I was just landing in San Francisco International Airport on Friday, when I turned on my phone, called family to let them know I was safely home, then of course, I checked Twitter.
Naturally, I saw several tweets from the A's fans I follow, mourning the loss of Brandon McCarthy to the Diamondbacks. I was a little stunned. All this time, I figured McCarthy would re-sign with the A's (despite Jeff Sullivan's efforts ... sorry, Jeff, maybe you would've been better off tweeting the Mariners' team account, "DO NOT SIGN JASON BAY."). There wasn't really another option in my mind, but that may have been blind fanaticism.
Many of us A's fans know better than to become attached to the name on the back of the jersey, but it's so damned difficult sometimes.
My first favorite player (I didn't discover the joys of baseball until the late 90s) was Matt Stairs, who was gone in a couple years. Then Billy Koch and Frank Menechino, before finally settling on Barry Zito, figuring he'd be in the green-and-gold for a long time.
Since Zito defected to San Francisco, my zeal for his play has diminished, but I still, in an odd way, wish him well. It's still fun watching players such as Trevor Cahill and Mark Ellis, among several other former A's.
So who is your favorite (current) player who is no longer in Oakland?