Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-US PRESSWIRE

Saying goodbye is always the hardest part. Especially if you’re an Oakland A’s fan.  Season after season, A’s fans are forced to bid adieu to their personal favorites who depart via free agency or trades like clockwork. Whether they be plucky little role players who win a place in your heart or superstar MVP candidates who leave for greener pastures, the feeling is all the same. The excitement of adding a talented player such as outfielder Chris Young last week, meant that the likelihood of retaining fan favorite Jonny Gomes has dropped considerably. Due to a logjam of outfielders, there may be no room for the Petaluma power hitter in 2013. The clubhouse leader, and wholesale provider of the official Oakland Athletics decorative robe had excelled in his role in 2012, platooning against left handed pitchers and providing punch of the bench. In my eyes, as impressive as his play was the fact that he genuinely wanted to be an Oakland Athletic. Always respectful of the team’s history, he spoke highly of players past and present and was a living, breathing, representation of the underdog identity that the 2012 team embraced. Always the first to congratulate a teammate and rally the troops to another walk-off,  Gomes was in many respects the Anti-Matt Holliday. If he does indeed depart, he will be greatly missed. Yet, he won’t be the first. Let’s take a look at few from my perspective, that truly stung.

Mike Bordick                                                                                                                                                                                   

Mike Bordick played baseball how it was meant to be played. He also seemingly never made an error as an Oakland Athletic. I mean, I’m know he did and the baseball encyclopedia will confirm as much. Yet, whenever I watched him play during his long tenure in Oakland, I cannot recall him ever flubbing a grounder, or throwing a ball away. Every routine ground ball hit his way became an automatic 6-3. Every ball in the hole, every spin and throw was done so seamlessly that it looked like he invented the move. While his best offensive seasons would come later in his career, Bordick was a steady and productive hitter batting at the bottom of the order. During his first season of regular play in 1992, he helped the A’s win the division by hitting at a .300/.358/.371 clip while providing a modicum of speed. Over the next five seasons, Bordick became one of the few mainstays from the La Russa era to stay in the organization upon the hiring of Art Howe, and the subsequent youth movement. While the whispers of a young, flashy Dominican shortstop named Miguel Tejada began to surface in 1996, it was still difficult to fathom an A’s team without the sterling glove and professionalism of Bordick at short. With the A’s unwilling to negotiate with the Maine native, Bordick tested the free agent waters after the season and latched on with Baltimore…to replace the iconic Cal Ripken Jr., whose declining range was forcing a move to third base. Not bad for a player who wasn’t even drafted out of college.

Tim Hudson

The bulldog. The Stinger. The pint sized pitcher with the heart of gold was just what the doctor ordered when he was called up for the first time in 1999. You see, although the A’s were in the process of constructing an excellent team they were missing a key ingredient during the inception of the stellar run of winning ball clubs they put together from 1999-2006. Before the “big three” was ready to assemble, Billy Beane and his staff relied upon the likes of a motley array of hurlers such as Gil Heredia, Kevin Appier, and Omar Olivares to spearhead a rotation in dire need of an ace. From his very first game, Hudson established himself as a man on a mission striking out 11 San Diego Padres hitters in a mere 5 innings of work. Equipped with an overpowering splitter and a devastating sinker ball, Hudson primed himself to attack each and every hitter with a tenacious mentality that hadn’t been seen in Oakland since the days of Dave Stewart. As the years progressed, I considered him to be the ace and the leader of the big three. Sure, Zito had his 12-6 curveball, and Mulder was genetically manufactured in a laboratory to pitch at the big league level, but they never had the presence of Tim Hudson. In a big game, I trusted no one else but him to have the ball. When the 2004 season concluded, and the A’s failed to make the playoffs for the first time in 4 seasons, it became clear that the escalating salaries of Zito, Mulder, and Hudson would force the A’s to make a move. I prayed that Hudson would stay. Unfortuately on December 16th 2004, the Georgia native returned home as the newest member of the Atlanta Braves. I was instantly heartbroken. How could the A’s trade their ace? Sadly this would be a question, I would repeat in the future regarding the similar departures of Dan Haren and Gio Gonzalez. In a way, the Hudson trade prepared me for the future. It taught me that no Athletic was untouchable.

