Missing a Few A's Games this Year, and Turning to MLB.TV

For the last two baseball seasons, my wife and I had signed up to approximately 40 games a year. We didn't make all of them, but we made a good amount. We spent a lot of Friday evenings and Saturday mornings going up and down I-880 in the East Bay, headed to Oakland. But when news of the twins hit, we knew we had to adjust, taking the total package down to what we thought would be a more manageable 20 games a year. I even planned ahead by leaving a big gap in our ticket schedule around when the kids are expected to show up.

Even this looks like it may have been optimistic. Now that my wife and I have passed the 26-weeks mark, her fatigue level is very real. The idea of going to games on back to back days is unreasonable now - something along the lines of approved marital torture, with every stair step or stand up/sit down routine. So tonight, we're eating the price of our tickets, and staying home.

But to fill the baseball void, we're going online. I've been chairing the Thursday activity on Athletics Nation (See from yesterday's activity: How Do You Help Convert the Casual Fan? and One Can Be The Loneliest Number). Also, during last week's trip to Florida, I invested in MLB.com's video package, letting me watch any major league game in fairly good quality live, so long as the contest is not blacked out.


A scene from tonight's games (and the available schedule)
Last night, part of why I was up so late, blogging at almost 2 a.m., was due a marathon 22-inning game between the Colorado Rockies and the San Diego Padres. Hearing the game had gone to the 18th, I logged on to MLB.TV and saw the game unfold, inning after inning, stretching deep into the night.

The quality of MLB.TV is remarkably better than the jittery, buffering, versions I remember from previous years. I can stream any game on one side of my monitor, and keep working on the other side, without parallel apps slowing down. With family looking like it just might get in the way of some of our in-person sports, MLB.TV is a great alternative. Soon, hopefully, I can start talking about taking our kids to their first ballgames.

Baseball's First Pitch Is Aimed at the Head of Insomniacs

Baseball is a sport with firm roots in tradition. Statistical leaders can be compared across decades and generations, as the rules are pretty much the same as they were more than 100 years ago. There are still three strikes to an out, three outs to an inning, and nine innings to a regulation game. But as the game becomes more of a global sport, not just a North American phenomenon, some traditions are fading into memory, like the once-acceptable spitball, and leaving one's fielders' gloves on the grass instead of taking them back to the dugout.

One such tradition that's passed its time was that the major league baseball season would start every year in Cincinnati, a nod to the Reds' position as the first professional squad, debuting in 1876. Amazingly, this year's season isn't starting in Ohio, or anywhere on the continent at all. Instead, our Oakland Athletics are set to do battle with the reigning World Champion Boston Red Sox in Tokyo, Japan, for a two-game series played when most of the team's fans will be completely asleep.

You see... tonight's game starts not at the familiar times of 1:05, 4:05, or 7:05 p.m., but instead, at 3:05 a.m. Pacific Time and 6:05 a.m. Eastern Time, giving New Englanders some entertainment to go with their morning Dunkin' Donuts. And for those of us on the West Coast, we have the unenviable position of needing to stay up late, wake up early, or just skip Opening Day altogether. Tradition indeed...

While I could simply find the game on TiVo and record it, the true baseball fan in me says that's not right, and that I should be seeing the game live. So, with only six hours separating the off-season with the regular season, we're stocking up on Diet Coke, and preparing for a Tuesday full of fatigue. Hopefully, the A's can make this new tradition one to remember well.

The A's Spring Play Has Been Quite Impressive

My wife and I are now two games into our four-game stretch this Spring Training season, and if the pair of contests is any indication of how the year will go, I believe a lot of fans of the green and gold will be pleasantly surprised. After today's 10-2 thumping of the cross-town San Francisco Giants, we've now seen the A's outscore their opponents 18-3 in back to back days.

For those who follow the team, the 2008 campaign is one that's attracted a serious amount of uncertainty. Several key players from the last few seasons were traded in exchange for prospects. It's been said the team is rebuilding, and doesn't have a chance this year. But, as I've noted before, I have a more optimistic view. And this week isn't changing my opinion any.

Yesterday morning, we drove the two hours from Phoenix to Tucson in a rented Chrysler Sebring convertible (top down of course), and caught the A's game against the Chicago White Sox. In 80+ degree weather, we saw the A's open up a 2-0 lead after the first inning, tack on 3 more on the back of a 3-run Daric Barton homer, and coast to an 8-1 victory. In addition to the hitting heroics, we were excited to see Rich Harden through 5 innings of one-hit, one-run ball, coming off two injury-plagued years.

Today, we stayed closer to home, and saw the A's make the game no contest in the blink of an eye. After giving up a first-inning run, the team more than batted around against the Giants' starting pitcher, who ended up allowing 8 runs while only retiring a single batter. The team added 2 more runs in the second to push their total to double digits, and again, coasted to victory, winning by a final score of 10-2.

