I realized at today's game that the ideal visiting team for any game we attend has these properties:
1. Multiple "tell your kids you saw him play" greats, but with top-to-bottom depth of fun talent.
2. Better offense than pitching staff (if Julia is along)
3. Loyal fan base of regional transplants, yet not a huge bandwagon following.
(Games with 10K fans are depression, but on the other hand crowded concourses and a mad throng onto the BART bridge are problems unto themselves, and one or two teams just have jerky fans.)
My completely subjective ranking of potential visiting teams to Oakland (only 16 of whom actually do visit the A's this year) by how excited I'd be to see them play, all other things being equal (day of week, month of year, weather, A's starting pitcher, etc.). Assume the visiting starting pitcher is equally likely to be any of their top five. (Teams shown in italics don't actually visit Oakland in 2008.)
1.Milwaukee. For scarcity reasons (yeah sure, we could see a team play at the Giants, but... brr!) this list might overrate NL teams. (An unwittingly pro-interleague play data point? Incidentally Julia strongly favors a balanced schedule across all 30 teams, tradition be damned.) And alas, the Brewers don't visit Oakland this year (and haven't since they were an AL team). But man: Ryan Braun? Prince Fielder? Rickie Weeks? Beloved former A's backstop Jason Kendall? Baseball-cheeseheads who haven't had a team to be this excited about in many years? Suspect pitching staff?
2. Cleveland. As they announced the visiting lineup Julia and I cheered for both Grady Sizemore (tremendous player) and Asdrubal Cabrera (his name is Asdrubal). The past n times I've seen the Indians, Oakland has started a LHP; this time finally Travis Hafner was still in the lineup. And the hypnotically undulating paunch made Dana Eveland look svelte. (Ah, I have a weakness for overweight southpaws. I too am lefthanded.)
3. Philadelphia. Reigning NL MVP Jimmy Rollins went to Julia's high school. The marquee value is top-heavy (as marquee value tends to be) but Rollins, Utley, and Howard more than hold their own. And I've greatly enjoyed the transplanted visiting fans at every Phillies-Giants game I've ever been to. We'll see the Phillies in person at least twice in June.
4. Cincinnati. Once Jay Bruce (Jay Bruce! no relation that we know of) gets his call-up, Ken Griffey will only be the third-biggest draw (for me) in the Reds' outfield!
5. Detroit. Tough call between the Tigers and Red Sox until I remembered Miguel Cabrera (don't fret about the slow start: I say cold weather + sample size fluke), and more importantly some points against BOS@OAK games.
6. Boston. The defending champions need no introduction. Quite a lineup surrounding Ortiz and Manny. But... the most annoying road fans I've ever seen in the Coliseum have been Red Sox fans. Also, the place gets mega-crowded.
7. NY Mets. Another very top-heavy roster but oh, those stars. And a 40% chance (health permitting) to see Johann or Pedro? Even after discounting for injury I like those odds.
8. Chicago White Sox. I assume this is the biggest surprise so far. In no particular order it's Ozzie, beloved former A's slugger Nick Swisher, the 20% chance to watch Mark Buehrle pitch, and a great fan base.
9. Arizona Young rising stars, plus 40% chance to see Dan Haren's homecoming or watch Brandon Webb pitch. (But Webb vs. A's might just be too depressing.)
10. Atlanta Maybe I overrate Brian McCann and Kelly Johnson for fantasy baseball reasons. But Chipper Jones is still surprisingly good and there's beloved former A's center fielder Mark Kotsay to welcome back.
11. LA Dodgers This is tricky, since it's not as if Jackie Robinson or Sandy Koufax were on the 2008 edition. And I wouldn't go anywhere near a Dodgers-Giants game given all the hubbub. But since the next LAD@OAK series won't actually conflict with our wedding, I imagine Julia will really want to go.
12. NY Yankees. Franchise cache (thinking about Julia's likely preferences led me to drop the next two teams two spots apiece at the last minute). And they're still very good.
13. Colorado. Tulo, Helton, Holliday, and if nothing else they're the defending NL champs.
14. LA Angels. This was a fine rivalry when the A's were good. But if both teams aren't at each other's throats, the Angels are... still generally fun to watch, and they have Vlad. Oh, and Torii Hunter now. Still not quite top 10 material (if you count both leagues) given that the rivalry will be a little one-sided for a bit. There's also anti-scarcity at play: Can't come to this series? Catch them again in six weeks.
15. Chicago Cubs. This could be their year but I really suspect this wouldn't be worth the annoyance factor (crowds, some of the visiting fans).
16. Seattle. The Mariners are Oakland's archetypal opponent, sort of the traveling partner, also the "not the good one but not the bad one" division rival. The star power is basically just Ichiro.
17. San Diego. This is almost entirely for the 40% shot at Peavy or Maddux, neither of whom I've seen in person before.
18. Tampa Bay. About ten spaces higher than they would've been a year or two ago. Obviously no road fan base to speak of, but interesting lineup + leaky pitching staff.
19. Kansas City. Also quite a bit higher than I'd have predicted. Essentially Butler, Gordon, 20% shot at Greinke, and of course the Kubicek connection.
20. Toronto. Beloved former A's DH Frank Thomas is the closest thing to a face on this surprisingly good yet unspectacular team.
21. St. Louis. Pujols!
22. Minnesota. Joestin Mauerneau can only sell you so many tickets.
23. Pittsburgh. Are you shocked they're this high? I can commiserate with the Pirate fans I know, and really, the next six teams are all bland at best.
24. Washington. Lastings Milledge and Ryan Zimmerman can only sell you so many tickets.
25. Texas. The "bad" division rival.
26. Houston. We've welcomed back beloved former A's shortstop Miguel Tejada many times as it is. After him and Berkman, blah.
27. Florida. Why?
28. Baltimore. Below the Marlins only because they come at least once a year. (And I guess Hanley Ramirez beats... Nick Markakis?)
29. San Francisco. Sure there's a 40% chance of Matt Cain or Tim Lincecum. But it's still the worst of both worlds: Depressingly bad opposing team, yet aggravating crowd situation.
Posted by Matt Bruce at April 5, 2008 07:18 PM