Baseballoakland.com is a site I read a lot. Mainly to see if any sort of news will come out from the Oakland camp on the ballpark front. Most of what I read there would qualify as politically pointed polemic meant to produce passion more than fact based news accounts. But something about one of their recent posts, about SportsRadio 95.7, has stuck with me.

When you ignore that the baseballoakland piece gets some of the facts wrong, this piece is pretty much spot on with the crappy grade it gives the station. I, in particular, disagree that Chris Townsend is bad. They, because he talks about San Jose as a possibility, give him a demerit. Other than Townsend, the conclusion on the quality of the current programming is pretty spot on.

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Not long ago, I came to this fine community and asked for advice on my first visit to your beautiful ballpark. You guys stepped up big time and my fmaily, friends and I had an outstanding day about in San Diego, culminating with a visit to Petco.

The tip to park at the Convention Center was money! Literally and figuratively.

My favorite part of your park was the Park at the Park (alliteration is my friend). Mainly because it kept my 4 year old busy and, even though I was watching the game on a giant television, I still felt like I was at the game. Truly an awesome concept.

Now for my "help" request.

My favorite team, the Oakland Athletics, are currently stuck in a limbo. It is complicated, but the team needs a decision from Bud Selig to take the next step.

Essentially, it boils down to:

• The A's want to move to San Jose
• The Giants don't want the A's to move to San Jose
• A's owner Lew Wolff is done talking with Oakland because there is no where to build (according to him)
• Oakland wants to talk to the A's about building a stadium

To sort this whole soap opera out, as you may or may not know, Bud Selig started a "Blue Ribbon Panel" to study the A's options... This was 822 days ago.

We A's fans would like Mr. Selig to speak up already. We aren't asking for anyone to advocate for a particular city, we would just like our fellow baseball fans help in demanding a decision on what comes next from the Commish. It is our feeling that once he makes a recommendation it will spur the end of our purgatory, be it in Oakland or San Jose.

Please join our facebook group and email Bud (allan.selig@mlb.com) and implore him to end our limbo.

Thanks for reading, and go Padres!

Greetings Gaslampians,

My name is Jeff and I am coming to San Diego very soon. I'd like your help in organizing my Saturday, May 7th (AKA Bud Black Bobblehead Day). It shall be my maiden voyage to Petco Park and I'd like some advice from you all on where to park, which restaurant to hit up before the game and any other useful tidbits of information that can make for a splendid afternoon/evening for my family and I as we frolic in the Plymouth of the West.

First, a bit of personal history, just so you all know that despite my undying devotion to the Oakland Athletics, I do indeed have a soft spot for the Friars... In October 1984, my grandfather and I placed a wager on the World Series. At the time, I was a nine year old aspiring first baseman. Since my A's were saddled with Bruce Bocthe manning the first sack, I had to find a new player to model my game after. 

I am not sure if it was the sweet Taco Bell inspired uniforms, or the ultra hairy forearms of Steve Garvey (or the fact that my Donruss baseball card showed that we had the same middle name)... But something about that Padres team resonated with me. I adopted Mr. Garvey as my Sith Lord by donning number 6 on the back of my Lemoore Little League Hawks jersey.

As the season progressed, and my A's continued their suckitude, I became more and more enamored with Mr. Garvey and his cohorts. When Leon Durham foreshadowed Bill Buckner, I was hoooked! I became convinced that the 1984 Padres were a run away freight train that could not be stopped in any way, save for pulling into World Serious Trophy Station.

I informed my grandfather (Popo) of this fact and he asked if I would like to place a wager on the series against the evil, Shere Kahn inspired, Detroit Tigers. I gladly bet $20 that the Padres would crush the Motor City Kitties. It is important to note that besides being my grandfather, Popo was my sole source of income. I mowed his yard for $10 a month.

Despite Kurt Bevacqua's best efforts, we all know that I lost this bet. I still remember the call from my Popo, right after Willie Hernandez got Tony Gwynn to fly out.

"Jeff," he said. "Times are tough and we are going to have to cut back on your salary. I am thinking five bucks a month is about all I can spare..."

