Its been an exciting couple of weeks. Ive had the police called on me, I turned my garage into a gym, I have come to a conclusion on my future education, and in baseball, momentum is clearly building up for the Athletics as the bats come alive and pitching continues to thrive. Oh yeah and there was that game in Texas that never was.
Last year my wife and I purchased a condominium. Its in a unique area that sits between a golf course and a river on a island and happens to be down the street from what else? A baseball/sofball field. More like a sandlot realy. Its city owned but utilized by a local softball league 2 months out of the year. A few years back it was almost converted into houseing but homeowners along with the mayor were able to keep it as a greenspace for all to enjoy. For a year now my wife and I had been taking our dog up to that space/sandlot to throw the ball around and let her get some off the leash time. Often we would meet other people in the community down at the lot by chance, and the dogs would run and have a good time. On a few occasions people would come to play a game on the sandlot and we always obliged them and just left the lot to the players. (just to clear one thing up so I dont feel it necessary to spend much time on it, the dog poo was always cleaned up no issue there) Anyhow, a year passes with no issues.

About a month ago while down at the sandlot my wife and I are approached by a very aggressive individual claiming we and others like us were the purveyors of destruction to his beloved “softball park”. I assured him of his misconceptions being incorrect, and pointed out the bags full of trash my wife and I had picked up. Bags full of trash his league players had left behind. He ( the league president as we came to find out ) insisted we should not be there. In the spirit of not pounding the guys face in while my wife watched, we left the lot, went home, and my wife called the mayors office to see where we could make a formal complaint. Suprisingly, the mayor got on the phone with my wife to discuss what had happened. The mayor then went on to assure us that we could use that greenspace anytime as long as there wasnt a game or event going on.
Two weeks ago approximately, I took the dog down to the sandlot. Thiry minutes or so goes by and then the same guy showed up. He got out of his work truck and begins to yell at me. At this point, I had a choice to beat his brains in for being a complete jerk or calmly tell him I had every right to be there. My wife who was not with me would later be glad to find out that I chose the latter version. This imbecile then phones the police at my refusal to vacate.
Police arrive a few minutes later while I continue to toss the ball for the dog. The policeman first gets the league presidents version of events, and then attempts to diffuse the situation by asking me to leave the lot. How could I possibly leave though? Im a citizen of the city and pay to have this sandlot/greenspace maintained. I made the policeman aware of my intentions to stay and topped it off with the mayors spoken approval to my wife. The policemans tone changed a little at the mention of the mayor and he wished me a good day. I stayed at the lot till my dog was tired and then I left.
The rest of the sandlot story includes alot of mundane details but I would rather just summerize. The mayor has since spoken to the president of the softball league, this year is his last as president. The mayor also agreed to help find a designated dog park for the neighborhood. We have since spoken to other residents and enjoy their full support. I have to say its a beautiful thing to behold when you stand your ground and demand your just dues. Even if its just a ballpark…er sandlot.

Life is good. The A.L. West remains up for grabs with no clear cut “best” team to beat. Its early but the 3 way fight for first will most likely go down to the wire come the end of the season.  The A’s pitching staff will be equal to or outmatch any team and with Boom Boom Bailey on the mend will only get tougher to compete with. Run production is getting better but could still benefit from one more solid consistant bat.  I hate to say it but I fear Godzillas game juice seems depleted. The A’s could find a much better DH just about anywhere at this point. I wont go further on that as I know we are stuck with him. Kouzmanoff however has got to go. 6 errors on the season and virtualy no bat. Its time to give someone from the farm a chance.

Im looking forward to the 4 game series with the Angels comming up. Those games could be season changing to say the least.

And for petes sake rain rain go away.