(raises hand)Amusingly, the free MLB.TV game is today's 9:40 Boston at Oakland game.
Assuming the premise behind the free game it to get people interested in the sport generally or purchasing a MLB game package. . .I'm not really sure who this hooks in on a Monday night. Surely, no A's fans are looking for a last hurrah. . .nor are any future Vegas High Rollers (or whatever) fans going to tune in now. New England Insomniacs without WEEI or NESN?
I'd need a cellphone for that, right?Shocked!
You're not doing the T-Mobile thing?
It can be finicky, but the overall way is this. You buy a $5 or $10 Amazon gift certificate and "print" it to get the code. Go to slickdeals.com and find the MLB.TV thread. You offer to trade the AMG code for a T-Mobile Code.I'd need a cellphone for that, right?
Houck averaged 16.4 pitches per inning last year. League average was 16.6. Houck threw exactly 5 innings per start while averaging 83 pitches a game. If he can up that to 95-100 pitches per game, 6 innings per start seems entirely reasonable.I know it's early season and the rotation are all close to an 80-85 max pitch count but I'd love to see Houck get to finish the 6th inning at less than 85 pitches. The "old rule" was 15 or less average pitches per inning per start will get your starter into the 7th at a "healthy" pitch count- between 100-110 and then you're only asking for 2 innings from your pen. No time to look it up but IINM, Houck was pretty high on pitches per inning last season which doesn' help his little 3rd time through the order issue.
I’ll be sad if/when they leave Oakland because I’ll have nowhere close to go to a Red Sox game. Always had good seats there, very affordable, best probably behind the plate when Clemens threw a two hit CG SHO, I think it was. He was popping that catcher’s mitt all night all right. Won’t miss the Coliseum for itself, but I appreciate your story.I'm so sad about the fate of the Coliseum. I genuinely love that place. I was a broke graduate student in the Bay Area in my 20s, and major league baseball at minor league prices is a hell of an amenity.
I could get an outfield ticket for $10, takeout a burrito for dinner for $7 before hopping on BART from the Mission (roundtrip from 16th St to the Coliseum was ~$8); and a decent beer for $6. That's pretty damn good. SF has a much prettier ballpark, and it was much closer to where I lived, but I could do the whole evening in Oakland for the cost of a bleacher seat in SF.
While this particular vintage is nothing special, the A's are usually a pretty compelling on-field product, too.
Exactly. I've lived in Oakland for 16 years and I've been to a lot of A's games, as many times as I can when the Red Sox are in town. And as awful as the whole Coliseum experience is, the grass is still green, the beer is still cold, and the sound of bat hitting ball is still the same. Time away from the real world watching a ball game is precious, and I'm sad for the people of Oakland (and myself) that will soon be gone.But then a funny thing happened. I walked out of the tunnel and the grass was green. The day was beautiful. In the sunlight, the stadium looked ok. People were happy. There was an old guy keeping score. The beer tasted the same as it does everywhere else.
I just love this description of going to a baseball game. I just fell in love with the game a little more. Thank you for this.the grass is still green, the beer is still cold, and the sound of bat hitting ball is still the same. Time away from the real world watching a ball game is precious
Joe Boyle, the A's pitcher tonight, was only in three games last year, so not much data. He threw the 4 seam 58% of the time. Hopefully that trend will continue and Casas will see fewer breaking balls tonight. Here's the mix from Baseball Savant.
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Baseball is working great. The A's are legit beloved. It's ownership who won't take yes for an answer from the city and county, which is so wildly stupid because of how much money there is in the East Bay now.I was down in San Jose a couple of years ago when the Red Sox were playing Oakland, so we took the Bart. I had never been before. The trip in was pretty depressing. Walking over the scrap yards on a shitty bridge to a crumbling stadium. So much chain metal fencing and brown and dust and dirt. I think it might have actually been July 4. And even so there was nobody there.
