My Thoughts

Being an Athletics fan is like a roller coaster.  Sometimes things are great, and you are flying high.  Other times, you are going full speed towards the ground.  Much like a roller coaster, this low will soon whoosh up.

Monday, August 1st was the trade deadline and all hell broke loose.  Oakland traded Rich Hill and Josh Reddick to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for 3 of their top 15 pitching prospects.  I thought we all knew this was coming and would be prepared.  I thought wrong.  Half of the fans on twitter celebrated the pitching the A’s received, as the pitching in the A’s fan system leaves much to be desired.  Half of the fans of Twitter went crazy that Reddick was traded and the owners suck.  I sat in the airport waiting for my flight and laughed.  I couldn’t understand what I was seeing.  The trade needed to be done.

Why I agree with the trade- it needed to be done and was what was best for the team.  The A’s were not going to win this year and most likely will not next season as well.  It sucks, I know.  Anybody that has watched the A’s this season has noticed the constantly changes in starting pitching rotation and the nightmare that has been.  Friday’s game against the Chicago Cubs was the issue in a nutshell.  The A’s have virtually no starting pitching, especially with players landed on the DL at alarming rates.  The trade gave the A’s pitching that they desperately needed.  And not just pitching, but the three prospects are all ranked in the top 15 in the Dodgers system.  The Dodgers farm system is a strong one, perhaps you have heard of Clayton Kershaw, so this is a major haul.  Another reason this is a win, is Reddick’s health.  Since joining the team in 2012, Reddick has had extended trips to the DL at least once each season since 2013, which is a red flag.  Reddick is also 29, which is not old in real life, but is old in baseball life.  Now, Reddick and the A’s were trying to work out a contract extension, but hit a road block in terms of years.  A’s wanted 3 years, while Reddick wanted 4 years.  For a player that is already 29 and has had extended trips to the DL in the past four years, four years is a major risk for a team.  The A’s had another reason to be weary of giving Reddick a four-year extension and that is history.

Let’s take a look at players the A’s have extended and what happened to them.  In 2004, the A’s gave third baseman, Eric Chavez, a 6 year contract extension, which he played 451 games of 972 regular season games (46.4%).  In the final four years of his deal, starting when he was 29, he played a total of 154 games of 648 regular season games (23.8%).  Another player that received an extension was Sean Doolittle in 2014, a five-year contract extension.  In 2014, Doolittle appeared in 61 games.  The deal sounded great at the time, then the injured bug struck.  In 2015, Doolittle appeared in just 12 games and in 2016 so far, Doolittle has appeared in 35 games.  Doolittle is currently on the DL, along with 14 other members of the team, including seven other pitchers.  I love Doolittle, but it is safe to say, the contract extension fail once again.

Since I mentioned Friday’s game against the Cubs, I have more to say about what I saw.  I saw signs saying “SELL”, “Trade Ownership”, and “Fed UP”.  I posed the question on Twitter that if you were fed up, why were you there.  I received a lot of comments and feed back.  To be clear, I was not attacking, I legit wanted to know.  I asked because when I am fed up with something, it is dead to me and I want absolutely nothing to do with it, so I couldn’t understand what I was seeing.  I also had conversations on Twitter about ownership being cheap.  I don’t agree with that 100%.  There are plenty of teams that throw money at players, hoping to buy their way to a championship.  The A’s have recently been shelling out more money on players in the past few years, unfortunately, they didn’t work out as planned.  Jim Johnson struggled from day one and Billy Butler has shown he wasn’t worth the money.  If either of those players had worked out, would we be having conversations about the owners being cheap?  No.  If the A’s had won in 2012, 2013 or 2014, would we be having conversations about trading ownership? No.  If the Giants across the bay weren’t winning World Series in 2010, 2012, or 2014, would we be having any of these conversations? No.

