OOTP vs. Reality

I love to play Out of the Park Baseball. I play in an online league with 23 other people, and I also play a lot on my own, during the day while I’m at work. There’s just so much fun in being the GM of a team. I can draft who I want, call up and send guys down as I please, and scour the waiver wire for bargains. I never have to wonder what in the world the GM is thinking, because hey – it’s me!

However, when playing OOTP, there is a particular flaw I know I have. I seem to have something against depth. I want my decisions to be easy. If I have two first basemen and I can’t decide who is the starter, I will just trade one to make it easier on myself. When a player gets hurt, I often find myself scrambling to fill the hole by making a quick free agent signing or trade.

Lucky for us, the A’s don’t do that. I probably would have traded Bobby Keilty, Dan Johnson, or Antonio Perez by now because the whole 1B/LF conundrum makes my head spin. Since I tend to love platoons in OOTP, my solution probably would be Stewart/Keilty platoon in LF, Kotsay in center, Bradley in RF, with Goleski as the #5. Then Swisher plays 1B with Johnson backing him up. Perez probably would have been on his way out the door because, IIRC, he’s out of options.

But who is to say that is how it will play out in the next five weeks? Someone could get hurt, or someone could struggle, or (probably the biggest wrench in the plan) Erubiel Durazo could tear it up and force his way onto the active roster. Remember what happened in spring training 2004? One ground ball up the middle during an exhibition game and Marco Scutaro went from waiver pickup and “Marco who?” to Mr. Clutch and a fan favorite.

I guess that's why you can thank God that Billy Beane makes the big bucks and not me.

I love the A's

October 6, 2002, Network Associates Coliseum, Oakland, California.

It was my 25^th birthday, and I celebrated (at least tried to) it attending Game 5 of the American League Division Series between the A’s and the Twins. Alas, the A’s lost the game and the series that day, and I was leaving the stadium with the all the other glum A’s fans, I heard a voice behind me chanting, “I love the A’s! I love the A’s! I love the A’s!”

I turned around and saw a man in a yellow A’s jersey. “I love the A’s! I love the A’s!” he continued to chant.

I took a few steps towards him and said, “I love them too, man.”

And we hugged. Complete strangers, in our most vulnerable state as baseball fans, sharing our common love of the team that, moments before, dropped a playoff series in heart-wrenching fashion. Even in one of the darkest moments, our love for the green and gold never wavered.

Happy Valentine’s Day, Oakland Athletics and fans!

Welcome!

Hi. My name is Kelly and I’m an A’s fan.

If you’re an A’s fan too, you know what it’s like to be a fan of one of the most fascinating franchises in baseball. I feel lucky in that I grew up in the Bay Area and the A’s pretty much just fell into my lap. Once I caught the baseball bug, I never considered rooting for another team instead. That was 1988, so the upcoming season is going to be my 20^th season as an A’s fan! Happy anniversary to me!

It’s funny, I moved away from northern California to Colorado four years ago, but I think I am more A’s-immersed than ever. I subscribe to MLB.tv so I am able to watch every game and have access to archived games, and I read several websites daily for the latest A’s news and commentary. Five years ago, I lived an hour’s drive from the stadium and I didn’t get that much daily green and gold!

A’s pitchers and catchers report to spring training at Phoenix Municipal Stadium on Friday, so my timing on beginning this blog couldn’t be better. My brother Jason and I have daily A’s related email conversations, so I figured, why not bring some of that discussion here?

I won’t promise you in-depth analysis (though I may try sometimes) or especially riveting commentary, but I hope you’ll still join me for a 2007 that is sure to be full of excitement – good and bad – and probably a few surprises. Go A’s!