Oakland A's Days

A Win! A Series Win! Against a Good Team! Potpourri!

Tribute to Josh Outman on the day of his surgery.  Photo via.  

It was great to see those homers by Cust and Giambi yesterday.  Also great that Slusser used the word "slumpingest" in the first sentence of her write-up.  

The fact that Dallas Braden comes out to "Welcome to Stockton" when he pitches might be THE A's-iest thing of all time.  Seriously.  It is so A's-ey!

The Uni Watch blog is ridiculously observant.  

Did you know that Arthur Rhodes is still around? Yeah, no kidding, he is a Red. We saw him on SportsCenter last night. And he was pitching to Ramon Hernandez, also a Red, no less. True to form, he almost had a meltdown. But he actually ended up getting out of a bases loaded jam. We are shocked that he is still in the big leagues.

It was great to see O-Cab extend his hitting streak in his first at-bat yesterday.  Go Fozzie!

It was also great to see both the Angels and the Giants lose in dramatic walk-off fashion.

Final great thing we will mention today:  It is great that the A's are going to play a crappy team right now. We're hoping they can build a little momentum.  

Go A's!

Orlando Cabrera = Fozzie Bear = 12 game hitting streak = Nice!

               

Really?

We apologize for being slow to update the blog this week. We've been bogged down trying to process a barrage of seemingly untrue facts. First of all, like every single person born in the 70's, we grew up dancing to Michael Jackson in our living rooms. We were on a 4th grade soccer team called PYTs. So it is just too sad and crazy and hard to believe that he died. Then there is the possibility, however remote, of Amare Stoudemire being a Warrior. Seriously, that would be nuts. And on top of all that, there is the harsh reality that the Giants are better than the A's. We are really struggling to come to terms with this one. It is just too much to take.  

Our House

We will have a full report on the awesome-ness of Petco soon, but in the meantime we just want to say re last night's game: that is how we do!  Beating the Giants is the BEST.  It was awesome to see so many fans in the stands and we're glad that the Bash Brothers brought their World Series trophy with them to those great seats right behind home plate.  We will be there tonight to celebrate 1989 and (hopefully) watch Mazzaro get it done.

Let's Go Oakland!

Good Guys & Irritating, Kinda Bad Guys

When trying to figure out why the A's can't win games like last night, it is easy to pick out the heroes.  Well, hero.  Kurt Suzuki.  He amazingly had 3 assists in one inning and that play where he cut off the throw from Rajai to get the guy at second was spectacular.  He also had that great RBI double earlier in the game.  Not to mention that he plays with intensity and has a sparkly smile.  Of course, it is also pretty easy to find the villain.  Brad Ziegler.  Although we think calling him a villain might be kind of harsh -- it feels appropriate.  And if he isn't a full-fledged villain (a la Lex Luthor), he is at least one of those annoying characters who makes things a lot harder for everybody (a la Gargamel's cat Azrael).  He comes in late in tight games and then just gives up hits.  Lately, it honestly feels like putting in Ziegler means spotting the other team a run. And while we acknowledge that he got his job done on Wednesday night, we feel compelled to add that his goatee is awful.

Anyway, we are sincerely hoping that the A's can win some games this weekend at Petco.  Half of OAD will be there live twittering all the goings on. 

Go Oakland! 

Double Negative = Pretty Much Positive

We like it when the A's don't lose. Yes we do. And not losing against the team with the most wins in baseball is fun. But darnit if we wouldn't prefer to see the A's play good baseball and win. We're pulling for a well-played game and an affirmative win tonight to round out the series against the Dodgers.  

Go A's!

When Harry Didn't Meet Sally

Although we might like to, we can't keep posting the live dot race video to avoid talking about another disappointing loss.  Watching the win slip away last night was the worst.  Especially since the A's had back to back homers (from the unlikely Giambi and Crosby, no less) which is nothing short of a miracle.  The A's are like the worst kind of romantic comedy.  First, the boy (offense) isn't sure.  Then, by the time he comes around, the girl (pitching) has already moved on and started dating someone else who isn't right for her for some obvious reason.  They have a few near misses where they almost get together (last night at Dodger Stadium) but one of them always blows it.  And they just go around in circles torturing their quirky, offbeat pals (A's fans) because they can't make it work even though everyone thinks they are perfect for each other.  So how does this movie end?  Hopefully, they both figure it out and meet up on a bridge, or in the rain, or on New Year's Eve (tonight at Dodger Stadium) and the music swells and everyone is happy.     

