(May 28, 2014; Noah's 9th Birthday)
Around the Bases We Go!
*Spring Training: For many years I kept hearing how fun and wonderful a trip it was to visit Arizona and Spring Training in Arizona. By golly, it was grand! If you can ever make the journey, allow two simple suggestions. First, either night games, or seats in the shade! Don't let the Arizona sun put a damper on the day. Secondly, might I add attending during March Madness. After a day of baseball featuring the A's and Dodgers (some rather muscular fellow name Puig and wearing #66 made an appearance that day!), my dear spouse and I cooled off at night in Scottsdale's Salty Senorita watching college hoop madness. The weather, the pace, the proximity to the players, the charm....hard to beat. As we were walking, Fernando Valenzuela practically escorted us in the park. If you are fan of baseball, this trip can electric! I know friends that make the trek every season, and quite frankly, I envy them!
**Double Dipping East Bay Style: Back in 2014, on my son Noah's 9th birthday, the two of us experienced what I like to call the "Bay Area Double Dip." The Giants by day, the A's by night! On this day, Josh Donaldson's concluded our day with a towering walk-off bomb, propelling the A's over the Tigers. The only tricky part of this excursion was navigating across the bay area traffic in the late afternoon. Warriors fans, here you go--on Sunday March 31 the A's will hosting the Angels at 1:00 p.m., then you can head across the way to the ROarcle, to watch the Steph and the gang tip it off with the Charlotte Hornets at 5:30 p.m.! Much like the scamper to Spring Training, my wife readily was and is all in on this adventure! (Note that Warrior tickets are significantly steeper than the 3rd deck, so plan your budget accordingly.) Might be a surprising and ever-so-romantic Valentine's Day Gift for that special Oaktown Sports Fan in your life!?!
No posh elevators like this one in the Coli! In the new stadium perhaps?!?
***Moneyball and Football: Oh the irony with Kyler Murray electing to pursue a football career and take the intentional pass with the A's for the time being. Remember the beginning of the Moneyball movie? Beane gives his word to the Mets and takes the cash out of high school--when it feels like Billy and his mother really wanted him to play baseball and quarterback the Stanford Cardinal!?! In the movie version, Beane's dad steps in and says your word is our word--however, at the time, Beane's family, just like Kyler and his family--were following the money! If Billy could go back in a time machine, would he his life have huddled in a different direction? Clearly the A's are going to win the World Series know--and Moneyball the Sequel will once again start with a baseball player/quarterback dilemma! Good luck Kyler--to a great career and I sure hope somebody provides you the opportunity to play both sports (Raiders and 49ers, are you listening?!)!
****Pitching & Catching: The A's are good, young, and their roster is pretty well set. In fact, all they need is an ace, and they can jump in (and perhaps over) with the big fish--the Red Sox, Astros, and Yankees. The A's have plenty of depth and pitching candidates. Any one pitcher who gets in hot in during the spring, may even find himself with a starting role. In regards to catching, all signs point to rookie Sean Murphy taking over the reigns sometime in the very near future. Most reports glow about his arm and glove, with his bat the only real question mark. Look for Murphy to start the year in Vegas, become familiar with his AAA mates, and make short flight to Oakland sometime around Cinco de Mayo or the Kentucky Derby.
Notes from the bullpen: Much like the old designated list, know called the injury list, a player must remain on the list for 10 days before returning to the parent club. Look for a new 100% 3G blog every 10 days or so, which works out to 3 times per month. This is my planned delivery sequence for 2019. This past fall I joined with up Kiyokawa Crawford, LLC as they began a college basketball scouting service. (I covered junior college women's basketball). This spring and summer, I have a new project which will find myself (along with Noah as the video coordinator) scouring Central California as a baseball scout for Evolution Metrix. Thus, whether inside or outside, near or far, I look forward to the new opportunities! You can also follow me on twitter at Brian Fonseca@100percent3G. Don't forget about Valentine's Day?!?
While it was a day to remember, quite frankly, our purchase of the train set on our way to San Francisco the biggest hit of the day. Now, 5 years later, the transaction high on Noah's radar--selling the train set for a Gaming PC. Time flies.
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