I have a long sleeve shirt I bought back in 2003 or so. It's got an A's green hat with the phrase "I Believe" written over it. I know it was an homage to the famous Bull Durham Crash speech (beware if you are sensitive to dirty words, this is NSFW) but it meant more to me than that when I bought it.
Bull Durham's "I Believe In..." speech (via treborcram)
It remains one of my very favorite pieces of A's apparel (I own a lot, about 1/5 of my wardrobe has something A's on it). To me the shirt simply meant, "I Believe" in this small market team. "I Believe" it can compete with smarts, good drafting and a little bit of luck. "I Believe" in Moneyball to put it simply.
Fast forward nine years and it's 2012. The team hasn't made the playoffs since 2006 and it's looking like it will likely be at least another two or three seasons at the soonest when the A's can return to the promised land. For now though, whatever should my favorite A's shirt mean when I put it on? I suppose I still believe in long, slow, soft and deep wet kisses that last three days, but I mean something more related to our favorite ball club. I was thinking of several possibilities and I thought this would be a good game for A's fans to join in.
There are a variety of things it can mean when I put it on now:
I Believe: that rebuilding projects should eventually end in a competitive team, it's just that sometimes they take longer than others.
I Believe: that the postseason remains a crapshoot, it's just that I don't really care about the crapshoot since my team won't make that crapshoot for the foreseeable future.
I Believe: that the potential of a young unproven prospect is much more exciting to watch than an old, washed up one.
I Believe: that tarping a deck of a ballpark to create false scarcity was Lew Wolff's biggest mistake as an owner.
I Believe: the A's will not be a contender again until they find several young power bats to complement the carousel of great pitching.
I Believe: the yellow jerseys are the greatest thing to happen to the A's franchise since the 2002 streak.
I Believe: no one will ever look better in those jerseys than Gio Gonzalez did.
I Believe: that there is something about the Oakland Athletics uniform that literally saps hitting ability away from guys like Matt Holliday and David DeJesus.
I Believe: there are no bathrooms in any stadium I've ever been more vile than the ones at the Coliseum. Urinal troughs? Really???
I Believe: Dallas Braden couldn't get more likeable after his incident with A-Rod and the perfect game embrace of his beloved Grandmother.
I Believe: I was proven wrong when I saw this:
I Believe: what makes baseball unique is the fat pitcher phenomenon.
I Believe: WAR is hell, especially if you're Adam Rosales.
I Believe: Albert Pujols is really 39 years old and that at some point during this season, rats will attack him in the bowels of Angel Stadium and place him on the DL for an indefinite time period.
I Believe: one part of the last statement is actually true.
I Believe: that there is good and evil in baseball.
I Believe: the Red Sox, Yankees and now Angels are Darth Vader.
I Believe: Bud Selig is the Emperor.
I Believe: the A's used to be Luke Skywalker.
I Believe: the A's are now Jar Jar Binks.
I Believe: there will eventually be some movement towards an automated strike zone.
I Believe: nothing in the world tastes better than a hot dog with relish and onions at a baseball game.
I Believe: that the A's must make San Jose happen or they will wind up moving out of state.
I Believe: that is the Giants endgame.
I Believe: in loudly and proudly saying FUCK the Giants.
I Believe: in Billy Beane now more than ever because it's all we've got.
OK now it's your turn to play.
1 recs | 57 comments
Is it wrong to believe in the original black jerseys with green writing?
Those were awesome, as was this post Tyler.
dwishinsky - January 28, 2012 via iPhone app
I loved those jerseys too.
YonYonson - January 28, 2012
I believe: Al Davis destroyed any beauty the Coliseum had as a baseball stadium.
Faroo - January 28, 2012
The city of Oakland helped here too
andhui - January 28, 2012
Oh, there's plenty of blame to go around
Including A’s ownership and MLB
OaklandSi - January 28, 2012 via mobile
I Believe:
(when I was 10) in Wayne Gross, Mitchell Page & Felix Jose (before he changed his name to Carlos Pena)
andhui - January 28, 2012
My A's fandom way predates the current ownership, front office, and players
I hope it can survive them.
