A's have no fear, and it shows

Somehow, this one felt different. Walking around the concourse interacting with A’s fans, I sensed no feeling of dread, no expectation of letdown or concern … no “here we go again.” The standing room-only crowd of 35,694 delivered positive energy from first pitch to last, their waving white towels creating quite the spectacle, reminiscent of the Pittsburgh Steelers Terrible Towels, throughout the game.

My personal favorite observation was the fans’ chant for A’s shortstop Marco Scutaro, mimicking the children’s pool game of Marco Polo. One part of the stadium would shout out Marco! Followed shortly thereafter by the answer from another part of the park: Scutaro! It would continue throughout his at-bats, ending in a thunderous roar in the seventh as his three-run double dropped just inside the right-field line and effectively put the dagger into the Twins.

When, at exactly 4:05 p.m. PT, a ball off the bat of Twins second baseman Luis Castillo settled safely into the mitt of left fielder Jay Payton, the place erupted in joy. But somehow the celebration itself seemed a little anticlimactic. Maybe because the game was put out of reach in the seventh. Maybe because in all three games of this series the A’s so thoroughly outplayed the Twins –- at no point did the A’s trail. Regardless the reason, the outcome seemed to come as no surprise, as if the previous defeats in nine consecutive clinching games had been long forgotten. Perhaps it has been. Perhaps it should be.

It was good to see Eric Chavez contribute to the clinching victory. His solo bomb in the second inning -- with Twins starter Brad Radke having sailed through the first four hitters while A’s starter Dan Haren escaped jams in both innings -– set the tone for game. A member of all four prior postseason defeats (2000, 2001, 2002, 2003), he came into the game 0-for-8 in the series and 1 for his last 30 postseason at-bats. Let us hope that this eases the pressure a bit on one of the mainstays of the A’s as they move on to the ALCS.

We can’t close this blog without a word about the Twins, who were, as always, gracious in defeat. “The Oakland A’s won this series,” manager Ron Gardenhire said after the game. “They played good baseball. They made all the plays, they hit the ball, they came up with the big at-bats, and they won this series.” As Gardy went on to say, while the Twins didn’t give their best performance, they gave their best effort, which is always a given with Minnesota. With Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau and left-handers Johan Santana and Francisco Liriano, they’ll be back.

But right-hander Brad Radke likely won’t be, and that will be a blow to the Twins. Not just because he has been a mainstay in their rotation for them for a dozen years, but because of the character and leadership he has demonstrated throughout his career. He took the ball in Game 3, with the Twins’ season on the line, with a cranky shoulder that had left him in pain for nearly the entire second half. After the game, he would not say if he was retiring -– that decision will come in a few days -– but if this was his last start, it was a valiant effort despite the outcome.

Gardy, naturally, said it best: “So I think Brad Radke is -– he will go down in a lot of our players’ minds as one of the best they have ever been around, for the courage and the performance and the effort that he has given, and I thank him.”

The closing thought, appropriately, goes to the victorious A’s, who finally, mercifully got that monkey off their back. As thrilled as they were about that, in no way did they seem satisfied with advancing to the ALCS. This team wants more, expects more, and while it may not be as talented as the A’s teams that failed before them, they may be the A’s team that has what it takes to get to the World Series.

“You know, talent-wise this is one of the least talented teams I have ever been on and participated in the playoffs,” Chavez said. “But with a bunch of hard-nosed baseball players who love to play the game of baseball, and it’s really showed.”

Has it ever.
-- Jim Banks/MLB.com