Hmmmm...let’s review the script. A’s go down early. Check. A’s offense pulls them back as far as they can, while still maintaining levels of complete frustration for fans, such as receiving four walks in an inning and still only scoring one run. Check. They come up short. Check. Great!
Well, scoring a couple of runs off of Felix Hernandez is no small feat, but thanks to Dan Meyer (who did nothing for anyone’s claim that he is ‘major league ready’), the A’s went into a hole early that they never recovered from. Undoubtedly, someone on the A’s will be interviewed and blame the wind, but the wind didn’t account for the truly crappy pitching performances by pretty much everyone except Andrew Brown. If you told me that the A’s received eight walks and had eight hits, first of all I’d ask you how they only scored five runs, but I’d also ask how they didn’t win. Well, nine runs and sixteen hits for the other team will trump every time. That’s some crappy pitching.
Let’s just say that this game was so bad that the announcers discussed the routine of the Coliseum seagulls for the entire ninth inning. I wish I was kidding. And I don’t blame them; what else are they going to say? "Hey, remember last year when we were on the edge of our seats, finding out if we were going to play the Tigers or the Twins? Wasn’t that fun?"
Somehow, this year, the only thing we care about is whether Barton will hit over .300 (1 for 5 today) and how many homers will Cust finish with (hit another monster shot today). And also, when will our announcers stop saying ‘routine fly ball’ on anything hit to Jack Cust?
In other news and weird records, Matt Stairs is now second all-time on the list of most major league games played by a Canadian. Hey, I bet Rich Harden is first!
<crickets>
So in case you haven’t heard, a new addition to the playoffs this year is that the A’s don’t have any 9:30 AM playoff starts. That’s something.
Okay, the real story is this:
Another change this postseason should be credited to Commissioner Bud Selig.
Already, the American League representative has the home-field advantage in the World Series by virtue of its 5-4 win in the All-Star Game this past July 10 in San Francisco. Now, the AL team with the best record has been given the opportunity to choose whether it wants to play an eight-day ALDS by opening on Oct. 3 or a seven-day first-round series, beginning on Oct. 4.
Both NL first-round series begin on Oct. 3, so there's no option for the National League team that finishes with the best record.
"We started to think about this back in May when we made the schedule change," said Rich Levin, a spokesman for the Commissioner. "It gives all the top AL teams another incentive right down to the end of the season."
According to the Commissioner's newest rule, the AL club that finishes with the best record must make its playoff starting-day selection within one hour after completing either the game that determines which team finishes with the best regular-season record or the game that determines the matchups in the Division Series -- whichever comes later.
I am now on the edge of my seat watching the Angels/Indians/Red Sox battle for this prize.
Actually, I still hold out hope for the Angels to lose the rest of their games, and for Seattle to win the rest of theirs. Because if Seattle had to own us this year like we owned them last year, the very least they could have done was to actually go to the playoffs. You know the rule, Mariners: No Angels in the postseason.
<sigh>
The A’s now play Cleveland...on Friday. Let's go...Indians? (Just preparing for the post-season.)
