New blog, new location

Obviously the year 2006 is over. I'm moving my journaling efforts to a new blog and a new location.

Wella's A's Blog

Thanks for your patience! I know it was a bad user experience to come here and see broken links and no new posts. But we will resume another year of tracking the A's season at the new blog.

See you there!

Choker?!

Could this be? Did they actually...? Is it what I think it is?

Did someone beat me to it and actually merchandise an

A'S CHOKER?MLB.com Store - Oakland Athletics: Women's: Oakland Athletics Womens Accessories : Gamewear Oakland Athletics Baseball Seam Necklace

Remember when?

OAKLAND, CA - OCTOBER 06: Owner Lewis Wolff and General Manager Billy Bean... - MLB - Yahoo! Sports: "Owner Lewis Wolff and General Manager Billy Beane of the Oakland Athletics celebrate after the final out of game three of the American League Division Series against the Minnesota Twins at McAfee Coliseum on October 6, 2006 in Oakland, California. "

Yeah, I know we're so out of the postseason already. I was just having a moment of nostalgia.

My colleague Mike is a Mets fan and this morning, he wasn't at his desk when I came in. For about a quarter of an hour there we thought he might be too distraught to come in today.

But he did and he seemed to be taking things in stride. He could smile, he could talk about last night's game with the bases loaded and Carlos Beltran striking out, he actually said, "I don't really care."

I think I'm happier to be an A's fan today. At least our losses weren't close ones. In our cases for our last several playoff disappearances, we deserved to lose.

I'm going to tune in to a WS game or two, but I'm certainly not moving my schedule around to accommodate it.

Macha fired!

It finally happened! Ken Macha has been fired!

ESPN.com - MLB - After quick ALCS exit, A's fire manager Macha: "Two days after getting swept out of the ALCS by Detroit, the Oakland A's fired manager Ken Macha, the team announced Monday."

The folks over at the Fire Macha blog must be spraying champagne in their clubhouse...

Ken Macha is a Moron & I Hate Him: "We hate you and we want you gone. You took Ron Washington's job last year after you were axed and then bitched and moaned and sucked Uncle Lew's nuts until they brought you back. The fucking PIRATES didn't even want you, you asshole. What did you do then? Definitely not get out of baseball, as you should have. No, you decide to crawl back here and fuck up another postseason for us."


Unlike most folks, I didn't hate Ken Macha. I always thought that Billy Beane was running the show behind the scenes. Macha is just around to be the HR Director, to deal with bring guys up or sending them down (as per BB's orders), and keep benched players from getting disgruntled.

Sounds like Macha wasn't a personnel person. Who wants a manager -- even an office manager -- who ignores some employees and speaks disparagingly of others?

On the other hand, is Macha simply the goat to sacrifice on the altar of the A's post-season failure? He's not the first losing manager to get fired.

Happy trails, Macha. This time, there's no asking for your job back.

ALCS Game #4: A's 3, Tigers 6

October 14, 2006 | A's @ Detroit

GAME OVER

I'm going to take solace in GeneralChiang's comment earlier. It's better to lose in a sweep like this and know that the better team advanced.

I'm happy for the Tigers. After years of losing, to win like this and go to the World Series will make for a good story.

As for me, I'm not going to be angry or bitter at the A's for a performance that fell short of what was needed to defeat Detroit. Just like Zito, Scutaro, Loaiza, Swisher, the Big Hurt, et al will pack their bags and go home for the off-season, I'm shifting my focus to other things going on in my life.

2006 was still a good season. See you all next year.

(Game experience: FSN)

ALCS Game #3: A's 0, Tigers 3

October 13, 2006 | A's @ Detroit

FRIDAY THE 13th

I'm not superstitious about Friday the 13th. I am superstitious about other matters. I wore my lucky socks today to help the A's get the win, but it didn't seem to work.

A couple of thoughts:

• The Tigers are playing with a ferocity and determination that will not be denied. I don't think they will sweep the A's, but if they did, I wouldn't be surprised.
• Lack of faith, you say? Maybe it's the anger and bitterness talking, but the chances of the Tigers winning four games in a row are greater than the A's chances of winning four games in a row starting tomorrow. Mathematically speaking.

(Game experience: Checked score on MLB Gameday )


ALCS: A's 0, Tigers 3 with 4 games to go | NLDS: Mets 1, Cardinals 0 with 6 games to go

(as of this writing)

We still haven't scored?!

Good golly it's the top of the 8th and Kenny "The Gambler" Rogers is shutting out the A's. This is unacceptable. I'm not going to survive another lost postseason...

ALCS Game 2: A's 5, Tigers 8

October 10, 2006 | A's vs. Detroit

Gosh, is Jeffrey going to get kicked off before the Bryant Park show for cheating?

Oh, wait, back to baseball... but I'm too tired and sad to write much.