2014.  Going into the All-Star break, the A’s had the best record.  Billy Beane made the infamous trade that nobody will ever forgot or forgive.  On our recent ‘On a Wimm Podcast’ we discussed the trade of Cespedes for Lester and Gomes.  People point to this as proof that the ownership doesn’t care about wining.  That team, like this year, needed pitching.  Drew Pomeranz was on the DL with a fractured hand after punching a chair after a loss, Jesse Chavez didn’t have the ability to survive a full season in the starting rotation, and Scott Kazmir was just in his second season since being out of Major League Baseball with injuries.  The A’s needed pitching, and Billy went out and got just that.  Unfortunately, we know what happened in 2014.  Now, if the season had ended differently, where would we be?  What if the A’s had continued their reign as best in baseball and won the World Series?  Would the trade still be considered a bust? Would the season still be considered a failure?  Would we still be saying the ownership wants the team to fail?  The answer to all of those questions is no.  I should also mention, the Milwaukee Brewers were the second best record in baseball for most of the season as well, and collapsed as well.  In the early 2000’s, the A’s had hands down the best pitching rotation in baseball with the big three.  Those teams couldn’t get past the ALDS.  Ever.  So many people wished that Beane had made a trade to get that one piece that those teams needed to push the A’s over the hump, but he never did.  Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.

All this being said, I will miss Reddick’s canon of an arm and all out style of play.  For those that don’t know, I know somebody that was injured in the Boston Marathon bombing.  It was a rough time for all of us.  Josh Reddick and Brandon Moss came to the hospital to see him and spent a large amount of time with him.  It was an experience none of us will forget.  For that, I will always be grateful and in debt to Reddick.

2015 Season

It’s hard to believe that it’s already 2015.  Last year was such an amazing year, not just in my life, but in sports.  From the Seattle Seahawks winning the Super Bowl, to going to Sydney for the Opening Series, to the Oakland A’s having six players selected to the All-Star Game, to the blockbuster trades, to the Kansas City Royals making it to the World Series, and the Oakland Raiders beating the 49ers (I’m a Raiders fan, so that was glorious).  2015 has a lot to live up to.

Let me start with my beloved Oakland Athletics.  2014 was fantastically horrible.  I’m still trying to comprehend what happened and how we didn’t see that coming.  After such an amazing start to the season, the team went into a tailspin that it was never able to recover from.  It was a car crash of a second half, but you couldn’t help but think and hope they would turn it around.  Sadly, they didn’t.  The off-season, however, would prove to be far worse than the second half for us A’s fans.  Of our six, seven if you count Jeff Samardzija, All-Star representatives, just two remain.  The picture of Josh Donaldson, Derek Norris, Yoenis Cespedes, Jeff Samardzija, Scott Kazmir, Sean Doolittle, and Brandon Moss has become a trading hit list.  The picture that meant so much to the fans, has now become a joke of sorts as we wait for the next one to be traded.  I honestly thought that Billy Beane would have traded Doolittle by now, but I suppose that will be next off-season.

The Athletics 2015 season will be an interesting one to watch.  Most people, and some fans, have written the team off.  Angry season ticket holders have, or claimed to have, cancelled their season ticket plans as a result of the 2014 season and the off-season trades.  I understand their anger, I do, but it’s not that bad.  Being a fan means sticking with your team, no matter what, not just when the team is winning.  More tickets for the rest of us then.  I, however, have faith.  It’s hard to count this team out, even when everything says that you should.  2012 taught us all that.  We were projected to lose a 100 games, and instead, we shocked the world by beating the Texas Rangers to win the American League West.  That’s why baseball is the greatest sport- anything can happen.

Now, what I’m really excited about, other than baseball season almost being here of course, is my trips planned for the coming season.  Last season, I checked the final stadiums off my list, accomplishing a bucket list item I had been dreaming of for years.  The idea of stopping was too sad, so I decided to make a new bucket list item: See the A’s at all of the stadiums.  I’m currently at 15, so I’m half way there.  This year, due to horrible scheduling, I will only be able to check off four stadiums.  The first road trip will be the most interesting of the year as I head to Kansas City.  The team that came from behind to beat the A’s in the Wild Card game last season, to end our season.  The team that almost beat the San Francisco Giants for their first World Series since 1985.  I’m nervously excited for the game.  Also on the schedule for this year is Los Angeles for the series against the Dodgers (my boyfriend’s NL team is the Dodgers), San Diego for the series against the Padres, Arizona for the weekend series against my NL team (and I get to see my mom), the Diamondbacks, and lastly, Cleveland, though that one is still iffy.  I’d love to go to Cleveland, but it’s in July, which I swore I’d never visit the Midwest in July ever again, and also the A’s have horrible luck there.  When are they going to get a home run call right there with that stupid railing?!  I’m also planning a brief trip to Phoenix for Spring Training to check out the A’s new facility.  There’s still a chance to add more, but I look at this as a chance to go to more home games, and root, root, root for the home team!