So, on that day I learned a few things. Chief among them was never bet on baseball. If only Pete Rose had a Popo and an infatuation with the 1984 Padres.

I can't wait to visit your awesome park... I appreciate any and all suggestions for making that particular Saturday fun and easy.

Go Padres,

Jeff

A bulleted recap of cool things from today's game (in no particular order):

• Ryan Sweeney hit a home run.
• Connor Jackson got some hits
• There was a commercial for the Oakland Zoo. I love the Oakland Zoo.
• AJ Pierzynski was booed as if it was Wrestlemania 2 and he was The Iron Sheik.
• Josh Willingham got an infield single, legged out a double and used his smooth southern accent read to us about CPYC a bunch of times
• Trevor Cahill had the sinker working into the 7th.
• Josh Donaldson hit a ball off the fair pole with two runners on base.
• Michael Wuertz pitched.
• The A's won.
• The sellout crowd sounded really cool.

Anything to add?

Excuse the headline... I really have no one to "strike back" at or anything. I just love the scene in Clerks (if you click the link, enjoy the awesomeness of Chewbacca by Supernova) where they are debating the merit of the private subcontractor's deaths (compliments of Lando Calrissian) at the second Death Star. That, and how Dante points out that life is a series of down endings combine to make this scene in Clerks the second best scene in a Kevin Smith film, ever (Watch the opening scene of Chasing Amy if you are mistaken and think this one was the best). For the record, I love ewoks (I am not sure if Logray or Teebo is my favorite figure). Sue me.

Oh... I forgot, the "A's" are playing the "White Sox" today... Doesn't Spring Training drag at this point? Consider this the game thread for today. Curmudgeonly as it may sound, I am starting to agree with people who say Spring Training is too long. Next thing you know I will be wearing depends and drinking ensure while talking about the good old days with scorn for youth wasted on the young.

If this is the game thread, I guess I will need to talk about the game a bit. Today's game is a repeat of yesterday's, only the A's will wear white pants and the White Sox probably won't score 437 runs. And somebody different will pitch (Trevor Cahill). And someone you have hardly heard of will be playing somewhere in the field around about the 7th inning (Maybe sooner? These guys have to be tired after yesterday's shellacking). Oh wait, that isn't different.

Lineup (via the Oakland A's Twitter Account):

Sweeney CF, Barton 1B, Willingham LF, Matsui DH, Jackson RF, Ellis 2B, Kouz 3B, Powell C, Sogard SS, Cahill P

Some randomness below the jump

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"It echos, nobody hears." -Eddie Vedder, in a guttural roar while singing the song Faithfull on the record Yield by the band Pearl Jam.

As I recall from the lyric, Mr. Vedder was making a statement about prayer when singing this line. This is somewhat appropriate in the context of A's fandom. Personally, I have been mentally clutching a crucifix and seeking commune with a higher power who might be sympathetic to Green and Gold for about two decades now. But it is not a deity that I take umbrage with on this beautiful Sunday morning.

The shouts and screams that echo through the collective consciousness abound. So who exactly do we (the frog in my pocket and I) take umbrage with?

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We are shuffling the batting order a bit this week. Nico, who needs to learn to take some pitches, is dropping down one spot in the order. Since I have been on fire, with action figures and such, I get to try to drive in some runs for a change. (And don't think I didn't notice that less than a month after MC Willinghammer was featured in my post the A's announced MC Hammer Bobblehead Day. Man my ego is getting out of control).

Subbing for the Blogfather has me in a philosophical mood. Or more acurately, a "those posters that say 'All I Ever Needed to Know About Life I Learned Watching Star Wars'" kind of philosophical mood. It ain't exactly Plato. To wit:

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When I read NSJ's piece on contraction, it got me to thinking. I admit, this is almost never a good thing. As you may know, my brain rarely stays on a single track and there were a lot of rabbit holes to dive into. Most of them were about why contraction is a horrible, horrible idea for the league in general. But sticking with just our Green and Gold (and potentially never Black) heroes, here are a few reasons why this specific team will never be contracted and most likely will never leave the Bay Area.

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Update: Zack Greinke is a Brewer. I vahklempt. Discuss amongst yourselves...

