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		A’s Carter finds road tough By Jerry Feitelberg September 21, 2010

	Young Chris Carter has had a tough go of it in his 2 stints with the A's this year. He was called up from Sacramento where he had a .258 batting average with 29 doubles and 31 home runs. He did not get a hit in his first trip to the majors. He was 0 for 19 and was sent down to Sacramento as a result. After the River Cats season ended,Carter was called up again to join the big club. He came back to the A's a week ago and was 0 for 14. 33 at bats and no hits.. It was the 6th longest hitless streak in A's history. It can happen to any player as the A's record for a hitless streak is held by none other than Jose Canseco who set the record in 1986 by going 0 for 40. Didn't bother Canseco at all as he was the American League Rookie of the Year in 1986. Carter got his first hit in last night's game against the White Sox. Tonight, he banged out 2 sharp singles in 3 trips to the plate. These long slumps can affect players mentally. A player has to keep “grinding away” and not let the slump get him down. There are times that players can't buy a hit. They hit the ball solidly but the ball can't find a hole or a defensive player will make a great play and rob him of a hit. There are times when a player will hit a dribbler but will be a hit. Looks the same as a line drive in the box score the next day. Carter now has 3 hits in has last 2 games and can put the slump behind him. Will he be another Canseco or Willie Mays? Probably not but Willie Mays went 0 for 21 in 1951 in his first year with the New York Giants. Mays' first hit was a home run off Hall of Famer Warren Spahn. Let's hope that Carter will have a good career with the A's and bring some power to this team. The A's need a big bat in their lineup next year. Game notes - With tonight's win, Trevor Cahill became the first A's pitcher to win 17 games since Mark Mulder did it in 2004. At 22 years of age, Cahill is the youngest pitcher to win that many games since 1971 when Vida Blue won 21 games for the Green and Gold. Cahill has an 11-2 record at home with a 1.63 ERA and his overall record is 17 wins against 7 losses. The A's now have 76 wins for the season. The last time they won 76 was in 2007. In addition, they are 68-0 when leading after 8 innings.