Of course the A's won 4 of 6 at the Trop and the Rays 2 of 3 at the Coliseum. Still fun for A's fans to go (or not go) to a play-in game though.

In the AL I'm rooting for the A's and Rays to make it into the playoffs. I really wanted the A's to catch the Rangers but I don't see that happening anymore so now I have to hope the Rays catch the Yankees who they are surprisingly close too. It wasn't that long ago that the Yanks were up by 10 games in the standings. Now they are only 3.5 up.

I think a Detroit, Tampa Bay, Texas, and Oakland AL playoffs would be great.

With the pirates nats reds and giants in the nl it would be a ratings nightmare but oh so awesome

In the NL I'm torn in that I hate the Cardinals and dislike Dusty so I'm really praying the Pirates get back in the hunt but I find that unlikely. So I'm guessing it is going to be Nats, Reds, Dodgers, and Braves. I'm trying to think what would be the best combination of likely scenarios and I guess it would be Nationals, Pirates, Dodgers, and the 4th spot is really for hard me but I guess the least objectionable would be the Giants.

Is "important" a verb now?

No, the headline is just misspelling "A's'" as "A's".

I take it today was always a scheduled off-day for both Oakland and Tampa Bay? That's so weird.

I take it today was always a scheduled off-day for both Oakland and Tampa Bay? That's so weird.

GOP convention.

[7],[8] From AP:

Both teams will have a rare Sunday off because Tropicana Field is one of the venues being used for the Republican National Convention. Tampa Bay opens a three-game series at AL West-leading Texas on Monday night, while the Athletics begin a four-game series at Cleveland.

According to the Rays, Oakland and Seattle did not play the first Sunday this season (April 8) due in part to opening the regular season in Japan. Before that, the last time there wasn't a game scheduled on a Sunday was Sept. 10, 1995, when San Diego and St. Louis were off because of a scheduling conflict with the NFL's St. Louis Rams at Busch Stadium.

Ah, of course. Thanks, Danny & bobm.

It's almost September and the games still matter. They really need to take 3 of 4 in Cleveland because the September schedule is a bear. Lots of Tigers, Angels, Rangers and Yankees next month. I still think the Angels will catch the A's but I'm enjoying this while it lasts.

Might be a slight advantage for the Yankees if they can maintain the best record in the AL - having your opponent have to fly cross country after the play-in game.

you gotta love the bad news rays making it a race.

Might be a slight advantage for the Yankees if they can maintain the best record in the AL - having your opponent have to fly cross country after the play-in game.

The Rangers have the best record in the AL.

According to the Rays, Oakland and Seattle did not play the first Sunday this season (April 8) due in part to opening the regular season in Japan.

Why did that sentence require attribution? Shouldn't that explanation be obvious to a basebal writer?

GOP convention.

Which apparently got rained out anyway.

Apparently Republicans and hurricanes just don't mix.

Oh man, I'm really hoping for some crazy 3-way tie for the Wild Card. That would be outstanding.

Which apparently got rained out anyway.

Yeah, I doubt a game would have been played this afternoon.

Before that, the last time there wasn't a game scheduled on a Sunday was Sept. 10, 1995

Wasn't there a Sunday much more recently in which the Orioles did not play because of a Ravens game?

(Checked bb-ref: Yep, 2008. See http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/BAL/2008-schedule-scores.shtml)

[20] That game was rescheduled during the season.

AUGUST 18, 2008

O's step aside for Ravens opener
The Orioles have moved their Sept. 7 game against the Oakland A's up one day and will play a split doubleheader on Sept. 6. The first game will begin at 1:05 p.m. and the second game will begin at 7:05. Tickets for Sept. 7 will be honored for the 1:05 game.

The move was necessary because of a Camden Yards conflict with the Ravens, who open the regular season that day against the Cincinnati Bengals. The game always figured to be rescheduled, and the time of game has been listed as TBA all along.

The Ravens game obviously is going to be a sellout, so there really was no way that both games could have been played at or near the same time with the limited amount of common parking for both stadiums.

Posted by Peter Schmuck

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/schmuck/2008/08/os_step_aside_for_ravens_opene.html

Edit: seems odd in hindsight that it was originally scheduled that way

Was this convention scheduled last week? I find it hard to believe that the schedulers couldn't have had the Rays playing on the road this week.

And I'm pulling for the A's because of Billy and the sheer improbability of it all. And I love it that Cespedes proved that all you need is a YouTube video and a dream (as well as the ability to his a 95 mph pitch 450 ft, I guess).

And I'm pulling for the A's because of Billy and the sheer improbability of it all.

