First off, I admit fully that much of my Chavez-blasting came in the midst of frustration and disappointment, and was aided by a bit (maybe even more than a bit) too much whiskey. Fair. Does Eric Chavez want to win the World Series? I'm sure he does. And as some made sure to say yesterday, he clearly is not out there trying to lose. But even with that said, and with a clear head this morning that I did not have yesterday, it has to be said that, at the very least, his approach in big games is not a championship-caliber, big-time athlete approach. He is one of the highest paid players on the team, and with that comes the responsibility of being a team leader. Team leaders DO NOT get quoted saying the kinds of things he was quoted as saying prior to yesterday's game. Team leaders DO NOT act non-chalant on the bench in what in many ways was a must-win game, a game in which the team was already down two runs. What leaders DO DO is find a way to perform on the field when it matters the most. And Chavez has never done that. A lack of leadership is what has doomed the A's in playoffs past, and I was hopeful the make-up of this team was different, that we actually had some leadership. I think in many ways it is and we do - see Milton Bradley in game 2. But he hasn't been around long enough to wear the mantle of being "the heart and soul" of the team, as one fellow fan couched Chavez yesterday. I hate to say this, but if Chavez is in fact the heart and soul of the team, it really is no surprise that we aren't going to take the next step. And for the record, there is absolutely nothing in the world that I would rather eat next week than crow. So here's hoping Chavez and the rest of the guys have a heaping platter of it waiting for me.

PS - I was right about the fact that we should have started Harden in Game 2. Everything would be looking different right now if we had...