While we were enjoying the sun and the game play, I have to admit it's a good thing we're having Spring Training now, and not, say, in two to four weeks. At nearly 22 weeks gestation, our twins are giving my wife all sorts of fatigue and the occasional pains which have sapped her energy and made any sort of walking or even sitting for long periods draining. So now, I get to play the part of understanding husband, and have opened the door for leaving games early or not going out as much as we had planned in this short vacation. As one good friend from church somewhat jokingly offered, "You're life is coming to an end! It is over!", saying when the twins arrive, it's going to get a whole lot different around here.

But... they're not here yet. The A's hope to continue their hot streak tomorrow against the Texas Rangers, and following a game against the Kansas City Royals on Monday, we'll be headed back the Bay Area and something resembling normalcy.

Heading To Arizona Tonight for Spring Training Vacation

Excerpted from my post on Athletics Nation:
"At What Point Do They Stop Being 'Former A's'?"

In just about four hours, I'm leaving (on a jet plane) to sunny Arizona, to see the A's play for four straight days, from Friday to Monday, first seeing the club take on the White Sox in Tucson, and then three straight home games, in Phoenix, where they play the Giants, Rangers and Royals. I can't wait. This is the third year in a row my wife and I have been able to see Spring Training, and I hope we'll continue to go for years to come. It's a mini-vacation of sorts, one that wraps around the weekend so I don't miss too many days of work.

But while we're very excited to see the A's play this year, and I'm cautiously optimistic about our chances with a healthier roster, not to mention full seasons of Jack Cust, Kurt Suzuki, Travis Buck and Daric Barton, one of our biggest attractions this week will be seeing the recently-departed Nick Swisher.

While we'd seen Nick play hundreds of times at the Coliseum or on TV, we didn't expect to lose him so fast. One of the young stars of the team, we expected Nick to be part of the A's nucleus for years to come. We never really got to say goodbye, and tomorrow, with equal helpings of lung power and my wife being cute (at five months pregnant... with twins... but still cute), we hope to get the chance to do more than just wave and clap mildly in our seats.

Does this mean the blog will go silent until Tuesday? Absolutely not. But that's because I don't consider blogging work. It's fun! So, I hope to have a little more variation in our posting schedule, and you'll see a good mix of baseball in with the rest of our content for a bit. Go A's!

A's Spring Training Kicks Off Today

Though the games still don't count for a month or so, we're excited to know the Oakland A's are getting the spring training campaign started today, with a noon game against the Milwaukee Brewers. It's been far too long to go without baseball, and we can't wait to resume our regularly scheduled obsession with the Green and Gold. My wife and I have a trip planned in the second full week of March to head down to Arizona for our third consecutive year, and that should be a lot of fun. Until we're down there, though, we'll be staying tuned to Athletics Nation for A's news, rumors and game live blogging.

Hope you don't mind our occasional forays into fandom. I was an A's fan decades before I got really into RSS feeds and link sharing!

Oakland A's Fanfest 2008 Brings Baseball to January

As partial season ticket holders to the Oakland A's, each year my wife and I get a perk which includes passes to the team's annual FanFest, where as a small group, we got to tour the team's clubhouse and enjoy question and answer sessions with some of the team's favorite players. For the second year out of three (See our 2006 report), we got to go, and while weather was expected to be rainy and downright miserable, we were pleasantly surprised to get calm skies.

It's been a long, cold, dark off-season as an A's fan. Since the team missed the playoffs and finished with a losing record, just one game out of last place, we've seen the team's ace pitcher, Dan Haren, dispatched to the Arizona Diamondbacks, the team's best all-around player, Nick Swisher, traded to the Chicago White Sox, and one of the team's veterans, Mark Kotsay sent to the Atlanta Braves. The trades, all done in exchange for young prospects, have had some thinking the team's already given up on 2008. But even if we don't expect Oakland to run away with the division, I believe they'll surprise some people, and today, it was great to enjoy being a baseball fan again.

Arriving at the Coliseum around 11:00 this morning, with my wife and two friends from church, as well as their one-year-old, we made a beeline for the clubhouse tour, seeing the team's locker room and the coaches' offices, lined with memorabilia from yesteryear, seeing magazine covers and bobbleheads galore. Some of the lockers were still adorned with the names of players now elsewhere, as if frozen in time from the end of last season.

Then, the real fun started. We sat in on an 11:45 Q&A session featuring Hall of Famer Rollie Fingers, current A's pitchers Huston Street and Alan Embree, and pitching coach Curt Young. Between the jokes about Alan Embree being old and Street being young, fans got to ask Fingers about pitching in the World Series in 1972 against Johnny Bench and the Cincinnati Reds, and Young about the 1989 World Championship team that featured Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco.

At 1:00 p.m. there was another Q&A session, this time with A's hitters Daric Barton, Kurt Suzuki, Jack Cust and Mark Ellis. Of the four, only Ellis was starting with the team at the beginning of 2007. Cust was a journeyman minor leaguer, while Barton and Suzuki were working their way up the food chain to Oakland. This time, rather than sitting idly by, my wife asked Ellis about life away from the family (and his pug) and how he handled that, while I asked Cust how it felt to be in an organization who believed in him and whose fans were supportive of him, compared to others where he always seemed one strikeout away from the minors or one homer away from the majors, but never in a role where he belonged.

