Matt Welch effuses over the bang-up quality of the playoffs and bemoans the A’s baserunning. I don’t think it’s fair to bash the A’s for running the bases like “8-year-old retards.” After all, the Giants went down in four games against a wild card team from someplace in the South, and they don’t run the bases at all. No, with both California teams eliminated in the first round, there’s no escaping the fact that something is going on that’s larger than the individual teams. It’s a California Collapse.
Clearly, Gray Davis is behind the Collapse, because he wrecked the economy and sent so many quality players out of the state. Look at the Giants, who once had an actual pitching staff, starring Russ Ortiz. Ortiz lost his job and had to move all the way to Atlanta to find work, so Ted Turner got the benefit of his great arm and the best won-lost record in baseball. Similar deal with Kenny Lofton, who hitch-hiked to Chicago, of all places, and ends up going to the second round along with Moizes Alou, the son of the Giants’ manager. Jeff Kent had to go to Houston to live off his relatives, but he’s out for the year too.
On the other side of the Bay, unemployment hit the A’s really, really hard: Jason Giambi had to go to New York, and whoever used to work the bullpen split town too. Without all this unemployment, it’s pretty clear these teams would have played a whole lot better.
So this is part of Gray Davis’ legacy to California, and those people down there in the Sunny South need to recall the bastard tomorrow, for the children, especially the 8-year-old retards who suffer from this comparison. And while they’re at it, recalling the A’s bullpen and the Giants’ starting rotation (except Schmidt) wouldn’t be a bad idea either.
I watched Derek Lowe from the upper deck last night, and the A’s can blame Davis, the economy, taxes, energy, the tides, or anything else if they want for any made up reasons, but they lost last night because the Red Sox is a better team.
In other news, I spilled my coffee just now, and I’m sure it must have something to do with Davis. Wouldn’t you agree, Richard ?
Fo’ shizzle, my bizzle.
My heart sank on the called third strike. I hope two things: that the Sox can take the Hated Yankees, and that Ken Macha has horse-whipped Chavez for stopping halfway to home. It shocked the hell out of me when he just quit running.