Hey speaking of the swift, I'm sprinting out of the gate with some A's history. It's what I do. On this date in 1991 Rickey left Lou in the dust. The master thief must have had a thing for May 1 because exactly one year later, he pilfered his 1000th base. And yet what Ali was admired for, our hometown hero was vilified. No fair.
Well, at least Angel fans appreciate him. I think.
In trying to find other A's news on this date, I came across this gem from 1996:
Oakland Athletics sent Andy Tomberlin to New York Mets for future considerations.
OK, I've been watching the A's (and sports in general) for a long time; not only do I not remember Tomberlin (whose transaction information runs as long as my list of ex's), but what exactly does "future considerations" mean?
Of course, Tomberlin has nothing on this former San Diego Padre, who was picked up by more teams (6) than games played in the majors (5). It was on this date in 2003 that the "Cincinnati Reds returned Eric Cyr to the Anaheim Angels." Seriously, that's how it reads. "Hey, did you guys lose a Cyr? Yeah well, he was wandering outside our facility."
It was one year ago today that the A's rapped out 20 hits to beat the Angels, 15-8. If you recall, that was the game where Jack Cust dropped the ball:
"I didn't even know I missed it until I saw (Ryan) Sweeney running after the ball. It just came out."
Cust atoned for his sin with a homer and three other hits in a game in which his team put on a promotion where field level seats were discounted for each A's knock (tickets ended up selling for $4). Also, Nick Adenhart made his big-league debut. Said Bobby Crosby:
"You knew he really couldn't command his pitches too well, so we were trying to be patient and get on any way we could."
Crosby actually found a couple of ways to get on base; he collected two hits and drew a walk in six trips to the dish. Don't get too excited; he also stranded seven baserunners.
I wanted to share an awesome card that my niece Stephanie sent me. She mailed it to her house because she did not have my address handy. Strangely enough, Steph was the one to receive it in the mail (she came home last week on surprise leave...and will be gone again this morning).
As proud as I am of Steph, here's hoping the world will be a better place by the time my godson grows up.
OK, now this is what I call a bat out of hell (love the expressions):
And finally, feliz cumpleanos, Rocio. You haven't aged a bit. I'd hate you if I didn't like you so much.
If you must dump, do it here. Or down there somewhere.
