Friday, February 24th
Lights,
Camera, Action:
“I
heard a story once — as a matter of fact, I’ve heard a lot of stories in my
time. They began with the sound of a tinny piano playing in a parlor
downstairs…”, from the film, Casablanca. I’ll tell the story of today’s game
using a cinematic approach, since the Oscars are right around the corner. I ‘ll
recant the game, minus the tinny piano.
In
Friday’s game, the A’s took on the Yankees, or should I say it was Gladiator vs.
Braveheart. Let me tell you the game hung on many plays, but it came down to
just one play. “It was the stuff dreams are made of”, Maltese Falcon. A catch
that won Jeff Stier, best actor, or in this case MVP. (More on that
later).
The
A’s came out in the first inning and at coach Matta’s signal unleashed hell, “At
my signal, unleash hell”, Maximus
Decimus Meridius, from the film,
Gladiator. We scored 3 runs. The Yankees started out “Driving Miss Daisy”, they
scored 1 run in the first. A’s:
3-Yankees 1.
The
next 3 innings the A’s were Gone With The Wind, we were shut out. I felt like
Rhett Butler watching the defeated Confederate Army in Atlanta. "Rhett
Butler: Take a good look my dear. It's an historic moment you can tell your
grandchildren about - how you watched the Old South fall one night.” As
the A’s were falling, the Yankees played the role of Braveheart. They scored 5
runs in those same three innings, to take the lead. Juan Toro must have given
the William Wallace speech to his team, to inspire them. From the film,
Braveheart; William
Wallace: Aye, fight and you may die, run, and you'll live... at least a while.
And dying in your beds, many years from now, would you be willin' to trade ALL
the days, from this day to that, for one chance, just one chance, to come back
here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they'll never
take... OUR FREEDOM!
After
4 innings of serious movie dialogue the score was A’s: 3-Yankees: 6.
Intermission, reader, go get your popcorn.
In
the 5th inning the Yankees put a hurt on the A’s, they followed Don
Vito Corleone’s advice: “Revenge is a dish best served cold.” The A’s bats were
certainly cold, we only scored a run in the 5th. The Yankees “made us
an offer we could not refuse” they cut off a horse’s head, stuffed it in our
dugout and scored 5 runs. A’s: 4-Yankees 11, after 5 innings.
In
the 6th and 7th inning the A’s picked themselves up off
the canvas, like Rocky. “Yo, Adrian”, we did it! The A’s scored 4 runs in the
6th and 5 in the 7th to take the lead. The Yankees were
shut out those two innings. After 7 innings the score was A’s:
13-Yankees:11.
In
the 8th inning both teams fought like they were Patton’s
3rd Army attacking in France and Germany, in WW2. You could almost
hear George C. Scott, playing the role as the famed general, tell both teams,
“Here's where we hold them by the nose and kick them”. The A’s scored 3 runs in
the top half of the inning. The Yankees scored 5 runs in the bottom of the
inning. We had a tied game, A’s: 16-Yankees: 16.
It’s
time now for a classic movie finish, the 9th
inning. One team was going to be Scarlett O’Hara, left on the doorstep. One
team was going to go down like a sinking ship, reminiscent of the scene in the
movie, Titanic. One team was going to gamble and lose, like in the movie, The
Sting. The A’s struck first in the top of the 9th, scoring 5 runs.
The A’s felt like things were “Going My Way”. We were so happy we were, “Dancing
With Wolves”. We felt like a triumphant “Gladiator”.
The
Yankees came up to bat in the bottom of the 9th, down 5 runs and
feeling like they were chained to the oars in an ancient ship’s galley, like in
the film Ben- Hur. You could almost hear the Roman commander, Quintus Arrius,
say:” You are all condemned men, we keep you alive to serve this ship, row well
and live.” The Yankee players responded by rowing well. They fought back hard,
scoring 3 runs and advancing runners to 1st and 2nd base,
with only one out. With those two runners on base, that is when Jeff Stier turn
in his Oscar winning performance on defense. Jeff stole the Maltese Falcon. He
made a fantastic catch over his shoulder, as he hustled out to short left field,
to catch a dying black falcon, pop up. He then threw to 2nd base and
doubled up the runner, who had left the bag thinking it was a sure hit. Game
Over. A’s: 21-Yankees:19. No one should get too worked up about the game,
remember what Scarlett O’Hara said at the end of Gone With The Wind, “after all,
tomorrow is another day” and another ballgame.
Oscar
Winning Hitters For The A’s:
Alumbaugh:
4/5.
Stier:
4/5.
Shirer:
4/5 with 2 doubles.
Matta:
4/5.
Book:
4/5 with a double.
Bailey:
3/5.
Oscar
Winning Hitters For The Yankees:
Rivera:
3/5 with a double.
Ojeda:
3/5.
Toro:
5/5 with a double.
Jimenez:
4/5.
Brock:
5/5 with 2 doubles.
Luttrell:
3/5.
Crowell:
5/5.
Pokey:
3/5.
Wells:
3/4.
Write up by Nick Matta
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