Tonight my beloved Oakland Athletics will play the second of a three game road series against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Hopefully the A's will bounce back after last night's loss, it's always better if they win. But even if they win tonight and tomorrow, Oakland's chances of a playoff appearance are extremely slim this season. Although the A's are not mathematically eliminated yet, this outcome is certain unless things become very strange in September.
There are many reasons I love the A's. Most importantly -- cheering for the A's connects me to Oakland, a city I lived in for many years. Their stadium, the Coliseum, is old and rundown but not nearly as terrible as everyone claims. You can get to the Coliseum by BART. And there are a good number of afternoon games, which I appreciate now especially since I am coming from Sacramento. The late night games make for a late trip home.
Today, though, I appreciate the A's in their role as spoilers. Since there is very little chance that the Green and Gold will make the playoffs, but they still want to win the games left to play, Oakland can influence who actually makes the playoffs. For example, as of today the Angels are just 1 game behind in the playoff race. If the A's take the next two games, that makes the Angels' job harder. Spoilers get a bad rap from the fans of the teams they spoil, but you've got to win your own games. Nobody's going to lose for you.
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