SB Nation User Blog: oakland ehs

Opening Day Photos and photos in general

oakland ehs — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 06:03:06 -0000

As some of you may or may not know, I'm a bit of a photo nerd. I like to look at hi-res photos from games, especially when I am unable to see them - which is far too often.

Trouble is, it's freaking hard to find hi-res photos. CBS sportsline used to be good for it, because you could just change the size by editing part of the URL, but they have hardly any photos anymore, especially for the A's.

(eg: this becomes this, and there's only 5 photos from the game tonight - all of the Red Sox)

Yahoo is great for photos, but unfortunately, I just can't find them big enough for my liking, or big enough for desktop backgrounds, which is what I'd really like to do.

A long time ago I found a photo site that seemed to have all kinds of AP/Getty images in high resolution, but I can't remember what it was at all, Google isn't saving me, and who knows, it could be gone know anyways.

So my question to you is - do you know of some great site out there for exactly what I'm looking for?

Or, do you have some great photos you've taken yourself that you'd like to share? I know someone posted a great one last year of the Coliseum as the sun was setting, I used it as my background for quite awhile.

And finally, as an example of a photo I'd really like to find in a high resolution, this one here:

via d.yimg.com

So if anyone has any hints or photos of their own to share, it'd be greatly appreciated.

Matt Kemp is officially awesome.

oakland ehs — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 18:15:32 -0000

Matt Kemp is officially awesome.

Upon seeing outfielder Matt Kemp appear in the clubhouse at 8:30 a.m., according to MLB.com, Manny Ramirez called out, "You're late. I was here at 6:30." "I was here three weeks ago," Kemp retorted, according to MLB.com.

Found this little tidbit on a forum, can't find the link source.

Harden's woes continuing, likely to miss WBC

oakland ehs — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 01:45:11 -0000

Harden's woes continuing, likely to miss WBC

Pitching was always going to be Canada's soft spot at the World Baseball Classic and things are looking worse now that Ryan Dempster has bowed out and Rich Harden is questionable.

The 45-man provisional rosters for all 16 teams at the tournament were unveiled Monday by Major League Baseball, with Dempster's stunning omission the only major surprise from the national team's entry.

Harden's name did make Canada's list but health concerns are putting his participation into serious doubt. The Chicago Sun-Times reported over the weekend that the Cubs right-hander from Victoria has a slight tear in his shoulder, and with US$7 million committed to him in 2009, the NL Central champions aren't likely to be pleased if he pulls on the Maple Leaf jersey.

His absence from the final 28-man roster that's due Feb. 24 would be understandable under those circumstances, but Dempster's is a little tougher to explain.

I don't know of Harden's most recent injury problems have been discussed on here or not, but this may just add a little more fuel.

As you may or may not know, I've been one of Harden's biggest supporters, and I'm still on the fence about the trade, but regardless I still want to see him do well, and this puts a damper on him, the Cubs, and certainly the chances of us folks in the great white north doing well at the WBC.

My First Coliseum Experience

oakland ehs — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 05:52:16 -0000

Well folks, a family vacation to the Bay Area this past week (I'm still here until Tuesday actually) which means I finally got to see my first A's home games at the Coliseum.

Unfortunately, because it is a family vacation, I could only see two games, Thursday's extra inning loss to the Rays, and today's snoozer against the White Sox.

Still, it was a great experience. I got to talk to a few diehards who sat around me and kind of got to experience what it truly is to be a diehard A's fan myself, which is kind of hard sometimes living in Edmonton, Alberta and having to put in quite a bit of effort online to read up on the team and see highlights.

I came to a few conclusions including...

It's too bad that professional sports need the "Giants-type" experience at the stadium, with the folks in their dress pants talking on their cell phones and eating $14 sushi in order to turn a good profit and keep the club afloat and field a quality team.
There might only be 20,000 people in the park, but they seem to be to be among the best fans at games I've been to. I got to see the A's in Seattle last year, and the Coliseum crowd trumped the hell out of them. I saw the A's for a two game set at Fenway last year, and even they had quite a few fairweathers in the stadium, compared to what seemed to me, mostly A's fans there to be A's fans, and see the team put up more than 2 runs and strand less than 12 baserunners.
The Coliseum was a great place to watch a game, and while there are a few spots that are less than desirable to watch the game, and I was surprised to see troughs in the men's washrooms, I felt very comfortable at McAfee. It was clean, unlike Fenway which was actually kind of grungy in the corridors, and I don't think the stadium is keeping any real fans from showing up at the ballpark.

On the drive back to the hotel, I had ideas for a bunch of other things I wanted to say, but right now, I can't remember anything else, so... here's the best of the photos, and the album links (hopefully they work).

Sorry guys... I jinxed it.

Flattering, Frank.

Knuckle scrapin' Chad.

Note the ball's location at Cust's belt buckle.

Myself in the Harden jersey... I figured having this taken would look cool. Maybe you saw me?

Swish!

I think this took talent... considering I was facing the flag in centerfield and not even looking in this direction when the photo was taken.

Jairo was bringing it today.

Ziggy! I wanted to tell him to give us 39 more but I don't want to bother guys with stuff like that.

Goodbye.

