2013

Thursday night marked the end of my season when the Oakland Athletics were eliminated from the post season by the Detroit Tigers.  They lost 3-0 in Game Five, for the second year in a row.  I was there last year, and I was there on Thursday.  It was a painful and felt like deja vu. Last year, after we lost Game 5, all of the fans stayed and cheered “Let’s Go Oakland” and it was beautiful and moving.  This year, it happened again, but I didn’t stay.  I couldn’t do it.  I stood at my seat last year tearful cheering for my team that had proved everybody wrong and shut up all the nay-sayers.  This year, they proved they weren’t just a fluke last year and fought the Boston Red Sox for the best record in the American League.  It was supposed to be our year.  To see it end that way, again, was just too much.  I sat in the car on the way home in shock of what just happened.  It felt like somebody had died, and somebody did- our season.  Our hopes of shutting up the Giants fans that were rooting for the Tigers, the Giants fans that dismiss the A’s as a second-rate team, and the baseball analyst that will always pick the Angels and Rangers over the A’s, saying they have no chance.  This team looked like the one.

Then the post season came.

I wanted the best record for two reasons: to say we had the best record, and to avoid playing the Tigers.  I have now been to three post seasons, and have seen our post season dreams end with losses to the Tigers all three times.  I thought this year would be our chance, especially the way the month of September went.  The A’s played well, including a four game sweep of the Minnesota Twins to clinch the division.  The Tigers, on the other hand, finished their season one game ahead of the Cleveland Indians and were swept by the Miami Marlins, including being no-hit in the final game of the regular season.  The odds were in the A’s favor.  However, the baseball gods thought otherwise.  The bats of the A’s players were silent against the Tigers dominate pitching, producing K after K.  I don’t agree with a lot of the strike calls that were made, and I can only hope that MLB is finally going to do something about that.  My point with that is when the umpire gives one pitcher a large strike zone and the batter is forced to swing at pitches they normally wouldn’t, it’s an issue.  That and having two different strike zones is not OK.

Last year, Game 4 was the best playoff game that I have ever seen in my life.  You couldn’t script a better ending to a game fi you tried.  Coco Crisp had the walk off hit that won that game, and the place when nuts.  I would have said that nothing could ever top that.  Game 2, however, did.  Sonny Gray, the A’s rookie pitcher, got the start against Justin Verlander.  Most people would think the A’s were stupid to start a rookie pitcher against Verlander, but they were wrong.  Sonny Gray showed the nation what we in Oakland already knew, that he is AMAZING.  Gray matched Verlander zero for zero on the board the whole game.  He dominated and it was a beautiful sight.  He deserved a win for the game he pitched, and while he didn’t get the win, the team did.  The bottom of the 9th was going to be special.  You could feel it in the air.  The crowd of 48,000+ was cheering and waiting for a walk off.  Yoenis Cespedes came to the plate, and I was hoping for another bomb, but I took the base hit.  Seth Smith followed that with another base hit.  The crowd was going crazy.  Then the Tigers walked Josh Reddick, who had been struggling badly, to load the bases.  Enter the hero of the night, Stephen Vogt.  I was there when Vogt got his first hit, a home run, against the St. Louis Cardinals, but this single was far better than the homer.  Vogt just singled home the only run of the game to win the game.  My dad, who was sitting next to me, complained that he thought he was deaf in one ear from my screaming, and my throat was killing me the next day.  Signs of a good game.

I had some great memories this season that I will never forget.  Opening Day, making new friends on Twitter (one of the best parts), traveling to see the A’s around the country, watching them clinch that final Sunday at home, and watching them in the post season.  Sure, the season didn’t end the way I wanted it to, but it was a great season.  Plus, we were lucky enough to make it to the post season.  There were fans from 22 other teams that didn’t get to watch their team in the playoffs.

I can’t wait for 2014.

The Oakland A’s rush onto the field after Stephen Vogt singles home the winning run in Game 2 of the ALDS

OAKtober

As you all know, I am a HUGE Oakland A’s fan.  For the second year in a row, we have beaten the Texas Rangers and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim to win our division (pause for a happy dance).  I’m lucky enough to have my neighbor/faux grandfather, since he is a season ticket holder and makes sure that I always have a ticket for the post season.

My last two post seasons have been cut short by the Detroit Tigers.  I refuse to let that happen for a third time.  After all, the say “Third times the charm” has to hold some clout, right?  All week, my office has been buzzing with excitement for the game and by the time Friday rolled around, us A’s fans couldn’t concentrate on work.  4pm could not come fast enough.  I quickly raced up the stairs in the parking garage, why I chose to park on one of the top levels, I have no clue.  Driving to BART, I did my best Speed Racer impersonation and just barely made it in time to catch the train.  Now, I used to go to school in the city, so I’ve seen the BART train packed, but that was nothing compared to the packed train of green and gold.  It warmed my heart to see so many people going to the game.

The last time there was a sellout in Oakland, full capacity sellout, was in 2004.  Friday night, there was 48,401 fans cheering the team on for Game 1 of the ALDS.  It was loud.  It was so weird to look up and see fans in the third deck.  Weird in the best way.  While Game 1 didn’t go as well as we could have hoped, it was still a great game.  So much energy and excitement.

Last night, there are no words that can do last night justice.  My hands are sore from clapping, my throat is killing me from screaming and my legs are sore from jumping in excitement.  Sonny Gray.  Wow.  He matched Justin Verlander pitch for pitch out there like he’d been pitching for years.  The “Sonny” cheers were well deserved.  If he can keep pitching like that, Oakland is in a very good position to win now and in the future.  The other half of last night, was the guy catching for Sonny, Stephen Vogt.  He’s a great catcher and he was battling last night.  In the 7th inning, that at-bat against Justin Verlander was huge.  It ended in a strike out, but man, that was an intense battle.  That 10 pitch battle, which included seven pitches Vogt fouled off, helped to knock Verlander out of the game.  You could feel he was going to do something.

The bottom of the 9th inning.  2012, the A’s home game two, was Game 4.  Going into the game last night, I would have said that was the best post season game I have even seen.  Coco Crisp had a walk-off single to win the game and the place went nuts.  It was something I thought would never be topped.  Until last night.  I admit that I was hoping Cespedes would hit a walk-off home run, but that was only because the A’s were struggling to get the runners in.  Didn’t want to see more guys stranded on the base path.  Yoenis Cespedes got a base hit.  Crowd got into it.  Seth Smith got a single and Cespedes advanced to third.  Crowd really got into it.  They WALKED Josh Reddick, still think that was stupid.  Crowd is pumped and into it big time.  Stephan Vogt gets a hit over the shortstop.  The crowd goes CRAZY.  It was insane, magical, and amazing rolled into one glorious moment.  As we made our way out of the stadium, fans were high fiving each other, or as I called it, a high-five train.  It was just like last year.

After the game, we were over behind 148 in right field and things were even better.  Everybody was cheering “Let’s Go Oakland” and “Sonny! Sonny!”. So proud to be an A’s fan.

Now, we just need the boys to win the next two in Detroit.  I’m pretty excited for tomorrow, and I’m never excited about Mondays.

LET’S GO OAK-LAND!

A’s win!

Happy girl after the walk-off

My dad rockin’ his Rally Cap in the 9th

Game 2 of the ALDS at the O.co Coliseum