How good are the Oakland A’s? So good they are taking on two teams at once today. Yes they are splitting up their squad, with Dallas Braden’s bunch taking on the Arizona Diamondbacks, and the Brandon McCarthy-led club getting work in against the San Francisco Giants.
Today’s opponents for Oakland share this in common: they are the only two National League West teams to win a World Series since the majors broke off into six divisions in 1994.
Leading the way is the American League East (shocker!) with seven, followed by the National League East (4), the NL West (2), and the NL Central, AL Central, and AL West bringing up the rear with one title apiece.
In 32 chances to reach the World Series, the AL and NL West teams have advanced to the final round just seven times. Strangely, two of the three clubs not to reach the World Series from the West are the A’s and Dodgers.
Not sure if any of this matters to you, but part of my job is to report trivial items.
Speaking of me, I know there has been concern that my Spring numbers have not been up to snuff, and some have quietly wondered about my place in the rotation. But as a staff veteran, I had two goals coming into camp: stay healthy, and to work on a few new things. All you need to know is that I’ll be ready to go come April 3.
Few people know that I worked most of last season with a bruised pinkie, not to mention a pretty nasty paper cut in August that would have shut down a less-gritty blogger for the year.
As for the retirement talk, I was 100% committed to calling it a career, so this was by no means a Favre-like scenario. But when Nico came to me and offered me another six bucks a year- plus the opportunity to be a part of something special- I decided to stick out for another season.
And with Dr. Andrews’ blessing, I think I’m in for a decent campaign. Maybe not baseballgirl-type numbers, but I think you’ll be pleased handing me the keyboard every seven days.
Enjoy the games!