Go Oakland!

Denial

Well, that was depressing.  Watching the Giants sweep the A's -- no -- watching the Giants be the A's (or at least who the A's used to be) with awesome pitching, miracle defense, and scrappy offense makes us want to hide somewhere dark and quiet.  But since we can't do that, we are just going to keep watching Becca's awesome live dot racing video (originally posted in our comments) instead.

Bring on the Giants

After 2 straight nights of not coming through in the 9th, we are over the moon that Rajai got the walk off hit yesterday.  Ken and Ray seemed to think that the Twins were going to walk him, but if we were the Twins we totally would have pitched to him too because he really has not been clutch in late innings.  That just made it extra great that he jumped on the first pitch like he did.  There's really nothing like a come-back, walk-off win.  And now the A's get to go across the Bay to face the dumb Giants.  Although the Chron and Marty Lurie say that they're wild card contenders, the Giants don't scare us one bit.  Like the Real Housewives of New Jersey, we say bring it on.

Let's Go Oakland!

Keeping Things Pos

To avoid thinking about Rajai facing Joe Nathan with 2 outs for the second night in a row or the continuing struggles of the A's bullpen, we are going to focus on one of the best things ever...LIVE DOT RACING.  We will admit that at first we were skeptical, but honestly, live dot racing is glorious.  We love that the dots look like they are made out of the plushest velour.  We love that the White Dot is a girl and wears a bow.  We love that Kara Tsuboi checks in with the dots on Diamond Vision before they race.  We just love the whole dumb endeavor.  And our long standing dot racing gripes -- for example, why are the dots red, white, and blue instead of yellow and green? -- don't even seem to matter.  Live Dot Racing and Diet Dr. Pepper at the concession stands are the two things the A's have done this year that truly improve the Coliseum experience.

Go A's!    

*Note (the following is a short break from keeping it pos): This photo was taken last night from section 244, which was packed due to $2 tickets.  As you can tell, it is a completely pointless place to sit if you have any interest in seeing what is going on in the game and are not one of those old guys who bring super sniper binoculars in your A's totebag from 1980.  Of course, huge swaths of the first and second decks were completely empty, but the A's would rather have those sections deserted and the people in the cheap seats packed like sardines than just lower ticket prices to something reasonable.  

The Cold, Hard Light of Day

Last night was a harsh reminder of the realities of this season.  We watched our rookie pitcher and bullpen get lit up.  We watched Lew Wolff (who now sits in Diamond Level rather than along the third base side - why?) check his blackberry throughout the game.  We watched Jason Giambi strike out on a lame checked swing.  We watched the ten fans in attendance try their best to spur on the late rally.  And we watched Hannahan and Rajai look as hopeless and clueless as two baby bunnies in the bottom of the 9th.  All of this reminded us that a team built out of random rentals and spare parts is going to have some really hard times, even if they have just won seven in a row.  We can't ever forget that the Oakland A's right now are a garage sale.  Sometimes garage sales are awesome.  And sometimes garage sales are used underpants and broken lawn mowers.  We just have to hope that the awesome A's come back tonight.

Go Oakland!

p.s. We had really hoped that the A's would win 8 so we could post this video of a song from Sesame Street that has been stuck in our heads for 30 years.  We love it so much we are just going to post it anyway.

     

A's: Keep it Rolling

image via

Let's Go Oakland!

Being Cautious...

BearSix-Game Winning Streak Safety Tips

Knowledge of bearwinning streak behavior can reduce the chance of an unpleasant encounter. Here are a few guidelines you can follow to reduce your chances of havingending a close encounter with a bearwinning streak.

If You See a BearSix-Game Winning Streak:

1. Do not run.

2. Give the bearwinning streak plenty of room.

3. Do not make abrupt moves or noises that might startle it.

4. Female bears with cubs or bears defending a carcass are extremely dangerous.  (This doesn't really apply to winning streaks, but is interesting nonetheless).

