You can't lose the car if you park right next to this thing.
Salutations faithful parishioners of the Church of Latter-Day OPS, it's me! Your host the emp of hemp, welcoming you to the opener of the final Athletics roadie of 2009, beginning deep in the heart of Orange County against those hated Halos of Helltown. The A's (73-80) are among the hottest teams in MLB, having just completed a 6-2 homestand which was preceded by a 6-2 road trip. The Angels (90-62) have all but bagged the AL West and if you could see the inner landscape of Mike Scioscia's mind right now, you'd hear him wondering how to keep his team in the playoffs for more than a week this time around.
You'd be smiling too if you were your team's MVP.
Before yesterday's dismantling of the Rangers, the A's needed to win Nine Out Of Ten to close out the year at .500... just 8 more and the goal is attained. So if our friend pictured above (currently riding a 12-game hitting streak and playing with as much confidence and energy as any player in MLB the last 10 weeks) can Raj against the red Machine and Gio, who has much to prove in these last couple of starts, can keep the ball off the fat part of the Halo bats, tonight can be another step towards the respectability that is the first step towards excellence... in 2010 and beyond.
Of course, without lineups Gio & Jered will just be throwing to an empty batter's box, so::
All right, the Drive to 81 is on, lemme hear ya say LET'S go OAK-LAND!!!!
