But for the Fifteenth and before, the A's described themselves as a group of personality and strength, storming returning to win 4-3 with a three-run 9th inning.
But with the excitement over and gone, truth by means of Bieber Verlander set in. Verlander was basically major This, major the Lions to a 6-0 series-clinching win. Jarrod Parker did what he could do, but from the first inning, the experience sensed like a issue of a dam gradually breaking and breaking until it lastly rush. The A's just couldn't do anything with the best glass pitcher in football. There is no pity at all in that.
And really, that's the objective of this composing. These Concord A's offered the most amazing period I have seen in 26 decades as a fan. Even the headline group in 1989 couldn't evaluate because they had an anticipations of success.
This group, this rock broth of football gamers, was just amazing to look at this season.
Win or reduce, they taken part like no group I've seen in latest Concord storage. It has been said over and over, but this group (as initially constructed) was selected to complete last by most professionals and guides. At 26-35, that seemed like a genuine getting identify. But these gamers and their relaxed but powerful administrator Bob Melvin never permitted that considering to take keep.
In many methods, these last three several weeks introduced the experience of football gradually returning to importance in the Eastern Bay. Yes, the group has been on the outside of Bay Place information, but not because of their performance. No, the constant wish from proprietor Lew Wolff to shift the team to San Jose took a lot of the glow away from the informal lovers and damaged interaction with many die-hard lovers.
However, the last three months have reminded people of why the A's have been in Oakland for 44 years. Even though the crowds might not always be large, they are always filled with real, passionate fans.
The winning brought the casuals back slowly but surely and it all crested with this three-game joy ride in October. They lost Thursday night, but in many ways this team won—it won a city back that had started creeping toward the exit.
The season in review comes later. Tonight, I want to celebrate the spirit of a team that made covering baseball fun again this past summer. From the ascension of Jarrod Parker to the promise fulfilled of Yoenis Cespedes, the exuberance of Josh Reddick to the rage of Grant Balfour, the power of Brandon Moss to the cool of Tom Milone, this was an incredible group of guys.
What happens next year is unknown.
Will the A's respond to increased expectations and the likely notion that this was a fluke year of kismet kicking into overdrive? We don't know and, frankly, it's not the time to speculate. I just want to express my gratitude as a fan for the way this team played.
It wasn't perfect and it wasn't always pretty, but it was never short on effort. Often, it was big on magic and that helped to remind many that there are indeed two teams in the San Francisco Bay Area.
So I tip my cap to the now departed 2012 A's. No matter what happens going forward, it won't duplicate the feeling this team gave its loyalists. To watch them defy everyone and win in such thrilling fashion, I'll never forget. The A's didn't lose the crapshoot this time. Just being at the table was a win.