Hope you all have a wonderful 2015!

Playoffs?

With just over a week remaining in the regular season, things are getting pretty interesting. At this point, three teams have clinched a playoff spot. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Washington Nationals, and the Baltimore Orioles each won their respective divisions this week, with Orioles and Nationals clinching on Tuesday and the Angels clinching on Wednesday.  The Nationals are one of two franchise to never have played in a World Series, the other being the Seattle Mariners.

The Orioles have been a team to beat since their sudden insurgence in 2012. It almost seemed like fate would match up the two teams nobody saw coming in the ALCS, but both Baltimore and the Athletics were eliminated in game fives of the ALDS. Last year, many expected them to build on their success from 2012, but the Boston Red Sox fed on the energy of the Boston bombing, carrying the city on their back all the way to World Series champions. I’m excited to see what Baltimore can do in the post season this year, especially without Manny Machado, and recently suspended slugger, Chris Davis. The post season, however, is different than the regular season. You’re facing the best teams, and anything can happen. Tuesday was the Orioles first time winning the American League East division since the 1997 season, when they were eliminated in six games in the ALCS.  The Orioles last World Series appearance was in in 1983, which they won in five games.

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, you sneaky bastards. I have to give the Angels props for capitalizing on the A’s woes, and not only surging from 6 games back to claim the lead in the division, but to move a whopping 11 games ahead. The Angels have played well, and got hot at the perfect time. The A’s, well, they have gotten frigidly cold at the worst possible time. After leading the division all season, the second half, which has always been the A’s strong suit, has been disappointing. Everybody is quick to blame the Cespedes trade for the woes, but that can’t be all of it. Players aren’t hitting, and with the closer, Sean Doolittle hurt, the bullpen all but collapsed, much like the season. Last night, the A’s were eliminated from back-to-back-to-back AL West Champions. The Angels are last week were winners of ten straight, which helped them pad their division lead while the A’s had won 14 of their last 33 games.

Staying in the AL West, the Seattle Mariners are surprising everybody this year. With the GM dropping money like it was hot this past off-season, the M’s have put together a good team that’s hanging tough for a shot at one of the wild card spots. Saturday night, the A’s and M’s faced off in Seattle with the first ever night court with their king on the mound, looking to leap frog the A’s in the standings. With the Royals winning, their first win against Boston this season (I guess you could say I was good luck), they were in a virtual tie with the A’s for the first wild card spot. Now, the A’s, along with every other team, have struggled against Felix Hernandez, and have yet to record a win in games he starts. Until Saturday. The sellout crowd in Seattle was looking to capitalize on the A’s struggles, and with King Felix pitching, they by all means should have won. After 12 innings, the Mariners lost 3-2, with Fernando Rodney walking in the winning run; a scene A’s fans saw themselves the weekend before. Sunday’s game was huge, as the two face off for the last time in the regular season. It would be extremely interesting if the two teams win the wild card spots and are forced to play a one game playoff for the final spot in the playoffs.

The Kansas City Royals would much rather the Mariners watch the playoffs at home and claim a wild card spot from them. After years of being the worst team in baseball, the Royals stock piled on draft picks and are making their move. Loaded with young talent, the Royals are a major threat to not only the wild card, but the AL Central. I would personally love to see the Royals beat out the Tigers for the division, and for the Tigers miss the playoffs all together, but that could be the bitter hatred I have for them after having to watch them beat us in game five at home two years in a row. Just maybe.  The Royals and Tigers face off for the final time during the regular season in Kansas City.  These three games are going to be a big piece in the playoff picture.  At the moment, the Royals are sitting just half a game behind the Tigers for first place in the division and half a game in front of the A’s for the first Wild Card spot.  The Tigers have Justin Verlander going tomorrow night, and this will be important for the Tigers to see how he performs in a playoff type game.  With all the talk around Verlander’s arm this year, the best thing he can do is go out and silence them by pitching like we all know he is capable of.  However, if he struggles, the Tigers could be in trouble.  It’s going to be rocking in KC this weekend!

