SB Nation User Blog: Vaillant

106.9 Changes Format!

Vaillant — Thu, 17 May 2007 20:23:14 -0000

Free FM will become Classic Hits KFRC this afternoon, after the game.

From a CBS Radio email:

"We are excited to announce that effective this afternoon following the Oakland A's broadcast, 106.9 FM will become Classic Hits KFRC! This heritage station and format will feature time-tested artists like the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Elton John, Eagles, Marvin Gaye, Doobie Brothers, Fleetwood Mac and Steve Miller, to name a few. As a result, MOViN' 99.7 will pick up the new call letters KMVQ. Oakland A's baseball will continue to be broadcast on both 106.9 KFRC and 1550 AM KYOU Radio."

No change for the A's, but still, I thought it might be of interest to y'all.

Sneaking drinks into the ballpark

Vaillant — Wed, 24 May 2006 21:38:39 -0000

First of all, I'd like to say that if beer didn't cost a ridiculous amount at the ballpark, I wouldn't condone this. But, as it stands, I just can't pay the ballpark prices for alcohol.

So, I've developed some tricks over the last few years. If you want to sneak bottles in, then I found baggy clothes, especially on a girl, usually does the trick. The only caveat is that you DON'T want to do this on a Wednesday game as they do a much better job searching you. Gordon Biersch bottles are good to bring in since they have plastic bottles for sale at the park that look almost identical.

The next trick which I've used at a fair number of events, not just ball games, is the zip-loc bags full of vodka or rum in cargo pockets. Double bag to make sure it doesn't leak, then when you get in, buy a lemonade or coke, mix, and enjoy! $4 for a soda isn't as hard to swallow.

Finally, and really the reason for this diary, is this invention that a friend just alerted me to. It's brilliant and funny:

http://www.thebeerbelly.com

I haven't tried it out yet, though on my long and lean frame, I'd probably look like a pregnant dude.

So, what have you guys/girls done to sneak in drinks? Any tips/funny stories of being caught/warnings?

~ Matt

Playoffs --> who are you rooting for?

Vaillant — Sat, 01 Oct 2005 01:28:33 -0000

My friends and I were talking about this the other day. Here's the way I see it as of now (with the Wild Card still to be decided).

In the AL:
1 Cleveland (scrappy!)
2 ChiSox (talk about due!)
3 Red Sox (better them than LAA or NYY)
4 Angels (better them than NYY)
5 Yankees (self explanatory

In the NL:
1 San Diego (wouldn't that be funny?)
2 St. Louis (poo holes! heh!)
3 Atlanta (to be honest, I'm cool with any non-Clemens NL team)
4 Houston (because of Clemens. I just don't like the guy)

So, overall, let's see how that would play out:
1 Cleveland
2 San Diego
3 ChiSox
4 St. Louis
5 Atlanta
6 Red Sox
7 Houston
8 Angels
9 Yankees

So, what do you guys (and girls) think? How do you rank them? I think if Houston didn't have Clemens, I'd probably put them a lot higher. But, much like a team with Bonds, one rotten apple is all it takes. Maybe if they'd change their team name to Huston....

~ Matt

The A's are the second best team in baseball!

Vaillant — Tue, 13 Sep 2005 21:45:48 -0000

Neyer/James lovers out there will appreciate this...

ExWP: Expected winning percentage - ExW-L and ExWP are derived from Bill James' Pythagorean theorem of baseball: Runs scored [squared] / (Runs scored [squared] + runs allowed [squared]). This formula was designed to relate a team's runs scored and runs allowed to its won-lost record.

I'm sure most of you are familiar with this. What you may not have realized is that currently (2:44 PM on 09/13), the A's sit second only to the Cardinals in expected winning percentage. If you look in the column on the right, you can see the expected winning percentage:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/stats/rpi

.626 Cardinals
.588 A's
.583 Braves/Indians
.579 LAAAAAA
.573 ChiSox
.564 BoSox
.558 Mets
.546 Yankees/Astros

Just thought it was an interesting thing to point out. Sure, games aren't played on paper and besides being good, you have to be lucky, but still, here we are in a transition/rebuilding year and we are already ahead of all of the $100 million+ teams. I'll be ordering my season tickets for 2006 shortly!

