Time for a Holliday
Sadness
I Thoroughly enjoyed the A’s vs Angels on Tuesday night. Good pitching by two young kids (Dana Eveland for the A’s and Nick Adenhart for the Angels). For the first six innings the game was well in hand for the Angels. Adenhart had managed to stifle the A’s offense that only one night before had amassed 16 hits. In the end the A’s managed to rough up the Angels bullpen for six runs over the final two innings. As an A’s fan it was great to see this. It’s something we haven’t seen from the A’s in a number of years. It was especially great to see both Nomar and Holliday come off the bench and deliver in the clutch. I called it a night after the end of the game leaving my blog post for the next day. I was going to focus on the offense and the potential for scoring. I also had in mind to touch on the felxibility of having Nomar and Crosby available to slot in for a number of positions making the team very dangerous late in games. All that went away when listening to KNBR 680 and hearing the news of Adenhart’s death overnight. I felt sick on hearing it knowing that the 22 year old had just done so well and looked to be starting a nice career. As a baseball fan I was crushed knowing that he had was not going to get to live out his dream. As a parent I could immediately put myself in his father’s spot. I could see how proud he must have been to watch his son on the mound and then to get the news none of us ever wants to hear. The lesson in all this is that life is precious and fragile. We should all live it while we can. Take time to enjoy what we have. Give an extra hug and kiss to your loved ones. Let ‘em know how you feel.
Rest in peace Nick Adenhart. You are missed.
Waiting game
When is it time to go for a Championship? Do you wait for your young talent to mature? Do you import free agents and accelerate the curve? How do you do it on a budget that cannot begin to match that of the Yankees or Red Sox? The A’s are seemingly always rebuilding in some fashion. Many positions are a revolving door or prospects (see Swisher, Barton, Buck) or aging veterans looking for a final shot to shine (see Frank Thomas, Mike Piazza, Nomar Garciaparra). The A’s have come close over the past decade. If not for some dumb luck, late night bar fights and bad baserunning they might have made it to the World Series. The next couple of years will be interesting as the team not only rebuilds with a focus on pitching but also with an eye towards a new stadium being built in San Jose. A new stadium would mean increased revenue and possibly a more attractive franchise for free agents. In a perfect world for A’s fans we’d like to see Sweeney, Buck, Barton, Suzuki and the young pitchers stick it out in time to open a stadium with a flourish.
Opening Day 2009
Hope springs eternal today as all teams start the day with a chance. The A’s are one of those teams who can either fall in line with the sub .500 records of the past two seasons or jump right into the race in the AL West. Minimum the team will be better offensively with the addition of Giambi, Holliday, Cabrera and Garciaparra. By extension the overall lineup gets better by putting other hitters in spots more suited for their skills. Taking a look at the AL West it starts with the Angels but even that team has issues with injuries to start the year. The Rangers and Mariners will finish at the bottom of the division. It just remains to see how far the A’s young pitching staff will take them.
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