To the Yankees fans, I’m sorry.  It would have been nice to see Derek Jeter go out with once last playoff appearance, but it is looking like the Yankees will miss the playoffs for the second straight year.  Congratulations to the Washington Nationals and their fans on clinching the National League East this week as well.  It’s going to be an intense next week of baseball, and I can’t wait!

The Mid-Summer Classic

I may not be the biggest supporter of the All-Star Game, but I have to admit, I’m actually looking forward to this year.  For years, my beloved Oakland Athletics have been sending one representative, a pitcher, to the game.  Last year, we managed to get two, both pitchers.  This year, though, this year we have 6 players, including a starter and a National League All-Star.

Last year, Josh Donaldson, was left off the team, despite having a career year.  In fact, many people, not just A’s fans, were shocked to see him left watching the game at home.  This year, he is there and starting the game for the American League.  I’m beyond thrilled.  He was also selected to participate in the Home Run Derby, along side his teammate and defending Derby Champ, Yoenis Cespedes.  Speaking of Cespedes, he is also an All-Star.  He was almost selected as a starter, but lost the final outfield spot to Orioles Adam Jones. 

Joining the boys, are several other extremely deserving A’s players.  Catcher Derek Norris, First Baseman/Outfielder/DH Brandon Moss, Starting Pitcher Scott Kazmir, and Closer Sean Doolittle.  Also there is the newly acquired Jeff Samardzija, who was selected to the National League team based on his productivity with the Cubs before being dealt to Oakland over the holiday.  Six All-Stars.  I still can’t believe it.

Sunday, July 6th when the teams were announced, the A’s game had just ended.  Large groups gathered around the TVs in the halls to watch as they announced which players had made it.  While we were a little sad that some players didn’t make the cut as starters, the amount of cheers as they announced Donaldson as the starting 3rd baseman was a moment I will never forget. 

Now, I usually hate the All-Star game.  Usually it’s more a popularity contest than deserving players.  This year, the voting was much better.  I’m honestly pretty excited and happy with the rosters for both teams.  Originally, I was going to attend the All-Star Game and the festivities.  My sister recently moved to St. Paul and tried to sway me into visiting by using the All-Star Game.  She was pretty close.  Now, I wish I had tapped into that savings account and gone because this year is going to be great.  I wish I was there to see Cespedes go for the Home Run Derby title again.  The last time we had a back-to-back Home Run Derby Champion was Ken Griffey Jr. in 1998 and 1999.  He’s just so much fun to watch play, and I’m lucky enough to say I get to watch him all season.  I would be the happiest girl in the world if he hit a home run in the game tomorrow, and won the derby tonight.  I’m not asking too much, right?

I hope you all enjoy the show and are ready for the second half.

GO AMERICAN LEAGUE!

Ghosts

The hallowed grounds of old ballparks are filled with the ghosts of baseball’s past.  The stands in Oakland are filled with a different kind of ghost.  The booing kind.

I debated with myself repeatedly the last few days on whether or not to actually write this, but it needs to be said.  Then I’m done with it, never to be discussed again.

Jim Johnson has struggled at home.  That might be a giant understatement, but I was there for his first save at home, so I can’t say he’s wasn’t always bad at home.  Johnson was thrown into a horrible situation.  The fans in Oakland had fallen in love with Grant Balfour and were all sad to see him depart after the 2013 season.  Coming in and replacing a fan favorite is never an easy task, but Johnson was thrown into the situation.  The fans in Oakland, myself included, have always welcomed players with open arms.  Sure, we might think a player is overpaid, but have always been optimistic.  Or so I thought.

March 31st, Opening Night, did not go well for Jim Johnson.  Faced with a 0-0 tie in the 9th inning, Johnson came in and gave up two runs while recording just one out.  As he walked off the mound he was greeted by an unfamiliar sound at Oakland A’s games, boos.  I was taken back, as I’m sure most people were.  That’s not what we do in Oakland.

