OK, this is the Emperor with an important Proclamation, may I have you attention please?  Thank you.

Yesterday was a tough one and I'm sure we all woke up somewhat perturbed.  Some of us probably slept fitfully, or (like me) slept well but with bizarre and somewhat stressful baseball- or Coliseum-themed dreams.  Although there were observable positives (smashing bullpen, good swings off Zumaya, I got to meet the thoroughly awesome Zonis from AN), last night there was too much bad mojo, too many LOB, too many Z-squeezings on close pitches, too much suspect glovework, and way too many scuffles in the seats.  We all know this.  Today is a day to break with that energy and, to quote the immortal Curtis Mayfield, toMove On Up.

Our boys in G&G need us to project pure support tonight, the love must flow.  All of us have our internal doubts and our neuroses about this series because it's been uncharted territory for the A's for a long time (and it's the first year we even got into the postseason since AN has existed) and we are also playing a magnificent team with a ton of talent of their own.  But tonight is a night to set all of that aside in your mind and to just celebrate this TEM for all that they have given us.  Tonight is a night to put the spiralling negativities out of your head and be a little kid again.  To be creatively naive, to let your Magic Mojo Batteries charge up good and full.  To let yourself believe we can do this.  Because we can.

"Why does he say this?"  I hear you ask.  How does this idiot know what's best for us, where does he get off telling us we should just enjoy the wild ride and for just one night quit breaking down in our minds (with statistics to back up our logic, A's fans being A's fans) exactly how, why, and when we and our boys will fall into the hole, never to be seen again?

Well, I got on the BART this morning, all bummed and nervous and performing exactly such self-defeating and self-aggrandizing operations in my head, and I sat down and stared out at the West Oakland shipyards and the Port down in the direction of the Coliseum and I thought, how are we gonna do this?  How is Loaiza gonna best Verlander?  How are we gonna show up as the diametric opposite team of the shoddy squad we saw last night, only 24 hours later?

And then I looked to my immediate left, and sitting right on the edge of the other seat, face up, was this

                                                 That's right, a lucky 1989 penny.

Let your mind and heart believe.  Read the signs, for they are all around you.  GO!!!!!!!!

                                               TO THE TOPPERMOST!!!!!!!!