-less (36 in ’25) in the early stages of this season

2B - some guy named Jeff McNeil (6 hits, all singles in 2026) … Nope, he just hit a double as I was typing this (Wed night)

3B - Max Muncy (when/how’d he get here?)

SS - Jacob Wilson: son of 2001-2012 SS, mostly with Pittsburgh, Jack. Wait! I’m watching a player whose FATHER played in this century!!! … FUCK, I’m old.

LF - Tyler Soderstrom: another second generation player hough his father Steve pitched just three games in the majors (w/SFG in 1996)

CF - Denzel Clarke (no relation to Horace or Washington afaik) - 2nd year player, hasn’t hit much but plays a good CF

RF - Lawrence Butler: in his 4th year now but not the kind of bat you want in a corner OF position

C - Shea Langeliers: sounds like he should be playing for the home team but had a solid 2025 season and is currently the AL’s leading HR hitter with five round-trippers.

DH - Brent Rooker: coming off three decent/good seasons but a slow start to ’26

 

On the pitching side we won’t see Luis Severino cuz he started vs the Yanx on Wednesday, nor Jeffrey Springs who was Thursday’s hero by not just getting the ‘W’ but also by taking a no-no into the 7th in front of what must have been weeping Yanqui fans.

But we will see one time NYM farm boy T.J. Ginn in the opener matched against Clay Holmes. Ginn was dealt to Oakland for Chris Bassitt in March of ’22. This will be his 4th game but 1st start of 2026. He pitched to a 5.00 ERA in 23 G/16 Starts in the ’25 season.

Saturday brings Jacob Lopez, a 28 y/o lefty with 31 ML games/21 starts under his belt across parts of four seasons with TBR (’22 & ’23) and ATH (’25 & ’26). Kodai Senga has been named as the party of the other part.

Aaron Civale, the 31 y/o RH veteran of eight seasons off to a decent start [2 GS, 10 IP, 3 R, 6 H] after stints w/CLE, TBR, MIL, and both Chicago clubs before signing w/the A’s as a FA this winter, is slated to pitch Sunday’s game opposing Fab Five Freddie