OaklandSi - January 28, 2012
I just consulted the Magic Eight Ball
And asked this very same question. No shit, here was the reply [which I didn’t even know what on the piece inside]: If it survived the early and mid 80s; definitely, yes!
JustANotherJoe - January 28, 2012
Early and mid 80's were far from the toughest time
OaklandSi - January 28, 2012 via mobile
I also Believe:
in white shoes and gold jerseys – button down or V-neck
andhui - January 28, 2012
I Believe
That proudly saying ‘F the giants’ should be our new national pastime. I also believe that a playoff game played in Oakland this year would be the biggest accomplishment since 2002.
A'sIN - January 28, 2012 via mobile
You know we only have 3 more days for that Bob Nightengale tweet
about getting permission for the SJ move by February to come true. Maybe they’re gonna make a grand announcement at FanFest tomorrow? Maybe?
Pleeeeeeeeeaaaaaasssssssssseeeeeeeeeee?
BWH - January 28, 2012
Thanks Tyler!
Awesome post, I agree with all, especially, Gio!
Graybeard - January 28, 2012
I have nothing to add.
Cosign completely. Thanks Blez.
vertig0 - January 28, 2012
Means a lot coming from you
Thanks!
Tyler Bleszinski - January 28, 2012
I also believe
that it’s gonna be fun every night this season to, after the A’s game is over, visit the minor league box scores of the Ports, Rivercats, and Rockhounds to check in on how our prospects are doing.
BWH - January 28, 2012
The Rivercats in particular
are going to rule this year. Wish I still lived in Sacramento for that purpose…and the food. Everything else, I’m glad I am where I am!
Tyler Bleszinski - January 28, 2012
The Cats will especially be fun if Parker and Peacock begin the year there
to go along with Derek Norris. And most of all it’ll be interesting to see how Grant Green rebounds in the PCL after a mediocre AA year in 2011. Sonny Gray will likely spend some time there as well.
AA will have Choice and maybe AJ Cole.
The Ports will have a very interesting rotation. They’ll have Alacantara, Krol, probably a little AJ Cole at the beginning of the year, and Ynoa could finally be healthy enough to spend a decent chunk of time at A ball. Plus on the offensive side they’ll likely have Stassi and Shipman, who both have a lot of potential and a lot of risk. This will be a big year for both of those hitters.
BWH - January 28, 2012
Yeah all of the A's minor league teams will be fascinating to watch
this year. We should have daily recaps of the action during the season since, quite frankly, the minor league teams are going to be extremely intriguing.
Tyler Bleszinski - January 28, 2012
I think the site would be smart
to have some sort of prospect roll on the side somewhere. I’d imagine a list with the top 5 or 10 prospects, their numbers the last 10 days, and their season numbers.
Examples:
Grant Green, AAA, Rivercats
Last 10 days: .430/.490/.680, 3 HR, 11 RBI
Season: .330/.400/.510, 11 HR, 49 RBI
A.J. Cole, A+, Ports
Last 10 days: 12 IP, 10/2 K/BB, 1-1, 3.00 ERA
Season: 75 IP, 73/15 K/BB, 6-2, 2.67 ERA
BWH - January 28, 2012
Put it right below the Rotoworld area.
It’d be awesome. Those MiLB sites get a lot of traffic from people like myself looking to keep up with prospects. Having it here would save a lot of hassle and probably drive more people to SB Nation.
BWH - January 28, 2012
VERY cool idea --
It might be a good specific vehicle for one writer/ANer to take on as their “gig”. If anyone is interested, they could email me and let me know. It’s the type of thing that could be terrific if updated or could be “embarrassingly out of date,” so it would need some TLC.
Nico - January 28, 2012
I'm no computer programmer
but is there really no better way to do it than to manually enter the stats every night? Seems like there has to be a way to link it to the MiLB box scores or something. Major league stats are always up to date around here and I don’t think it’s the result of someone actually updating the numbers every morning.
BWH - January 28, 2012
I'm sure we could link it,
but as far as having the stats themselves (rather than just a link to the stats) actually show up on the sidebar, I don’t know. I was thinking they’d be updated more like once/week, though, not once/day.
