By Tim Byrnes
Attitudes are changing in the hearts of Athletics fans.
They are starting to care again.
After years of playoff teams and amassing serious talent, ownership shifted. Starting in October of 2021, A’s ownership blew up the team.
They began by unceremoniously ditching beloved Manager Bob Melvin.
The ENTIRE starting eight, four of five starters, and the closer were gone by August of 2022. Traded, told their services were no longer wanted and released, or run off into free agency. Athletics fans were angry.
Owner John Fisher decided to take MLB money, save The Gap from death by Covid, and give the fan base the middle finger.
He took players he had under multi-year contract control and gave them away for chump change. He stopped taking care of the Coliseum, stopped doing any real work on a new stadium in Oakland, and started openly courting other cities.
Why did he pull an Al Davis?
He gets his buddy in Sacramento Kings Owner Vivek Ranadivé, who also ran the A’s AAA Sacramento RiverCats, to share Sutter Health Park. He walks away from his fan base.
To add a final touch and ensure he doesn’t bring fans with him or get new ones in Sacramento, he made it clear he didn’t want to take Sacramento or West Sacramento as the team’s name.
So, basically, he gave the fans in Sacramento County the finger on the way IN.
The fans noticed and walked away, many for good.
Many couldn’t do it. When this fan announced to a longtime FaceBook A’s Fan Page that tickets were reserved on 3rd base for the home opener, the fanbase let loose.
Most A’s fans continue to follow these sites to troll and express the Fisher hatred.
The post got pure venom! “Don’t support that expletive deleted,” “Traitor,” and “Scab” filled the happy post. Most Gen X’ers know the word “Scab” as a picket line crosser. An unsupportive member of the team.
The pain is understandable. L.A. Rams faithful saw its owner fold tent for St. Louis years ago.
So the pain these wonderful fans felt is real, and the base is hurting.
One thing that cures a sad fan is winning! The Athletics have started out nicely, sporting a winning record well into May. The fans are still mad, but they are mad at the bad plays and poor decisions made by Manager Mark Kotsay.
They care again!
The A’s lost the Seattle series 2-1, and the blame is on Kotsay. With a 3-2 lead in the ninth of game two of the series, he chose to avoid decades of baseball wisdom and sent relief pitcher Tyler Ferguson out for his fourth day in a row after 43 pitches the prior three days.
He had our leading closer on days of rest, sitting in the bullpen, but left him there. Three runs later, we lost, and again, the fans noticed. A botched decision costs us a chance in the first place, and they are mad.
It’s a good mad because they care again.
We care again!
Athletics Batting:
SS Jacob Wilson loves him some Mariners pitching! After going eight-for-fourteen in the series with two doubles and four Rbi’s, Wilson is batting .357, second in the American League. He has hit safely in all seven games against Seattle this season.
Brent Rooker had four hits, including a double, four Rbi’s, and two stolen bases.
Miguel Andujar has settled into batting cleanup and added four Rbi’s to his crisp .320 batting average.
Athletics Pitching:
Rookie SP Gunnar Hoglund proved his first career game wasn’t a fluke by having another efficient 5.1-inning, two-run outing.
Reliever Justin Sterner turned in two more appearances of scoreless pitching and has yet to give up runs this season.
Another young reliever to watch is RHP Grant Holman. He has quietly amassed a 3-0 record with an era under 1.00 in his seven appearances. He is becoming a good setup man for Sterner.
Upcoming Series:
The Bronx Bombers are here for a three-game set starting tonight.
First in the AL East at (21-16), the Yankees come to West Sacramento with an identical team batting average as the Athletics, but they have Aaron Judge and his giant fraternity paddle pounding massive home runs. New York has produced over forty more runs than the A’s with their new bats.
It’s gonna be hot out, and the Mariners series showed the field at Sutter Health Park has balls doing high bounces and quick skips to the outfield. These factors make for a high-scoring series, and ERAs may blow up.
Game Time:
May 9th, 7:05pm
Sutter Health Park
NYY RHP Will Warren(1-2, 5.65) vs A’s RHP Osvaldo Bido(2-2, 4.71)
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It will be the Athletics against the Dodgers on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. One-quarter of the way through the regular season, we could be looking at a pivotal series—particularly for the upstart A’s. Both teams are currently contending for the lead in their respective divisions.
Who knew? I’m going with our hometown Dodgers, but I have to respect the (hopefully) up-and-coming Oakland/Sacramento/West Sacramento/Las Vegas A’s. At least they seem to be going in the right direction, unlike the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, who can’t pitch or even hit well.
The Angels are already six games back in the American League West. Team owner Arte Moreno needs to get serious about baseball at long last or sell the team to someone who is.