As Johnson continued to struggle at home, the boos continued to come and seemed to grow.  I watched his home/road splits vary greatly (Home: 11 games 14.04 ERA with 13 runs allowed, Road:11 games 1.98 ERA with 3 runs allowed) and realized that the fans are part of the problem.  My boyfriend has a weekly radio show talking about the A’s and Memorial Day weekend, Johnson was the topic of discussion.  While listening from my hotel in Chicago, I text him that it was the fans causing his problem.  Here was my logic: on the road, there is nobody booing him, where as at home, it’s just a matter of time before some of the fans start booing him.  I said it most likely gets into his head and causes him to not make his pitches and makes him less effective.

Skip ahead to Thursday’s day game against the Tigers.  The A’s were down 3-2 going into the 7th inning.  Enter Johnson.  In his one inning pitched, he allowed 2 runs, giving the Tigers a 5-2 lead.  The A’s rallied in the 9th to score 2 runs, only to lose 5-4.  Fans jumped on Johnson as he walked back to the dugout after his inning ended and was greeted to fans booing and flipping him off.

I love Twitter and I hate Twitter.  You can say whatever you want, which is great, until some people take it too far.  Everybody I follow is against the booing, as am I.  I get it, you paid money to see the team play, so you should be able to do whatever you want.  By all means, but if you screwed up at your job, would you want somebody booing and flipping you off?  I’m guessing the answer is no.

The players have now come after the fans.  I get where they are coming from, I do, but it’s not the best answer.  The fans booing and the fans not booing (and trying to stop the booing) are all being grouped together.  We had Sean Doolittle, a fan favorite, going after fans on Twitter Thursday night, which upset a lot of fans.  Hoping that the issue was finally put to rest, the A’s beat writer felt the need to bring it back up on Friday to Josh Donaldson, another fan favorite, who made a comment that I took as a slap in the face.  They players have made it perfectly clear that they are annoyed with the fans for booing.  Here’s the thing.  You know how the coliseum can have 15,000 people and still sound like it’s a sellout? Yeah, it works the same with the booing.  There might only be a few people booing, but because of our lovely acoustics, sounds like the whole place is.

My other issue is that nobody said anything when the fans were booing Daric Barton.  Sure, Barton has greatly overstayed his welcome in Oakland, but still.  I should mention that I am a Daric Barton fan, so I think he’d be best if he could find another team and start over again, but that’s not going to happen.  However, what makes it ok to boo one player and not another?  Because Barton has had multiple chances to prove his worth and Johnson has not.  Or maybe it’s because Barton is now in Sacramento and Johnson has now been singled out for the fans boos.  Johnson has a proven track record of being a solid pitcher, while Barton, well, he does not.  However, if you are going to attack the fans to stand up for your teammate, it’s best to stick up for all of your teammates, not just one.

Friday was filed with #BooGate comments filing my Twitter feed, and bad vibes.  Texting with Wes (@rfwes) I mentioned we needed to find a way to turn this around and make a joke out of it.  I said I was going to make sign with a picture of a ghost that said “I’m just here for the boos.”  Pictures of cartoon ghosts quickly took off as he ran with the idea.  In fact, if you find him on twitter, he is currently ‘Casper’ and a few others we know have followed suit.  As an A’s fan that’s anti-booing, I’m hoping the fans start showing Johnson some support when he pitches at home.  It’s amazing what a little moral support can do.  Hopefully he can turn his season around and be the pitcher we were all raving about this off-season.

RIP #BooGate.  Can we save the boos for Halloween?

April 6, 2014: Jim Johnson earns his first save as an Oakland Athletic

Birthday Road Trip, Part 2

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.

A’s at Mariners

I have been wanting to go to Seattle for years. It’s not that far away and I’ve always heard great things about the stadium. My grandfather goes every year to see the A’s up there with some friends for a series and I’ve always been jealous. I almost have to laugh at the fact that I’ve seen the A’s all over the country, but not anywhere near where I live. The closest I’ve seen them is in Arizona.

First off, Seattle is really pretty, or at least what I saw of it.  It reminds me of San Francisco.  The guy next to me on the plane made fun of me briefly when I looked out the window as we were coming into Seattle and I saw Mt. Rainer.  It’s a huge mountain.  I’ve been to the Rockies and this pretty much made those look small.  He gave me a list of places to check out that were less touristy than others.  Sadly, that didn’t happen as my friend from high school that I was staying with, took a nap Saturday afternoon.  I had a great time anyway, so it’s all good.