Nico - January 28, 2012
Eh, whatever, just a suggestion.
But if the IT guys at SB Nation were a way to automatically update nightly on a side bar under the rotoworld section, that would be a major addition to the site. The farm system is the most interesting part of the 2012 A’s to a lot of fans.
BWH - January 28, 2012
No doubt.
I’ll ask Blez or BBG — basically someone who knows more about IT than “how to find the power button.”
Nico - January 28, 2012
when you do find that power button
Could you please tell the A’s where it is. They sorta need it.
rollierollieOxenfree - January 29, 2012 via iPhone app
They might want to try "option/apple/esc"
Nico - January 29, 2012
I believe...
…that the market for attracting baseball fans in Oakland is unsustainable and that a move is long over-due. On that note, I wonder if a team will ever decide to re-locate in a country other than Canada.
JustANotherJoe - January 28, 2012
I believe
Teams should wear white jerseys at home, grey on the road. With team’s name on the front at home – the city they play in on the front of the roadies.
Stirrup socks should be mandatory.
Chewing tobacco should not only be reinstated, but encouraged.
Regularly over-turning post-game spreads.
Allowing 5-10 minute manager-umpire arguments that come thisclose to fisticuffs.
Vacafan - January 28, 2012
I love the last one
Sure they disrupt the game but they are damn amusing…and they usually express how we’re feeling.
Tyler Bleszinski - January 28, 2012
I Believe...
I STILL wear white cleats in honor of my A’s.
B-dub1010 - January 28, 2012 via mobile
I believe
That Billy pulled the plug too soon
That he should have kept Gio and Trevor
That, like last year, he should have tried to find reasonably priced corner OF’s and DH
And given my son reason for hope
Rather than cause to despair
Alvin Dark - January 28, 2012
Agreed
Really…with dead weight like Bob Geren gone, Kouz gone and replaced by a very good young 3bagger in Sizemore, Allen on the cusp of something maybe, then really we could have brought back Willingham, and looked at options in RF, and 1B but….water under the bridge I guess. I know a lot of us try to rationalize this off season because we (me included) really love Billy, but not many on ESPN, or MLB Network thought blowing up this team was what was needed this year. The 2011 A’s were FAR better than the final record. Heck we were just really getting into a groove after the Geren era thankfully came to an end mid-season. I will really never quite understand this off season, and will always wonder if Billy’s hand was forced for more sinister reasons than “youth movement/rebuild”. If so, that is a shame to humiliate Billy further than he has had to be over the years.
cwg46and2 - January 30, 2012
We may be Jar-Jar
but the Giants are Porkins:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHlp2vMyknQ
Menechino_Incarnate - January 28, 2012
Well done my friend
Well done.
Tyler Bleszinski - January 28, 2012
ROFLMYFAO
cwg46and2 - January 30, 2012
OT, but essential that I share this information:
My internet was down for 2 days because, as AT&T discovered once they finally got their butt out to my house, squirrels and/or rats had chewed the wires in my phone line. If squirrels can indeed destroy the internet, then perhaps the meek will in fact inherit the earth. (But will they want it?)
Nico - January 28, 2012
I believe....
…that one of the best parts of following a losing team is the excitement of watching the young talent they call up in September and seeing hopeful signs for the future.
(I hope that this sort of thing might be exciting for an entire season, since this is honestly the first season in over a decade for which I’m harboring no hope whatsoever of the A’s contending.)
GreenNGoldSooner - January 28, 2012
I believe in
million dollar scoreboards
wedding gown white on Sundays
the Charlie O. mule
a clear view of the Oakland hills on a sun-splashed Saturday
Campy, Rickey and Eck
JJ Martin - January 28, 2012
Does anyone know if I can purchase the FanFest tickets at the arena?
tidus - January 28, 2012 via mobile
I would THINK so.
It would be kind of ridiculous if you couldn’t. (And by “ridiculous,” I mean “typical”.)
Nico - January 28, 2012
Bleh.