Godzilla Schmodzilla. But let me explain.

I like Hideki Matsui. Not only because of his porn collection. Mainly because the idea of Godzilla rising from the San Francisco Bay, giant green reptilian hand gripping one of those AT-AT looking crane things (AT-AT's were allegedly inspired by the Port of Oakland), has me thinking of old Japanese movies, 80's cartoons, soda commercials and various other similarly unrelated fare I watched on KMPH 26 during my wayward youth.

My personal favorite was Ultraman. I wish the A's potentially brilliant, yet proven fragile, outfield could have that little microphone thing that Hayata would use to activate Ultraman. That would be sweet.

No more Coco Crisp climbing the wall in pursuit of some rocket shot to Center. He'd just hit the red button on the side of his beta capsule and strike some Kung Fu poses as he grew to 130 feet tall. He wouldn't even have to catch a ball for this to be cool. Of course, he would fall into a coma while Ultraman battled the evil beast of record, but would we really mind Coco sleeping in Centerfield while Ultraman dispatched of the Yankees?

This whole Coco as Ultraman/Hideki as Godzilla dynamic has me thinking the A's of the next season might be akin to the Legion of Doom. Or, perhaps some hybrid of the Justice League, the Legion of Doom and a bunch of other pop culture phenomena. Just think what that means for the stadium debate... Now it's not only where to build, but should it look like the Hall of Justice as depicted in Super Friends? The Legion of Doom? The Batcave? Whatever Godzilla's under sea home looks like?

But for this to be true we must also consider a few other alter ego scenarios, besides Coco as Ultraman, don't we?

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December 5th, 2010

MLB Corporate Headquarters

245 Park Avenue

New York, NY 10167

Attn: A. H. "Bud" Selig

Dear Mr. Selig,

The Oakland Athletics Future Home

I am writing you today to ask that you speak publicly about the future of the baseball team that I have been following for the entirety of my life. I do not wish to influence your decision in the favor of Oakland or San Jose, I just want a decision. In return, I promise to buy season tickets for the 2011 season and Charter Seats for any new stadium. I believe there are several other fans who share this view point and are, likewise, ready to do our part to help make whichever plan you endorse a reality.

When you appointed a panel of experts to study the A's stadium situation in March of 2009 I was cautiously optimistic that the years of stadium proposals and conjecture about where my fellow fans and I would be spending our hard earned cash to watch the team we love play the game we revere was soon to end. Instead, I have watched as the lack of direction from the one person who could end this ridiculousness (you) has helped to foster an environment that has eroded support, hampered my favorite team's ability to attract free agents and been generally divisive (splitting the fan base into competing factions).

I have heard the excuse. You have summed it up as a "complex" issue. I have agreed, and understand that everything from the Minor Leagues role in future MLB revenue streams to paying for the potential park are items to be thoroughly vetted. That said, 21 months is a long time and analysis paralysis has set in.

On the eve of your organizations annual Winter Meetings I ask that you make the case for one of the two scenarios. If the local media is to be believed, your stadium panel has done a thorough and exhaustive search that has considered timing, financing, revenue impacts, traffic, political support, and even the height of light towers and the path of airplanes. There are no more angles to explore. No new rocks to turn over. It all comes down to you and your willingness to make either Bill Neukom or Lew Wolff, and their respective partners, miffed. Please do so at some point in the next two days so we can all move on from this unnecessary purgatory.

Sincerely,

Jeffrey August

A's Fan

PS- Please tell Lew Wolff that Josh Feinberg (jfeinberg@oaklandathletics.com) is doing an awesome job. I would love to reward his persistence and buy a ticket package soon.

Iwakuma and the A's have broken off talks, per Susan Slusser.

This week I received my autographed copy of "Death to the BCS" in the mail. I have been splitting my reading time between that and "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy. They have nothing to do with one another, besides death and a lack of playoffs

Also this week, Bud Selig was wrapping and relating at a little thing called MLB's Owners Meetings (not to be confused with the Winter Meetings in 2 weeks. Seriously, it's 2010... use Skype). Among the topic of discussions was an expanded playoff in 2012. Luckily, if other media outlets are to be believed, something like the events of Cormac McCarthy's book will begin to unfold in 2012 and we won't have to be subject to the "Montrealization" on MLB's Playoffs. No, not moving them to DC, but taking steps toward having more than half the league in the playoffs, like in the NHL.

