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..."                                       

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