It would be dumb if I couldn’t. Screw it I’ll just oder it right now. Thanks for the reply.
tidus - January 28, 2012 via mobile
If you try to oder it, who nose what might happen!
OK, I need to drink less.
Nico - January 28, 2012
I believe
We’re going to have a great draft pick next year.
rollierollieOxenfree - January 29, 2012 via iPhone app
make that
two or three!
guessatomo - January 29, 2012
or hell
just take “pick” out of your statement
guessatomo - January 29, 2012
I believe
a bigger mistake for Lew than the tarps, was giving BB the stock; it changed BB’s mind set even though, I doubt that he thinks it did anything but increase his net worth.
robertmelvin - January 29, 2012
I'm interested to read more about your view on this topic.
In what way(s) does Beane having an ownership stake in the team change his mindset or incentives so as to be a mistake to the [I’m presuming your concerns here] the outcome/viability/health of the team?
JustANotherJoe - January 29, 2012
At the Fan Fest....
Melvin said that he doesn’t like the term "rebuilding," though, and he is not going to use it. He figures that every big-league team’s business is to win games, and that’s exactly what he and his coaching staff plan to prepare the A’s to do.
We have all heard the term a ‘players manager", well to me Billy was always a "manager’s GM", he was seemingly able to think of the manager’s desires/needs before the owners/executive-management wishes….that together with his ability to think out of the box baseball-wise made him the best GM. Now he often is the point man in trying to focus the media on the move to San Jose, or whatever, that would normally be the perogotive of ownership. When I read his comments now, they are much closer to Lew than to Bob Melvin. I would like to see it the other way around.
robertmelvin - January 29, 2012
I can accept that as your reasoning.
I see it another way, though. I still believe that Beane is one of the best baseball minds out there who’s not afraid to do the contrarian thing; the fact that he has fractional ownership stake makes it more likely that he sticks around.
But no matter what, the other owners are going to set the team’s player payroll budget and constrain it given the fact that the attendance at Oakland doesn’t make for a viable location; and there’s nothing Beane would be able to do about it anyway. Now, as an owner, he is making decisions that he believes will have the best longer-term payoffs. It’s all about the trade-offs and I, putting my fandom off to the side, think I see that he’s trying to do for this for the long term.
Being that he’s partial owner, I am damned glad he’s discussing what the team’s intentions are. I also thing that the whole ownership group is making a very wise decision to get the heck out of town. I realize that I may be in the minority on this one but it is what I would do if I had an ownership stake in the Athletics.
JustANotherJoe - January 29, 2012
Oh Tyler. This was right in every way except 1!
The urinal troughs are amazing. They should be mandatory at the next ballpark.
louismg - January 29, 2012
absolutely
Hope they keep them in the New stadium
Billy Frijoles - January 29, 2012
True
Lines for urinals = another reason to hate the giants and their stadium. F the giants!
A'sian - January 29, 2012 via mobile
I guess they do reduce the normally
disgusting splash radius of a regular urinal. But the smell of a Coliseum bathroom? You need silence of the lambs-type crap beneath your nose before going in there.
Tyler Bleszinski - January 29, 2012
Years and years ago, I was attending a Harvard-Yale game at the Yale Bowl in New Haven, CT...
…which has the longest urinal troughs I’ve ever seen.
I found myself using these facilities standing between two older Yale alumni reminiscing about their time at Yale and how much things had changed.
“Yup,” said one, “but these are still the same.”
“Yes,” said the other, “these are the best damn urinals in the world!!”
I don’t think anyone has ever said that about the Coliseum’s urinal troughs.
GreenNGoldSooner - January 29, 2012
Wow
I just wanted to say this made me laugh, and tear up, at my desk, in front of people, at work….damn you! I’m with you on all of it, except the “must make SJ happen or leave Cali” part….as long as if SJ falls through, ownership SELLS. You broke my heart with the Gio part. I have never been more angry with Billy or the ownership than that trade, but I understand (for Billy….Lew and Fishy can suck it).
Great job.
cwg46and2 - January 30, 2012
You must Login with your SB Nation account and be a member of Athletics Nation to post a comment.