Cust seemed extremely pleased with his new surroundings, and while the sports world isn't giving much thought to the A's chances this year, we are excited about thinking about baseball again. We're excited about seeing Barton, Suzuki, Cust, Travis Buck and others for a full year. We're looking forward to spending a lot of time on I-880 going up and back to the A's games starting in April, and catching Spring Training in between. There's just something about baseball that makes the world right, even when not every game goes the right way. The 2007 season ended weakly for the A's last year, and Fanfest reminded us we start 2008 with a brand new schedule and brand new record, that of zero and zero.

The A's have already made full video of each of the Q&A sessions available on their Web site (including my cameo and that of my wife). You can find all that at OaklandAthletics.com. Additional commentary on this year's Fanfest can be found at Athletics Nation. (Fanfest: The Reports, The Gossip, The Aftermath)

Mitchell Report: Like the Starr Report, but for Baseball

In September of 1998, a lengthy investigative report from Ken Starr into the Clinton administration offered hundreds of pages of he said, she said salacious rumors that had very little to do with the president's job in office. The day it was released, I pored through it as if it were a work of scripture, and came away less than impressed, writing a friend that night on e-mail, "I also read the entire Starr report. It is pretty juicy, but I don't believe that there are any grounds for impeachment. It just looks like Starr is complaining that Clinton did not help investigate himself..."

Today, baseball had its "Starr Report" moment, as we eagerly awaited the much-anticipated release from George Mitchell's inquiry into the world of steroids and baseball. At 11 o'clock Pacific, a colleague and I called a meeting in a conference room and awaited the press conference. Minutes into Mitchell's speech, we had downloaded the 6.5 Megabyte PDF file from MLB.com and were quickly searching for team names and players we know, excitedly hoping to see players we didn't like, and alternately, fearing we would see some of our favorites smeared with allegations they had cheated.

While several dozen players were named in the report, only one current Oakland A, journeyman slugger Jack Cust, was said to have dabbled in steroids, and the report was second-hand hearsay from a former minor league teammate. I'll admit my gut wants to root for him anyway, in an illogical reaction that goes against how I reacted to many other names indicted on similar, scanty, evidence.

As with the Starr Report, the Mitchell report came up short in a lot of ways. It didn't fully name as many big stars as guilty as we had expected it would. It didn't step much further beyond the already released news reports we've seen on the matter in recent years. While it did snag some big names, like Miguel Tejada, Roger Clemens and Andy Pettite, most of the players are those already on the downsides of their careers, and ones where we'd already had suspicion. Earlier, unfounded, rumored lists of players made popular around the Web proved to be untrue altogether.

Like I did with the Starr Report, I expect I'll be reading the 300+ pages of the Mitchell report cover to cover. But it looks like after all the investigation is done, it tells us what we already knew, especially for those of us who read the well-reported Game of Shadows. Baseball has a huge problem, one that was happening right in front of us, as the players grew tremendously big and records fell faster than ever. The question is, can they find a way to eliminate the use of drugs like HGH and make the game one we really believe again?

Download the full Mitchell report here (6.5 MB)

We Landed, But the Rockies Crashed

Getting game 5 World Series tickets shouldn't have been that much of a risk, especially considering the home team for game 5 had won 21 of 22 games to wrap up the regular season and breeze through the first two rounds of the playoffs. Yet, as the Red Sox staked out a 2-0 series lead, and later extended it to 3-0, we saw our chances of attending the World Series grow increasingly slim.

Last night, as we flew eastward from San Jose to Denver, I listened in to the game on channel 9 of the airline's audio system, updating my wife with the score of the game throughout the trip by hand signals, flashing two fingers and then making a circle, to show the Rockies trailed 2-0. Later, I tapped her and said it was 3-0, followed by scores of 3-1 and finally, 4-1. Though the radio quality was poor, and I could make out only 60% of the words, I did my best to follow along, contemplating the miracle that would have to happen to make our Monday tickets worth anything.

As the pilot asked the flight attendants to prepare for landing, and our wheels extended toward the runway, the Rockies hit a two run home run, closing the gap to 4-3, and giving us hope. As other passengers filed out of the plane, I stayed connected to the seat, not wanting to miss an at bat. Then, we rushed forward and into the terminal, and joined the dozens of other passengers who had stopped to gawk at the sports bar's coverage of the game, as we watched the Rockies flail at Jonathan Papelbon and go down swinging in the 8th.

After getting our luggage, and jumping on the rental car shuttle, I turned on my Blackberry and "watched" the game update via ESPN.com. Already, there was one out and it was still 4-3, Boston. Then, quickly, there were two away, and my wife and I had to hope for the impossible. But it was not meant to be. The last batter came and went, and the game was declared final. Our trip immediately darkened, and much potential joy was lost. Now, instead of finding out how to stay warm among a sellout Rockies crowd tonight, I'm faced with the prospect of learning the ins and outs of StubHub's refund policy. It better be good.

Regardless, we're here, above 5,000 feet, where the air is thin and the clocks are all an hour ahead of where I'd like to be. Maybe someday, as one friend commented on this site, our A's will return again, and we'll get to experience the World Series "the right way".

