NewsHannahan quietly impressing with D
Oakland (25-30) vs. Minnesota (28-30), 7:05 p.m. PT
By Jane Lee / Special to MLB.com
06/07/09 8:51 PM ET
OAKLAND -- When asked Sunday morning if he knew about the Oakland record he broke during the A's 7-0 win in Chicago on Thursday, Jack Hannahan quickly smiled and shook his head. "Don't tell me what it is," Hannahan begged. "I don't want to jinx it." Fair enough. But Hannahan's quiet yet consistent stellar performance in the hot corner warrants attention -- even if the infielder would rather stay away from all the talk about his possession of the Oakland record for longest errorless streak by a third baseman. Mum's the word. Or maybe not, if you're talking with the infielder's manager. "Jack is obviously our best defensive third baseman right now," A's skipper Bob Geren said. That much is safe to say with Hannahan entering Monday's matchup against his hometown team -- the Minnesota Twins -- having not committed an error at third base in 34 games this year. Even more, he has a 69-game errorless streak dating back to last year. The 29-year-old initially broke the previous mark of 65 held by Eric Chavez on Thursday. And while Hannahan's a firm believer in the whole "Don't jinx it!" mantra, he doesn't mind discussing his role as the team's go-to guy when the injury-ridden Chavez is out. "I've always taken a lot of pride in my defense," Hannahan said. "It just goes along with the game of baseball." It's a game Hannahan's proudly shared with his brother, Buzz, who played in the Phillies organization for nine years. "He was always a middle infielder, and I grew up playing third base, so he helped me out quite a bit," Hannahan said. "We'd be out there every day working on defense." Recalled from Triple-A Sacramento on April 24, Hannahan has appeared in 34 of the A's 38 games since then, all at his favorite spot on the field. By the end of the month, Mark Ellis could be back at second base, meaning the hot-hitting Adam Kennedy may get the nod at third more often than Hannahan, who enters Monday's contest with a .173 average. But for Hannahan, worrying about his future in the infield is never on his daily to-do list. "I stopped thinking about that stuff a long time ago," he said. Pitching matchupOAK: LHP Josh Outman (3-0, 3.02 ERA)
Outman, who went 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA in six May starts, opened June with another fine outing, holding the host White Sox to two earned runs on seven hits and a walk over 6 2/3 innings. Armed with a 94-mph heater that he can pump up to 97 when it's needed, Outman is the least-hyped member of a starting rotation that features four rookies and nobody over the age of 25. But Outman, a 24-year-old rookie, has been Oakland's best pitcher by a mile over the past several weeks. He's never faced the Twins in his career. MIN: RHP Anthony Swarzak (1-2, 4.76 ERA)
After allowing just three total runs in his first two big league starts, Swarzak finally had a bad inning, giving up five runs to Cleveland in Wednesday's loss. Swarzak retired the first two batters in the third inning before giving up six straight hits, including a three-run homer by Jhonny Peralta. Swarzak left the game after just four innings, the shortest of his three outings. He struck out three and gave up nine hits. Tidbits
Jason Giambi assumed the DH role in Sunday's game, which prompted questions about his tight right lower leg that forced him out of Saturday's game at first base. "It's good," Giambi said Sunday morning. "I'm just getting old." Just minutes later, Geren said he had planned on having Giambi in the DH slot all week. "Day game after a night game, just made sense," Geren said. "We want to give his leg some rest." ... Travis Buck, placed on the 15-day disabled list May 30 with a strained left oblique, took batting practice Sunday and should be good to go when eligible to come off the DL on June 14. He will be making consecutive six-inning rehab appearances at Triple-A Sacramento starting Monday, and will return to the River Cats for three games of nine-inning ball. ... There is still no word on the return date of Nomar Garciaparra, who is nursing a strained right calf. The infielder is hitting and taking ground balls but has yet to run. ... Reliever Andrew Bailey had some fun before Sunday's game, borrowing a microphone from a reporter to conduct his own interview with fellow pitcher Brett Anderson. ... Bobby Crosby left the game following the seventh inning after learning that his wife, Gina, was in labor. The couple has been expecting its first child, a son, any day now. Tickets
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• Tuesday: Athletics (Brett Anderson, 3-5, 4.97) vs. Twins (Scott Baker, 3-6, 5.88), 7:05 p.m. PT
• Wednesday: Athletics (Dallas Braden, 5-5, 3.41) vs. Twins (Francisco Liriano, 2-7, 6.12), 7:05 p.m. PT
• Thursday: Athletics (Trevor Cahill, 3-5, 4.21) vs. Twins (Nick Blackburn, 5-2, 3.30), 12:35 p.m. PT
Jane Lee is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
