A's vs Yankees

Yesterday I went to the A's vs Yankees game at the Coliseum. It was a gorgeous day, the game was sold out, and both pitchers (Mulder and Pettitte) were kicking serious ass. I'm not sure what all the stats were, but Mulder struck out a side, and wound up with 5 hits over a complete game. Pettitte, poor guy, pitched a 1-hitter through the 9th, walked one batter, and got yanked for Rivera, who proceeded to lose his first game of the year by giving up a single to Chavez and a walk-off hit to Tejada. That's the second time in three games that Tejada has pulled through in the clutch.

Anyway, I wanted to make a point about how going to games is an extremely exhausting activity. Every time I get back from a game, I just want to shower, sit down on a couch and then not get up until it's time to go to sleep. My theory is it's something about sitting around on the edge of your seat for 3+ hours. It's worse than playing a sporting event in some ways, because you can't actually do anything to affect the outcome (unless you're one of those fanatics who thinks that his/her especially spectacular display of fandom actually makes a difference), but you still have that adrenaline rush. The better (closer) the game is, the more tired you get.

I'm looking forward to seeing the A's make a run for the division. I like the Giants too (rooted for them in '89), but the current A's are more likeable; they're the perpetual underdogs. You can't help but love a team who keeps digging up great prospects, bringing them up through the farm system, having them kick ass for a few short years, and then losing them when they become stars, for lack of money. I heard some guy say that the Yankees bullpen makes more than the whole A's team. I don't know if that's true, but the fact that it's believable makes a point in and of itself.