Running on empty

"Running on - running on empty;
Running on - running blind;
Running on - running into the sun;
But I'm running behind."
- Jackson Browne

Zito was pounded all because of a stupid missed start streak. Apparently, he injured a left rib against the White Sox earlier in the season and last night it "popped." The problem here is that Zito is relying heavily on his new-age medicines to the point where pain is being hidden from the trainers. Last year, he was on a diet which was the cause for Zito not eating breakfast against the Orioles. After the game, Zito mentioned that he felt "airy," and that he only ate a baggle. It was later revealed that he was on a special diet which consisted of protein shakes.

On May 12th, Kielty injured his left rib cage when he hit the stand railing in left field trying to catch Varitek's homer. Last night, he swung akwardly on an inside pitch from Mariano Rivera and re-aggravated the injury. The astonishing thing was tha Kielty was in obvious pain after the swing, yet head trainer Larry Davis was nowhere to be found. It's is very unprofessional for Davis to not check out this guy who had already missed time with a related injury. With Crosby hitting BP twice before a single x-ray was taken shows indiscretions on Davis' part which may mean he's not back next year.

Another problem the A's face is Jason Kendall's continous slump this season. The A's are banking that he would improve in September as that is historically his month. However, that is yet to come and it's possible that it never will. Here are some of Kendall's numbers over the last few months and games:

Month/Games	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
August	114	11	23	3	0	0	7	6	9	1	1	0.202	0.268	0.228	0.496
September	10	1	2	1	0	0	2	2	0	1	0	0.200	0.385	0.300	0.685
10 Games	40	3	7	1	0	0	3	2	2	1	0	0.175	0.225	0.200	0.425
Last 30 Games	124	12	25	4	0	0	9	8	9	2	1	0.202	0.250	0.234	0.484

Seeing as how the A's did callup Castillo to be a backup catcher, the A's need to suck it up and tell Kendall that they are going to go with Melhuse in more games. If that is too much to ask, then they should at least move Kendall as far away from the leadoff spot as possible. While on the subject of callups, should the A's be uncomfortable in moving the infield around in order to get Scutaro off days, then they should call-up Mike Rouse to be Scutaro's backup. Though, with a homer yesterday and a double today, Scutaro may be out of his slump.