We "Could" Be Headed for the World Series

As we're watching the World Series this year between the Boston Red Sox and Colorado Rockies, seeing the Sox up 2 games to none, and at this moment, holding the lead in game 3, we can only hope the trend will soon change - as for the first time in my life, I have the opportunity to attend a World Series game, but might see this opportunity snatched away from us in an unfortunate combination of one team's luck and the other's lacking.

Back in May, Kristine and I headed to Colorado to see landmarks from my early years, where I'd grown up in the mid 1980s. With a return trip planned this upcoming week, we watched with anticipation as the Rockies went on an incredible run to capture the National League pennant.

Looking at the calendar, we saw World Series games 3 through 5 would be in Denver, and if humanly possible, we would find a way to go. So, I set out on StubHub, and paid way too much for a pair of outfield tickets to game 5, which barring a sweep, would have us at Coors Field Monday night. Where the tickets' face value was $125 apiece, we saw bids rise from $400 to $500 apiece and beyond. But given the opportunity, the price wouldn't be all that important.

Now... I'm watching, mouth agape, as the Rockies look like they're going to blow it for us. Given their 20-1 run at the end of the season, the possibility they would lose 4 straight against the Boston Red Sox and turn our dream into a fantasy seemed impossible. But now, they're down 6-0 in game 3, and our window is closing from one of excitement to numbness, and what could be serious frustration, should they lose this game, and tomorrow's as well.

Regardless of the outcome, our flight is set for tomorrow, and we'll be in Denver. The question is, will we find this expensive, promising, gamble slip away?

When Can I Celebrate Winning Again?

In my youth, my favorite sports teams seemingly challenged every year. The 49ers won Super Bowl after Super Bowl. The Oakland A's were in the World Series from 1988 to 1990, taking the title in 1989. Before I liked the Sacramento Kings, I liked the LA Lakers, and saw Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul Jabbar take home their share of championships. But for nearly two decades, as fans from across the country have celebrated their teams, at least for one season, I'm growing fatigued of seeing my hopes for a pennant - in any sport - fade early.

Yesterday, Cal, once expected to challenge for a BCS berth, got dumped on by the UCLA Bruins in Los Angeles, going down to their second straight defeat after a season opening run to the #2 ranking in all the country. Now, the team will be lucky just to find its way to the unrewarding and poorly named Holiday Bowl in San Diego.

This disaster comes only months after the Oakland A's played their way into near last place in the AL West, avoiding the playoffs, which itself was preceded by a season-long funk by the Sacramento Kings. While the Kings' season is on the verge of opening up, I don't harbor any misguided belief that the team's fortunes will change.

As for the 49ers? First of all, as I've made clear before, I don't really care enough for their wins or losses to make much difference. But the truth is, they still stink. I came home from church this afternoon to see them completing yet another weak showing, as they lost 33-15 to the New York Giants.

A friend of mine says he knows not to jump on to a bandwagon unless he's absolutely certain they will win. I can't do that. I can cheer for the Rockies' improbable run to the World Series, but it's a hollow cheer. I can't root for the Cal Bears to find a way to finish with less than 4 losses. I had higher expectations. And what am I supposed to ask of the A's next year? A record above .500? How can I accept that as a real goal?

I'm not switching the teams I root for just because it's become so inconvenient to see them lose and lose after teasing me into thinking they had a chance. But I would like to be positively surprised for a change. Soon.

ANtics Episode 3.27: A New Hope

Cross-posted to Athletics Nation...

By the end of 2007, the A's heroes weren't guys named Crosby, Chavez, Kendall and Kotsay. Instead, a ragtag bunch, including Suzuki, Barton, Cust, and Hannahan, helped the A's to their fair share of dramatic victories amid way too many losses. While injuries took their toll on this year's A's club (again), we are optimistic at the glimpses we've seen into what could be the future.


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The A's 2007 Season Finally Comes to a Close

It could be said the A's 2007 season was really over months ago, but today made it official. In front of 28,000 dedicated fans, including my wife and me, the A's beat out the playoff-bound Los Angeles Angels by a score of 3-2, sending us home happy, despite the team's 76-86 finish, good for 3rd in the 4-team AL West.

While it would be too easy to look back on the 2007 season as one of failure and frustration, that would be the easy way out, and incorrect. While many of the team's biggest names fell to injuries, and still others were traded, or never achieved their potential, in their wake, we saw the emergence of some well-liked players who should be contributing to the team in 2008 and beyond.

Top 5 2007 Surprises

Travis Buck: This wild-haired outfielder was supposed to start the season in AAA Sacramento, but debuted in Oakland, immediately making an impact on the club, with speed, average and power. Though he too fell to the injury bug in the latter half of the season, he gave us a look at a future #1 or #2 hitter of years to come.

Kurt Suzuki: Behind the plate, Suzuki emerged after the All-Star break to become the A's full-time catcher, displaying home run potential and RBIs from what, for years, had been a gaping hole in the A's lineup. It was his timely hit tonight that made the difference in the bottom of the 9th.

