Game #18: A's 4, Angels 5
April 22, 2006 | A's vs. Los Angeles
Despite the loss, this game was exciting enough to keep me in good spirits.
Who didn't marvel at Chavy's catch in the 2nd? This kind of play makes me glad I'm watching it on TV with all the slo-mo replays. Chavy and Kendall both run for the popup in the foul area. Chavy slows and looks away from the ball, ready to let Kendall get it, and yet still holds his arm out. Incredibly, the ball lands right in Chavy's glove. I can't read the expression on Kendall's face -- something like, "I said 'mine' already, but you just have to go out and get it." Stranger than fiction and more awe-inspiring than any of the TV commercials they've dreamed up for Eric Chavez.
Nick Swisher, my boyfriend of the week. I was fortunate enough to turn my attention to the TV when DJ got a hit (DJ GOT A HIT!) and loaded the bases. An Ellis strikeout later, Swish comes to bat and hits his first major league grand slam. Again with the basking in instant replay joyance. Again with the private handshake-leg kick Swisher shares with Milton Bradley. After the commercial break, the TV camera catches Swish, distinguished by his mop of dark brown hair and the angular facial hair designs on his jawline, looking dreamily at the field, possibly relishing the accomplishment. He's only 25. May this be the first of many grand slams in an eminent career.
Swisher brings the score to 5-4, Angels. He also makes a couple of outstanding catches in left field, swelling my chest with pride for him even further. And the score stays that way through the end of the game. Scot Shields was automatic for the Angels. Brad Halsey, looking like a high school student to me, relieves Dan Haren after 7.1 and meets expectations. Everyone tensely sits through the 9th because -- hey, it's A's vs. Angels in a one-run game and K-Rod coming to the mound. But Macha gets Frank Thomas to pinch hit for Kendall thus obliterating any possibility, no matter how slim, that another strange endgame is put into motion.
Dan Haren, I still love you, despite your second loss of the season.
Jeff Weaver, now with the Angels, gets the win. Every time I hear this guy's name, I think of the three-team trade that Billy Beane did in July 2002. Billy dealt Jeremy Bonderman to Detroit for Weaver, then traded Weaver to the Yankees for Ted Lilly. Over the course of a day, I think. You know how I feel about Bonderman, but I can't quite explain my disdain for Weaver. I'm being unfair about this, but I consider him to be a stack of poker chips or something.
I'm really psyched at how the A's and Angels rivalry has been developing over the last few years, particularly in the last couple of seasons. And there's one more game tomorrow! Part of me doesn't care who wins, even though the A's have dropped eight of the last 11. I just want to be wowed.
(Game experience: Watched key A's plays on FSNBA.)
A's record: 8-10 | streak: L-1 | well-A-meter: 3
Despite the loss, this game was exciting enough to keep me in good spirits.
Who didn't marvel at Chavy's catch in the 2nd? This kind of play makes me glad I'm watching it on TV with all the slo-mo replays. Chavy and Kendall both run for the popup in the foul area. Chavy slows and looks away from the ball, ready to let Kendall get it, and yet still holds his arm out. Incredibly, the ball lands right in Chavy's glove. I can't read the expression on Kendall's face -- something like, "I said 'mine' already, but you just have to go out and get it." Stranger than fiction and more awe-inspiring than any of the TV commercials they've dreamed up for Eric Chavez.
Nick Swisher, my boyfriend of the week. I was fortunate enough to turn my attention to the TV when DJ got a hit (DJ GOT A HIT!) and loaded the bases. An Ellis strikeout later, Swish comes to bat and hits his first major league grand slam. Again with the basking in instant replay joyance. Again with the private handshake-leg kick Swisher shares with Milton Bradley. After the commercial break, the TV camera catches Swish, distinguished by his mop of dark brown hair and the angular facial hair designs on his jawline, looking dreamily at the field, possibly relishing the accomplishment. He's only 25. May this be the first of many grand slams in an eminent career.Swisher brings the score to 5-4, Angels. He also makes a couple of outstanding catches in left field, swelling my chest with pride for him even further. And the score stays that way through the end of the game. Scot Shields was automatic for the Angels. Brad Halsey, looking like a high school student to me, relieves Dan Haren after 7.1 and meets expectations. Everyone tensely sits through the 9th because -- hey, it's A's vs. Angels in a one-run game and K-Rod coming to the mound. But Macha gets Frank Thomas to pinch hit for Kendall thus obliterating any possibility, no matter how slim, that another strange endgame is put into motion.
Dan Haren, I still love you, despite your second loss of the season.Jeff Weaver, now with the Angels, gets the win. Every time I hear this guy's name, I think of the three-team trade that Billy Beane did in July 2002. Billy dealt Jeremy Bonderman to Detroit for Weaver, then traded Weaver to the Yankees for Ted Lilly. Over the course of a day, I think. You know how I feel about Bonderman, but I can't quite explain my disdain for Weaver. I'm being unfair about this, but I consider him to be a stack of poker chips or something.
I'm really psyched at how the A's and Angels rivalry has been developing over the last few years, particularly in the last couple of seasons. And there's one more game tomorrow! Part of me doesn't care who wins, even though the A's have dropped eight of the last 11. I just want to be wowed.
(Game experience: Watched key A's plays on FSNBA.)
A's record: 8-10 | streak: L-1 | well-A-meter: 3
posted by blank book at 5:20 PM
3 Comments:
Sigh! Kielty's in the minors, Payton's on the bench and Bradley's dropping balls in right field. If he makes that catch in the fifth inning, the A's probably win 4-2.
I know he had to dive for it, but let's face it. The pockets of outfielders' gloves these days are only slightly smaller than the state of Rhode Island. If the ball hits the pocket, it should be an out.
As a former infielder, I know that moving from the left side of the diamond to the right side is a big adjustment (at least for those of us less talented than Marco Scutaro). Maybe Bradley needs time to adjust to right field. But he took a bad angle on a ball Friday, turning a single into a triple and today he turns an out into a double.
I really want him to succeed, because, unlike Swisher (who I like a lot), Bradley can run from first to home without getting winded.
Go Milton! Get us to Broadway and Park Place.
Please?
Jeff Weaver is a jerk. He was a jerk with the Dodgers and he's still a jerk with the Angels. The only good news is that we don't have to see him much since he moved to the AL but come interleague or playoff, I'll be happy to see his A$$ spanked once in a while. I'll be counting on your A's to shake him next time you meet :)
I was watching SportsCenter and they showed the Swisher Grand salami. nice moves with Milton Bradley on the celebration :)
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