More teams in the playoffs isn't really a bad thing I guess. I am starting to feel like playoffs are a bad thing, in general. Follow me below the fold.

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UPDATE (8:34 PM): The A's sent in the highest bid and have won the rights to negotiate a contract with Hisashi Iwakuma.

(via twitter)

Billy Beane always leaves me shaking my head and smiling. Even when he misses (Carlos Gonzalez), the unexpected move he made has had me thinking, "Wow, where did that come from?" It seems he may be close to doing it again (head shaking smile, not trading Carlos Gonzalez).

Hisashi Iwakuma first caught the attention of folks in the US with a crafty performance in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. I remember, specifically, the way he maneuvered through a Cuba team that was really, really good. He is not a dominating fireballer, throwing a fastball that is around 90 MPH, though he has managed to strike out more than 3 batters for every walk he has issued over the course of his 10 year career in Japan. He has been better than that in 3 of the last 4 seasons and his 4.25 K/BB last season would have been the best among A's starters, by a lot.

Even if we can't confirm that the A's have made a strong play for Iwakuma, it makes sense that the A's would be going this route. First, they have been beating the "International Scouting" drum for a while. Second, they have something like $20M coming off the books this offseason. Third, they have several young players that will require pay raises in the coming seasons. Combine the second and third point with the fact that they have no way of knowing when their long term revenue situation might stabilize and it is clear to see that signing the Japanese pitcher to a relatively cost controlled 3-5 year deal, with a $16M posting fee, is a better play than spending $120M on Jayson Werth or trying to outbid the Angels, or Red Sox, for Carl Crawford.

Scouting reports on the 29 year old pitcher seem to indicate that he is able to accomplish his outstanding K/BB (4.25 would have been 4th amongst qualified MLB starters this past season) due to an ability to throw four plus pitches for strikes. Scouting reports also indicated that Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hideki Irabu were the equal of Bob Gibson and Warren Spahn, or something. Even so, I am smiling at the thought of Iwakuma coming to Oakland. It tells me that the A's have a plan. In this case I would call it Operation Spend a Large Chunk of the Money Coming Off the Books on a Posting Fee for a Guy Who Can Improve the Rotation for the Next 3-4 Seasons and Trade to Upgrade the Offense. As Yoda might say, "Always focused on the big picture, Billy is."

Ken Rosenthal speculates that the A's might be looking to sign Iwakuma and trade a guy like Vin Mazzaro for a guy like Casey McGehee. Or he may have speculated that specific deal. Personally, I am not so sure that Billy Beane would be looking for that deal. McGehee was more valuable than Kouzmanoff last season (3.5 WAR v 2.9) but he is only one year younger than Kouz and he has only had one season where he was better than Kouzmanoff. McGehee's value was strictly on offense, Beane seems to prefer defensive value when given an either/or choice, and he played in the National League. I'd venture the better bet is that Kouzmanoff's value last season is more or less what can be expected, while McGehee can be expected to regress to something more like Kouzmanoff's.

Even if the deal is McGehee and Iwakuma at the cost of Kouzmanoff and Mazzaro, and nothing more, I like it. I expect something more, but I like Iwakuma as a start. Then again, it might end up being none of this. Iwakuma's team could accept a different bid. If they select the A's, Iwakuma may be looking for more than the A's offer and he can go back to Japan for a season and be free to sign with any team he chooses in a year. I am confident, even if it isn't this, there will be more head shaking and smiling over the next few months.

Random tidbits below the fold...

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Often, I hear people rail on about Bud Selig's tenure as MLB Commissioner and wonder, "Why?" I mean, I hear the reasons people are spouting, but I wonder why people think most of the things they are railing about are bad things? The arguments against Bud, generally, fall into two buckets. The micro, specific to a team and market (ie. Bud Selig wants the A's out of Oakland) and the macro (ie. Bud Selig has killed countless kittens, and destroyed the sanctity of the game, by changing the playoff format and having games in November/introducing Interleague play/letting the All Star game decide home field advantage in the World Series/so on and so forth).

