This is a redundant theme every year for the A's in which we have to get to know new players and say goodbye to past stars every season.
So I found it hilarious as my brother gave me a 2007 Oakland Athletics calendar for Christmas that featured Barry Zito on the cover. My brother, who is a big Red Sox fan, had put a big black "X" through Zito's face.
Every year I've bought the Turner calendar, the thing often becomes irrelevant quickly. The 2006 calendar had Scott Hatteberg on it. I made due by often using a razor to cut off the no longer white shoe-wearing player.
On this year's calendar is Frank Thomas and Barry Zito. Both of which will no longer be with the team when the season starts.
I still have a Miguel Tejada poster hanging in my garage, which is kind of my respite of manly decor (a contradiction in terms) and I also have a poster of Zito, Hudson and Mulder in their "Flamethrowers" pose. Therefore I ultimately take a few moments this time of year to wonder if this could possibly be the reason that the A's fanbase hasn't been gigantic. I look at my upcoming year calendar, look at my posters in the garage and I just ask myself, could this be the reason that one of the winningest franchises in baseball still has to fight to gain respect?
The truth is that I never seem to have a good answer. Yes, I loved Barry Zito in green and gold, but I loved him because he wore green and gold. I naturally formed a connection with him over the years, but it was born out of my passion for the A's. Is it because I'm too hardcore that I can't understand why a team that is always in the playoff hunt doesn't have a more rabid following? Maybe it's because I have to use a razor to make the calendars revelant?
Maybe I just need a smart ANer to explain it to me...because it seems to fall out of my realm of understanding.