The Best Retro Uni Night Ever

Last night, probably the best ever turn-back-the-clock night for uniforms took place. Yes, it was 70's retro uniform night at a certain game. Of course, when a baseball fan thinks of the wildest uni's of the 70's, it is immediately clear that such an event could only happen in an interleague contest. And the "best" 70's uniforms in all of baseball were worn by none other than the Oakland A's and the Pittsburgh Pirates. It was also 1970's Joe Rudi replica jersey night in Oakland.

The A's wore their California Gold double-knit polyester pajama pullovers with their gold pants and green stirrup socks, with Kelly green hats and yellow bills. Also typical of the 70's A's, the coaches and managers wore the white hats with the green bills. The official uniform colors used to be "Kelly green, California gold and wedding gown white." The "Swingin' A's" logo was also used. The Pirates wore their black pajama pullover tops, black pants, gold stirrups and those (n)ever classic "cylinder" gold top hats with the three pinstripes. It was pure disco. To compound the look, all the announcers, TV crews, stadium personnel and the like wore afros, "porn star" mustaches and/or comb-around hair-do's. They brought back total homer A's announcer Monty Moore who even brought a cow bell to ring when the A's hit a dinger. The announcers had old fashioned microphones with the giant foam ball pop protectors, and creme-gold type sport coats with wide lapels and the rounded lowercase font "csn" (Comcast Sports Net) letters, reminiscent of the 70's ABC's Wild World of Sports. Even a few turtleneck sweaters and tie-dye t-shirts were seen here and there.

The stats graphics across the TV screen mocked the old plain block yellow letters used back then before the newer computer generated ones. The fans got into the act, too, wearing all the old colors and styles. It must have been fun.

Another Double Header the Hard Way

I enjoyed another "double header the hard way" yesterday, two games in one day, but in two different parks. The A's lost to Seattle 6-1 in a day game in Oakland, while the Giants beat Atlanta 6-3 in the night cap in San Francisco. A whole lotta baseball for one day.

In Oakland it was book reading club day, so 20,000 kids were there making quite a bit of noise. And I went to the game to take a break from mine! Ichiro got three hits and an intentional walk. It was dollar dog day (Wednesdays), a good value even though they are small. Ten dog limit.

In San Francisco, Randy Johnson struck Chipper Jones out three times, while the Giants showed what little bit of offense they've been able to muster this year.

Dressing appropriately without carrying a huge bag wasn't quite possible, so I was a bit warm for game one, and froze during game two.

A's Disregard Their Own History

I'm often struck at the difference between the A's and Giants in how they treat their respective histories. Both teams started out as original teams in their respective leagues, the Giants in New York (moving to San Francisco in 1958) and the A's in Philadelphia (moving to Kansas City in 1955 and again to Oakland in 1968). The Giants celebrate their history, flaunt their history, relive their history. The A's seem to neglect - sometimes on purpose - much of theirs.

The Giants fully embrace their history in New York. With the A's, one would hardly know they played in Philly or KC. The Giants have retired uniform numbers for New York players, the A's don't for Philly or KC players. The Haas family, when they owned the A's in the 80's and 90's, seemed to shun the Charlie Finley years almost fully. They recognized hall of fame players and retired their numbers, but didn't greatly celebrate even their 3 consecutive World Series championships of the early 70's.

I wish the A's would embrace their entire history and teach their fans about it. While their history might not be quite as rich as the Giants or Yankees, it's still pretty good.

Giambi To A's?

Jason Giambi back to the A's? Okay, bring them up, let them go sign for the big bucks elsewhere, then take them back at the end of their careers. Hope this doesn't keep as a pattern.

Giants Not On TV For Some Reason

The Giants aren't on TV this afternoon, playing the Braves from Atlanta. They're scheduled to play on Comcast Sports Net, both on their pocket schedule and on their broadcast schedule on their website. They're not on TBS, the Braves station, either, nor their flagship station (an NBC affiliate) due to the Olympics. But the A's pregame show was on instead.

As I write, the game just appeared on Comcast Sports Net Plus, starting at 7pm with the 9th inning, just as the A's game was starting on Comcast Sports Net regular. But the listing on CSN+ says the A's game is on. Go figure it all. The Giants are winning 4-1 in the ninth. We'll see if they can hang on now that they're appearing on the tube.