On the micro front, I would buy the argument specific to the market we care most about if a) the A's had actually moved out of Oakland at any point over the past 15 years that Selig has been talking about the need for an adequate facility or b) I didn't have to believe that it has taken Bud 15 years to do something that has been completely within his span of control the whole time. But, micro complaints are not specific to the A's.There are grievances in other markets that are specific to those markets and maybe some have more merit.

One complaint I can understand, and fully agree with, is that Selig has orchestrated a fleecing of public funds in just about every MLB market for stadium construction. Of the 21 most recent stadiums constructed to house MLB teams, starting with Oriole Park and ending with Target Field, only four have been built with more private sources of funding than public. Of those four, only two have been as much as 80% privately financed.

Besides that... Bud Selig has been absolutely great for baseball. Okay, that is probably an overstatement, but on balance, he has been good for the game.

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So, Halladay v Lincecum was not as good as the hype. Moving right along...

Last week we, the frog in my pocket and I, talked about some out there stuff regarding the A's offense next season. Now it is time to talk about the arms race (not Reaganomics related).... The Rangers pitching staff earned about 5 more WAR than the Green and Gold (and sometimes Black) pitchers did.

Time to rectify...

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Roy Halladay v Tim Lincecum... Do I really need to say anything else?

Hmmmm.... Watching these playoff threads, and games, has got me wishing there was a lot more Green and Gold (and sometimes Black) on the field.

Congratulations to Nick Swisher on advancing to the ALCS. The rest of those guys can bite me. Well, except for Curtis Granderson, cause he looks a lot like Burton Guster and Burton Guster is one half of my favorite TV duo.

Yesterday, I was all ready to say congratulations to the Rangers for moving on to the first ALCS in franchise history. Instead, I am just relegated to watching them try to close out the Rays today (10:07 AM in the Right Time Zone, TV: TBS, Radio: KNBR 1050). I will forever love Ron Washington and he deserves the champagne shower.

Also today, we have another old favorite taking on the Cross Bay Rivals in Atlanta (1:37 in the Right Time Zone, TV: TBS, Radio: KNBR 680 if you can stomach it). I usually have no rooting interest in games not involving the A's, but this one is hard. I'd love for my Uncle Larry to celebrate a trophy winning season by his beloved Giants, but I can't root against Huddy. Oh, the guilt!

Later we have the Reds trying to fend off elimination, at home, against the Phillies (4:07 in the Right Time Zone, on TNT, though it could be TBS now that Yankees finished the Twins). I'll be honest, I hate the Reds and want them to lose. Not just because of 1990, but because of all the praise lauded on the "Big Red Machine." There were two supposed apex predators in the baseball world in the early 70's. They only met head to head once. Much like the Orca is less feared than the White Shark, the Swinging A's get less respect than the Big Red Machine. Just like the Orca hunts (and eats) White Sharks, the A's won 3 World Series', including the only head to head match up of the two dominant clubs of the early 70's. All of Cincinnati should bow to G and G (and sometimes B) forever and always.

Speaking of the G and G (and sometimes B), there have been a lot of posts lately about how to make next year a "Year of the Ring" kind of year. There have been some good ideas put forth (and here)... but I got some random thoughts, too.

Really, the A's need to upgrade, at multiple positions, if they are going to do what Jake Taylor once suggested a fictional Indians team needed to do. I think we all, mostly, agree on that. How we get there... Well, it is fun to argue!

Some thoughts below the fold...

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"Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light" -Dylan Thomas

I find it hard to write a recap about today's game. It was a good game. It's just that the season is gone and it feels a bit like a can of Pringles. Barbecue flavor. At the point when all that's left are the shards of barbecue powdered potato flakes and you "drink" them down. And then you are afraid to look into the canister because you know they are all gone, but you still want more of that sweet mesquite tang on your tongue.

The only difference is that I can't go down to Safeway and grab another can. Sure, there will be a few weeks of Sour Cream and Onion, or Original flavor, left to enjoy. But Barbecue is gone. And it is this fact that has me reading Dylan Thomas poetry.

