What a beautiful moment the A’s had at the end of the game yesterday thanking fans–Wait, why is the A’s owner, John Fisher, unrolling that comically long TNT fuse? Oh God, what is he doing? So, Oakland played its last game in Oakland yesterday, and hell is too cool a place for John Fisher. Teams are as much a fabric of the city as anything. If teams can ask fans to subsidize stadiums, moving franchises should not be up to one person. Cities should have to vote on whether a pro team can move. Pro teams are not vanity projects for one petulant billionaire. They are moments for your city to come together and make memories. One of the last vestiges of monoculture that we should protect. Was an A’s fan growing up because wherever Reggie went, my fandom went, and, when he went back for ’87, I adopted and embraced the green and gold, and stayed with them after he retired and stayed for Canseco, McGwire, Carney, Rickey, Dave Stewart, I’ll remember vividly Kirk Gibson pumping his fist and crushing me to the chaos of the Loma Prieta earthquake World Series and their World Championship. It truly is a shame. There’s a good 30 for 30 in the way all sports organizations abandoned Oakland, they deserved better. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
J.T. Ginn – 5 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 7 baserunners, 2 Ks, ERA at 4.24. Gets the last win for the Oakland A’s. Weird, I was told in Moneyball they don’t have pitchers.
Kumar Rocker – 4 2/3 IP, 3 ER, ERA at 3.86. As Cole Ragans was unlocked into an ace by the Royals, I was reminded of something that stuck with me since: Rangers can’t develop arms. They can have decent arms, but they’re developed elsewhere. Something to consider with Kumar and Leiter.
Tyler Anderson – 4 1/3 IP, 4 ER, ERA at 3.81. Nothing sadder than the Shite Sux handing you your ass and saying, “I think I found it, then accidentally kicked it and now I’m returning it.”
Chris Flexen – 6 1/3 IP, 0 ER, 6 baserunners, 7 Ks, ERA at 4.95. Define gutsy? How about a veteran pitcher with nothing to lose on a team unable to win? This fall, starring Woody Harrelson as Flexen On You.
Aaron Civale – 6 IP, 0 ER, 4 baserunners, 5 Ks, ERA at 4.36. Get ready to be World Series MVP, Aaron Civale!
Mitch Keller – 5 IP, 3 ER, 8 baserunners, 6 Ks, ERA at 4.25. There’s some sleepers from last year I’ll be in on again (Gore comes to mind). Keller? I think that’s a no from me dawg.
Bryan De La Cruz – 1-for-4, 2 RBIs and his 21st homer. Kinda cool that the Pirates have Bryan Reynolds and the poor man’s Bryan Reynolds, Bryan De La Cruz. [presses ear bud, listening] Being told it’s not cool.
Walker Buehler – 5 IP, 1 ER, 6 baserunners, 1 K, ERA at 5.38. One strikeout? 5+ ERA? What have they done to Walker Buehler and who is this guy in his uniform?
Freddie Freeman – Twisted his ankle and had to leave the game. When leaving, he was smiling–[intern whispers]–Oh, forget it, those are just his teeth.
Will Smith – 1-for-4, 2 RBIs and his 20th homer. Will Smith saw Teoscar and smacked the shizz out of the ball.
Joe Musgrove – 6 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 6 baserunners, 6 Ks, ERA at 3.88. As the Padres prepare for the playoffs and knowing Musgrove’s last playoff appearance…Well, I hear there’s 1,000 bottles of baby lotion not being used in New York.
Corbin Burnes – 5 IP, 1 ER, 3 baserunners, 9 Ks, ERA at 2.92. Last night he looked the best he’d looked all year. Where was this Apes thru Seps? I’m calling April “Apes” and September “Seps.” Do I sound like a zoomer? Are you wondering how I got so cool?
Gerrit Cole – 6 2/3 IP, 0 ER, 3 baserunners, 5 Ks, ERA at 3.41. That was the best he looked too. What was in the water yesterday in New York? Yes, I know, it’s good to make pizza. Jesus with that.
Giancarlo Stanton – 2-for-4, 2 runs, 4 RBIs and his 27th homer, hitting .235. I wonder if my love, Giancarlo, is bothered that he’s in no way whatsoever the star of the Yanks. He’s barely the, what, fifth best player on the team?
Aaron Judge – 1-for-2, 2 runs, 2 RBIs and his 58th homer, hitting .325. He is singlehandedly winning me a fantasy league, so I love him from his size 27 shoes to his size 17 hat. From his 72-inch shoulders to his [redacted]-inched inseam. But if we’re being honest, what on earth are pitchers doing pitching to him all year? He has Austin Wells behind him hitting .231.
Valente Bellozo – 5 IP, 1 ER, 7 baserunners, 2 Ks, ERA at 3.67. Watched this game (is it over yet? Seriously, Cougs, went to dinner with her friends, came back and was like, “That game is still on?”) and the Marlins’ announcer, Rod Allen, brought up a good point on Bellozo aka El Bozo. No one makes solid contact on him. I didn’t know El Bozo coming into this year, but he could be a sneaky guy for next year.
Carlos Correa – 3-for-5 and his 14th homer. After 13 innings, there were no winners on hitting, except Correa. Royce Lewis (0-for-5, 2 runs) looked so lost, but not as bad as Connor Norby (0-for-6, 5 Ks).
Hunter Renfroe – 1-for-3 and his 14th homer. Immediate hot schmotato alert! If there’s one guy who homers, then follows it with another homer, it’s Renfroe. He won’t be in this afternoon’s Buy column, because, sadly, ruefully, somethingly, those are done for the year. You always have Streamonator, and I will be here all weekend for comments and concerns, please address them to Fantasy Master Lothario (don’t abbreviate it).
Michael Wacha – 5 IP, 3 ER, 6 baserunners, 2 Ks, ERA at 3.35. Wacha didn’t end the year with his best Wacha but he Wacha’d for the better part of the year, so I cannot be mad.
Luis Garcia – 1-for-4, 3 RBIs and his 17th homer. Will be recapping all positions in the next week or so, and 2nd basemen are hideous, but Luis Garcia had a surprisingly solid year. If only Davey played him every day.
Paul Goldschmidt – 1-for-5 and his 22nd homer. Au Shizz!
Lars Nootbaar – 2-for-5, 2 runs, 2 RBIs and his 11th homer. Sometimes you feel like a Noot, sometimes you don’t.
Charlie Blackmon – 1-for-3, 3 runs, 3 RBIs and his 12th homer, and maybe the last homer of his career as Chazz Noir prepares to set sail on the back of a white horse into the sunset if Bud Black can’t talk him out of retirement. Bud Black has said that if Blackmon does retire, next year he will leave his leadoff spot empty and start each game with the two-hole hitter.