Jack Cust: His start was one of storybooks, joining the A's from relative obscurity, buried in the Padres' farm system, only to join Oakland and immediately hit home run after booming home run. Despite joining the team a month late, Jack led the team in home runs, RBIs, had more than 100 walks, and led the league in strikeouts. Considered a liability in the field, we gained confidence with his every game.

Chad Gaudin: Known as a wild, often promising reliever in 2006, Gaudin was a cornerstone of the A's 2007 staff. Though he still had his spats where he couldn't find the plate, he's now established himself as a bona fide #4 starter. He set a career high today with 11 K's against the Angels.

Daric Barton: We always hoped this guy would be a stud, and with a late-season callup, he proved us right, batting around .350 in 20 games, with the occasional double and home run. He should be a real force and candidate for 2008 Rookie of the Year.

Top 5 2007 Disappointments

Rich Harden: The man who could be Cy Young couldn't keep healthy, again, tantalizing us with his unattainable talent. Where he once could be a #1 ace, the buzz now is that he just might be a bullpen mainstay, if he ever gets healthy.

Eric Chavez: His struggles in 2006 were excusable, as he battled through soreness, and didn't rest. In 2007, he lacked any presence at the plate, occasionally struggled in the field, and will lose his string of six Gold Gloves. He's already had one major surgery going into the off-season, and may need another.

Bobby Crosby: This guy was a disaster for the A's this year. Coming into Spring Training after a round of rehab, Crosby never got any momentum, failing to learn from his bad habits, swinging at pitches a foot outside and becoming a double play machine at the plate. Once he finally listened to advice, an inside pitch from the hated Angels broke his hand and ended his season - none too soon for frustrated fans.

Milton Bradley: When he played for the A's, he smacked of promise, but one injury after another sealed his fate, as he was traded out of town, to the Padres, who have seen him again battle injuries and a short fuse. While I really liked Milton when he was here, he was always a question mark and burned his bridges after leaving, claiming bias, favoritism and racism.

Jason Kendall: This everyday player, once seen as a gritty hardnosed .300 hitter turned into a Punch and Judy, no power, easy out travesty, who after years of good discipline at the plate, started adding K's to his repertoire. As soon as the A's felt Kurt Suzuki could take over, Kendall and his anemic stats were hoisted onto the Chicago Cubs, who will placate Kendall somewhat with a run at the playoffs.

I could go on and on. There were some amazing games taken in at the Coliseum this year. Today's wasn't half bad either. But too often, we were left frustrated and cold as the team slapped at bad balls and wouldn't come through as the chips were down. As it's now the first hours of what we see as the beginning of the 2008 season, we look forward to new challenges ahead and the adoption of change - for the better.

East Bay Sports Conflict Forces Big Decision

You have to love situations like this. Kristine and I have tickets to see the A's wrap up their home schedule this season against the LA Angels this Friday, Saturday and Sunday. But a high-profile, nationally-televised college football game between Cal and Oregon, two teams in the top half of the week's AP poll, is set to start at the same time as Saturday's contest, forcing us to decide: do we watch the A's finish up in person, or do we stay home and watch the big event on TV?

Tonight, the A's play at 7:05. We'll be there for sure, urged on by a fan-friendly fireworks show.

On Sunday, the A's play at 1:05. We'd have to rush over from church to make it, but we might, as it's the last of the season.

But Saturday! Oh what to do with Saturday? The A's game starts at 1:05 p.m., while the Cal Bears take on the Oregon Ducks at 12:30 p.m. on ABC. Even while in the car on the way to the A's game, I would be missing one of the biggest Cal games of the year, behind only Tennessee and USC.

You could say it's a win-win, but to any true sports fan, it's really a lose-lose. Stay home to watch Cal, and I miss a day in the sun with the A's, and tickets I already paid for. Go to the A's game, and I don't get to see the Bears get challenged, on what's been a strong 4-0 start with potential for momentum. And don't tell me to TiVo the Cal game for later watching. There's no way the A's won't show the Cal/Oregon highlights on the JumboTron Saturday, so I'm doomed.

Should be a tough call, all the way to kick-off... er... first pitch... no wait. Kick-off. I think.

ANtics Episode 3.26: Target Swisher

Cross-posted to Athletics Nation...

Hit a home run. Get hit by a pitch. Repeat... Nick Swisher has seen more than his fair share of balls thrown his way this season. Take a look at some of the evasive moves he's picked up to keep the bruising to a minimum in this week's ANtics.


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A's 11-9 Win Kicks Off Big Sports Weekend

Come Monday morning, there is little doubt I'll start off the workweek a little hoarse, my voice worse for the wear after what's sure to be a great weekend of sports - as I have two A's games and a Cal Bears football game on the docket.

Tonight, I joined up with a colleague and took in an exciting back and forth game between the A's and the visiting Texas Rangers. While neither team is a threat to make the playoffs at this point, both clubs played with pride. Though the A's started off in a quick hole, down 6-0, they battled back, and on the power of a 7-run 5th inning, actually led at one point by the score of 9-6. But not even that would last, as Sammy Sosa slammed a three-run homer to tie it up, at 9-9.

