Ellis ties A's record for games played by a second bagger

Mark Ellis and fellow Rapid City native Dick Green now share the record for most games played at second base (721) for the Oakland Athletic franchise(formerly Kansas City). Ellis is in his sixth year with A's and already holds the Major League record for single season fielding percentage by a second baseman (.997), committing just two errors in 123 games and 632 chances during the 2006 season. Ellis is also closing in on the A's franchise record for the most home runs by a second baseman (76) held by Dick Green, Ellis now has 68. Dick Green was a second baseman with the Kansas City Athletics from 1963 to 1967 and with the Oakland Athletics from 1968 to 1974.
The Kansas City Royals closed out the series with the Oakland Athletics Wednesday by winning in the 12th inning 4 to 3. Kansas City completed the sweep with the win. Mark Ellis found some fire and was 2 for 5 with a run scored.

Royals stick it to the A's

Gil Meche allowed only two runs as the Royals beat the A's 5 to 2 Tuesday night in Oakland. The A's continue to struggle to score runs and are loser of five or their last six games. Mark Ellis on the teams lack of scoring "It's not fun. We've got to keep working to have good at-bats as a team. We've got to make pitchers work more. We're not scoring a lot of runs," he said. "That's the whole key to everything. We have a reputation as a team to be patient, so guys like to throw strikes at us right away." Ellis got rid of some of the hitting funk by going 2 for 4 with a run scored and an rbi.

Nebraska native Alex Gordon hits home run for Royals

The Kansas City Royals beat the Oakland A's on Monday 4 to 2. Royals third baseman Alex Gordon hit a two run home run in the sixth inning to clench the game. Gordon played college baseball at the University of Nebraska and was a 1st round draft pick for the Royals.
Mark Ellis talked about the Oakland struggles and trade rumors, "I think that has a lot to do with it. I can only speak for myself, but I don't think about [trade rumors] one bit." Ellis went on to comment about the pitching in the American League, "This is the American League; there's a lot of good pitchers," he said. "You're going to see a good pitcher most nights. Sometimes you'll run into ... a guy who's really on top of his game and you have to tip your cap, but you can't tip your cap every night."
Mark Ellis was 0 for 4 on the night and is reeling.

Oakland's Brad Ziegler sets record

Oakland A's reliever Brad Ziegler set the Major League Baseball record for scoreless innings to start a career on Sunday with 27 innings. The scoreless record stood since 1907, a hundred and one years. Ziegler talked about sending some the game balls used on Sunday to Cooperstown and the Hall of Fame, "I don't know if that's something I'd ever thought I'd have to do as long as it wasn't a real embarrassing moment or someone else's highlight, but it's pretty incredible. It's real special. I feel like I've worked real hard to get here. Thankfully it's not over yet. Hopefully we can keep it going."
Ziegler reflected on his accomplishment before today's game,"There are a lot of great pitchers who have debuted in the last 100 years, so to be at the top of that list right now feels great. It's real special. I feel like I've worked real hard to get here. I've never had anything handed to me, so it makes this that much more special."
The A's beat the Texas Rangers 6 to 5, preventing the series sweep. Mark Ellis continues to struggle at the plate going 0 for 4 for the game.

Ellis hits 10th home run, Hamilton hits number 24

Josh Hamilton and the Texas Ranger offense continued to get hits off Oakland pitching winning Saturday 9 to 4. Hamilton hit a towering three run home run in the 5th off A's ace Justin Duchscherer it was his 24th of the year. Mark Ellis found his stroke going deep in the bottom of the ninth tallying his tenth home run of the year. There hasn't been any trade talk involving Ellis in the last few days. Mark Ellis was 1 for 4 with an rbi, run scored, and a home run.

Texas scores eight in ninth, win big

The Oakland A's looked comfortable early in the first game of the series with the Texas Rangers Friday night, scoring five runs in the bottom of the third inning. Not to be out done, the Texas Rangers scored five runs in the top of the fourth led by a two run home run by Josh Hamilton. Texas went on toe score fourteen runs on nineteen hits, including an eight run top of the ninth. The end of the game prompted comment from Oakland manager Bob Geren "Obviously, it was an ugly finish."
Second baseman Mark Ellis returned to the line up after missing two games due to an injured shoulder. Ellis was 0 for 4 with two strike outs.