Nick Swisher

Nick Swisher was destined to be an Oakland A. Further inspection confirms he certainly fit the criteria. From the Giambi-like long hair and scruffiness, to the high OBP and power potential, “Swish” fit the mold and showed why Billy Beane so desperately coveted him during the 2002 Moneyball draft. Rocketing through the minor leagues, he made his debut during the late stages of the pennant chase of 2004. Unfazed by the majors, he impressed Oakland with his attitude and energy and soon was thrust into a starting role. Over the next three seasons, he matured into a valuable and versatile player splitting time between first base and the outfield. In 2006, he helped the A’s win the west by having his best season yet hitting .254/.372/.493, while clubbing 35 home runs and 94 RBI’s. As the A’s suffered a down year in 2007, it became evident that another rebuild was in order. I had hoped that Beane would center a young team around Swisher, who had by this time emerged as a team leader. To my dismay, Swisher was dealt to the Chicago White Sox just after New Years in 2008. While the trade would eventually reap benefits with the addition of Gio Gonzalez and Ryan Sweeney, whom in turn would yield integral parts in separate deals that would help the A’s return to prominence in 2012. One still couldn’t help but feel remorse over the loss of a quality player who thoroughly enjoyed being an Oakland Athletic as much as Nick Swisher.

July 19, 2012; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics starting pitcher A.J. Griffin (64) pitches the ball against the New York Yankees during the second inning at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-US PRESSWIRE

TURNING POINT:  The top of the 1st inning was the moment it was made clear to everyone that this game wasn’t going to play out in the same fashion all the other games has.  Derek Jeter singled to lead off the game in classic opposite field Derek Jeter style, and surely every A’s fan held their breath, feeling the dread of what was expected.  After Curtis Granderson flied out, Alex Rodriguez delivered a single of his own.  The Yankees had 2 on and 1 out against the young right hander AJ Griffin, making just his 5th MLB start.  Then a bizarre play took place when Robinson Cano lined a ball at Yoenis Cespedes that appeared to be caught but was dropped shortly thereafter.  Cespedes seemed to think he dropped the ball while transferring to his throwing hand, and everyone else did too.  Derek Jeter and A-Rod froze at their bases, and Cespedes realized what call had been made and heaved the ball towards 3rd base.  The ball sailed well over Brandon Inge’s head but thankfully Griffin was backing up the throw, he ran to the base and forced out Jeter.  Such a strange play like that usually goes against the A’s, but this time it worked in their favor.  Mark Teixeira was retired to end the inning and the threat.  That changed everything in 1 half of an inning.

ON THE MOUND:  AJ Griffin settled in nicely after his rather interesting 1st frame, retiring 11 Yankees in a row after Raul Ibanez singled with 1 out in the 2nd.  The Yankees got a couple runs on the board  in the 6th inning against Griffin, but the rookie buckled down and limited the damage.  Usually Mark Teixeira’s sac fly with the bases loaded would’ve been a game tying grand slam, tonight it wasn’t.  Griffin pitched 6 innings, allowed 7 hits and walked nobody while striking out 4 to earn his 2nd big league victory.  Sean Doolittle and Grant Balfour each pitched routine 1-2-3 innings in the 7th and 8th innings.  Ryan Cook came on for the save tonight, he only surrendered 1 hit but it came in the form of a Nick Swisher home run, the first Cook has given up in the Major Leagues, but he gathered himself quickly to lock down the first A’s win at home against the Yankees since the Reagan administration.

AT THE PLATE:  Yoenis Cespedes continued to swing a hot bat, going 2-3 with a walk and the big 2 run homer.  It’s no coincidence that his hot hitting has come just as the A’s have really started winning.  Seth Smith struggled for the most part tonight, but did have the one 2 run single that ended up giving the A’s just enough to hold onto the win tonight, Smith was 1-4 with 3 K’s.  Coco Crisp went 3-4 with a run scored, his AVG is now up to .242, a much more respectable number than he had been posting before.  Jemile Weeks was 2-4 with 2 runs scored and a stolen base.  And then there’s the bottom third of the order, I know it’s supposed to be where all your team’s weakest hitters are placed, but this is ridiculous.  The 7-8-9 hitters were 0-11 with 5 K’s tonight (Derek Norris, Brandon Inge, and Cliff Pennington I’m looking in your direction).  Norris is lost at the plate right now, one might wonder if his time in Oakland for the immediate future is coming to an end if his bat continues to be in a coma.