Astutely, I turned to my friend and said, "I bet you it'll take one team's reaching double figures to win this game..."

Not surprisingly, I was right. The A's Nick Swisher untied things with a moonshot to left field, making it 10-9, and the A's padded on an 11th run for the final tally, more than three hours after the game had started.

All told, the game featured twenty runs, forty base runners, and 210 minutes of action. Not only did my colleague and I enjoy the game, but we had the rare opportunity to sit in a section occupied by the visiting team's sales staff, who made for great company, and really knew their baseball.

I'm looking forward to going back the Oakland Coliseum for tomorrow's rematch at 12:55. From there, Kristine and I will zip up to Berkeley to see our Cal Golden Bears take on Louisiana Tech at 3:30. With any luck, I'll be back here tomorrow telling you just how our teams won both those games...

ANtics Episode 3.25: Hannahan Hero?

Cross-posted to Athletics Nation...

Newcomer Jack Hannahan is fast-becoming the king of walk-off hits for these rebuilding, refocused, A's. Both Sunday and Wednesday saw the A's new third baseman come up with big hits that sent the team home with a victory - while in between, Jack is sporting a .500+ slugging percentage and a .400 OBP. Is this the real Jack Hannahan?


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ANtics Episode 3.24: Kurt's Crusade

Cross-posted to Athletics Nation...

Kurt Suzuki's 3 hits, including a long bomb, against the Devil Rays, were one of the few highlights in an ugly weekend. But his rookie season, thrust into the role of starting catcher for the A's, is hardly a walk in the park - every day providing a new challenge.


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The 2007 A's Love Wednesdays!

Cross-posted to Athletics Nation...

Being a partial season ticket holder this year, I've endured too many losses seemingly every Friday, Saturday and the occasional Sunday. It got me thinking... am I seeing my unfair share of losses, when compared to other days during the week? And do the A's play better on Saturday night 6:05 starts than 1:05 starts here in Oakland? So I broke out the Excel sheet. Could the results be coincidence, small sample size, or are the numbers telling us something?

-- ALL Stats Current as of Sunday's Win vs. Kansas City --

First Up: Weekdays.

After crunching the numbers, I was right about one thing. The A's do much better during the week than they do on the weekends. In fact, during the relative low-pressure Tuesdays and Wednesdays, the 2007 A's win at a 57.9% and 63.2% clip, respectively. Given the team's sub-.500 record, it's no surprise that's above everything else. In fact, the team only wins 35% of Saturday contests and 40% of Sunday games overall. (See below chart)



Next up: Day games vs. Night games.

It turns out the A's only win just under 49% of day games and just under 49% of night games, so that tells us a whole lot of nothing. But if you drill down on a day by day comparison, some jump out at you, and I'm not talking about the fact that Sunday night games and Monday and Friday day games don't exist. Instead, you can see that on Saturdays, the team wins less than 43% of day games, and only 23% of night games, a total not helped by their woeful 0-7 record away from Oakland on Saturday night. That's right, 0-7. In fact, to my surprise, the team both wins and loses an equal amount of games at home on Saturdays, so I've got little to whine about there.

(Also: Don't get thrown by the fact the team won their only Tuesday day game on the road. 1 for 1 does not a sample size make)



Next up: Home games vs. Road games.

We already talked about how much the A's love playing at home on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, where they've won 14 of 21 contests, good for a 66.7% winning percentage. But did you have any idea that Thursdays on the road were just as nice? Okay, so it's only 4 out of 6 games won, but you're not going to get those numbers anywhere else. (That might also explain why the A's seem to do well mid-week and get us excited, only to then fade on the weekend)



Putting it all together: Home vs. Road vs. Weekdays vs. Day vs. Night

Again, throw out the one Tuesday day game. That's an anomaly. What we see is that on Wednesday, the A's play great at home during the day and great on the road at night. On Friday/Saturday/Sunday, you may as well flip a coin to see if the A's will do well, unless it's Saturday night and they're on the road. That's a guaranteed loss.



If you want to poke holes in the data, love ones and zeroes, or just want to get your inner geek on, please do download the full Excel file and give us some new reports. But until then, I'm going to go to Vegas and put my home mortgage against the A's when they play on the road Saturday nights. And I've GOT to start attending Wednesday day games instead. Dollar Dogs, right?

ANtics Episode 3.23: Rookie Raves

Cross-posted to Athletics Nation...

Their names were scarcely known to casual A's fans before the season, and now players like Travis Buck, Donnie Murphy and Kurt Suzuki represent the A's future, giving us some exciting developing stories through the second half of the year. Does it fill you with hope for 2008 and beyond?


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Top Ten Favorite A's Players: August 2007

Cross-posted to Athletics Nation...

Back in May, I took a look at this team, and for one moment, throwing statistics to the side, I thought I'd pull a reverse Moneyball and "go with my gut", telling you who were my top ten favorite A's players on the roster, at that point in time. As I wrote then, "While as A's fans, we remain loyal to our team, our loyalty to individuals can sometimes be as fleeting as a single at-bat or one relief appearance... And before anybody asks, yes, it is okay to include players on the DL or in the minors, if you must. But if they are traded, or waived, they cannot be listed."