5. Do not try to approach it for a better look or a picture.

Go Oakland!

tips via, photo via

OAD Correspondence

Dear A's Rookie Pitchers,

 

Thank you!  We really appreciate your amazing outings this week and your cute rookie personalities.  We think you could save this season for us.  (No pressure).  And so we are working on being able to tell you apart.    

 

Your friends,

OAD

 

 

Dear Matt Holliday's Offense, 

 

We are happy to make your acquaintance, but feel sad that your recent resurgence basically guarantees that Matt Holliday won't be an A for much longer.  Oh well.

 

Wistfully,

OAD 

 

 

Dear DL,

 

Enough already.  Seriously.

 

Annoyed,

OAD

 

 

Dear Ronnie Wash, 

 

Please come back to Oakland.  We miss you too!

 

Always,

OAD 

 

 

Dear Bobby Crosby's Mitt,

 

We are bewildered that someone would want to steal you.  But it makes us think that this might be a good thing for BoCro.  Louise Hay says that often when someone really starts to deal with their money issues, they lose their wallet.  Thus, it is actually a good thing, because it shows that person is making progress.  Maybe the same goes for mitts?  Either way, best of luck to you in your future endeavors.

 

Sincerely, 

OAD

    

 

Dear Corner,

 

Have you been turned?  We are thinking maybe yes.

 

Hopefully,

OAD

Hello, My Name Is...

 

-Vin Mazzaro.  Yay!  What a great first game as an A.  And a nice reminder that watching baby pitchers can be really fun and exciting.  And we love that they kept showing his cute parents, especially his dad, in the stands.  Also, a win is great, right?  We think so. 

 

-Ray Ratto.  Boo!  This column is the most snarky, depressing thing we have read in a long time (and we are regular readers of Gawker and US Weekly, so that is really saying something).  How dumb to run this negative hate-piece the day after a great win.  Totally tone-deaf.

 

-Jordin Sparks.  Seriously?  Who on earth thinks that Jordin Sparks is 100% Baseball?  She is so not.

 

 

 

Go Oakland!

Oh Jairo

Photo via

The A's are really frigging bad right now.  These are some dark days.  But for us, the worst part is watching Jairo struggle.  It breaks our hearts.  We love that guy.

 

Go Oakland! 

Old Timeyness

We love that the A's have an old fashioned double header today (and that we decided to work from home so we can watch all 6+ hours of it on tv).  It reminded us of the hilarious video below. But -- and this probably goes without saying -- if the A's don't win at least one of these games, this double header could quickly become a real slog.  One of the sloggiest slogs of all. So we are really hoping that the A's look great today.

Go Oakland!

Superstitious

We don't want to jinx it, so we aren't going to say anything else about what the A's could do today. 

Go A's!

Apropos of Nothing

These new Stockton Ports alternate logos are absolutely bonkers jonkers.  Elephants and anchors just don't go together, right?  However, they are almost so ugly that we like them.  Like greyhounds or aardvarks.

Thanks to this cool blog for the tip.   

Dang

Diagram via

Last night is not what we would have wanted.  We aren't sure why Geren is so cagey about who the real, official closer is going to be and we aren't sure why the A's have so many baserunning problems.  We also aren't sure why, with all the crazy mistakes that we have seen this year, Geren suddenly decided to publicly call out Rajai Davis.  First, we will admit that we like Rajai.  He is a mess offensively, and we were skeptical about the A's getting a guy that even the dumb Giants didn't want, but he wears knee socks and everyone says he is the best A's barber since Rickey.  More importantly though, it just feels wrong to read about Geren blaming Rajai when the team is bad on so many levels.  To us, Rajai might be infuriating, but he is not the A's biggest problem.  If Rajai became lock-down awesome tomorrow, the A's would still have problems.  He could definitely be better and he shouldn't make dumb mistakes (especially with such a limited role), but honestly, there aren't many A's you can't say that about right now.  It feels like we just have to keep hoping that the A's get this season figured out sometime soon.  But we will admit that we are beginning to wonder whether that is even possible.  In any event, we are excited to see Dan Haren tomorrow and imagine what could have been.  We are going to try really hard not to cry.

Go Oakland!