A's Ads Slice Giants

Every time the A's and Giants play each other here, whether in interleague, the exhibition series right before the season starts, or the World Series, the series is usually called a/the "Bay Bridge Series" or also, "The Battle of The Bay." The A's in recent times have taken out ads in the San Francisco Chronicle, no less, that slam the Giants' lack of winning. Just Friday, one apparently was put into place that said, "The Battle of The Bay" with the word "battle" crossed out. A note was inserted that said something to the effect, "well, when you've won eight out of the last nine, it's not exactly a battle." The Giants players are pissed off. Well, maybe they should win, then.

Another couple of ads went out prior to their first meeting this year. The Giants put out an ad that said, "Don't Be An Athletic Supporter." The A's answered with an ad that claimed June as "Champions month." Every team that the A's played during June had won a World Series since the A's moved to Oakland, and all the years of those championships were listed. Except the San Francisco Giants, who have never won. They were followed by "n/a". An A's ad a few years ago was really classic: "Zero splash hits; four world titles."

100% Baseball - A Great A's TV Commercial

I saw a truly wonderful A's commercial during the game last night. It starts out with an old video clip of the entrance sign to the Coliseum "1972 World Series - A's vs. Cincinnati - SOLD OUT". It then showed clips of great plays and players with the titles, "Vida is...", "Reggie is...", "Catfish is...". It then continued through A's history up until today with the same theme. Finally at the end, "...100% Baseball." It brought back so many memories of A's baseball. Joe Rudi making that catch against the left field wall against the Reds. Rickey Henderson breaking the all time stolen base record.

It's good to see the A's celebrate their history, as this is their 40th anniversary of being in Oakland. For some reason they avoid their history in Philadelphia and Kansas City. The Haas family did all they could to erase the Charlie Finley era from A's fans' memories. Why? The A's have a great history and great players. They should celebrate.

A's vs. Giants

The A's played the Giants this weekend during interleague play. I grew up with both teams and was a die-hard fan of each team. Of all the metro areas with two teams, being a fan of both is most accepted in the San Francisco area. I've been asked many times how I could be a fan of both teams, and I always responded that they would never play each other when it counted. This was before interleague play and the 1989 World Series.

I was a full time bleacher bum at A's games, while sitting in the box seats at Giants games. When they tore out my bleachers to build Mt. Davis for the Raiders, I stopped going to A's games regularly, so now I still like the A's and cheer for them, I'm not the die-hard fan I once was. They're my second favorite team, and if I see the Giants play at the Colisuem, I'll cheer for the Giants.

Each team's fans seem to have unique view of the other team. A's fans are jealous of all the Giants popularity with the whole Bonds era and the new stadium. The Coliseum went from a fairly good place to watch a game to a pit once it was remodeled for the Raiders. I did see a great T-shirt, though from an A's fan point of view. It read, "Zero splash hits, four world titles." Giants fans on the other hand seem to have an arrogant dismissal of the A's and their fans. Oakland is the place where the saying is true: "there's no there there." Oakland is a place of inferiority complex compared to the most popular city in the world, and their place in the lowly American League west only reinforces that.

Lose 139 Games?

At 1-6, the Giants are on a pace to go 23-139. No team has ever lost more than 120 games. My friend Mike got a bet at 4:1 for a Giants/A's over/under of 200 losses. If each team lost 100 games, he would win the bet. But if the Giants lost 139 games, the A's could have the best record in baseball and win the World Series and he could still win the bet. I don't think the Giants will lose 139 games, but maybe 103.

Saturday Night Baseball?

For decades, three teams have traditionally played more than half of their games during the day. The Chicago Cubs, the Oakland A's and the San Francisco Giants. The Cubs didn't get stadium lights put in until 1988, and day baseball is still the tradition on the Northside. The A's and Giants have always played a high percentage of day games, and always a day game on Saturday, because of the cool, foggy nighttime weather in the Bay Area, with the midweek getaway day usually played under the sun, too.

Saturday afternoon at the ballpark in the sunshine has always been a treat. But things have changed, and the Giants have just this year started playing a large majority of their Saturday games at night. Why? The short answer is television. FOX has the rights to the daytime slot and teams are forbidden to televise their own games during that time. Since the Bonds era is over and the Giants really suck, FOX isn't going to show the Giants anytime soon. They were on FOX nearly every Saturday in at least a regional game for years. Now the Giants have nothing more than their historic name as a national TV draw. So, to take in TV revenue, they're moving most of their Saturday games to a night starting time so either the local FOX Sports Net or their new channel 11 can carry the game, and the Giants can still pull in some revenue. TV money rules baseball. Just my guess, anyway.

