A Look Inside An A's Fan's Mind
By Matt Furtado/KHTK Sports 1140
Tonight is the start of Major League Baseball's postseason...and the Oakland Athletics made it!
Barely.
It's a huge game for the players, Manager Bob Melvin, General Manager Billy Beane and the fans.
Jon Lester is taking the hill for the A's in Kansas City. The pitcher the A's traded Yoenis Cespedes for has the Green and Gold's postseason life in his hands. This is exactly why Beane wanted Lester. He has to come through with the win tonight, right?
Oakland has struggled big time since getting rid of Cespedes. Does a win from Lester tonight make trading away Cespedes okay? I'm not sure, but what I am sure about is that the A's fell off the wagon after Yoenis was shipped out of Oakland.
I know, I know, trading away Cespedes isn't the ONLY reason why the A's collapsed in the second half, but how could you not miss "Throwenis Cespedes," "The Cuban Missle," "The Back-to-Back Home Run Derby Champ!"
The A's had him the last two postseasons and they still couldn't get passed the Detroit Tigers in the first round, but this is different. This time it's do or die. It's win or go home. PLEASE just win the game!
How can they be the best team for most of the season and then end up as a wild card... on the road!
But that's enough about the past, it just needed to be said.
The question for tonight's game isn't whether Lester will shut down the Royals. He's a definite ace who turns up his performance in the postseason. The main question for the Athletics is whether they can string enough offense together against "Big Game" James Shields.
"Big Game" James Shields!
Is he the best pitcher the A's have seen all year? No, not even close. But there's a reason why Shields has the nickname "Big Game."
When the pressure is on, when his team needs a win, he shows up and dominates.
After a full season of 162 games, it all comes down to this one game. This wild card match up. James Shields versus Jon Lester.
There are so many questions floating around inside your average A's fan's mind, but once the game starts tonight, those questions will turn into a hope and belief that the A's can pull this one out.
"I believe in Stephen Vogt!"
I had to throw one of those in.
Tonight will be a fight. Tonight will be a battle.
Neither team scores a lot of runs and both teams have their aces on the hill.
It's going to be a low scoring game. A's win 3-2 and will take on the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the next round.
