Oakland A's Days

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.