Important Note: This has nothing to do with Harden.  Please leave discussion of that to one of the 35 applicable FanPosts. (Editor's note: There are actually only 23 Harden trade fAnPoSts (and 2 front page stories). Sheesh.)

Last night, some tickets to the Nats/D'Backs game fell into my lap.  As I'd never been to Nationals Park before, I was thrilled by the opportunity even before I noticed that Dan Haren was starting.  A's hat in tow, I headed out to the stadium and watched a pretty exciting game but what really struck me is how good it is to be an A's Fan.

Nationals Park is nice (and has no corporate name)

Before I get to those positives, though, I have to admit that I was impressed by Nationals park.  It isn't trying to be retro (and certainly doesn't have any "Tal's Hill" type gimmicks), but  when you get off the metro you can actually see into the stadium and it feels like you've already arrived.  I thought it was a very cool effect. Also, I'm told its jumbotron-replacement is the world's biggest HDTV.  I don't know if that's true, but it's big and HD, and it shows replays.

All told, it blows Al Davis's Coliseum out of the water but isn't going to challenge Pac Bell for top honors.

Dan Haren was absolutely dominant

About the only thing he didn't do was tease us with a no-hitter.  He gave up a hit to Guzman in the first inning, but gave the Nats nothing from then until the top of the ninth.  I'd forgotten what it's like to see his starts in person, but he sucked so much life out of the crowd that when he hit in the top of the Ninth (with 1 out and runners on 2nd and 3rd), fans started streaming towards the exits. He was clearly done in the 9th, but watching him through 8 I was sure there was a CG SHO coming.

It's a bit sad to see him in another uniform, but that trade we can all get behind and I just felt privileged to have followed him at all.  It's good to be an A's fan because we get to have pitchers of Haren's caliber come through our (revolving) doors pretty regularly.

Arizona has absolutely atrocious defense

The obvious example was Mark Reynolds' desperate desire to give away the ballgame.  He made three errors on the night.  Two were in the bottom of the 9th, and they were the only reason the Nats were able to tie the game.  The other was a throwing error in the 2nd that cost nothing but a few more Haren pitches.  He let ground balls eat him up all night, and generally looked like he didn't belong.

The worst play of the night, however, belongs to Stephen Drew.  In the bottom of the 10th, with the D'Backs up by two and runners on first and second, Austin Kearns hit a solid double to deep left.  Stephen Drew took the relay and - in an attempt to prevent the tying run from scoring - threw home.  The problem is that the runner beat his throw easily, and Kearns advanced to third on the throw.  If Drew eats the ball, there's a runner on second with one out.  Although the Nats decided a 5-2 groundout was more fun that game winning sac fly, you can't let the winning run get to third for a 0-5% shot at the place.

It's good to be an A's fan because we have the best defense in baseball just about every year.  Bad defense stinks to watch, and (Cust excepted) we don't have to.

The play is on the list available on gameday here.

The Nats have an awful lineup

We whine constantly about our lack of hitting, but  check out the lineup they trotted out there:

1. Felipe Lopez (.625 OPS/284 AB)
2. Kory Castro (.663/58)
3. Cristian Guzman (.767/392)
4. Austin Kearns (.578/156)
5. Dimitri Young (.800/149)
6. Jesus Flores (.752/171)
7. Wily Mo Pena (.520/191)
8. Roger Bernadina (.250/40) (special note: his BA, OBP, and SLG are all .125)
   

Not only is Bernadina's line ugly, but when he had an at bat with a chance to win the game in the bottom of the 9th with the bases loaded, they didn't have a pinch hitter.  You've gotta love a team whose cleanup hitter is struggling for a .600 OPS.

It's good to be an A's fan because even though we rarely have top shelf offensive talent (and struggle some to score runs), we almost never give significant playing time to completely undeserving players.

In Conclusion

I didn't expect that seeing a Haren start would make me feel better about the A's, but it did.  I figured given the hyperventilation that's been going on recently (and, I acknowledge, the people that took a deep breath and are still unhappy) I figured it was worth sharing.