john jaso | Out of Left Field

After a great comeback victory the night before to get the win on my birthday, I was pretty excited to go back to the ballpark on Saturday night for my second games of the trip. Since this would be my third game at Minute Maid Park, I decided to sit in the famous Crawford Boxes. My first visit in 2012, I was between home and the Astros dugout; Friday, I was between home and the A’s dugout, so I figured it’d be cool to see the stadium from another angle.

Now, for those of you that know me, I’m somewhat of a seat snob. Ok, I’m a full on seat snob. I don’t like the bleachers, I don’t like the second deck, I hate the third deck, and I’m not fond of being down the lines. Dugout to dugout is my area. My boyfriend has season tickets to the A’s in right field. I do not sit with him when we go to games. I know, I’m a horrible girlfriend. I don’t like the view. So why I decided to sit in the Crawford Boxes still alludes me.

It’s difficult to say if part of the problem was the people around me, or if it was just the seats. Maybe a combo of both. The wall comes up pretty high, so I’m glad I wasn’t in the first row because a lady made a comment that she could barely see over. I never saw Moss in left unless he closer to the infield or moved towards center. There were maybe 10 A’s fans up there, myself included. Every time I clapped or cheered, I sounded like the only person in the place and got some nasty side glances. Awkward. I would have much rather been done by the A’s dugout with the other fans having a good time.

To make matters worse, we lost. Chris Carter, former A’s player, hit a bomb early in the game that went through the archways in left field. It was actually two arches down from me, making it the closest ball hit toward me. Carter is either hitting home runs, or striking out, it seems. Later, Doolittle struggled and couldn’t get an out. The unfortunate difference of the game though came on a passed ball by Jaso, who I think is a great asset behind the plate. Brandon Moss went all #MossIsBoss in the 9th inning to bring the A’s to within one, but they were unable to get the tying run in. We lost. To the Astros.

Yesterday was Opening Day, my second favorite day in April (the other is my birthday- April 25th and I like presents). I was so excited for all the games, and the games did not disappoint at all.

What could be the most exciting thing was Bryce Harper. He is a beast. Holy cow. I think he’s showing not only why he won the NL Rookie of the Year, but that the sophomore slump isn’t going to get him, and I hope it doesn’t. In his first two at bats, he had two hits, both of which were home runs. I was excited to see what he would do this season, and now I’m even more excited. If he keeps hitting well, and Stephen Strasburg stays healthy, the Nationals are going to be a force to be reckoned with.

Something funny that happened in Pittsburgh, A.J. Burnett, the starting pitcher for the Pirates when he went to use the rosin bag. It exploded. The powder went everywhere, and it was awesome. Was it a genius April Fool’s joke or defective? I really hope it was an April Fool’s joke and high-five to the master minds. I hate Burnett. He made a few unnecessary comments about Dallas Braden after the whole A-Rod mound incident. So ha ha!

Speaking of pitchers, Clayton Kershaw was outstanding yesterday for the Dodgers. Clearly, they made the right choice in making him their number one starter and he should be getting a nice contract before next season. Kershaw pitched a complete game shutout, allowing only 4 hits and even hit a home run in the game. I love seeing the pitchers hit the long ball, and I really love when the starts can throw a complete game. Mad props to Kershaw. That’s right, I said mad props.

Now, to the most important game, in my eyes at least, the Oakland Athletics! Last night was only my second Opening Night, and sadly, I’m 0-2 in Opening Nights. The A’s unveiled their American League West Division Champions “banner” on the left field wall, which was amazing and such a beauty. That just might be the best division championship in team history.

2012 American League West Division Champions

2012 AL West Division Champions

It was great to see the boys back in action, and a little emotional. The last actual game (I’m not counting the exhibition game on Saturday) I was at there was Game 5 of the ALDS when the A’s were eliminated from the post season by the Detroit Tigers. They played the video that they had at FanFest and I got all choked up again. Last season was so unbelievable and I’m still sad that it ended the way it did. I cried a few times, and still get tears in my eyes thinking about last season. This season has a lot to live up to, just saying.

I was hoping that this would be the year that the A’s ended their Opening Day losing streak, which was at 8 years, but facing the King, Felix Hernandez, I knew it would be a battle. Hernandez was very Hernandez. Ten batters were retired before John Jason, who caught King Felix’s perfect game last season, ripped a double to break up the no-hitter. A’s starting pitcher, Brett Anderson- who was nothing short of amazing in his game 3 start in the ALDS, started the game on fire. The first four batters he faced all struck out. Not a bad way to start the game. The Mariners were able to string some hits together in the 5th inning while Anderson had some location issues to plate two runs, the only runs in the game. The closest the A’s got to scoring was in the 7th inning when they had the bases loaded with two outs, but Derek Norris bounced out to the second baseman to end the inning. Sure it would have been great to see the A’s get a win, but you can’t win them all, and they were looking good in the field. Seriously, did you see that play by Eric Sogard? Number one web gem!

After the game I got to meet Ben (@Shakabrodie) who was in the MLB Fancave last year as well as MLB 2013 Top 52 Vanessa (@vdemske) and Tommy (@RealTomBentley). Some of the nicest people ever. If you saw the game, or highlights, you more than likely saw them. Ben and Tommy were the guy with the beard and the guy with the King Felix crown.

Hope you all had as good of an Opening Day as I did, and are enjoying the rest of Opening Day today. So happy baseball is finally back!