It was a real joy to see the A’s sweep the Boston Red Sox in the Coliseum over the weekend. None of the games was close, so we didn’t have the pleasure of seeing the back end of the Sox bullpen, Okajima and River-Dancing Papelbon, but the Sox fans were out in force and ripe for heckling. They’re most sensitive about the their team’s home ballpark, which was taken from a Little League team under the doctrine of Eminent Domain, but after that commentary on Manny being Manny by dropping fly balls gets their goats.
The A’s played great all around baseball, outscoring the undergarments 17 to 6 over the three games, with a one-hit shutout by a pitcher who started his career in the Boston farm system as the highlight. We don’t see Boston at home again this year, alas. The sweep knocked them out of first place in the East, where the Billy Rays currently lead. Boston first baseman Kevin Youkilis is currently on a record errorless streak by a first baseman, but the magic was revealed. He dropped two throws in game three, but the scorer gave the errors to the fielders.
With Mike Sweeney at first base, the A’s a defintely a contender-quality team in this rebuilding year. It’s odd how that works, with three of the young players acquired in trades already starting and playing well. The A’s have an embarrassment of riches in young talent right now, and without the steroids the older players aren’t as valuable as they have been. This is a young guy season so far, and it’s still early.