It's often said that with every new baseball game, you see something you haven't seen before. Although we experienced tonight's A's game at home on TV instead of at the Coliseum, we rode the lows of an early 2-0 deficit, and the near-euphoria of seeing the red-maned Bobby Kielty turn a 2-1 game where the A's were behind to a 5-2 contest with one swing of the bat, when he cleared the bases with a grand slam on the first pitch he saw. It was his first career grand slam, but not the first time we have seen the A's snatch victory from the jaws of defeat in this incredible season that almost assuredly has them in the playoffs - and potentially going deep.Yesterday, we received a very special FedEx package, which included a pair of post-season strips for all potential A's games, from the American League Divisional Series through the World Series. The seats, in section 114, row 28, seats 5 and 6, are the same we've held in our partial season-ticket package all year, at field level near the first-base side. With tonight's victory, the A's reduced their magic number to six, meaning that any combination of A's wins and Angels losses adding up to six locks up the American League Western Division, and puts the A's in the post-season for the first time since 2003. That year was significant not just because it was the year my wife and I were married, but also the year where the A's managed to take a 2-0 lead in the divisional series against the Boston Red Sox and throw it away, continuing their unprecedented streak of post-season futility.
With the crack of his bat tonight, following an impressive five-inning, 11-strikeout performance by pitcher Kirk Saarloos, Kielty turned the game around and put the team back on track after a one-game slump Monday night. On Friday and Saturday, with the Angels back in Oakland to do battle, we will be back in our seats, with the potential to see the A's celebrate on our field. To help us get there, the A's have to continue winning, and each day may bring a new hero. Tonight, Kielty's jog around the bases is the whole story - a night he may never forget.
Listening to ''I Feel Love'', by Kluster (Play Count: 7)