Tampa wins series

The Tampa Bay Rays took the series against Oakland with a 4 to 3 win on Wednesday afternoon. Emil Brown and Carlos Gonzalez hit back-to-back home runs in the second inning, but Ray's pitcher James Shields allowed only one more run in 8 1/3 innings pitched.
Mark Ellis was out for the second consecutive game with a sore shoulder, he should return for Friday's game against the Rangers.

Ellis kept from lineup

While getting picked off second base by Ray's Scott Kazmir in Monday nights game, Mark Ellis slid into Rays fielder Ben Zobrist's shin injuring his shoulder. Ellis was held out of Tuesday's game against the Rays. He talked about the seriousness of the injury, "I know my shoulder pretty well from what happened a few years back. And I know this is nothing major." He worked out on the field before the game, "I was hoping it would loosen up after a few throws, but it never did. So I just shut it down." Ellis visited with the team trainer and made the decision not to go.
Ellis said he doesn't want to get a CAT scan, "I already know what an MRI is going to show. It's going to show that I have a torn labrum. They don't just heal on their own. ... I'm a little sore right now, but we'll see how it is tomorrow and go from there. I'll be fine." Let's hope Ellis knows his body and can get himself back in the line up soon without further injury.

Will Ellis be in Oakland next year?

Slightly halfway through the 2008 Major League Baseball season, there appears to be little contract work completed for Oakland A's second baseman Mark Ellis. Ellis is in his final contract year with the A's. After early speculation that a deal was in-the-works to keep Ellis in Oakland, nothing seems to be set. Oakland used this years draft pick on Jemile Weeks a second baseman in college. Oakland's AAA league Cliff Pennington started this years All-Star Futures Game at second base. With A's General Manager Billy Beane sticking to the aggressive philosophy of getting the most value, when you can from a player, Ellis would be a perfect candidate for a move.
Ellis could possibly have the best defensive year ever by a second baseman, he has committed only two errors on the season. He has shown some power at the plate with nine home runs but his batting average is down to .235 and OBP .332. For a team looking to shore up it's defensive, Ellis would make a great fit. We will have to wait and see what happens in the next week, as the July 31st trade deadline approaches.

Oakland 8 Tampa Bay 1

The A's got a much needed victory Tuesday night in Tampa Bay. The A's used positive thinking to get ready for the game, "Everybody had a pretty good outlook today, Bob Geren said. "We're trying to keep everybody positive. We had a little meeting about that and how to lead by example. We talked about it for about a half hour. The mood, I think, was positive." Geren gave second baseman Mark Ellis the day off.

Oakland skidding, drop six in a row

The Oakland A's dropped their sixth game in a row on Monday night, losing to the Tampa Bay Rays 4 to 0. The A's frustration is evident in comments by second baseman Mark Ellis, "You just can't think about any of that stuff; how many games you're back, trade rumors, whatever. I know it's a stupid cliche, but you really do have to take it one game at a time. And for us, the way we're going, we have to take it one pitch at a time." Ellis went on to talk about the A's not hitting like they should be in the last few games, "They're not invincible. They're all good pitchers, but we should still be able to score some runs off them. It's not like we're facing [Toronto ace] Roy Halladay every day, or [Mariners ace] Felix Hernandez at his best. I think more than anything, it's just a team-wide funk." Mark Ellis was 0 for 2 with 2 walks in the game. He was picked off second by Rays pitcher Scott Kazmir, in what appeared to be a great play by Kazmir and lapse of concentration by Ellis. Manager Bob Geren on his team, "Guys are getting a little bit down, struggling.”

Yankees sweep Oakland

The Oakland A's played their final game in the historic Yankee Stadium on Sunday losing in a close one 2 to 1. Andy Pettitte picked up his eleventh win of the season shutting down the A's line up. "It's kind of the same old story -- the pitchers throw good and the offense isn't doing well," second bagger Mark Ellis said. "We're striking out a lot, I know that. I think guys are aware of it, though, and I think that just adds to the problem. So if you go up there and just try to have good at-bats, it will probably take care of itself." Seems to be a hint of frustration in Ellis' voice as he was 1 for 3 with a sacrifice bunt and a strike out in the game.