Since May, much has changed. We've seen players go (Bradley, Melhuse, Kennedy, Kielty, Kendall...), and we've seen players get put on the ice shelf for safe keeping (Harden, Duchscherer, Loaiza, Snelling...). Meanwhile, the A's have won some great games, and lost more than I care to recall. So, it's time to roll out my Top Ten Current Favorite A's Players for August, and poll you for just how you're feeling. And before you ask, there are no wrong answers. If you want to vote for Crosby, go ahead. Just be prepared to defend your vote.

My Top 10 Favorite Current A's Players (August '07)

1. Travis Buck

Reasons: Despite Buck's being a rookie, he's become one of the most reliable offensive hitters, is always a threat to knock out a double or triple, and makes incredible catches in the field through Byrnes-like energy, but controlled. While Buck loses style points for his reduced hair content, he makes those points back for a clutch AN day 4 RBI.

2. Jack Cust

Reasons: While he's not the "home run every other at bat" type of threat we had naively hoped, Cust simply refuses to go quietly. In those at-bats where he's not striking out, Cust is willing to take a walk, lace a base hit up the middle, or bang a double off the wall. He's come from nowhere to be a strong middle of the order player in an A's offense largely devoid of scary hitters. (See also: Sports Illustrated: The Legend of Jack Cust)

3. Dan Haren

Reasons: A legitimate Cy Young candidate, Haren can match pitch for pitch with opposing team's aces, and give the A's an incredible chance of winning each time he takes the mound. Haren is also very quiet off the mound, not complaining about run support when that's an issue, or becoming a target for the tabloids.

4. Joe Blanton

Reasons: I have a soft spot for Kentucky Joe. On alternating starts, he looks like the second coming of Cy Young, only to follow with him being the second coming of Lenny DiNardo. Blanton, despite being all business on the mound, always seems unsatisfied with himself, and holds his expectations to a higher standard. Also, his manhandling of Ichiro and subsequent Blanton vs. World near-brawl showed incredible fire.

5. Mark Ellis

Reasons: Mark didn't even make my top ten last time, as I've grown so accustomed to his day in and day out stellar defense, but hadn't seen anything remarkable at the plate. That's changed. Mark is a serious #5 hole threat and is one back of the all-time Athletics franchise record for home runs by a second baseman. There's no question that by the end of the season, he'll own it.

6. Nick Swisher

Reasons: Nick always has something to say, and looks like the guy who would constantly be fun to be around. He also happens to be a great hitter, and can play multiple positions well when needed, and has added solid flexibility to Geren's day to day lineup. His power shortage and struggles at the plate of late have him down "this low".

7. Chad Gaudin

Reasons: I give Nico way too much credit here. The 2006 Gaudin was a guy who came out of the pen and walked too many people, with the occasional good outing. The 2007 Gaudin has surprised everyone with many a strong start, and helping to anchor the pitching staff, at least from the #1 to #3 position, when injuries have made others, like Loaiza and Harden a big fat question mark. That Nico called for him to be a starter early on was a gem.

8. Kurt Suzuki

Reasons: Kurt should be crowned for doing well enough in Sacramento to finally get the black hole of offense (See: Kendall, Jason) out of our lineup, alone. But despite his occasional struggles with the bat, we are charmed by his boyish appearance, the puka shells, and his promise to be a catcher of the future. Rather than watch one career in decline, we are part of his rise to glory.

9. Mike Piazza

Reasons: Anybody who hits home runs against the Angels with regularity joins this list. While we haven't had the full services of Piazza for long, it's clear that he makes the team's lineup better with him in it than when he's on the bench. Just the idea of a Swisher/Cust/Piazza back to back to back in the order makes me giddy. That he missed time with injury also can't be attributed to his carelessness or weakness, but instead, he was felled in the line of duty.

10. Donnie Murphy

Reasons: He's not Bobby Crosby for #1. As with Suzuki, the story of a rookie who gets called up to the bigs before they were expected is exciting, even as we know they don't usually start off hitting .300 with power. In his short time with the Club, we've seen the occasional timely hit, and haven't seen anything cringe-worthy in the field, which despite Crosby's tenure, was always an adventure, especially in the first half of the year.

That's where I stand today, and I'm sure you disagree. Tell me who I forgot, and who you openly root for. There's no call to be as talky as me, but have fun with it. On an off-day what would you rather be doing... work?

The Natural vs. The Synthetic: Bonds Taints History

In 2001, when Barry Bonds broke Mark McGwire's single season home run record, I was glued to the TV set, and likely cheered as he crushed a ball into the seats for #71. Just three years prior, I had even cut class to see Mark McGwire break the much longer lasting record held by Roger Maris, and saw him trot around the bases with a grin on his face, as he became the first major leaguer to reach the rare air of #62.