A's Fight Back

The Oakland A's fought back in game 2 of the series against the Red Sox in Japan. Good for them. What has been a one-sided media event turned out to be a statement by the A's that they're not to be taken lightly. The four game series continues next Tuesday at the Oakland Coliseum, or whatever the hell they're naming it these days.

Fifty Years, Forty Years

This year celebrates the Giants' fifty years in San Francisco. The team moved here in 1958. This means that the A's, who moved here in 1968, have been here forty years. A quick recap of each team's performance over such a time period will prove noteworthy.

The Giants are the winningest team in baseball history. They've been around longer than the Yankees (who have the highest winning percentage ever), and have the second highest winning percentage ever, and first in the NL. Yet they haven't won a World Series here in SF. How can the winningest team ever go over fifty years without winning a championship? They had the best record in baseball during the 60's, winning over 900 games (that's an average of over 90 wins per season for ten years!), yet could only tie for one pennant after a miracle. During the Bonds era, the Giants had the third best winning percentage in baseball, behind the Braves and Yankees, yet no rings.

The A's, on the other hand, have won four World Series since moving here. They have endured one of the most hated owners ever, a bad color combination for fashion, a terrible football stadium remodel, no fans, yet they're one of the most succesful teams in baseball since moving here.

The Giants have had some of the greatest sluggers ever to play for them, including three hall of famers in successive slots in the batting order. Mays, McCovey, Cepeda. No rings. The A's have succeeded mostly on pitching. Four rings. The teams have been as different as night and day, which is great for Bay Area baseball.

Swish This

Today the Oakland A's traded Nick Swisher to the White Sox for a handful of prospects. Swisher was a fan favorite in Oakland and I really enjoyed watching him play. I heard a description of him on the sports talk show tonight, calling him the blue collar player that went all out. This is the player that grew his hair long only to shave it off and donate it toward cancer patient wigs. He was a spark plug with a certain infectious charisma. He'll be missed, but I'm not going to jump harshly on Billy Beane because he's pulled off quite a few good ones before. Beane admitted the A's are rebuilding and they can't afford to play status quo. Are you listening Brian Sabean?

Is The A's New Stadium For Real?

A good question to ask is if the A's new stadium is for real. Is it? The owners seem to impress upon the media that it is. Unlike the Nationals, Yankees, Mets and Twins, the A's have no definitive date for the opening of their new yard, Cisco Field. Sometime in 2010 or 2011, I guess.

Bonds to A's?

There was an article in the paper a few days ago stating that the A's were interested in Barry Bonds. This makes sense. He would instantly be their best hitter - or one of the best, could DH without any requirement to play the field. He could even play the outfield in NL cities during interleague. He wouldn't have to move. The A's are in need of attendance as they ready themselves for their new yard. Many Giants fans would show up in Oakland to see him. The A's may work out some kind of non-guaranteed contract in case he shifts to pursuing the prison softball home run record. It's a win-win idea.

The Voice of God Is Back

Roy Steele, the PA announcer at the Oakland Coliseum for the A's is back this season after more than a year absence. Roy is easily the second most recognizable (next to the Yankees' Bob Shepherd) PA voice in baseball. He started doing the stadium PA in 1968 when the A's moved here from Kansas City. He had a health issue that apparently included some form of acid reflux that affected his voice.

Steele has lived with the nickname "the Voice of God" for almost his entire career. A young radio announcer for the A's in 1970, named Jon Miller - yes, that Jon Miller - was in the stands one game and his booming, baritone voice came over the PA system. It sounded to Miller like it was the voice of God. The rest is history, as they say.

I have attended nearly 500 A's games in my life, and Roy is truly one of those memorable fixtures of my life. I, just like Jon Miller, do a pretty mean imitation of Roy. I loved his announcement of Jose Canseco the best. Dave Stewart and Mark McGwire were up there too, as was Shooty Babbitt.

He's predictable in many ways, which makes a great part of his personality. He always gave the starting lineups by starting with, "Leading off for the Athletics, number xx,..." then would say, "batting second," "batting third," etc, all the way through ninth. Except for fifth, which he would start out, "In the fifth position, number 39, Daaaaaaave Parker...designated hitter." With the DH in the AL, he would conclude with, "Warming up in the bullpen, today's starting pitcher for the Athletics, number 34, Daaaaave Stewart."

