Perfection never lasts...

If you are a baseball fan you have undoubtedly heard about Dallas Bradens Perfect game! That is, unless you live under a rock. I myself was working that day, and made regular trips to and from our clubhouse so I could catch some of the game.

It wasn't until about the 5th inning where i really started to get anxious. In my opinion that seems to be about the make it or break it spot in a 9 inning game. That point in the game where the pitcher buckles down and keeps knocking down batters one after another. Towards the 7th I was in full excitement mode, listening to the game on the radio only made it worse. I would have given up almost anything to trade my desk at work, to whoever was sitting in my usual section 120 row 5 seat!

My only thought was to do the usual constant game updates via Facebook, but not today! The unwritten rule about no-no's is you don't talk about it til it's done. Specially when perfect game is on the line. I was bummed not to be able to see the final pitch, and see the team rush out and congratulate the star pitcher. What a feeling that must be for a young up and coming pitcher playing the best game in the world, on Mothers Day, with his grandmother in the stadium.

Congrats to you Braden, now keep up the good work, and take it easy on the temper tantrums!

Some pics from his storm of interviews following the game:





In other news, Oakland's 3 game win streak was cut short after Texas handed them a nice can of woop ass. I swear, the inconsistency of this team will be the death of me. Granted, the perfect game handed to Tampa Bay was all Braden... How can you beat some of the best teams in the league, only to get SMASHED on by a team that if they see the pennant.. will get outed in the first round.. CMON GUYS!

Fighting to stay on top

After a disappointing 1-5 road rip, 2 wins in a row is a blessing. Cold bats, and cold arms definitely hurt the A's on the road this past couple weeks.

I will go into more detail later, but let's keep the good mood going with the humorous new commercials the boys shot before the beginning of the season if you missed them on TV.

Politics and Baseball

So all of us fans are well aware of the critical situation the A's find them selves in early in this 2010 season. Injuries are building, performance is not where it should be from those who are expected to be at a higher level. Instead of complaining about that I thought i would touch on a different part of Baseball that is driving me crazy lately... Politics.

If you read this blog you may have noticed that in one of my previous posts, I added video of Rajai Davis' awesome catch just over the wall to rob Milton Bradley of a HR during the their series against Seattle. Well politics prevail and it has been removed from youtube. "James, why don't you just another video?" First, finding specific highlight videos is sorta hard... so far from Oakland they are almost NEVER posted on youtube. The one you see weekly on MLB don't offer the ability to post or embed the html link. This brings up an issue i have with the MLB.

Its not just videos posted on youtube. I sat down today on my lunch break to try to catch the end of the Arizona vs. Cubs game and it was blacked out... same with the Dodger game... now WTF! I don't live in those cities, so the MLB cant expect me to drive across the state to watch the game live. Maybe if some of these players were not making 7 figure salaries, more could be spent on stadiums, telecast, broadcasting etc..

My cable bill is $150 a month and that allows me to see maybe a game or two a day. In order for me to see all of them i have to pay an extra $199 and that i think is flat out robbery.

I cant really be sure when money took over baseball, I am sure it was before my time, as players have been making big $$ since I was a kid.. For the older generation of fans, it must have been sad to see.. go from a game to a job.

Braden vs. A-Roid

So after watching the A's fall 0-2 on the series with the Yankees, I am sure I can speak for all Oakland fans and say we were pretty fired up for the third and final game. No team likes to be swept anywhere, by anyone.. specially not AT HOME and by the Yankees. Granted, they are the World Series Champs, still don't like to see it happen.

Along with the fans ready for a win, so were the Oakland players. Specifically Dallas Braden. Its buzzing all over the net about his altercation with A-Roid. I obviously have a few opinions about the situation. They are as follows:

1. I do believe Braden had every right to let Roid man know to stay away from his mound. Its not an official rule, but it comes with the territory. Alex, your not a pitcher. Stay off the mound, respect the game, your team, and your opponents.

2. I DO NOT condone Bradens temper after leaving the field. The glove toss and cup knock was not necessary, and shows the kids watching its ok to stand up for yourself, but its also ok to loose control.

3. A-Roids arrogance towards the game, and his general "Hollywood" attitude have pretty much convinced me that tho hes a great player who can field and bat with the best of them, is totally oblivious to the gentleman side of the game of baseball. If your only remark about the situation is to state that he doesn't have the right to comment because he "only has a handful of wins" only certifies that you are disrespectful cheating asshole who only cares about a fat pay check, and nothing about the game. i know that A-Roid will NEVER read this, but I just want to make it clear that you were one of my favorite players in the game today. However, due to your use of steroids being put out there, and your blatant disrespect for the game I grew up dreaming of playing as you do, that has been tossed right out the window. Alex, you play for the most respected team in baseball. One of high class and oen that demands perfection, not only in stats but in attitude.

I have read some of the buzz going around the net, and it is pretty 50/50. Some say Dallas doesn't have the right to scold A-Roid, some say he had every right. I tell you what, Highest paid player or not, Yankee superstar or not... You don't let anyone walk over you. if a little league player knows that you don't touch the mound if you aint pitching.. then so should the pros..

What a great start!

"It's not just aggressive," Geren said. "It's smart and aggressive. I don't want guys running wild just to run. So far, though, it's been great baserunning."

And he couldn't be more correct. It's not only smart base running that is keeping the A's bringin in teh W's. There game 1 loss to Seattle saw few hits, and way too many errors. In their last four consecutive wins however, we have seen SUPERB defensive plays from Center feilder Rajai Davis, Catcher Kurt Suzuki and 3rd Baseman kevin Kouszmenoff.



I went to game 1 and 4 of the 4 game series against Seattle and it was great. We have some of the BEST seats in the stadium, thanks to Stacey's generous uncle. Its a great spot for Jenna (and Ethan soon to) because she at the age where she wants to meet the players, get autographs, and hopefully become a life long fan of the game!































Those were jsut a few pics of the series. Oakland had great momentum from 3 wins in a row headed to La to face the angels. More hot bats, and stellar base running led them to their 4th consecutive win! let's keep it up boy's show them baseball NEEDS TO STAY IN OAKLAND!!

Dont forget to knock on wood..

It's official, Crisp has been put on the DL with a fractured finger. He insists after reviewing X-rays that it is not broken, and said he should only be out a few days.. At least until the 17th since he is on the DL.

Oakland smashes on SF 9 - 0

I know its not a regular season game, and the A's lost their fare share in spring training..

A win like this against SF is always something to cheer about tho!

Duchscherer had only 3 hits in 6 scoreless innings. his fastball is anything but fast, but his off speed pitches are what threw the Giants off a step or two, including his curve ball.

Suzuki, Kouzmanoff, Crisp all had multiple hits and RBI's including a 2 run blast from the zuk!

The healthy play is good news for us A's fans, and is a great confidence booster for Duchscherer after his previous outing against KC.

The full season starts this week, I have tickets to the Seattle game on Thursday so be ready for some great photos!