Joba pitches Yankees to win

New York Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain allowed only one run in six innings pitched against the Oakland A's Saturday. The A's took the 3-2 lead in the top half of the ninth inning, but the Yankees answered with a run of their own in the bottom half to tie the score. Yankees catcher Jose Molina was hit-by-pitch with bases loaded in the 12th inning to give the Yankees the 4-3 win. Oakland's manager Bob Geren, ''We played well. It was a great game. We were right there. We just didn't win.''
Mark Ellis was 0 for 4 with a walk and two strike outs.

A's kick off second half in New York

The Oakland A's were in New York to take on the Yankees and start the second half of the season. Oakland's Greg Smith gave up six runs in 3 2/3 innings while Yankees' Mike Mussina allowed only one run in six innings to give the Yankees a 7 to 1 win. Oakland managed nine hits but could not push the runs across. Mark Ellis was 1 for 4 with a run scored but also struck out 3 times in the game.

The Long All-Star Game

The last All-Star game at Yankee Stadium was one to remember. The American League All-Star Justin Morneau scored the winning run on a sacrifice fly by Michael Young in the 15th inning. The American League won for the 12th straight time and last four hours and fifty minutes. National League Second Bagger Dan Uggla committed four errors in the game. The game MVP was Boston Red Sox's J.D. Drew.

Josh Hamilton hits 28 home runs in derby

Justin Morneau won the 2008 home run derby contest. Josh Hamilton's 28 home runs in the first round stole the show. Hamilton brought in his high school baseball coach to pitch to him for the derby. Hamilton is an interesting story, he was a number one draft pick coming out of high school, he then had a bout with a drug addiction, and now is playing in his first all-star game. He has proven to be an inspiration for all of us.

Oakland falls again to Angels

Justin Duchscherer pitched a great game allowing only two runs and five hits but it wasn't enough as the Los Angeles Angels beat the Oakland A's 4 to 3 Sunday afternoon. The A's head into the All-Star break six games behind the Angels in the West division.

Mark Ellis was 0 for 3 with a walk. The A's second baseman Mark Ellis enters the break with a 46-game errorless streak and leads AL second basemen with a .995 fielding percentage.

Angels bounce back

Ervin Santana shut the Oakland hitters down on Saturday allowing only one run in seven innings pitched winning the game 4 to 1. Santana talked about his dominance over the A's, ''Every year they have a different team, different players. I just go out there and do my best. I don't think about it. I just try to pitch.''
Mark Ellis was 1 for 4.

Oakland picks up a game in the West

The Oakland A's used fifteen hits and nine runs to beat league leading Los Angeles Angels on Friday night 9 to 2. It was the A's pitcher Sean Gallagher's Oakland debut. ''It's been a little crazy, a little hectic,'' Gallagher said. ''I had to pack up all my stuff in Chicago and bring it all here. I'm just trying to get acclimated to this area ... but it's been fun.'' The A's picked up a game on the Angels in the standings.
Mark Ellis was 1 for 3 with two runs scored.

Brown hits walk off home run in eleventh

Emil Brown hit his 7th home run of the season, giving the Oakland A's a walk off victory in the 11th inning against the Mariners on Thursday night. Brown gave the A's hitting coach Ty Van Burkleo credit for the home run, ''I swung the bat, but Ty got me better prepared for that at-bat than any before. He told me exactly what the guy would do and I kept that in the back of my mind like a game plan. He did exactly what Ty told me he would.''
Greg Smith pitched six shut out innings and Huston Street picked up the victory. Mark Ellis was 0 for 5 for the second straight game dropping his batting average to .239.

Mariners beat Oakland, Blanton back to normal

Oakland A's pitcher Joe Blanton allowed nine hits and six runs in 6 innings losing to the Seattle Mariners 6 to 4. It's his 12th loss of the season and his ERA now stands at 4.96. Summing up his struggles Blanton said, "I'm beating myself and not making good pitches when I need to."
Mark Ellis continues to struggle at the plate and went 0 for 5 on the game.