If you've never heard Roy Steele, book the next flight to Oakland and enjoy. Welcome back, Roy.

It Ain't Over Til It's Over

I watched the end of the A's game today on TV. The A's were down 7-5 to the Indians with 2 outs and 2 strikes and nobody on in the bottom of the 9th (that's one pitch away from losing) and they won. A hit followed by a Milton Bradley homer tied it. The next two batters got hits before Jack Cust blasted a walk-off homer. The A's won 10-7.

Just another reason baseball is a better sport than football, basketball, hockey or soccer. It's the only one of these games that is never, ever over until it's finally over. Not even after the final strike is it over, because the catcher must catch the ball to make the putout.

A Double Header the Hard Way

A few days ago on Wednesday, a rare occurrence occurred. The A's and Giants played home games on the same day, the A's a day game, the Giants a night game. Every off-season when the next year's schedule comes out, I check it to see if this occurs, and plan to buy tickets. This doesn't happen every year, as baseball's schedule makers make a point of scheduling teams that share a metro market with opposite home/road schedules. So the A's and Giants rarely play any home games on the same day, and it's even more rare for them to play at differing times during that same day. But this year it did. What a day it was.

I took the day off work, and took the train to both games. The A's beat the Angels in the afternoon, while the Giants squeaked by the Cardinals in 12 innings in the nightcap. That's 21 innings of baseball. Pujols and Bonds both went very deep, with awesome shots each. It was a cold windy day, and even colder night. It took a while to thaw out.

The A's game took only a bit over 2 hours to play, so I got to The City really early. I took in some BP from the knothole area in the first few archways until the gates opened, which is 2 hours before game time. Once in, the Giants were still taking BP, and I caught a home run ball in the bleachers, right in my glove. I didn't even have to move. I couldn't tell which player hit it, since they were wearing their warmup jackets.

I sat in the bleachers for the A's game, and there weren't that many fans there. There were enough vocal bums there for some good heckling. Garrett Anderson, the Halos' left fielder, was a choice target. A good time was had by all. I had a guy right in front of me and another behind me (on the aisle), and we talked some good ball all day. All of us had a bag of spits, and we even compared seed brands. The Giants game proved good for heckling the Cards' bullpen, too. To tell a pitcher that Bonds is gonna go yard on him, then to see it that inning is pretty fun. As an added all-time record, set by me and anybody else who went to both games, I saw all three Molina brothers - Jose (Angels), Yadier (Cards) and Bengie (Giants) start at catcher in the same day.

A New Name for the A's

With the A's moving to Fremont, they'll undergo a name change. The owner has all but promised the city of Fremont that its name will be used in the team's name. The Oakland A's of Fremont? That's almost as stupid as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The San Jose A's of Fremont? The Fremont A's? The Bay Area A's of Fremont? Or will it be more formalized like The Oakland Athletics of Fremont? The Oakland Athletics of Fremont Baseball Club of the American League? How about just the A's?

A New A's Ballpark

The Oakland A's are proposing a new ballpark, called Cisco Field after the main sponsor, in the Bay Area suburb of Fremont. Fremont is located in the East Bay, almost midway between Oakland and San Jose. The artist's renderings look really cool. The proposal is for more than a ballpark, it includes a baseball "village." There are hotel rooms and condos that overlook the field. Not from a distance, either. These are part of the overall structure. [Edit 1-26-07. A closer look reveals that these are across the street on both outfield sides, but the left field stands cantilever up and over the street to meet the building over the opposite sidewalk.] Retail and other types of businesses will be built in as well. This might well be the vision for baseball future.

This move from the A's ownership has several interesting aspects. The move south toward San Jose almost guarantees big money sponsorship from Silicon Valley corporations. Since Fremont is much closer to Silicon Valley than San Francisco is, the A's stand to steal business away from the Giants. Fremont (Alameda County) is the southernmost city within exclusive A's territorial rights. The proposed site is in the southernmost part of Fremont. They can move there without permission from the Giants. The Giants have already indicated in the past that any move to the South Bay including San Jose or Santa Clara would be vetoed.

This is a bold and smart move from the A's. For me, it represents a further drive, as the new park wouldn't be at a BART station. But build it and I will come. Maybe not a whole lot, but enough for a while. Traffic on I-880 at 5pm is the worst in the universe, so maybe I'll go to any 2am games.