Photo credit: @mlbtraderumors

By: Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

OAKLAND — The great Spanish novelist Miguel de Cervantes wrote the unforgettable Don Quixote de la Mancha. A fictional character, Don Quixote de la Mancha, is a middle-aged man from the region of La Mancha in central Spain who read a lot of books and image of enemies he had to “take on” with his lance and sword to defend the helpless the poor and destroy evil. In the mind of Don Quixote, he believed he was a knight with bad eyesight, so he saw the windmills as dragons and wanted to fight the windmills.

The Oakland Athletics had a terrific season, which ended with 97-65 the fourth best record in all of MLB. The A’s went to New York and they didn’t have an imaginary enemy like Quixote, they had a team like the Yankees, who could start the series with Luis Severino, a legitimate Cy Young contender who finished with a 19-8 record and a 3.39 ERA, started 32 games, pitches 191 1/3 innings with 220 strikeouts. The Dominican with a great fastball around 97 and a very effective slider, Severino went four innings, allowed two hits and no runs, and struck out seven. He set the pace for the Yanks’ easy 7-2 victory to eliminate a good and young A’s team. A’s Liam Hendricks, who was 0-1, became the first pitcher ever in MLB postseason history to begin a game, the “opener” as they call it today, without a victory during the regular season. This is not to criticize Hendricks, as he is not a starter. I am sure you would never hire a plumber to fix an electric problem in your house.

If you look at all the teams currently in the playoffs as of today, they all have a starting rotation. Houston, Boston, New York, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Colorado and Atlanta. Some are better rotations, like Houston, Boston, L.A., Milwaukee, Colorado and Atlanta.

The A’s did not have one. During the press conference at Yankee Stadium prior to the game last Wednesday, manager Bob Melvin explained that we have to adjust to the times and he has used the system of the “opener” more than once. A lot has to do that his rotation was wiped out with injuries during the whole season. And I say, folks, basically it is what it is, a manager can only use what he has at hand. Melvin will be the Manager of the Year in the American League, but he is not working as a magician at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas during the off-season.

I am willing to go with the program, and when something works, you do not change it. And yes, sometimes opening a game with a reliever will work. The big thing now is the third time a lineup has seen a pitcher, and how much use the bullpen are now part of the equation. The A’s are not the only team to have used “openers” Tampa Bay and others have.

I went to N.Y. to call that game for the A’s Spanish Radio Network, N.Y. is a special place for baseball, after all, it is where the first baseball game ever took place. The passion runs deep–The Babe,The Clipper, The Mick, Yogi, Munson, Jeter and many others. It is a unique and historical place for this great game. They have won 27 World Series and their fans will let you know if you dare to start and argument about the Yanks. I lived for a couple of years in N.Y. after I was honorably discharged by the US Army in 1968 after I served my time. I attended games at the old Yankee Stadium as well as the old Shea Stadium. For some reason, I always liked the AL.

I was ready and packed to go to Boston for the ALDS, but the baseball Gods didn’t have that in mind. We all should feel good about this A’s team and the way they performed during this season. We can only hope that guys like Melvin are retained to stay with the team for many years and Khris Davis would get the multi-year deal he truly deserves.

A good old friend of mine, who passed away a few months ago, used to tell me “Amaury, most people in life do not get what they deserve.” You can interpret or spin that in any way you want.

Congratulations to the A’s on this 2018 season!