• Favorite memories of this game: chanting "Brad-ley" over and over each time Milton Bradley came to take his position in right field after hitting a home run in the previous inning. This happened twice, of course! The first time, Bradley punched his fist and we ate it up. I'm so glad he acknowledged the crowd. The next time, Bradley playfully put his hands up as if to say, "What can I do? I hit it out of the park!" I was not the only one who called out, "Bradley, we love you!"
• And then there was the false hope that was the 9th inning. Frank Thomas, Nick Swisher, and Marco Scutaro have been pretty quiet this series.
• I heard about Cory Lidle's death early this afternoon through my Mets fan co-worker. At first I couldn't believe it until I checked the New York Times website myself. I remember when Lidle pitched a string of 20-plus shutout innings back in 2002.
• Put into that perspective, what's a loss in the ALCS? We're alive.

More later.

(Game experience: Sec 102 Row 20 Seat 2 with Robie on my left)

ALCS: A's 0, Tigers 2 with 5 games to go | NLDS: Mets 0, Cardinals 0 with 7 games to go

ALCS Game 1: A's 1, Tigers 5

October 10, 2006 | A's vs. Detroit

Game 1 goes to the Tigers

Major League Baseball : League Championship Series: "Nate Robertson tossed five shutout innings and the bullpen was stellar again in the Tigers' 5-1 win over the A's in Game 1 of the AL Championship Series on Tuesday night in Oakland."

Oakland Athletics : News : Oakland Athletics News: "Barry Zito, who gave up a run on four hits to beat probable AL Cy Young winner Johan Santana in Game 1 of the AL Division Series at the Metrodome, allowed five runs on seven hits and three walks without a strikeout in 3 2/3 innings at home."

ESPN.com - MLB - Recap: "The A's made mistakes resembling some of their blunders in four straight first-round losses from 2000-03 -- not the clean, crisp defense they showed in the division series. They also went 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position, leaving them 3-for-34 so far this postseason."

In a way, I'm glad this is the home game I did NOT have a ticket for. I would've been really upset to be present for a playoff loss.

Let's get 'em tomorrow! Go A's!


(Game experience: 1220 AM, 1550 AM, Fox)

Yankees fall to the Tigers, 8-3

SO IT'S DETROIT

Jeremy Bonderman pitches a no-hitter for five innings and leads the Detroit Tigers to victory over the New York Yankees. The A's will face Detroit in the ALCS.

I'm happy for Detroit. Honestly. I'm happy for them today. And their fans. For a few years now I've thought of Detroit as a loser destination. When Jeremy Bonderman was traded to the Tigers (with Carlos Pena and Franklyn German), I thought Bonderman was being unfairly punished. Scuttlebutt says Carlos Pena was untrainable and he was shipped out of Oakland after only a couple of months. In exchange, the A's got Jeff Weaver who was promptly traded to the Yankees for Ted Lilly and a couple of other players. I've always favored Bonderman and viewed him as someone who should've stayed with Oakland. But, hey, far be it from me to question Billy Beane.


So I'm really glad that Jeremy Bonderman enjoys this success today. He is a winner and his environment has changed to mirror this.

• A guy was wearing a t-shirt that said, "Bondermania." A sign in the stands read, "Spiderman, Superman, Bonderman."
• When the Tigers won, manager Jim Leyland kissed his daughter and his wife through the netting behind home plate that protects the fans from foul balls. A male fan also pursed his lips through the net. Leyland gamely kissed the bill of the fan's baseball cap. I thought that was a nice moment. Amusing, but also touching.
• The Yankees deserved to lose. Yesterday they were criticized on Baseball Tonight for playing "without emotion." In the TV close-ups of Gary Sheffield and A-Rod in particular, you could see the defeat in their eyes. And this was when there were still two innings to go!
• For a brief moment I allowed myself to fantasize that the Yankees could rally in the 9th and score a bunch of runs, but eventually lose 8-7 to Detroit. I also fantasized that the Yankees would win and drag out their series a little longer. Either way, I wanted the ALCS opponent of the A's to be as tired as possible.
• A teeny tiny part of me also wanted the Yankees to win and get beaten by the A's in the ALCS. As it is, this defeat by the Yankees to Detroit might be the last straw for George Steinbrenner. He might acutally -- yipes! -- explore other strategies for building a baseball team. He might condone a closer look at how Billy Beane runs the A's.
• After clinching, the Tigers grab bottles of champagne from the plastic-protected clubhouse, then rush back OUT to the field so they can spray fans and share the celebration with them.
• Even Kenny Rogers, of all people, clambers onto the roof of a dugout with two bottles of champagne. Fans reach out to him, anticipating the champagne spray. This is Kenny freakin' Rogers. I shake my head.


• The Tigers carry Jim Leyland off the field. Literally carry him up on their shoulders. We'll never see that happen to an A's manager in the Beane era. Can I call him Mr. Wildcard?
• More cool signs in the stands that were shown on TV: "Fly Home Alex" (referring to A-Rod, of course); "Destiny" (with the capital D in the Detroit logo); and "Happy Day."
• And finally, they also showed a fan in the stands holding aloft a simple sign. "Oakland you're next."

The A's are ready for you. Bring on the Tigers.