Nojeim? No Problem

A's Take Out Former Teammate

When the A's traded first baseman Gregory T Nojeim to CDT for cash considerations and a policy to be named later, the scribes were tough on team management. There was a lot of concern about what would happen in the clubhouse with his veteran leadership removed. GTN had been a driving force behind the A's "snack" budget, and a real good chemistry guy. Then when the A's stumbled to an 0-8 record, the same critics thought they were being proven correct. Indeed the loss of GTN early in the year rattled the team, particularly the Ass Manager.

Three wins later, the A's rolled into a matchup with GTN's Union Busters with a new chemistry. New players like Mattallee, Jojomojo, Booze Cruz, Kathleen, Steve-O, Kent, and Herr German were no longer rookies - having melded seamlessly with 2nd year players Berg, Caroline and Ian and three year stalwarts Ass Manager, Mitchell, Young William, Shin, Armenian Berrserker, Sneaky Pete and Rich. Even the interns played like seasoned vets. This team that has forged a new, post-Noj identity, finally had the chance to confront the past directly. A's 1, Past 0.
The game got off to a thrilling start off the field, as an energized A's squad burst through an A's banner to take their positions in the field. There may have been a few jitters, as Mitchell misplayed the first grounder to third, and then the UB's second hitter looped one down the line for a hit. They were starting to get a little confidence, when Mattallee stopped all their pipe dreams of an upset with a beautiful snare of a high liner up the middle. A line out to Mitchell and ground out later, and the UB's were done. The A's wold then remove all suspense in the bottom of the inning.

Mitchell led off with a double, then a Jojomojo double, then a Young William double, then a Mattallee double...sense a pattern. The inning was punctuated with a bases loaded moonshot from Rich, giving the A's an 8-0 lead after one. The UB's knew they were beat.

With the outcome never in doubt, the rest of the game kind of blurred by. There were a few notable plays - Kang displaying a cannon arm in an innning at shortstop, Caroline recording her first put-out on a fly ball to center, Sha-Ron recording her first at bat, Young William's ozone piercing homer, Berg showing his versatility by pitching AND catching. The story that was developing was a shutout, as the A's used six pitchers for six shutout innings going into the final frame. Mitchell brought in his usually reliable closer, Mitchell, and then things got interesting. After a leadoff triple and a popout, the A's were two outs away from a 15-0 victory. It would not happen. A seeing eye single knocked in the first run, but things still looked good. Then the hit barraage, singles, doubles, one error, a couple of homers...before it was all over the Union Busters had tallied 7. The A's won 15-7, but the UB's showed a lot of heart in the last inning rally, and Mitchell now has some serious unanswered questions about the back of the pen.

Now the A's need to avoid an emotional letdown as they take on the Fearless LEADers (5-2) tonight. The A's have never won games on back-to-back nights - no time like the present.