Just as I did with the last episode of “The Newsroom”, I intend to live blog the 3rd game of the Oakland Athletics/Detroit Tigers game tonight. The game starts around 9 PM, so I’m going to try to hang in there for the duration. This is the 3rd game in the series, and unfortunately, the A”s have lost the first 2 games. So since it’s a best of 5 division playoff series, this is it for the A’s!
We’ll get started on this in about half an hour. Just an FYI – I did get an inexpensive wireless keyboard for the I-pad, so that should make my typing faster – in theory, anyway. We’ll see how it goes!
So I’ll bet you’re wondering how I came to be such a baseball fan. And in particular, how i came to follow a California ball team when their games are not broadcast on the east coast until the end of the season. Simple – blame Moneyball. Loved the movie – loved the book.
During the first two games, I was texting with my nephew, Michael – in particular during the first game. So this time, rather than just text, I’ll blog…
Well, we’re off to a late start, as the Cincinnati/SF Giants game has gone into extra innings (SF eventually won in the 10th inning, saving their chances). OK – changed the channel and it’s about to start at 9:05. Since Oakland is back home with their fans, I anticipate improved performance versus their lackluster showing in Detroit. Anderson is pitching, coming off some injuries the announcers continue to dwell on…results are all that counts, so we’ll see.
Detroit’s up first; first batter struck out. Might need to edit this after it’s done so I don’t bore you to tears…
another strike out
two down n first inning
Detroit’s Cabrera up third – made a big impact in first two games..
Coco Crisp is up first & got a base hit. He made some mistakes in game 2, so I advocated a public execution, but Ma says that might be a tad harsh. We’ll see about that.
Coco scores: 1 to nothing. Detroit looks tired. Must be the thin California air.
Drew & Cespedes are on 1st and 2nd. Will this be a 3 run inning for the A’s? Reddick is up – spotty performance so far. Either strikes out or gets a home run. Three outs – Detroit’s up. 1 to zip
Great catch by Coco getting Fielder out on what would have been a home run without his big jump. No runs for Detroit. Still 1/0 A’s.
Catcher’s up with 1 out.
Bottom of the fifth inning and the A’s Smith hits a home run. Now it’s 2/0 A’s. They don’t look like the same team we saw in Detroit. They are clearly more comfortable playing at home. Seems like a sign of youth & inexperience. That’s a potential downside of the payroll deficit. What they have in hustle and moxie they lack in experience and likely flexibility. Hence issues on the road.
Game over; score remained two zip. Audacious fielding and pitching won it. How about tomorrow night? Detroit will try harder, no doubt.