But tonight, when Barry Bonds reached #756, I wasn't watching. I won't be able to tell future generations that I saw it live, and I really don't care. After all we've learned, and all we've seen, what should have been an incredible moment has been dulled into a gnawing disappointment I wish would just go away.

Naively, I'd like to believe sports to be pure. I want to think that those players I devote significant time to, who I cheer from the stands or at home, are on a level playing field. I'd like to think they achieve their levels of success without the aid of artificial enhancements, or that they aren't swayed by outside influence, such as professional gambling. But it's just not true - and likely, it never has been, even though Bonds' alleged steroid use is so blatant and so publicized in this era of the never ending news cycle.

Growing up as an impressionable kid in the late 1980s, my baseball heroes included Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco, who could now be seen as the Madame and Pierre Curie of the steroids circuit - real pioneers who achieved greatness only to wilt away from the powers' eventual radiation. Though I'd like to think McGwire achieved his success without steroids, he has to be held to the same scrutiny as Bonds does, even though McGwire doesn't have an equivalent book like the must-read "Game of Shadows", which so devastatingly chronicles Bonds' flaunting of the rules and his overwhelming boorishness. Now, I simply accept the fact that McGwire cheated. Canseco cheated. Bonds cheated. Many cheated in a never ending spiral of malfeasance, targeted at chasing the almighty dollar and personal ego.

Upon learning that Bonds had taken away Hammerin' Hank Aaron's rightful spot atop the record books tonight, I did the only right thing I could think to do. I turned off coverage of "The Synthetic" and turned on "The Natural", starring Robert Redford, which saw Roy Hobbs rely on physical strength, talent and determination to become a major baseball star, and capture the fan's hearts through on-field heroics. Even when tempted by gamblers and mistresses, he eventually does the right thing, spurning evil and gaining success as a result.

Somehow, despite decades of focused baseball consumption, I had missed seeing The Natural until tonight. I knew the story's basic plotline, which is legend. I knew the main characters. I knew what to expect. But I had never seen it in full until tonight - the most appropriate of nights to remember that even when I find myself questioning the very core of those sports I champion and believe in, that the underlying foundation is true and without error. That it takes Hollywood and a 20+ year old film to bring me back to this stage is sad. It's completely unfortunate that a guy like Barry Bonds, who I want to like and want to root for, who has incredible baseball talent, chose to sweep away his charm and cleanliness for a run at synthetic, tainted history. Robert Redford would have said no to drugs.

ANtics Episode 3.22: South Dakotan Sensation

Cross-posted to Athletics Nation...

The old adage of "good field, no hit" is antiquated in this age when second basemen and shortstops are expected to provide power and slugging alongside the muscle-bound first basemen and outfielders. The A's, not well known for their middle infield's hitting prowess, have received significant production from an unexpected source. Can you guess who?


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Athletics Nation Day 4: A's Win, Beane and Korach Visit

On Saturday, my wife and I teamed up with dozens of diehard Oakland A's fans from AthleticsNation.com to see the A's take on the Angels, in what's become an annual tradition. Like last year, both the A's general manager, Billy Beane, and the A's lead radio announcer, Ken Korach, joined for an extensive pre-game Question and Answer, and like last year, the A's won by one run with a late-inning comeback. Unlike last year, this time, I got a tad sunburned, and have an incredible "watch tan".

Athletics Nation, best known as "AN", is led by the site's founder, Tyler Bleszinski, an indefatigable sports blogs pioneer behind the Sports Blogs Nation network. Under his watch, the network has amassed several dozen focused sites, and is seeing total visitors and page views that could rival those of ESPN.com in a short time. In addition to Tyler's marriage of the Web with sports fanaticism, he's gained near unprecedented access to the A's GM, players and organization, who recognize the benefits they gain from full transparency to some of the most ardent fans. (Full disclosure: I've helped play a small role with AN as a contributing editor, and also assist with Sactown Royalty, focused on the Sacramento Kings, but have zero financial involvement with SB Nation.)

Yesterday, AN descended on McAfee Coliseum, first to get food from the A's barbecue plaza, and later, we sat down with Beane and Korach to pepper them with questions. Prior to the Q&A, I spoke with Korach on what his legacy would be in a few decades, and how he sees radio as a medium changing relative to sports television broadcasting. In the larger forum, Kristine asked Beane and Korach to name their most liked and most disliked aspects of their respective jobs. Beane said he enjoyed going to the ballpark every day and being paid to be so close to the game, and helping make a successful team. Korach, similarly, said he enjoyed the game, but said he wasn't as big a fan of the travel, which can wear on a person, despite charter flights and 5-star hotel rooms.

I also got Korach to talk about how in a changing media landscape, at times, you can simply take in too much information. He said you can be lost for hours if you start doing research before a game on a computer, so you have to know when to say when, and just rely on reporting the game as it unfolds.

There were also many questions around the health and injuries of players, strategic questions on farmhands in the minor league system, or potential trades, but like a good politician, Beane dodged the big ones, choosing to stay above the fray in relation to recent scuttlebutt in the press around allegations from former A Milton Bradley, and declining to discuss trade rumors involving Joe Blanton.

When the game started, it was a clear pitchers' duel. The