2014: Life of a MLB Season Ticket Holder: What a Weird Week!

Most of the time I try to tailor my column to encompass the season ticket holder experience to all fans but this week was so strange that it's going to be all about the my week with the A's. In all my years of having tickets and going to games I have never encountered a week, especially an opening week, that played out quite like this. Whatever bizarre thing could happen did happen.

Mom and I on Opening Day! (Photo credit: A's Fan Photos)

First of all I live in Northern California. It has not rained since September (there was a rain delay at an A's game so I remember) and everyone is worried about a drought. So, the week leading up to Opening Day it rained. Thunder, lightening, small tornados the whole deal - this stuff never happens in NorCal at least not often. The last time the A's had a game rained out was in 1998.

Opening Night went great with the exception of having that freezing feeling that you can feel in your bones. It was literally bone chilling cold which most of you will laugh at because it was only in the upper 30's, lower 40's. So it was cold but there was not a whole lot of rain. A's lost but that is typical - finally! - one thing that was normal during the week. The A's have lost their last ten Opening Day games. True story. But we've been the the play-offs three times in the past nine years so I kind of look at it as batting .300!

The Tuesday the game was rained out but at least we were aware of this prior to heading out to the O,Co Coliseum in Oakland. I live about 30 minutes outside of Oakland, 20 minutes on a good day. Anyway, Wednesday there was sun and there was something else highly unusual, a double header to make up for Tuesday's game. I went to the day game on Wednesday but didn't stay for the night game. The A's went 1-1 which was fine with me. That left us at 1-2 after three days of the week. Could be worse but our supposedly awesome new closer acquired during the off season from the Baltimore Orioles blew the games both Monday and Wednesday night. He did not pitch in the day game we won! Coincidence? Maybe or maybe I am just cynical.

To read about the rest of my crAzy week (and see me "nerded out" in some major NERD POWER gear) ... CLICK HERE! Brought to you by Sports Unbiased

You can find us on Twitter @OakAsSocksGrl and @SportsUnbiased1

2014: Life as a MLB Season Ticket Holder: Opening Day!

Regardless of the games in Australia, the exhibition games, even spring training (which is wonderful) but there is nothing better than MLB’s Official Opening Day which in my last piece in this series I pointed out should be a National holiday. For a baseball fan Opening Day is like all holidays and your birthday rolled into one big, exciting package. There are baseball games on day and night and it is a little piece of heaven after a what seems like an eternity of emptiness. BASEBALL IS BACK! 

To Read the Rest of my weekly column CLICK HERE!! Brought to you by Sports Unbiased. You can find us on Twitter @OakAsSocksGrl and @SportsUnbiased1

Konerko Will Not Start His Final Opening Day

Getty Images

The captain of the Chicago White Sox, Paul Konerko, will not be in the lineup Opening Day. This will be his final opening day as the veteran first baseman announced this past winter that the 2014 season, his 18th in the Major Leagues, will be his last. He played on the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Cincinnati Reds in 1997 and 1998 but has spent the last 15 season with the White Sox. He has started with Chicago every Opening Day until now. The White Sox manager Robin Ventura made the announcement Sunday.

For More on this Story CLICK HERE! Brought to you by Outside Pitch Sports Network LLC

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2014: Life of a MLB Season Ticket Holder: Why MLB Opening Day Should Be A National Holiday

I was going to write about what I call The Wait this week on Life as a Major League Baseball Season Ticket Holder and I did actually. I had an entire column prepared. While I was waiting on the internet connection to stop going in and out up here in the beautiful mountains of Pioneer, CA (they aren’t so beautiful when you can’t connect to the outside world, however), I thought of something a little more interesting to write about that ties in with my theme of the The Wait.

What’s The Wait? It’s what I always name the week before Opening Day. Even if your team doesn’t open at home, which is always best, seeing your team play a meaningful game for the first time in six months is the best feeling in the world for any baseball fan. For me the next seven days represent the most agonizing week of the entire year. It moves by at an absolute snail’s pace. It’s like being a kid waiting for Christmas morning or (insert your favorite holiday here).

Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

Holiday, hmmm, that’s a good word to use to describe what Opening Day is to baseball fans. Holiday is the perfect word actually. Other people agree apparently many other people! Making Opening Day a holiday is exactly what former Cardinals shortstop and Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith, who is partnered on this with Budwiser (if you have to have a sponsor what better than a good old American beer company, right?), is attempting to do. They are working together to have President Obama declare MLB’s Opening Day a National Holiday!

To read the rest of the story CLICK HERE! Brought to you by Sports Unbiased. 

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Verlander Out Six Weeks After Core Surgery

Detroit Tiger’s star right-hander Justin Verlander injured a core muscle while working out in early December.  The injury required surgery which was successfully performed Thursday in Philadelphia by Dr. Bill Meyers. Dr. Meyers also performed a similar surgery on Verlander’s teammate Miguel Cabrera back in October of last year.

According to the Tigers Verlander is going to need six weeks of rehabilitation. He will miss most, but according to the Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski not all, of Spring Training and is expected to be ready for the start of the 2014 season. In a statement recently released by the Tigers Dombrowski said,

“We fully anticipate Justin to participate in spring training and be in a position to compete at the beginning of the 2014 season.”

With pitchers and catchers scheduled to report to Spring Training in close to a month this seems like a very optimistic outlook but Verlander is known for his diligent off-season conditioning program.  And Tigers manager Brad Ausmus believes this will help him in his recovery. He told the Free Press last week that he was not very concerned,

“Despite the fact this is a little bit of a setback physically, his previous workouts will probably allow him to catch up to speed much quicker.”

Verlander has been a workhorse for the Tigers since his major league debut in 2005 and has been their Opening Day starter for the past six years. Even if Verlander isn’t ready by Opening Day the Tigers still have a very good rotation behind him. Even after trading Doug Fister to the Washington Nationals this winter the Tigers still have 2013 AL Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer, 2013 AL ERA leader Anibal Sanchez and young Rick Porcello, who while only turning 25 this year, already has 149 big league starts and a propensity for eliciting ground balls from batters.

Even Verlander himself believes he will be ready to start the season tweeting Thursday,

“Thanks for the support regarding my surgery today. It went well and now my only focus is to get ready for 2014! #determined” 

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