Category Archives: Oakland Athletics

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Umpire Angel Hernandez blows game-tying HR call in Indians-A's game

Reblogged from SI Wire:

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Down 4-3 to the Indians in the ninth inning, Oakland shortstop Adam Rosales hit what he thought was a game-tying home run off Cleveland closer Chris Perez. But second base umpire, and crew chief, Angel Hernandez ruled the hit—which struck a railing behind the wall in left field before bouncing back onto the field—a double.

The video replay seemed to show it was indeed a homer, but when Hernandez reviewed the play, he upheld his original ruling, to the shock of Rosales, A's manager Bob Melvin (who was thrown out of the game for arguing the call), and the media.

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Angel Hernandez is going to get it from A's fans when he umpires a game there later this season. Only excuse that this happens is that he didn't have any replay or the TV he was using was standard definition. Regardless, replay doesn't work if people still get it wrong.
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I was part of the longest game in Oakland A’s history but couldn’t stay to the very end

Last night (or early this morning) was a crazy game between the A’s and Angels. I would have stayed for all 19 innings. But I had a bus to catch at midnight to get right back to LA for work. So unfortunately, I was unable to watch the entire game.

But once I got on the bus, I was able to listen to it on my MLB At Bat app. The reception wasn’t so good but I had just enough juice to catch Brandon Moss’ walk-off homer.

It came at a price with some injuries, but this might be the kind of win that gets the team back on track.

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The art of getting a ball during batting practice

Last night I was at the Angels game and during the A’s BP portion, Chris Young tossed me a ball that was on the outfield grass.

I’ve read a lot about getting balls during BP and most of the time if catching a homer isn’t your thing, the next thing to do is to get an outfielder’s attention.

One thing that I learned is that you have to wear something that stands out. Last time I was in Angel Stadium, I wore the A’s gray jersey and solid green cap. That didn’t make me stand out. But last night, it was my yellow Bernie Lean shirt. That sure can grab an attention. And of course, I had my glove.

I think realistically, it’s not really an art form but just a good circumstance of chance. You just have to dress up to stand out, bring a glove and really know your players by name. Call them out when they get a ball and just look like you really want it. Soon enough, it’s bound to happen. Not every game, but eventually.

Don’t forget to say thank you to the player!

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Recapping Opening Day at the Oakland Coliseum

The classic walkway to the Coliseum.

Another Opening Day and another one I make. Since I live in Los Angeles, it’s a little harder for me to be back in the Bay for certain things. But Opening Day was one event I couldn’t miss. I found my way back to Oakland and it was going to be a great celebration.

The day started off with me watching other teams start their season through my MLB.TV app on my phone. Good stuff. It got me juiced up for the entire day. I couldn’t wait to get to Oakland!

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A couple thoughts on the most foolish of days

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I did not see the Kevin Ware injury live. I was on a bus but as I was scrolling through Twitter, I had never seen the Twitterverse react to an injury like that before. I was curious about it and wanted to see what happened.

Unfortunately, it was one of those things where it was being debated whether or not a replay should be shown. Eventually, I did see it moments later and I nearly vomited on the bus.

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Spring Training in Phoenix Day 3: Another day and some German food

What a find!

The road to the second game started off at a quick stop to the Chinese Cultural Center just for a look but really the market was the only thing that was worth a look. And there I found the above beer. It tasted OK, but hey, 60 percent of the time it tastes great every time. (Anchorman reference.)

What was great about this game was first our pre-game meal of Jimmy John’s. I had never been to one before and only heard about it last year. But I went there and the sandwich I got was pretty good. After that, it was time to go to the game.

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Spring Training in Phoenix Day 2: My first ever Spring Training Game

Yesterday morning started off with a trip to one of the most popular breakfast joints in Phoenix. Matt’s Big Breakfast featured a great selection of fresh from scratch breakfast foods like omelette and pancakes.

Let me say that this place is a must. The service was fantastic, the food was amazing and the honey strawberry lemonade alone makes the trip to downtown Phoenix worth it.

Our breakfast was a great way to start our morning.

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And off I go to Spring Training in Phoenix

Time to head to Phoenix.

Well it’s finally here! Today I will trek to Phoenix with a couple of friends to catch two A’s Spring Training games over the weekend. And I’m going to catch a Dodgers one too just to see what the Indians are up to.

This is my first time so I am taking photos and doing all I can in a city I have never visited. Expect lots of food pictures on the blog as well as sights from the games.

It’s a good little time for me to really get away from life in LA and really get a little vacation on before getting ready for free agency and the draft.

Stay tuned and I’ll update this with my adventures. Make sure you also follow me on Twitter (link on right sidebar).

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Spring Training tickets are here!

Ready to go!

Ever since I started watching baseball as a kid, I’ve always wanted to go see a Spring Training game. Barring any misfortunes, I will be able to do that next weekend.

This is exciting. I get to see the A’s in action and I get to soak up the awesome atmosphere. I’ll hopefully get autographs from some players, watch the game from all kinds of angles and hopefully get to say I saw the team as they were preparing for their World Series run.

Since I live in Los Angeles, seeing the A’s is a bit tougher. But with Phoenix not too far, this was a must. I’m ready!