I was there when Texas broke a 4-4 tie in the 15th with 12 runs, and I was there when A's pitchers set a team record for walks issued in a nine-inning game. I remember when Fernando Arroyo made his only ever appearance for Oakland, walking all three batters and finishing his A's career with an infinite ERA. And I was there when Billy Martin picked the A's lineup out of a hat. Those were the days.
And they're back. Tonight the A's put up a 5-spot in the bottom of the third, an inning which ended with Jack Hannahan being thrown out at the plate on Ryan Sweeney's single. Oakland would not get another hit until the bottom of the 9th, but was very efficient in giving the five runs back, starting with a Brooks Conrad error, and ending with a Ryan Goleski Josh Hamilton homerun.
And then the 8-run top of the 9th, which suggested two things: Alan Embree seems to be in an indefinite "slump" and Andrew Brown's fastball appears to have come from his appendix.
How bittersweet a night it was for two A's rookies. On a night when Brad Ziegler tied the major league record for "scoreless innings to start a career," he also gave up the hit that scored the go-ahead run in the 7th inning. And on a night when Brooks Conrad got his first (and second) major league hit, and first (and second) major league RBI, he made the error that opened the floodgates - to put it mildly.
I did not like the mid '80s A's. I did not like them on a boat, I did not like them with a goat, I did not like them wild and pathetic (though cool steal off Doc Medich) - it's giving me a headache!
Oy.