But then a funny thing happened. I walked out of the tunnel and the grass was green. The day was beautiful. In the sunlight, the stadium looked ok. People were happy. There was an old guy keeping score. The beer tasted the same as it does everywhere else. Nothing is like strolling down Yawkey way and this was pretty far from that. But I enjoyed my one and only trip to the Coliseum. I'm really sad that baseball isn't working there.
New Englanders would most likely be blacked out. Oaklanders as well.Amusingly, the free MLB.TV game is today's 9:40 Boston at Oakland game.
Assuming the premise behind the free game it to get people interested in the sport generally or purchasing a MLB game package. . .I'm not really sure who this hooks in on a Monday night. Surely, no A's fans are looking for a last hurrah. . .nor are any future Vegas High Rollers (or whatever) fans going to tune in now. New England Insomniacs without WEEI or NESN?
For as bad as the A's presumably are, there are some competent hitters in this lineup. Noda, Bleday, Gelof, Brown, and Rooker can all hang and Langeliers' bat is supposed to be his carrying tool. A lineup that a decent staff should handle, regardless.
- Ryan Noda (L) 1B
- JJ Bleday (L) CF
- Zack Gelof (R) 2B
- Seth Brown (L) LF
- Brent Rooker (R) DH
- Abraham Toro (S) 3B
- Shea Langeliers (R) C
- Lawrence Butler (L) RF
- Darell Hernaiz (R) SS
MLB should really just force the entire front office of this team out of the sport.
I would not mind swapping Story and O'Neill in this lineup.Duran LF
Devers 3B
Story SS
Casas 1B
O'Neill RF
Yoshida DH
Valdez, E 2B
Rafaela CF
McGuire C
Houck SP
Wouldn't that lead to Casas getting nothing to hit?I would not mind swapping Story and O'Neill in this lineup.
Damn. You’re right. I hope Story proves to be middle of the lineup guy again. We shall see.Wouldn't that lead to Casas getting nothing to hit?
Should be more often than that with the new scheduling shouldn't it? Perhaps every other year? Still less than ideal though I'm sure.I’ll be sad if/when they leave Oakland because I’ll have nowhere close to go to a Red Sox game. Always had good seats there, very affordable, best probably behind the plate when Clemens threw a two hit CG SHO, I think it was. He was popping that catcher’s mitt all night all right. Won’t miss the Coliseum for itself, but I appreciate your story.
edit, I can still go to Sox games in SF every four years when they play there.
Oh is that right (new scheduling)? Have to check it out.Should be more often than that with the new scheduling shouldn't it? Perhaps every other year? Still less than ideal though I'm sure.
Yeah, with new scheduling every MLB team plays every other team each season, alternating (not sure if this is strictly true, but on average) home and away if only one series each year. So those of us in the Bay Area will see the Red Sox play the Giants at Oracle every other year, which better than it was. But, when the A's leave, we'll lose one or two series every year at the Coliseum.Oh is that right (new scheduling)? Have to check it out.
They're working on the spot...Baseball is working great. The A's are legit beloved. It's ownership who won't take yes for an answer from the city and county, which is so wildly stupid because of how much money there is in the East Bay now.
The franchise could be a license to print money if they just accepted one of the proposed land swaps and built a park on the waterfront, but Fisher can't get out of his own way. He's turned down very good offers just because they don't include everything he wants, and now he's moving towards a situation in Vegas that is likely to be an outright disaster.
When the Las Vegas A's are playing sweltering unattended games in their AAA park in Vegas because they haven't been able to get their ducks in a row to actually, you know, secure a buildable site, that Port of Oakland site west of Downtown will start to sound pretty good.
They won't end up playing there before and until the stadium is built.But yes, the hot summer in the Aviators ballpark (which is lovely) is going to be a disaster until this is built.
What do you mean?They won't end up playing there before and until the stadium is built.
Oh I don't read the stories. I'm a headline guy.As the story you linked to says, they'll stay in Oakland if they can work out a deal or even play in SLC until the Vegas stadium is built