~ Matt

Nice moment at today's game...

Vaillant — Thu, 28 Jul 2005 00:38:36 -0000

After getting there early and standing in line for a while for dollar dogs...and then finding out that they had run out, my buddy and I decided to go get floats instead.

So, we each bought two cups and headed in to see who would be best to serve us. Lo and behold, among the 15 or 20 tables serving, there were several tables with the players wives/SO's. There was no line at the table with Kendall's wife, so we went up to her (there were a couple of other blonde wives there too). While chatting with her (she told me that my root beer float was the best one she had made all day), Kendall led off the inning with a double. Then Swisher was up and she commented that it was weird he was hitting in the two hole**. Just a moment later, he hits a double, scoring Kendall. Out of nowhere, Swisher's SO comes running up and, letting out a cheer, hi-fives Kendall's wife.

Not the biggest thing ever, but it was a fun moment to see, so I thought I'd share.

.
.
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**Okay, so this isn't a two-hole reference, but it is a "POO-holes" reference. Or at least, that's how ESPN suggests saying his last name:
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=6619

Request for Zito Picture

Vaillant — Tue, 26 Jul 2005 21:48:59 -0000

If someone can find a link to a Zito picture where he is wearing the following, I think we'd all like to see it.

Zito (9-8) is finally showing the kind of form that earned him the 2002 AL Cy Young award. The lefty went over the .500 mark for first time this year, allowing three runs on five hits. He struck out six and walked three.

He acknowledges this is the most consistent he's been since 2002, and he's certainly dressing the part. Kooky as ever, Zito's postgame outfit featured cutoff camouflage cargo shorts, brown socks pulled up to mid-calf, black indoor soccer shoes and a furry V-neck earth-green button-up sweater with no shirt underneath.

"We're not settling for any wild card," Zito said. "We have a lot of great players in this room. If we put it together like we have been, we can come away with the AL West. We've got to shoot for the top."

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/baseball/mlb/07/26/bc.bba.indians.athletics.ap/index.html

Bring back the RATTO NUMBER!!!

Vaillant — Mon, 25 Jul 2005 19:12:31 -0000

Where, oh where, did the Ratto Number go?

It was up from the beginning of the season until some time in May/June. Maybe it disappeared because some feared the 59 win number (or was it 69?) could come true. Maybe it vanished when it looked like the A's would pass it easily, so they didn't want to rub it in.

Well, I'm a believer in the A's since I was a little un (remember those Man of Steel and Bash Brothers posters?) and so I believe the A's will obliterate the Ratto Number. I'm also a believer in accountability, so I think Ray should have to see that number every time he's browsing this site.

Who's with me?

Bring it back!

Concessions

Vaillant — Thu, 28 Apr 2005 02:08:15 -0000

Lesson 1: How the A's (and Warriors and every other friggin' team) could make more money.

Here's what really bothers me. The other day, I went to the Warriors/Suns game. Great game, probably the best of the year for the Warriors. But, at the start of the second quarter, I wanted a hot dog and a drink, so I got up to go to a concession stand and waited TWENTY FRIGGIN' MINUTES for the six or seven people in front of me to get their food. Why is this? Every time I go to an A's game, a Warriors game, or most any other sporting event the lines take forever and I miss part of the game.

I was going to get something else in the second half, but didn't because of the stupid lines...thereby causing the Warriors to lose a potential sale.

Same thing at A's games. If they were more efficient with the concessions, I'd buy more. And they have every reason to be efficient (the more they sell, the more money they make) and it isn't like getting a hot dog from the stack of hot dogs and pouring a soda should take 3 minutes. It just shouldn't. Does anyone out there understand why it is so painful to buy a hot dog (or nachos/beer/whatever)? Does this bother anyone else? How much revenue do you think they are missing out on? I'd say at least a million or two (if every fan spent one more dollar at a game, that's $2 million right there).

Okay, rant over - long time listener, first time caller - yada yada yada - Go A's!