Garfield the cat famously said "I hate Mondays." The A's started their season off on the wrong foot Monday with a 15-2 pasting at the hands of the perennial superpower New York Yankees. It seemed all was lost, as the team's vaunted starting pitching and hopeful offense couldn't compete with the Bronx superstars. But as the World Champion Pittsburgh Pirates showed in 1960, it's not how many total runs you may score in a series, but when those runs are scored. A one-run victory is just as useful in the long run as an embarrassing blowout. Monday's debacle was followed up by a thrilling 4-3 victory Tuesday night, which saw Marco Scutaro come through in the clutch with a 9th-inning tie-breaking hit to close out the game before the rains came, and Wednesday's less close contest, a 9-4 victory for the home team. All in all, while the A's were outscored by a tally of 22-15 in the series, the final standings read as Oakland 2, New York 1, much more than we could have expected after being thoroughly maligned on national television to kick off the 2006 campaign.Now, only two-plus days after thinking we were nearing Armageddon, the spirits are much happier in the Athletics Nation. For those of us who live and die by our team, we have not only been given life support, but have an air exuberance - an eagerness to vanquish our next foe, for we are tied for the division lead, and feel we've seen the best the league has to offer. On to more successes! 3 down, 159 to go.
Listening to ''Zocalo'', by DJ Armin van Buuren & Gabriel & Dresden (Play Count: 8)