Yep.
I can't believe it's late August and the 2012 A's still have a realistic chance of ANY kind of playoff ANYTHING.
Amazing GF has been giving me a hard time about this for months now, because I STILL don't believe they're this good, and she always did.
Well ha ha Amazing GF, if this turns out as well as it might, I will never ever ever be so happy to admit I was wrong.

I'm also very pleased that my first-ever suggested BBTF posting actually got a little response. I'm sorry the Red Sox are having so much drama, but they are pretty much always having drama, and as far as I'm concerned anybody who was a BoSox fan in 2004 never gets to complain about anything again, ever.
So I'll be submitting more A's articles this year, at least unless/until they're actually out of it. It's nice to see my team in the Hot Topics.

I still think the Angels will catch the A's but I'm enjoying this while it lasts.

YOU SHUT UP, YOU.

It wasn't that long ago that the Yanks were up by 10 games in the standings. Now they are only 3.5 up.

Up to 4 now! The Yanks really struggled while CC was out. Once Chavez cooled off, the middle infield and Swisher were the only guys hitting and the pitching staff isn't good enough without CC to win often with that kind of production. Now with CC and Kuroda going, plus random good starts from Hughes, the team should be alright. Winning with Garcia on the mound today was pretty big. Still, the Rays are definitely in it right now, and have plenty of head to head games left to make up the difference.

So I'll be submitting more A's articles this year, at least unless/until they're actually out of it. It's nice to see my team in the Hot Topics.

Please do. I'm enjoying the second wild card race a lot more than I thought I would and the more discussions of it we have here the better. From a distance, I am also really enjoying the surprising A's. Cespedes is awesome, I love Brandon McCarthy and it's pretty cool to see a team built like the A's take it to a team built like the Angels.

I love Brandon McCarthy

Ditto.
Didn't think much of the guy one way or the other until I saw his Twitter photo announcing he'd joined the A's rotation.
Since then: big fan.

Cespedes is awesome

As is Josh Reddick and his Disgusting Mouthguard. The A's have a tremendously exciting outfield, all the way around.

YOU SHUT UP, YOU.

I want to believe! I do a little, even. I bought the MLB package for the stretch run so I can torture myself nightly.

I am also really enjoying the surprising A's. Cespedes is awesome, I love Brandon McCarthy and it's pretty cool to see a team built like the A's take it to a team built like the Angels.

But here's the thing...aren't the Angels built like we're always saying teams should be built? A mixture of drafted talent and aggressive investment? I really dislike the Angels but it almost seems unfair that they would flop in a year they bring up the reincarnation of Fred Lynn and sign Albert Pujols and it's why I think they will still pass the A's. Still, if the A's are 5 games up them on the 1st of September...

[22] Was this convention scheduled last week? I find it hard to believe that the schedulers couldn't have had the Rays playing on the road this week.

Strange but true.

MLB Released 2012 Schedule With Less Days, More Time Off Around ASG
Written by Maury Brown  
Wednesday, 14 September 2011 13:06

Major League Baseball today announced its master 2012 regular season schedule, which will begin on Wednesday, April 4th, four days later than this season when it started on the first.

http://bizofbaseball.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5420:mlb-released-2012-schedule-with-less-days-more-time-off-around-asg&catid=30:mlb-news&Itemid=42

SEPTEMBER 14, 2011
2012 schedule: Braves, Mets and a Sunday off-day due to Republican convention

The Rays 2012 schedule includes a season-opening series at home with the Yankees, interleague visits by the Braves, Marlins and Mets and five extended three-city road trips.

But what's most interesting is what it does not have: A game on Sunday, Aug. 26.

To accomodate an Republican National Convention event at Tropicana Field, the Rays will make the unusual move of having a Sunday off. They will play a series with Oakland on Thursday-Saturday, then head out of town for a seven-game trip to Texas and Toronto.

"Venues throughout Tampa Bay have made themselves available to the Tampa Bay Host Committee in connection with potential events for the 2012 Republican National Convention,” said Rays President Matt Silverman. “We worked with Major League Baseball and the Tampa Bay Host Committee to ensure that Tropicana Field would be available for use on that Sunday and the following week.”

http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/rays/content/2012-schedule-braves-mets-and-sunday-day-due-republican-convention

no way that both games could have been played at or near the same time

I'll get a minor dose of that medicine Wednesday night – I have a ticket to the Rays-Rangers game, and the Cowboys are playing the Dolphins across the street at the same hour. Preseason, but the traffic will still be interesting. I guess I should have researched this issue, but who the #### expects an NFL game on a Wednesday night?

Was this convention scheduled last week? I find it hard to believe that the schedulers couldn't have had the Rays playing on the road this week.

Um, they are on the road this week. They just weren't on the road the weekend before going on the road all week.