Justin Duchscherer sharp for A's, Haren to Cubs

Oakland Athletics Justin Duchscherer pitched a complete game shutout against the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday night winning 2 to 0. Duchscherer is now 10-5 on the season with an ERA of 1.78. After the game he said, "All in all, a great team win." Nice to see a guy have a great individual performance then give credit to his team. The game was some what overshadowed by the trade between A's and Cubs. The A's traded pitchers Dan Haren and Chad Gaudin to the Chicago Cubs for minor league prospects. Duchsherer was asked about the big trade, "When I come to the field on my day to pitch I try to stay focused on the task at hand but it's tough. We're like a family in here. I played with both of those guys for three-plus years, so it's tough. It's like your brother goes somewhere else and you don't get to hang out with him anymore but it's part of the business.''
Mark Ellis 0 for 3 on the night.

Lowly Seattle comes to town

The last place Seattle Mariners were in town take on the Oakland Athletics on Monday night. Seattle managed three runs in the top of the first but failed to score again. The A's scored one in the third and then three in the fifth to win the game 4 to 3. The Second Bagger was 1 for 4 with an rbi.

Series finale goes to the Sox

The Chicago White Sox capped a split of the four game series with the Oakland Athletics by winning 4 to 3 on Sunday. A.J. Pierzynski summed up his feelings after going 8-2 during their home stand in Chicago, ''It's huge. We played well against three pretty good teams. ... Oakland's a good team. They're not going to go away. They don't quit. They're young. They might not have the big names, but they've got some good players.''
Mark Ellis was 1 for 5 with an rbi.

Chicago White Sox win easily

The Chicago White Sox beat the Oakland A's Saturday 6 to 1. Gavin Floyd pitched for the White Sox and got the win. Rookie Greg Smith struggled for the A's allowing 4 runs in five innings pitched. Smith gave up homers to Nick Swisher and Brian Angerson. After the game he talked about the two home runs, ''They were right down the middle and if you do that with these White Sox, they're going to do that. Just two mistakes.''
Mark Eills was o for 4 with a strike out.

Independence Day

The Oakland A's blasted the Chicago White Sox with 17 hits and the victory 7 to 1 on Friday. The A's were treated to a great pitching performance by the A's Joe Blanton who only allowed one earned run in seven innings pitched. Emil Brown was 3 for 5 with two rbi's and Jack Cust hit his 15th home run in the 4th inning. Mark Ellis was 0 for 2 with four walks.

A's handle the Chi Sox

The Oakland A's beat the Chicago White Sox 3 to 2 at U.S. Cellular Field. Justin Duchscherer pitched a gem for the A's allowing only two runs in seven innings. Closer Huston Street closed out the ninth to pickup his 16th save of the year. After the game Street talked about Duchscherer, "He's got the lowest ERA in the world right now. I remember looking up in the first inning and going, 'What's going on?' when they were scoring those runs against Justin. Guess what? You look up in the ninth and it's still the same score."
Javier Vazquez pitched the complete game for the White Sox in the loss. The loss snapped a seven game win streak by the White Sox.
Mark Ellis was 0 for 4.

Angels beat A's 7 to 4

The Los Angeles Angels beat the Oakland A's 7 to 4 on Wednesday afternoon. The win gave the league leading Angels a 5 1/2 game lead on the A's.
Mark Ellis was 2 for 4 with two rbi's and a stolen base.

Angels take game two of series with A's

The Oakland A's Mark Ellis smashed a two out home run in the top of the eight to break a 2-2 tie on Tuesday night. It was the ninth home run of the season for Ellis. Ellis was 2 for 4 with two runs scored and an rbi. Unfortunately, it was not enough as the Los Angeles Angels scored three in the bottom half of the inning to capture the victory 5 to 3.

Athletics pick up a came on Angels

The Oakland A's picked up a game on the league leading Los Angeles Angels by beating them 6 to 1 on Monday night. The Angels now lead the A's by 3 1/2 games in the American League West. The teams play a three game series through Wednesday.
Mark Ellis was 2 for 5 with an rbi and a stolen base.