The Last A's Booster Luncheon - The Angry Seniors

I was quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle today in my conversation with A's owner Lew Wolff yesterday: "Will you bring in any big bats in the offseason?"

His answer was a simple "yes."

Of course, the Chron writer didn't state my name, but who cares. I think of interest is the fact that the Chron reporters are actually attending A's Booster luncheons! Isn't that funny?

The reporter I'm talking about, Rusty Simmons, got it right when he said that "the booster club ranged from unbridled supporters to an angry mob." Well, the "mob" thing wasn't quite that intense -- after all, did he think the seniors would flay away with their walkers? -- but half of them, mostly the male half, were angry. The guy sitting in front of me, slurred his question to Mr. Wolff after his 3-martini lunch and wouldn't stop talking. He seemed like such a nice guy, too.

His question concerned the team leaving Oakland. My God, that issue is so dead that the horse has been in the ground nearly two years. Poor Mr. Wolff. I guess he thinks we don't believe him when he says he did everything he could to stay in Oakland. And he recounted a conversation that he had with the guy who was assigned by the City of Oakland to his project. Something about telling Mr. Wolff that he didn't actually live in Oakland, and that he was going to leave this job soon. What a way to court someone who's bringing money to the city.

This was our last Booster luncheon of the year, and I was really happy that Mr. Wolff deigned to come see us. Quite often, especially toward the end of a tiring year, the A's players stop showing up and we get a coach. I was shocked when we got the owner. And doubly shocked when one of those angry boosters told him that he obviously wasn't the owner who could make decisions. Unbelievably rude.

It was a disappointing season. I'm hoping we make it up to last year's level of disappointment by winning at least 75 games (you need at least 90 to have a chance for the playoffs). We're at 72 as of today. We have a chance.

At this point, we A's Boosters take all we can get.

Greg Smith Lays One in There

I had another terrific time at the Oakland A's Booster Luncheon. It really does help when there's someone to talk to, someone who likes baseball as much as you do.

Ellen and her aunt, Joy, joined me again to welcome Shooty Babbitt and Greg Smith. Shooty is a celebrity in his own right, a second baseman who played for the A's, but who also has the gift of gab. Shooty is an intelligent questioner, which helps a lot, especially in interviewing a rookie. Shooty is also smart enough to know that he's not the main event here -- the current player is -- but I would love to hear more from him in some future date. I've seen him occasionally before or after a game on local T.V., talking about the match-ups, and he's much better than the other broadcasters they have in the pre- and post-game, except for Ray Fosse.

Greg Smith is the rookie I'm talking about, a left-handed pitcher whom we acquired in the Dan Haren trade last off-season, and what a gem he is. But who knew he'd be such a dynamic speaker? Everybody at the table was in awe of not only his speaking ability but also his knowledge of the game and his ability to impart that to us.

In fact, prodded by Shooty's questions, Greg gave us a pitch-by-pitch description of what he threw to Beltran in the last game (the day before), and his reasons, and it was so dynamic. I really felt as if we were part of his process. I'd love to have the same experience each time at these luncheons.

I mean, you really have to like the teddy-bear quality of a Jack Cust, but his process is mainly see-the-ball, hit-the-ball. There's nothing he's going to explain to you. We get from him the overall joy of being in the major leagues. And he's not going to worry about his strikeouts. He's just not.

Greg Smith is a thinking man's pitcher. I read this morning where Brian Wilson, who plays for the San Francisco Giants, and who closed out the game yesterday, said something to the effect that he was throwing strikes and they were hitting them, so he threw as hard as he could, saying, in effect, "here, hit this." Smith is not like that at all. He has a game plan, and if he can execute, he's sticking to his game plan with the help of his catcher.

We're heading into what I term the dead area of baseball: The All-Star break. As usual, we have one player in the All-Star game (Duchscherer), and if he pitches one inning, I'll be really pumped.

A Custian Blow for Niceness

I had a very nice time at the A's Booster luncheon today.

I didn't win a base this time -- yeah, really! a game-used, ALCS base in a game between the Detroit Tigers and the Oakland A's from 2006 -- like last time, but I still had a good time.

Jack Cust came to talk to us, and the MC was Vince Cotroneo. Vince was very, very friendly, and Jack was self-effacingly funny. Imagine working in the minor leagues for 10 years, wondering if you're going to finish out your career in Japan, when Billy Beane finally calls, rescuing you from the Padres, who just waived you. Amazing.

What do you like about the major leagues. "Everything." The fresh uniforms. The cleats. The food. The travel. This guy is enjoying it for all it's worth.

And, an extra bonus for me, a nice guy sat next to me and immediately started talking baseball. A good listener as well as a good talker, and I never even got his name. And then, two women with whom I spent some time at spring training a year-and-a-half ago. Very nice people. And they know a lot about A's baseball, too!

A wonderful day among fellow fans. I can't wait until the A's game against the Giants tomorrow night. I'll be listening to you, Vince Cotroneo. Thanks for the good times.