Frank Thomas Cures Road Rage

(Largely cross-posted on my personal blog which is read by non-baseball fans, so please forgive some of the details with which you are all too familiar)

Tonight was opening night for most major league teams.  When I got out of class tonight, I flipped the radio over to AM, which I only do when I'm looking for sports.  I was looking for the opening game for my beloved A's against the Evil Empire.

(I don't actually hate the Yankees as much as most people do.  I think there's something to be said for having a dominant team that everyone hates.  They should win it all every few years so that we can continue hating them.  No one hates the Devil Rays, but if they consistently won, year in and year out, we'd grow to hate them.  So it's a good thing that the Yankees win the World Series every few years - it makes things more interesting).  

But this is supposed to be Oakland's year.  They've got a deep pitching staff, a deep bench, and some new mashers who are liable to take opposing pitchers deep.... often.  So I was excited to hear them.  

I missed the first part of the game because I was in class learning about open meeting laws and eminent domain and financial conflicts of interest.  As I turned on the radio and headed home, I heard Ken Korach's voice pouring in crystal clear on AM 1240 Talk City, the new home of the A's in Sacramento, much better than the crackly, fuzzy KFRC, even if 1240 is only going to play 111 games this year.  It wasn't as nice as Bill King's voice, but I've got no beef with Korach, and to be honest, I was never that attached to King, as good as he was, since I didn't really listen to much baseball on the radio until the last couple of years, once I moved back to Sacramento, and even then not at all regularly.  

The first thing I heard was Frank Thomas' second inning at bat.  The first pitch was fouled off down the left field line and into the second deck.  You could hear it in Korach's voice that he was trying to will it fair, so that the Big Hurt's first hit in a green and gold uniform would be a homerun.  No such luck.  But I hoped.  I was excited, after the first pitch, of what was in store for Thomas and the A's this year, that wouldn't have been quelled in me even if Thomas K'd looking on three pitches.  Thomas had pulled a Randy Johnson fast ball foul.  He really is healthy this year, isn't he?  

Pitch #2 to Thomas was also fouled off, to the right side.  

Pitches #3, 4, 5... Quite frankly, I missed these pitches while I realized that I was stuck behind a very slow driver on the way home.  Normally this would have infuriated me (I suffer from road rage, not a particularly bad strain of the virus though - just driving fast, yelling, and lots of the F-word.  When I graduated from high school I got into an accident; I rear-ended a guy, it was my fault and that I was speeding contributed a little bit to it - don't worry, no one was hurt.  Since then I'd been pretty cautious about my driving, and over the years, it's been almost 7 now, I'd regained some of my speed.  The speed (or Fast if you're a VW commercial fan) returned in full force earlier this year, when, as part of a political internship I have, a CHP officer told me to "drive aggressively" to keep up with him, while I was in a minivan.)  Anyway, I realized that I was only going about 25 mph, when on this road I normally would have been going nearly twice that.  And I further realized that I didn't care.  I was listening to the A's at that moment, and my speed no longer mattered.

I came to a traffic light and shortly after I turned the corner, I heard Korach's call for Pitch #6  to Thomas.  It was inside if my memory serves me.  With two strikes on, I had no idea what the count actually was, but I knew there were two strikes, I hoped that Johnson wouldn't bust Thomas inside again with a fastball.  I thought that Thomas trying to swing at a Randy Johnson fastball inside might put too much pressure on Frank's fragile foot.  

Then I heard it.  

*CRACK**

Korach's voice got louder and the cheers in the Coliseum nearly drowned him out.  I don't remember the exact words he used.  I do remember hearing the words "lined," "shot," "left," "first deck," or something along those lines.  The crowd was raucus.  I took my right hand off the steering wheel (when you drive aggressively, you use two hands) and pumped my fist in the air.  "This is the year!"

It was at that point that I discovered the A's were now down "only" 7-1.  As I got to the next stoplight, I thought "Damnit Zito!  Get your head out of your ass."  Then I calmed down a little and thought "If he gave up 7 runs in two innings, he must be hurt.  And my heart sank a little, and wished it weren't the case.  What a long season that would be.  I was comforted by thoughts of last year's game in Tampa Bay, where he gave up 11 runs.  (Is it strange that I was comforted by that?)  I thought to myself, "Zito's a slow starter (like Chavez - dang you Chavez pick it up), he'll figure it over the next few starts.  We'll be fine."

I think by the time I got home we were out of the inning, Kendall having struck out (pick it up J-K). I sat in the driveway in my car for a minute or two before I walked inside.  

The rest of the night I had the game on the radio in two rooms.  I wasn't listening particularly intently, but it was nice knowing it was on, and baseball was back.  It made a day when I was stuck writing a paper better.  

Members of AN, I blame this on you.  Until I found this site, I don't even remember when that was anymore, I thought I was a diehard A's fan.  I soon realized I was a casual A's fan.  I've been on this site constantly this offseason. Frequently using it to successfully procrastinate rather than doing my law school homework.  It's prevented me from being interested at all in football (go Niners) or basketball (go Kings) or the NCAA (well, at least until it became bracket time - and even then I only passively cared about my bracket - damn you Villanova). But you all have made this opening day that much sweeter for me, because you've had me looking forward to it since that last weekend series between the A's and the team formerly known as the California Angels (aka the Vernon Angels of Stanton) last fall.  

The grass is greener, the chalk brighter, the dirt dirtier, it's opening day.  

Go A's.