Oakland A's Days

How Ridiculous Were All Those Injuries Last Night? Seriously, That Was Insane.

Save the Baby Elephants

The end of last week has us really depressed about the state of baby elephants.  First, the A's rookie pitchers (our very own baby elephants) had a tough time.  Brett Anderson struggled last Thursday and Trevor Cahill got rocked on Friday.  Then, after the great A's game on Saturday, we went to see the movie Earth which is very distressing in the baby elephant department (SPOILER ALERT: a baby elephant gets lost in a sandstorm).  Finally, on Sunday night we watched this segment on 60 Minutes (why? because we are senior citizens) which is really frigging sad.  It is just a tough time to be a baby elephant.

Go A's!

BK . . . Good Times . . .

We love this entry from the 3 Dot Blog about Bobby Kielty:

Ever wonder what happened to Bobby Kielty, who once lit up the A's dugout (almost literally) with his mane of red hair? He quietly signed a minor-league deal with the Mets and is playing for their Triple-A club in Buffalo. Whatever happens from here on out, Kielty will have the cherished memory of homering, for the Boston Red Sox, on the only pitch thrown to him in the 2007 World Series against Colorado. It was a pinch-hit shot that made the difference in Boston's 4-3 win in Game 4. "He may not ever play in the majors again," wrote John Powers in the Boston Globe, "but one thing is certain: Bobby 'One Swing' Kielty will never pay for a beer, or a glass of champagne, in the Hub for the rest of his life."

 

We are happy that BK is remembered fondly in Boston, but he will always be an A to us. 

Portents and Peanuts

Well, Sliimy's song obviously helped.  Although Friday night had us very worried, the Saturday and Sunday games were glorious. Seeing the A's offense actually scoring runs against the defending AL champs was more than awesome.  It felt like a vision in a crystal ball of all the reasons why the A's really could be good this year.  Nomar coming through.  Giambi hitting homeruns.  Travis Buck getting on base.  Braden and Eveland (both members of the OAD fantasy team, natch) pitching great.  And even though it isn't all unicorns and rainbows -- for example, Eric Chavez's elbow wasn't even a part of him we were worrying about -- it was incredibly fun to enjoy the beautiful weather and watch the A's play like a team that could really win some games.  Yay A's!

Hey Rays

The A's offense needs to wake up.  We think this video could help. Wake Up- Sliimy

Go A's!

Why We Loathe Mychael Urban

This blog.  Everything about it.  From the absurd title, to talking like the players are his buddies, to making fun of fat people, to the self-satisfied musical references (we honestly can't believe we survived reading this sentence: "It's an unreal soulful groove, with great lead vocals, tight musicianship, meaningful lyrics and church-choir-inspired harmonies to die for"), to the fratty know it all-ish tone.  It is everything that made Aces so annoying to read x10,000.  Just UGH.   

A's Offense Dispels Jet Stream Myth in a Single Series

As was widely reported, 20 home runs were hit in the first 4 games at the new Yankee Stadium.  But Tuesday night, there was only 1.  And it was hit by a Yankee.  And Wednesday, the A's hit 1, and the Yankees hit 4.  4 is how many the A's have -- for the whole season.  But we don't really want talk about that on this off day.  We want to talk about the reception Jason Giambi received from the Yankee fans on Tuesday night.  It was warm and loud and Giambi said it made him feel great.  We don't begrudge him that.  But during that telecast, Ray praised Yankee fans for their class and recalled how he cringed and felt bad for Giambi when A's fans booed him on his first trip back to the Coliseum back in 2002.  We remember this too.  We were there and we booed him at the top of our lungs.  And we don't feel bad about that.  Because the thing is, the situation is totally different.  Giambi had turned down the A's contract offer and left our small market team for the glamour of pinstripes and an enormous contract. Sure, it was a contract that he probably deserved.  But still, A's fans were spurned by Giambi.  He went on to gush about how he always wanted to be a Yankee.  He went on Letterman and said "Have you ever been to Oakland?"  In short, Oakland fans were bitter and disappointed and had reason to boo him.  By contrast, the Yankees didn't pick up Giambi's option last year.  The organization decided that they didn't want him and opted instead to throw a gazillion dollars at Texeira.  So sure, the Yankee fans could stand up and applaud Giambi because he didn't break their hearts.  They dumped him.  It's easy to be "classy" when you always get whatever you want.  

OAD Interweb Scouting Report

photo via

Rainouts give you extra time to surf the internets.  Here are a few things we found:

• The 2009 100% Baseball commercials are awesome.  Which is your favorite?
• This made us cringe.
• We totally agree with the Bullpen Baker about the new dot racing (as well as many other things). Why did they mess with a good thing?
• A few days ago, Slusser wrote this interesting comparison of Scutaro and Bobby Crosby.
• We love that Barry Zito still hearts Eric Byrnes.
• It is sad that Orlando Cabrera does not heart Edgar Renteria.

Go Oakland!

2009 Early Season Facial Hair Roundup

With the first game in New York rained out, we find ourselves a little bored today in the early evening.  Inevitably, this leads to musings on the state of the A's -- and other teams' -- facial hair.  Following the Red Sox series, we were feeling very pleased with the A's facial hair situation.  Youkilis' goatee is so bushy and awful, it makes us uncomfortable.  It feels like you are looking at something inappropriate, basically, the same feeling you get watching Millionaire Matchmaker on Bravo.  So after suffering through that for 3 games (in HD no less), we were feeling appreciative of all the clean shaven A's.  But watching Saturday's game against the Blue Jays on TV, we were struck by Ryan Tallet's mustache and felt some fan facial hair envy.  We'll take smooth faces over goatees and soul patches every day of the week, but we wouldn't mind a throwback mustache or two (we loved Giambi's 2008 look) or even a cool beard.  To sum it up, we think the 2009 A's could use a little more flair in this department.  Is that too much to ask? 

Cute Contest

We like the idea of this contest.  We are working on our entry right now.  You should too!  Go!