JOE KENNEDY: 1979-2007 Pitcher helped A's get to '06 ALCS Kennedy collapses in middle of night on visit to Florida http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/11/24/SPP7THUCS.DTL (11-23) 16:17 PST -- Pitcher Joe Kennedy, who was converted from a starter to a reliever by the A's and helped them to the American League Championship Series in 2006, died Friday morning. He was 28. "Wow. Oh my goodness. Absolute shock," said Ken Macha, Kennedy's manager in 2005 and '06. "You don't know when you're going to be called. That's a shame. We'll have to say some prayers for his family." Kennedy is survived by his wife, Jami, who is pregnant, and their son, Kaige, who turned 1 on Nov. 17. Kennedy lived in Colorado. He was in Florida spending Thanksgiving with his wife's family near Tampa and was going to be the best man at a minor-league teammate's wedding this weekend. He collapsed after getting up in the middle of the night, officials said. The cause of death was not immediately known. His agent, Damon Lapa, said the "best educated guess" given him by Brandon Hospital was that Kennedy died from a heart attack or brain aneurysm. Kennedy's career record over seven years was 43-61 with a 4.79 ERA. One of only two winning seasons came in 2006, when he was 4-1 with staff-low 2.31 ERA for the A's. He missed half the season with a shoulder ailment but made 39 relief appearances and had four scoreless outings in the ALCS against Detroit. A's pitcher Dan Haren said, "I went on the computer when I woke up this morning and saw it and I said, 'There's no way, no way it's Joe Kennedy.' But I checked my phone, and I had all these calls." "He was one of my best friends in baseball," said Haren, whose wife, Jessica, is close with Kennedy's wife. "He was such a good dad and loved his wife so much. It's just tragic. There's never a good time for something like this, but during the holidays and his son had just turned 1, and he was just getting his real life going. It makes me sick." A's reliever Justin Duchscherer echoed Haren's sentiments. "It's devastating to think that a guy you expect to see soon or in the spring, you're never going to see again. It's heartbreaking," Duchscherer said. "And the timing part, while visiting family on Thanksgiving. They have a young baby, and his wife is pregnant. Your heart just goes out to them. Everyone is so shocked." 當有一個人 你想明年春天會看到 但是你卻永遠看不到 這是很驚人的 Bob Geren, who replaced Macha as manager, said, "We're all saddened by this news, and we're thinking of Jami and his family. It's a really sad day. Joe had a lot of friends on this team, and he will be missed." General manager Billy Beane was traveling back from Europe and unavailable for comment. Assistant GM David Forst said, "We are deeply saddened and shocked to hear of Joe's passing. He was a valued teammate and friend to everyone with the A's organization." Kennedy's death comes 13 months after another former A's pitcher, Cory Lidle, 34, died in a plane crash in New York City when he and his flight instructor slammed into an apartment building. Lidle pitched for the A's in 2001 and '02, winning 21 games. Kennedy, a hefty left-hander, was listed at 6-foot-4 and 252 pounds. He was acquired by the A's on July 13, 2005, in a trade that sent Eric Byrnes to the Rockies. In the deal, the A's also obtained reliever Jay Witasick and sent infield prospect Omar Quintanilla to Colorado. Kennedy was 26 at the time and a year removed from making 26 starts and going 9-7 with a 3.66 ERA despite pitching home games at Coors Field. With Oakland, he became a reliever for the first time in his pro career. Sixty-one of his 85 appearances with the A's were in relief. He was known around the A's for raising pugs and gave puppies to teammates. "Joe always made everyone laugh," Haren said. "When he got traded here, he made friends right away because he was so funny and outgoing, just a guy everyone liked hanging out with. He would come over and watch football or baseball at our place. Joe總是帶給大家歡笑 他非常funny "I want people to know how good a guy he was, how easy he was to like. One thing I admired about Joe was that he could have a bad game and still have a smile on his face when he left the clubhouse. He didn't take it home with him. That's probably because he loved his wife, he loved his kid and he had reason to love life. 我希望大家能知道他是一個很好的人 他如果投了一個壞的比賽 他仍然能微笑當他離開球場 他不會把這個不好的心情帶回家 那可能是因為 他愛他的太太 他愛他的小孩 他愛他的生活 "There are a lot of reminders - I look at my cell phone and see his number, it's just terrible." 有很多回憶的事情 現在我拿起手機 看到他的電話號碼 這很terrible In 2006, when the A's made their first ALCS appearance since 1992, Kennedy allowed only one home run and had a 161/3-inning scoreless streak into September. He began the 2007 season as a starter but was moved to the bullpen at midseason after going 2-7 with a 4.28 ERA. This past season, he was selected off waivers by the Diamondbacks on Aug. 4 and released 11 days later. He signed with the Blue Jays on Aug. 28. He was a free agent, and Paul Godfrey, the Blue Jays' president, said the team was interested in re-signing him. --

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