Safeco is beautiful.  I would highly recommend getting up there to see a game, if you haven’t already.  There’ s Pyramid Brewery right across the street that was packed with people living it up before the game.  I’m a big fan of Pyramid, so I was pretty happy to see it there.  There’s plenty of fun places to hang out around the stadium, so I say get there early and have some fun.

I went to the game with my friend and his daughter, which was weird for me.  That sounds wrong and strange, but I’m so used to going to games alone that being with other people is weird to me.  I actually had people to talk to other than the strangers around me, but I talked to them too.  We were surrounded by A’s fans, which was GREAT to see.  There was quite a few A’s hats and jerseys on my flight home on Sunday night.  I can’t wait to go back for the final games of the regular season, it’s going to be crazy.

Our seats were pretty good, down the third base line just past the infield dirt so all the A’s players were stretching and warming up right there.  I brought my ‘Vote 4 Donaldson’ sign from Milwaukee, which my friend’s daughter was super excited to hold up when she saw Donaldson on the field.

The A’s had Dan Straily starting the game, which is usually a good sign.  He keeps getting better with each start he makes, and was amazing in his start against Texas earlier in the month.  Unfortunately, you can’t win every game, unless you’re Max Scherzer, but that’s another topic.  Straily only lasted 3.1 innings before coming out having allowed two earned runs on six hits and three walks.  Not numbers we are used to seeing out of him.  The Mariners scored twice in the 2nd inning, but failed to have a shutdown inning, allowing the A’s to score a run in the 3rd inning.

Now, I try to always walk around the ballpark I’m at to see what they have to offer and see the game from all over.  I guess I picked the right time to go, as the A’s rallied to score two runs to claim a 3-2 lead in the 5th inning.  I was so excited, plus I got to capture the rally from all over the stadium.   They kept the scoring going after I returned to my seat, scoring two more runs in the 7th inning to go up 5-2.  They just needed a shut down inning.

The bullpen, our glorious bullpen that’s been lights out all season, including a 19 inning game and an 18 inning game, struggled.  Big time.  Jesse Chavez, the hero of that 18 inning game, came in after Straily to pitch 2.1 innings of shut out ball.  Then things went south.  Jerry Blevins came in after Chavez, and didn’t have the stuff.  Blevins lasted 2/3 of an inning giving up three earned runs on two hits.  Raul Ibanez hit a three run homer to tie the game, and just like that, the momentum shifted.  Speaking of Raul, he is amazing.  I can’t believe that Yankees let him leave, especially after how he played in the post season last year.  He’s an oldie but a goodie.  Ryan Cook came in after the Ibanez home run, but met the same fate as Blevins.  The first batter he faced hit a ground rule double, but Cooke was able to save some kittens by getting the next two batters out.  Cook went back out for the 8th inning, but was pulled without recording an out while allowing two runs to score.  Sean Doolittle, who had been struggling lately, came in and retired the three batters he faced.  I like to think I helped him out there.  Every time I’m ‘Doolittling” at a game, he pitches like the Doolittle we have all come to love.  My friend laughed at me, but you gotta do what works!  I just wish Doolittle had started the inning, we could have been tied going into the 9th inning, rather than down by two.

I think I need to get a new jersey.  They win just about every home game I go to when I wear by jersey, but on the road, it’s now 4-3.  It has yet to see back-to-back road wins, but that does mean it’s due for a win on the next road game.  That next road game just happens to be in Anaheim, so it better get the job done!

Me after the game

“Doolittling”

Safeco Field
Seattle, Washington

#Shame

It was perfect timing. Last night, not long after talking about things I’d like to see and not like to see in the A’s new stadium, a tweet was sent out by a CBS Sports journalist. I should mention, I said the A’s should have some of the same features in the new stadium as their current one.

I love the O.co. It may not be the best stadium in use, but by all means, it’s not the worse. And yet, people feel the need to talk badly about it. I don’t come to your house and talk shit about it, so don’t do that with my stadium. That’s like my other home, well my other, other home. I would much rather go to a game in Oakland than San Francisco. I dislike ATandT Park so much that in my baseball bat collection, I’m paying somebody to pick up my bat from there so I don’t have to ever go back.