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We head to the final home stretch of the season.... A's have the bases loaded with one out, Carter up.

Europe - The Final Countdown (via EuropeVEVO)

We are down to the last game of the year. I think it is only appropriate that Dallas Braden is taking the hill in an effort to give the A's their first season at .500, or better, since the magical playoff season of 2006. After all, the best moment in recent franchise history was Mr. Braden's perfecto on Mother's Day.

The M's counter with Ryan Rowland-Smith, who is probably pitching in an attempt to avoid being non tendered.

Back to Braden, besides his perfecto.... Which moment, from the past season sticks out to you and why? Is it Coco Crisp's broken pinky? The first or the second? Brett Anderson's two DL stints? Trogdor burninatin' Safeco Field? Something else?

Back to today, the lineups:

The Texas Rangers outlasted the Athletics today in the final home game of the season for Oakland, 16-9. Texas was never behind, and had seemingly put the game away for good, before a Spring Trainingesque offensive explosion erupted late in the game.

It may have been Dallas Braden Bobblehead Day, but it was Trevor Cahill who was left dizzy by the blitzkrieg style pummeling of the Rangers offense. Cahill, considered a fringe Cy Young candidate by many observers, wobbled his way through 4 innings, surrendering 12 hits and 7 runs before hitting the showers.

Conversely, Rangers starter Colby Lewis cruised through his first postseason warm up start. Lewis, who spent last season in Japan, will have one more tune up before heading into his first post season as a Major League starting pitcher. Lewis struck out 6 Oakland hitters in 6 innings of work, while surrendering a single run.

The two teams scored a combined 15 runs in the final 2 innings (the A's scoring 6 in the 8th, 2 in the 9th, and Rangers 7 in the 9th) to close out the A's home schedule with some fireworks.

The A's will head down the coast to Anaheim, for 3 games with the Angels, and then on to Seattle, for 4 with the Mariners, to close out the season.

Some randomness to start the game thread (because I didn't want to push Nico's UZR discussion of the front page yet. Go. Read. Discuss. It is what makes AN awesome):

• If it was 1960, the Athletic men in Green and Gold (and sometimes Black) would have been relevant right up to the penultimate day! I just realized that when I wrote "Open Thread Game 154."
• With yesterday's loss, the A's are at .500 for the 4367th time this season.Okay, it is actually not that many times, but still. Joe Morgan would have trouble arguing that this team is not "consistent." Well, he wouldn't have trouble arguing it, he just wouldn't make much sense if he did. Wait, does he ever care if he makes sense?
• In a somewhat related note: Why have the Giants become the official "we whine about everything" club? San Jose? Humidor? That they have to pay Barry Zito and Aaron Rowand for a few more years? Wait, that wasn't related at all. Go Padres!
  
• We still have a few days to vote for Bill. It is pretty clear that he will be on the ballot this year. Now we just need to figure out who to bug to get them to vote for him. All I know is past Ford C. Frick Award winners have a vote... Jon Miller, your email box is about to be flooded.
  

Lastly, the smell of champagne permeates the bowels of our beloved, if broken, "baseball" stadium. Once again, it is not the A's with the hangover, the damp clubhouse or plastic sheeting in their lockers. Congratulations to the Rangers. The A's were relevant a lot longer this year than last, for that I am thankful. We have all known, for at least a month, that the road was just too tough to hoe. But this team has been doing anything but playing out the string and the effort is neither unnoticed, nor unappreciated..

2011, officially, starts today.

Man, I love baseball.

That is the first thing that crosses my mind after a game like today's. The A's ran their JV team up against a resurgent Francisco Liriano. Considering that the A's lineup had only scored more runs than five teams in all of baseball coming into the game, and Francisco Liriano had only allowed 2 runs over his pervious 21.2 innings, it seemed runs would be hard to get.

Add to that, Bobby Cramer was making his second career start against a team that has scored 723 runs. Tied for fifth most in all of baseball. It wouldn't have been shocking if the A's had whimpered quietly on their way out of the gorgeous Target Field on the wrong end of a lopsided score.