A's/Rays August 14th Album

A's/Sox August 16th Album

Enjoy... and thanks for making my experience a good one A's fans.

My jersey finally came back to me, and just in time for King Rich to hit the DL! It's still...

oakland ehs — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 03:29:44 -0000

My jersey finally came back to me, and just in time for King Rich to hit the DL!

It's still awesome though, and I finally got to put my Bill King patch to good use.

I like the connection with that jersey especially, as I was in Seattle for his first MLB game + first MLB hit ,and got an autograph from him as well.

I Miss Marco

oakland ehs — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 17:15:08 -0000

... Scutaro!

via static.flickr.com

I know, I know. He would have commanded too much money for his contributions to the team, Donnie Murphy does the same thing for the league minimum, blah blah blah.

And yes, I know we are the Oakland A's and not the Boston Red Sox, where they will overpay for a role player just because he is who he is in the clubhouse, to the fans, and on the field.

But let's take a look at Marco's body of work so far this season with the Blue Jays, albeit a small sample size.

He's started all 4 games at 3B, including a 5th today.

3/11, 2 R, 1 RBI, 3 SB, .273/.429/.273

3 stolen bases? And this is a team run by JP Riccardi?

But wow, Scooter can run, and he's run on a catcher with a pretty good arm in Jose Molina, and a decent one in Kevin Cash. Makes you wonder what would have been produced if the A's had been a little more free on the base paths last season like they plan to be this year.

He is on pace for 122 by the way.

Not only has Scutaro been running rampant on the basepaths, but he's had a few beautiful defensive stops at third, and his arm hasn't been too much of a detriment over there either.

I'm not trying to take away from Murphy or Jack Hannahan, but I just wanted to say I miss Scooter and it's nice to see he's having a great start in Toronto.

I only get to see a handful of A's games televised a year, but at least I can see Scutaro's Jays over 100 times... if I choose to.

Witty Fantasy Baseball Team Names

oakland ehs — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 06:27:24 -0000

I'm one of those dorks that tries to think of something semi-funny when I put together my fantasy baseball teams. I usually like to tie it into the A's as best as I can too, but this year I'm kind of stumped. Any ideas?

Plays on words, shots at current or players, racy ones even (not racial, RACY) are all welcome.

Some examples from past years...

Big Mac's Left Cheek (I'm not here to talk about the past)
Skeet Skeet Street (self explanatory. probably moreso to the women of AN)
Parker Brothers (Milton Bradley anyone?)

One of my teams is named the Oakland AAA's this year, but beyond that I'm stuck - and I've got 3 more to field.

Throw em at me folks.

Anybody know where I could find... (jersey related)

oakland ehs — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 02:51:26 -0000

Love the new AN. Thought I'd lose my fanpost virginity with a bit of an odd request...

Does anybody know where I could find an MLB logo patch that is used on the back of the uniforms? Of course I'd be looking for one in A's colors, to match the uniform.

Basically, I have a replica green jersey and I'm trying to make it a bit more authentic. I found a shoulder patch on eBay, but I could only find one MLB patch on there, and it was in the red, white, and blue. As for the rest of the web, any google search brings up useless results.

So if anyone has any ideas, or knows a place, or for some odd reason has an authentic jersey that they would have no problem taking scissors to and cutting out the MLB logo (hey figured I'd try), then please share.

Thanks in advance.

A's New Black Alts?

oakland ehs — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 23:32:49 -0000

I remember last season hearing some rumblings about the A's getting a new black alternate jersey for this season... while I'm not looking forward to another black uniform disaster, am still curious to see it, as much as I think it's not going to look good.

Anyone hear anything about it? Think it will be released at fanfest?

Or perhaps it's been scrapped?

Who should I get on my new A's jersey?

oakland ehs — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 02:02:42 -0000

Sooo I'm going to order my new A's jersey soon. I'm going white, authentic, and I think I'm going to go with a CoolBase jersey just because they're kind of cool (unless anyone has had a problem with them?)

The question is... who do I want on the back? And I do want someone on the back, I just don't know what direction to go in.

From a list of 6 players, which I then whittled down to 3, which I then whittled down to 2, I am left with a choice between Rich Harden and Daric Barton.

Harden - I've been a huge fan of his since he entered the big leagues. I've got a couple autographs and a picture with the guy. He's Canadian, he's an A, and he's a fantastic pitcher - if he's healthy, which is a big if.

Barton - He's young and he'll be here for awhile, and I've got his autograph too. I got to be at his first major league game, and witnessed his first hit. And I'd be one of the first people to get a Barton jersey.

The question is, who do I go with?

Harden has the risk of being injured forever and maybe being traded because the A's see his contract as huge for a guy who never pitches... and pending his situation, may never will.

As for Barton, it's a bit of a risk because he only had a fantastic month. He could tank it in spring training, get cut, play badly in the minors, and never play another game in the big leagues. It's unlikely, but it scares me.

So... which one do you go with? It's not the end of the world if the worst comes to worst with either player - I know the means of getting the jersey re-crested, and I work at a jersey store so it's convenient and I know how it works - and I get a discount.

I just want it to go well.

Poll

Who do you put on your jersey?

40 HARDEN

19 votes

10 BARTON

133 votes

152 votes | Poll has closed