In case you somehow missed it, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, felt the need to send this tweet out last night:

Tweet from Jon Heyman of CBS Sports

Somebody has some brass stones. It’s one thing to think stupid thoughts like that, but to actually type them out and hit send. Whoever said there’s no such thing as bad press is sadly mistaken. I’d rather be a nobody than be hated by thousands of people. I was planning on going to bed early last night after many of late nights recently, but I couldn’t stop refreshing my Twitter feed on my phone. Everybody rallied behind the A’s and the coliseum. Proving once again, we have the best fans in baseball.

We might not sell out every game, but that’s not the point. Even with 15,000 fans in the stands, it sounds like a sell-out. Plus, people are there to see the GAME. It’s a crazy concept. That’s what I don’t like about going to games in San Francisco. There are way too many people who are more interested to being at the game to say they were at the game than the game itself. Take tonight for example. The people sitting behind home plate, not one of them has a Giants jersey on, and there is a total of 3 SF hats. Plus they’ve been carrying on like they’re hanging out at a restaurant, chatting away.

Something that came out today that was worth a chuckle though was CJ Wilson’s comment. If you remember, Wilson when he was with the Rangers, talked major smack about the coliseum and is now booed every time he pitches in Oakland. Somebody mentioned him in a tweet with Heyman that they must be ‘friends’ hating Oakland to which Wilson responded with “hell no that guy sucks”. I still don’t like you CJ Wilson, but I don’t like you a little less.

Something I loved even more than the fan support was that the players even chimed in. Sean Doolittle made some good points and hilarious comments back. Heyman’s only response was that the thought the players wanted a new stadium. Of course they do, but until that happens, O.co is their stadium, their home.

Let’s Go Oakland! See you out at the O.co soon, but not soon enough.

Tweet Up

Last night the Oakland A’s held their annual Tweet Up.  Naturally I was there.  Damn you Twitter for sucking me in and making me co-dependent on you.

It was a lot of fun, Sean Doolittle and Jerry Blevins came to talk with us all first.  Those guys, aside from being amazing pitchers, are funny as all hell.  We were cracking up at their answers to the fan submitted questions.  Plus, somebody suggested making Doolittling a thing, like Tebowing and Kapernicking.  If you have ever seen Doolittle pitch, you know exactly what I’m talking about.  He pulls his glove hand into his neck, almost like he’s playing the violin with his elbow out.  Naturally, we all jumped on board and are trying to make it a thing.  We were then joined by some members of the A’s media and got their take on how Twitter has changed their jobs. It’s amazing what Twitter has done for the world of sports, it’s truly the best way to get information out to your fans right now.

If you bought tickets to the Tweet Up, or the #GreenCollarSocial, as it was also called, you got tickets to the game as well.  You know, I would never miss this.  Twitter event with players and tickets to the game, that’s like a home run of events right there.  The A’s were giving away prizes during the Tweet Up for answers to A’s trivia.  Being me, I didn’t win anything.  If bad luck were a sport, I’d be the champion.  They continued giving stuff away during the game if you were checking their Twitter feed.  The first contest was to tweet a picture of the field from your seat.  I tweeted mine out, finished eating, and went to meet up with my friends that were sitting out in Sec 149.  As I got out there, my phone goes off.  Not only did the A’s start following me on Twitter (yes, I’m beyond stoked about that), but I won the contest for my seat and I needed to provide them my seat location so they could deliver my prize.  I raced back to my seat and within minutes, the A’s delivered my prize- a Scott Hatteberg bobble head from last season. I was so excited that I didn’t care I already had one.  I returned to 149 and finally met up with the cool kids.  Ben, the cool dude from the MLB Fan Cave last year, was in town for the series so I asked if he had the bobble head, in which he responded he’d been trying to find one and really wanted one.  Ta-Da!  I pulled in out and gave it to him.  It’s always nice to make other people smile.

This was my first time ever sitting in the bleachers and it was so much fun.  I was trying not to let them all down with their extreme fandom.  I even Raged with them.  I have never raged ever.  I tried it once and I got funny looks because I was the only person doing it, other than the Right Field crew.  I will definitely have to make it back out there for another game this season.  Top notch group of people out there.  True fans.

