Thursday, September 27, 2012

Things to be thankful for in the 2012 Season

I think I've decided that during a slow period, the last week of the real baseball season, before things get SUPER GOOFY, it's time for a new post.  I know it's not over for the Oakland Athletics yet, in fact our fate for this season remains unknown at this point.  So, what gets written today may mean less (or more!) in a few days when the regular season ends on Wednesday, October 3rd.



I'm thankful for the ability to watch a phenomenal turnaround, starting with the All Star Break... and who knows when it's going to end. During July, August and September we have seen things that NO ONE, not even the most optimistic of us, would have ever anticipated.  I have to admit, in April I wasn't one of the more optimistic... I was hoping to end the season 5 games over 500.  I think I'll get that =)

Thanks to many players who have risen to the occasion on days when needed, we've also gotten walk of wins, a TON OF WALK OFF WINS, and thanks to Josh Reddick and Brandon Inge, we've gotten PIES, TONS OF PIES... and thanks to Coco Crisp, Brandon Inge, Josh Reddick and many others, we've gotten the BERNIE LEAN...


And we've also seen some heartbreaking things take place, like the loss of our Ace, Brandon McCarthy, to a freak accident- a line drive back to the mound that was painful for us all to watch, but could have been much worse than it was. Thankfully, he is recovering and will hopefully be back to 100% of his former self... the human part off the field, and the super human part that we as fans have come to rely upon on the field.  We also saw the rise and fall of Brett Anderson, who made a stellar recovery from Tommy John surgery, only to be sidelined by a bizarre oblique sprain.  Then there's the odd case of Coco Crisp- falling to a heretofore unheard of care of conjunctivitis ("pink eye") from Hell... that simply refuses to GO AWAY!! Let's also not forget Scott Sizemore being sidelined the first week of the season, Brandon Inge's separated shoulder, Jordan Norberto's shoulder problem and a number of lesser aggravations and injuries that have cost a lot of our players time off the field.

Yes, I MUCH prefer this image of B McCarthy, thank you very much!

But back to the "thankful side"- the players who have been there to pick up the pieces. Josh Donaldson, Adam Rosales, Stephen Drew,  to name a few.  And while we lost a lot of good players at the end of 2011 (Andrew Bailey, Gio Gonzalez, Trevor Cahill) and even during 2012 (Kurt Suzuki) they added players like YOENIS CESPEDES, Josh Reddick, Jonny Gomes, Seth Smith, Tommy Milone, George Kottaras, Derrick Norris, Jarrod Parker, and Travis Blackley.  These additions have given Bob Melvin the "opportunity" to have 132 different lineup this season... and some of them DRASTICALLY different!

Speaking of Bob Melvin- I can't say enough good about his effort this, and the second half of last, year.  His outward calm and controlled manner of handling the team and his undying love of the game are a large factor in how well this team has done. And I'm NOT saying this because of how bad we had it before his arrival, this is all BoMel.  The pairing of Melvin with Chip Hale, Curt Young and others like Chili Davis, Ty Waller and Mike Gallego is what has helped this young team stay in focus and not get rattled when they had a 9 game losing streak, or a game go completely upside down on them.  They simply picked themselves up, dusted themselves off, and move forward.



And a biggie for ME on a personal level.  I'm thankful for the ability to interact with the organization, the broadcasters, reporters, on-air staff, and others around the team during the course of the year. Most of it's been on Twitter- some by email and 'press the flesh" meetings, but none the less, it's made the experience even more enjoyable for me.  So in no special order, here's my thank you list of "go-to" people.

@Athletics , @CSNAthletics , @CaseyPrattCSN , @KLongworthCSN , @amandab729 , @HenryWoffordCSN , @cads32 , @susanslusser , @dfeldy , @JessicaAtTheAs , @AlexMareema , @townsendradio, @brodiebrazilCSN, @karashotcorner , and I'm sure there are others I've left out.

Thank you all for "indulging" this fan, responding to questions and comments, putting my tweets on the pre and post game shows, interacting with us all at the Tweet-Up and just keeping it real.



I would also be remiss to not mention the  players, their wives and girl friends who have also been great communicators.  I won't single anyone out, but some of you have been extremely gracious in your replies and comments back and forth, and you've gone a long way to break down stereotypes of the stuck-up, over paid, untouchable elite that has surrounded many in professional sports in the past.  There are a number of these people I'd enjoy sitting down for a drink or dinner with and not feel in any way uncomfortable around them.

Having just glanced over at today's score (Sept 27 vs. TX in Arlington, down 9-4 in the 7th) this is NOT one of the days I have to be thankful for, but then again, I look at the fact we split this series IN Arlington and we're still in the "Hunt for Green October" and in the words of Scarlett O'Hara, I say  "..After all, tomorrow IS another day..."                                       

Friday, June 8, 2012

Another Athletics change that makes NO SENSE to me

Okay, I kept my trap shut (at least HERE) about all the trades and swaps and roster moves during the off season and even most of them during the early season, but this latest BONEHEAD decision at the hands of the Athletics front office really chaps my hide. 