FINAL THOUGHTS:  The A’s now find themselves 4 games over the .500 mark at 48-44, they haven’t been this far above .500 since May 2010.  It was important for them to get this streak the Yankees had over them in Oakland out of the way right off the bat, now they can play looser and more relaxed through the remaining 3 games.  AJ Griffin proved himself yet again on a big stage against the mightiest of the mighty teams in baseball.  It would’ve been nice if Ryan Cook had been able to pitch a scoreless 9th to end the Yankees streak of 43 straight games scoring 3 or more runs, but beggars can’t be choosers.  Billy Beane will probably lose sleep tonight though about the ineptitude of the bottom third of the order/left side of the infield, something has to be done if the A’s are serious about improving the team.  The fact of the matter is this, there isn’t a definite solution on the way to Oakland for both of these positions, Grant Green will probably take one of those positions soon enough if this continues, but Beane may have to look outside the organization to help the team win.  But in the here an now, Tommy Milone (9-6, 3.54 ERA) takes the hill against the Bombers tomorrow night and he’ll be opposed by the young right hander Ivan Nova (10-4, 4.18 ERA).  Milone needs to continue his exceptional pitching at home because runs may be at a premium against a tough opponent in Nova.  The A’s can take this series by the horns with a win tomorrow, I hope they show the Yankees and the world that this is a team to be reckoned with.

Former Athletic Nick Swisher dealt the final blow tonight. (Kyle Terada-US PRESSWIRE)

TURNING POINT: After taking a 3-0 lead against the Athletics, The People’s Right Fielder Josh Reddick continued his fantastic first two months with his 12th home run to make it a 3-1 game.  The A’s had to be feeling good that they were on the board and within 2 runs of the mighty Yankees.  Just 2 pitches into the top of the 5th inning Robinson Cano took that run right back.  That moment was a clear demonstration that for every blow the A’s dealt, the Yankees had an answer.  Mark Teixeira added his own 2 run dinger later in the inning to end any realistic hope the A’s had of making a comeback.

ON THE HILL: Tyson Ross struggled against the Yankees awakened bats tonight.  He gave up 6 runs (3 earned), on 11 hits in just 4.1 innings.  He only walked 2 batters and struck out 3.  The defense, namely Coco Crisp definitely failed him in the 3 run 3rd inning for the Yankees. Jerry Blevins and Jim Miller did a tremendous job limiting the damage to just the 6 runs combining for 4.2 scoreless innings against the potent Yankee lineup.  Blevins walked 1 in his 2.2 innings of work with 3 strikeouts.  Miller gave up the one hit in his 2 innings with 3 strikeouts of his own.

AT THE PLATE:  The A’s did manage to scatter 7 hits against Ivan Nova, Boone Logan, and Rafael Soriano.  If you can call it a charge I guess Josh Donaldson and Daric Barton of all people led that charge with 2 hits apiece.  Josh Reddick and Kila Ka’aihue led the power surge with solo home runs in the 4th and 7th innings respectively.  It was an extremely rough game for Coco Crisp who has just 1 hit since returning from the DL and made the previously mentioned error that may signal a bit of self imposed pressure on Coco’s part.

FINAL THOUGHTS:  The A’s have now lost 7 straight games in Oakland to the Yankees.  It has to be a streak that is weighing on their minds, they so badly want to prove they can hang with the big boys, but too much pressure forces them into mistakes that cost them games.  The pressure will only intensify with each passing game, and perhaps the least favorable matchup of the series takes place tomorrow at 1:05 PM PST.  Vallejo native CC Sabathia (5-2, 3.78 ERA) will square off against 2011 Yankee Bartolo Colon (4-4, 4.09 ERA).  If the Yankees swing the bats at strikes like Bartolo loves to throw it could be a long night yet again in Oakland, but Sabathia is 7-8 with a 4.96 ERA in 22 career starts against the A’s.  Perhaps its time to take that pressure and turn it around on the Yankees and make CC feel the heat in front of his hometown people.