This has had a few different names for a while, but Alex had the cool idea of my artsy wrap-ups being a series available every Sunday. Kinda like the Sunday paper toons, but more Oakland A’s. Lots more. So, without further ado ...
Sooo the All Star Game happened, and now it’s over. I thought about it a little. My phone kept giving me updates about it while I was trying to do other things, like take pictures of my dog. Now we’re back to real baseball.
Sometimes being an A’s fan feels like being a Who from Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who!, having to constantly scream, “WE ARE HERE, WE ARE HERE, WE ARE HERE!” to the baseball world. If that analogy were true, then Mark Canha is JoJo and his bat flip before the All-Star break was the “YOPP!” Yes, baseball! We’re real!
(If you’ve never read Horton Hears a Who!, then this will sound like more nonsense than I normally spout, and for those of you, you can skip ahead to this doodle of Mark Canha)
We can’t talk about this Bay Bridge Series without talking about how PACKED the Coliseum was on Saturday night! Packed! (Sadly, I’m sitting amongst a sea of drunken Cubs “fans” and not at any of the A’s games, but trust me, I’m there in spirit.) With 56,310 fans in attendance, the A’s beat their former record of 55,989, set in 2004, also against the Giants. Woohoo!
Tonight's attendance: 56,310
— Oakland Athletics ⚾️ (@Athletics) July 22, 2018
The largest attendance in Oakland A's Coliseum history.
The largest single-game attendance in @MLB this season. #RootedInOakland #HeroTown pic.twitter.com/QQNMLhCxix
In the first half of the series over in San Francisco last weekend, the A’s farted through the first game and fell 7-1, but scooped up the other two. More farting in the first game in Oakland allowed the series to be tied 2-2.
Just before the start of the game on Saturday, the A’s showed the rest of the league what we already know: they’re contenders this year, and they mean it. RHP Jeurys Familia was a hot commodity in the trade talks this season, and the A’s grabbed him up. Our bullpen has been smoking already (feels cool to say, right?!) but you can never have too many good guys in your back pocket to shut down the opposition. Injuries happen, and even just letting Trivino and Treinen feel safe resting for the night is exactly what this A’s team needs while grinding for a postseason slot. Go big, or go home.
We acquired Familia from the Mets for two prospects (RHP Bobby Wahl, and William Toffey) and some international pool money.
Saturday’s game proved to live up to the hype. I love sitting down and watching our ‘pen this year. The dynamic of Trivino and Treinen (it has a ring to it, that’s how you know it’s real) is such a treat to watch — unless, I suppose, you’re facing us. They’re calm, cool, collected, but have a crackle of intensity you can only find in an oncoming thunderstorm.
However, Treinen hit some unexpected turbulence and blew his save — with help from the weird chair thing — but held his composure and came back in the 10th. The A’s were not swayed and came flying back with an exhilarating walk-off single that drove in Chapman for the winning run. Wild chairs and feet trying to trip us will not stop the A’s!
Now it’s time for the final game of the Battle, with the A’s on top 3-2. We also gained back what we lost yesterday and stand at three games behind Seattle for the Wild Card. The A’s are 22-7 in their last 29. They have the best record in the league since June 15th. They are the hottest team in baseball.
Remember the Delorean boat thing? Yeah, I hope Dallas Braden finally got his ride in it...
The other thing I’d like to bring up (again, if you follow me on any social media) is that the Battle of the Bay Art Contest is going on right now. You can only enter if you are a resident of California................ Oregon, Hawaii or Nevada. So I can’t enter. This is lame. I’m never one to let myself gloat about my work, but I’d love to have had the chance to enter. I’m salty. Anyway, here’s a cool poll.
Poll
The Delorean boat is cool, I would love to...
This poll is closed
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51%
...ride shotgun with Dallas Braden
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10%
...drive it everywhere on my own
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8%
...drive Dallas Braden around in it
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14%
...lounge in it and blast some Chuck Berry
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14%
...not do anything with it. I don’t think it’s cool and I hate fun.