Yesterday was the perfect baseball day. We had an amazing win, an amazing comeback, an amazing, timeless moment of appreciation for our ace pitcher, the rest of the AL West lost, the Goggle-pen blew a save, the Yankees were embarrassed, and did I mention that the A's won?
It will be hard to top yesterday's day at the ballpark, but today is going to try. Because...it's AN DAY THREE!!! Of course, if you're reading this, you're probably a NRAF (Non-Resident A's fan), and stuck in another state, refreshing your computer every .2 seconds, hoping to glean just a bit of a story that doesn't involve colored dots bouncing around a picture of a baseball diamond.
Let me add to Nico's already awesome recap.
Picture the A's stadium, drenched in sunshine. The A's are on the field, dressed in their crisp green and white uniforms. Zito starts the familiar windup, but four batters later, the A's are in a deep hole. Then, with runners at first and third, and one out, Zito gets a strikeout, then another out, and limits the damage to the grand slam. Insignificant at the time, yet as the game continues, Toronto's inability to add onto the initial scoring will cost them dearly. And Zito hangs on during the second. And the third, but the A's offense puts up nothing but zeros. Zito continues to pitch. On we go to the fourth, fifth, sixth, Zito still hanging in there, but by now the A's offense has kicked into high gear. The combination of Milton "Call me!" Bradley and Jay "I love you!" Payton was electric; the crowd exploding after every hit. And then we go to the seventh inning, where unbelievably, Zito is still pitching. After being allowed to pitch to Alex "Platinum Sombrero" Rios, whom he had already struck out three times, and soon made it four, Macha made the walk to the mound, and in a moment worthy of a Hollywood movie, the fans tried to show Zito just how much his talent, durability, and heart--in good times and in bad--meant to them. No one noticed when Duchscherer took the mound. All eyes were on Zito, walking to the dugout; all voices together chanting ZI-TO <clap clap> ZI-TO <clap clap> until it could not be ignored. Duke kept warming up, even after Zito disappeared into the dugout, but the chant only grew stronger. Fans were standing, chanting; willing Zito to hear them, to acknowledge that his fans recognize that his years in Oakland meant something; that although his fan base is not that of New York, Oakland loves Barry Zito, and despite the inevitable, his name will be a permanent part of Oakland lore. A truly special moment.
Your writers are all at AN day, so mice/cats rules apply. Enjoy the thread; try not to kill each other.
Some thoughts to consider:
- I sort of wish Marco Scutaro hadn't gone 0-4 yesterday, because I still think he has better at-bats than Crosby. This quote from speedracer says it best: "What's worse? Seeing Scutaro bat behind Chavez, or hoping for him to hit behind Chavez when Crosby is in?" That's perfect.
- Make no mistake. If we win today, it's a steal. Nothing like making your major league debut against the likes of Roy Halladay. Good luck Shane Komine!
- <whispers> Don't look now, but Chavez might possibly be back.
- I'd like to copy yesterday's lineup for today.
Have a good game AN! We'll miss you!
