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Oakland's Barton not feeling his best, but glove works just fine
last updated: September 21, 2008 04:00:20 AM
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OAKLAND -- Battling a nasty combination of tonsillitis and the flu, Daric Barton wasn't expected to leave the dugout Saturday afternoon.
The day ended up being one of his most memorable, and unusual, days in an A's uniform.
Barton made his first major-league appearance at third base in the top of the eighth after Jack Hannahan's injury necessitated emergency infield substitutions.
Then he stepped to the plate in the bottom of the eighth and stroked the go-ahead single that lifted the A's to an 8-7 victory over the Seattle Mariners, their sixth win in seven games.
How comfortable was Barton playing the hot corner?
"Not comfortable at all," he acknowledged. "I used to play third in high school. I guess it's the same as first, just on the other side of the diamond. Luckily, Hannahan's got a glove that catches everything, so I used his glove."
General manager Billy Beane was asked recently if he was concerned with Barton's prolonged struggles as a rookie.
"When it goes on as long as it did, it is a concern," Beane said. "If we had answers, we'd have given them to him. To struggle for one month is one thing; five months is something different."
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