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Bobby Cramer, I feel for you.... You get to face Francisco Liriano with these guys flailing away at the plate:

Stranger things have happened, I guess... Go A's

Bill King. I have typed that name in various places (email, facebook, newballpark.org and here) with regularity lately. It gets old for everyone I am sharing his name with, I am sure. But today's reminder... Vote for Bill King on the National Baseball Hall of Fame facebook profile page. Voting is winding down and if my informal tracking method is correct, Bill, along with Jaques Doucet and Tom Cheek, will be on the ballot that other Ford C. Frick award winners, and a select committee, will use to select the next winner.

But does it matter? This will be the third consecutive season that Cheek and Doucet will finish in the top 3 and they have yet to win the award. Bill King has been the top vote getter before and still no Frick Award.

I have been encouraged that the A's have been campaigning on Bill's behalf. It is something I thought they should have been doing for a while. Let's hope that they have a list of people who will be voting and that they have prepared a highlight reel of Bill's best calls to send to each of those voters. Bill belongs in Cooperstown.

/endsoapbox

Now for some randomness:

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For the second Sunday in a row, the Oakland A's failed to complete a three game sweep. This time, it was a come from ahead defeat, my favorite kind. Just like many games recently, the A's had several opportunities to deal significant damage but failed to come through.

On the plus side, the A's had already won the season series with the Red Sox before the game began. Additionally, they just wrapped up a home stand in which they won every series, going 6-3 against the Angels, Mariners and Red Sox. Most importantly, from my perspective, the A's have a realistic shot at completing their first .500 or better campaign since 2006. I mean, they have now been at .500 273,000 times this season.

I billed this game "The Battle of Bulldogs" in the initial game thread. While that meme eventually lost it's relevance, the first three innings had me thinking, "What exactly is the definition of a bulldog?"

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The Battle of Bulldogs meme has sort of gone by the wayside. The bad guys lead 4-3. New thread mojo for the home stretch! Go A's.

The Battle of Bulldogs continues with both dodging base on balls induced bullets, though Beckett has budged. 1-0 A's as we head to the fourth.... Go A's!

Two bulldogs, Braden and Beckett, square off today in Oaktown. For the second straight week the A's have the opportunity to sweep. Dang it's nice to type that this late in the season...

As some of us cling to the notion that the A's are still in this thing, I am looking ahead and thinking about a bunch of things I don't really care about. Like, what Bob Geren could do differently to get the team over the hump (to put it nicely).

I mean, we all talk about lineups and who should be where on the field when? When should you send runners? When should you hit and run? Why the heck is Daric Barton bunting, at all? How come Kurt Suzuki plays 3000 games a season? I don't think any of that is even important anymore, well except the Suzuki thing.

One of my main criticisms of Bob Geren is that he doesn't get kicked out much. I don't believe that managers really impact the game as much as some think, and certainly getting thrown out more regularly wouldn't change that. I just remember when my coach in American Legion ball would get tossed and it was awesome. We'd all laugh about it for at least a week. I want some theater to go with my all pitch-no hit baseball experience. That said, Bob, a fan is showing you up!

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There was a game today. The A's got beat, by the score of 7-4 and failed to complete a sweep against the Angels. It is nothing new, they haven't swept the Angels since 2004. The A's pitching, defense and base running all left a lot to be desired. Vin Mazzaro was uninspiring. Boof Bonser was okay. Jeff Larish continues to look like a good surprise. Daric Barton is showing that he is really a big league regular. Kevin Kouzmanaoff left the game with back spasms, officially becoming a full fledged Oakland Athletic. The A's continued the theme of letting the Angels get on base all day, but not the theme of not letting them score.

What really has me steamed is the fact that Ervin Santana wasn't all that good. He usually looks like some hybrid of The Six Million Dollar Man and Superman when pitching against the A's. The A's let one get away while the Rangers were trying to let them back in the race. This is depressing.

Let's talk about something else, shall we?

The precipitous fall of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim from media darling to pretty mediocre. I have been thinking about this fanpost (thanks DFA) at random times for most the past year. When I first read it, I remember thinking "They just picked Scott Kazmir and Erick Aybar over a potential stud."

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