Worst of the Night: Oakland Athletics' Seth Smith Dons the Golden Sombrero

Highlighting a bad performance from the previous night in baseball might seem like a harsh way to start the morning. But look at it this way: If you had a rough night or bad day, here's someone who may have had it worse.

There were several candidates for "Worst of the Night" honors from Monday's action in the majors.

For instance, the Atlanta Braves' Mike Minor getting shelled for seven runs by a Pittsburgh Pirates lineup that had scored the fewest runs in baseball—by far. Giving up a home run to Yamaico Navarro, who had all of one career homer before Monday night, was pretty bad, too.

However, when someone goes 0-for-4 with four strikeouts—the proverbial "Golden Sombrero"—that's probably the bad performance worth noting.

The Oakland Athletics scored six runs and gave up 11 against the Boston Red Sox last night. So maybe outfielder Seth Smith's 0-for-4 didn't really factor in the outcome of the game. Smith did strike out in all four of his plate appearances, though, batting fifth in the A's lineup. 

Clay Buchholz whiffed Smith three times, catching him looking once while getting him to swing and miss in the other two at-bats. Alfredo Aceves struck out Smith the final time in the ninth inning.

Smith did get one break from striking out when Junichi Tazawa hit him with a pitch in the seventh. It wasn't a very good night for Tazawa either, as he failed to record an out. 

With the golden sombrero, Smith's slash average dropped to .197/.351/.295 with two home runs, five RBI and 15 strikeouts in 22 games. However, he has drawn 13 walks, which makes him a good fit in the A's lineup. 

So far, the American League has been a tough adjustment for Smith, who had five respectable seasons with the Colorado Rockies prior to being traded to Oakland.

He'll likely get plenty of opportunity to succeed with the A's, as there's not really anyone to replace him—no offense, Kila Ka'aihue or Jonny Gomes. However, if Smith keeps striking out like this, Bob Melvin might not have any other choice than to make a change. 

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