Even better was that the A’s won the game.  Tommy Milone was more than shaky to start the game, like 60+ pitches in 2 innings shaky, but settled down.  He allowed up one run in 6 innings of work.  The bullpen did their thing, including Doolittle, who threw a perfect inning while we all were Dolittling it up in RF.  For the second night in a row, the A’s came back from behind to take the late lead.  This is what we have been looking for lately. They’re a comeback team, down but never out.  Today they won again, completing the sweep of the Kansas City Royals and are now winners of three straight!  So excited.

Since I was at a Tweet Up and have rambled on about Twitter, my handle is @_kimms_ so check me out!  I post a lot of baseball stuff and a ton of Athletics stuff.  Plus I’m funny.  Hope you all had a great weekend too!

View from my first seat of the night

My fancy Tweet Up shirt. Jealousy is to be expected

Sean Doolittle and Jerry Blevins during the Q&A session

From the A’s Twitter page: the crowd Doolittling. You can see part of my head in the photo

FanFest 2013

Today was AMAZING!  I love FanFest, and this year was even better than I could have hoped or wished for.

It was nice to see so many fans out to support the boys and so many players.  I’m still riding the high of last season and can’t wait for April 1st.  I need a fast forward button!  I got there early, 8:15 early, and quickly realized that I:  a- didn’t have a warm enough jacket for as cold as it was and b- there was a massive amount of people there.  As usual, I was rolling solo at the event, so I’ve learned to make friends with people quickly, and had a good time talking baseball with the group of guys behind me in line.

Something cool the A’s did was to hand out autograph voucher cards to everybody as they came in for various autograph times throughout the day.  I was lucky enough to get the slot when Coco Crisp was one of the guys signing, but his line was limited to the first 200 in line and I was #204.  Frickity Frack!  I was able to score autographs from Sal Bando and Eric Sogard so it’s all good.

As usual you could have your picture taken professionally with a player, but it seems that was what everybody wanted as the line started well over an hour before the first player was scheduled to appear, and was always freakishly long.  However, the secret spot to go was just downstairs.  Right by the Coaches Corner, which is always a blast on its own, was Player Meet & Greet.  There was a person that would use your camera or phone to take a picture of you and a player.  There was never too long of line, and you got to listen in on the Coaches Corner while you waited (score!).  Needless to say, the volunteers down there got to know me quickly as I got three photos.   Oh, while waiting in line, I was talking with the people in front of me and they asked if I would take a picture with them.  I was so honored!

Me with Grant Green at FanFest 2013

According to Grant, I have a pretty name.  Big thanks to my mommy for picking it.

Me with Seth Smith at FanFest 2013

Me with Josh Donaldson at FanFest 2013

Josh was too funny with my shirt, hence our laughing faces.  This is our conversation:
Josh: Chicks dig diamonds?
Me: Yup and I dig baseball diamonds.
Josh: Oh good cause that’s the only diamond I can afford.

I’m pretty stoked about the next two things.  They were right next to each other, so it was a two birds one stone kind of thing for me.  I got my picture taken with….. the World Series Trophies!!! Oh, and Curt Young was there too.  I love Curt- he’s an amazingly amazing pitching coach (thank god it didn’t work out with Boston in 2011), but I really was more excited about the trophies.  The other thing was the Comcast SportsNet Bay Area Sportscaster Experience.  I posted about this right after I did it because I was far too excited to wait to tell everybody.  It was a blast, and I wish that was my actual job.  I can’t wait for the video to come!!

Me with Curt Young and the World Series Trophies

The best thing to cap off an amazing day was the Q&A session with some of the relief pitchers.  Sean Doolittle, Pat Neshek, Even Scribner, and All-Star pitcher Ryan Cook (oh I got an autograph from him too!).  Those guys are crazy funny.  I very much enjoyed when Cook stated if he wasn’t a baseball player he would be a “country recording superstar” to which he gave us a little demo after some heckling from Doolittle and the fans.  It was also funny watching Chris Young try to Bernie Lean- Josh Reddick had to give him some pointers.

Sean Doolittle, Evan Scribner, Pat Neshek and Ryan Cook

It was a great day, and it was wonderful to see so many people out to support the A’s!

Great to see so many people showing love to the Green and Gold

Me and Stomper! After all these years, I finally got a picture with him.