Part of it is WHAT is happening, but more of it is THE WAY its being handled. On June 7th, an article came out (Susan Slusser, SF Chron) http://goo.gl/2MPvk letting us know that for 20 games beginning next week, Ray Fosse, our veteran broadcaster and former Oakland Athletics catcher, was being replaced by Scott Hatteberg. REALLY? I mean for me, this is like replacing a Porterhouse steak with Tofu.... or Wild Turkey with iced tea!! I mean in the first example, they're both protein and in the second, they look similar... but other than that there's NO comparison in the intended application.

Sure it MAY be a temporary situation... and some say "well, it's related to the anniversary of the streak..." but in reading published reports, it took Ray by surprise and it was probably a tough blow.  The "Marion Mule" spent 12 years in the Majors, including post season play in 3 years and 2 Gold Gloves. After a break from the game for about 6 years, he joined the Atheltics broadcast team in 1986 where he has remained for 25 years effective this season.  And presumably he would remain in that role as long as he desired... at least most of us fans have always hoped so. 

Are the Athletics looking for "something new"?  Do they want to see if they can turn a former catcher and short term first baseman into a broadcaster now?  Don't know, can't tell... bet even Hatteberg seemed surprised by the move.  His reactions? 

       "I'm excited to do it. I've never done it before, though, so I'm not sure how well I'll do." 

       "It wasn't my idea" 

       "I haven't pursued it. But they asked if I'd have interest, and I'd like to try it. We'll see."

Well heck, that's good enough for me.  Gimme another plate of that tofu and a glass of iced tea to wash it down.

Maybe part of the whole thing is Ray *IS* old school (thankfully) and he talks about stuff relate to baseball that lots of fans grew up on- not the kind of stuff that is being discussed now in making transactions or that impact many roster moves and player shifts.

Similar to many others, I'm not mesmerized by all the new stat categories, I still see baseball as a tactile sport.  Just like I prefer to read a book printed on paper as opposed to on a screen digitally, I prefer to rate a player's ability by what I see on the field and how they react to situations placed before them "in the moment", not how it looks when its reduced to stats.  And don't get me wrong, I'm NOT a troglodyte- I have a smartphone, am completely computer literate and I even live tweet games!

But for me, when you see a Lou Brock, or Rickey, or Jemile get that lead and edge a little farther and a little farther... they aren't doing it based on what they read about a pitcher's timing or a catcher's release... it's based on their GUT and a feeling that they can take that base.  Same as when a single gets stretched into a double, or a bad hop gets gobbled up and a player can STILL turn that DP. 

The WAR I'm interested in is the one going on in "Battlefield Baseball", between the white lines on the green grass.  And yeah, I'm old school... but I do pay attention to stats like  RBIs, HRs, BAs, PAs, pitch count, complete games, ball/strike ratio etc... but it doesn't color my feelings about what I'm watching.  In football, there's a saying "On any given Sunday...".  For me in baseball, it's "On any given day, of the 162 days"

Back to the important stuff- I think its CRITICAL the Athletics keep Ray around as long as he's willing to stay. His perspective and ability to add the history of this team and the game in general is impossible to put a price on.  He's been in and around the MLB nearly 50 years, and no amount of reading and watching games is going to replace that.  The experiences he's shared with players, managers, coaches,  top-notch broadcasters and learning how to "paint a picture with words" from people like Monte Moore, Bill King and Lon Simmons who broadcasted baseball before we were watching more than just the "Game of the Week" on TV puts him head and shoulders above the rest.

I don't care that he doesn't embrace Twitter, or can't spout New World stats, but when you can hear someone talk about the stadiums that were there in the past and how they were configured, it goes a long way towards explaining WHY some stats exist for classic players that can't be matched now.  And when he can shed light on how decisions were made to allow a pitcher to be left in for a complete game, or how many games they started and finished in a season and why- be it the lack of a bullpen, or that another pitcher had gone 11 innings two days earlier, or there was a double header coming up in a week... you know WHY you NEVER WILL SEE the pitching stats of yesteryear repeated again.

As for Hatteberg as a color man, his exposure to the game is rather limited, don' t you think? 14yrs in MLB (sorta), 1300 games, but only 6 REAL near full seasons... but he *IS* the only player in MLB history to hit into a triple play and hit a grand slam in his next at-bat =)  I just don' t think he has the 'depth and breadth' of experience and exposure to baseball to give the role what it deserves and placing him in that position opposite a lackluster Glen Kuiper will drive more people farther away from interacting with a team that's having trouble maintaining a "base" already.

Is this the WORST decision made by the Athletics  Front Office?  Not by A LONG SHOT... not the worst one this season even... but it's a highly visible BONEHEAD MOVE and I would REALLY like to see them think twice about it.  If they want to try this, add Hatteberg as a third man maybe.  Let him give some insights, or maybe do color every third inning for a couple of weeks and see what kind of feedback they get... but don't do it this way.  

It's demoralizing and it's underhanded... Hmm... wonder WHO that smacks of?