Here is my attempt to recap the week-plus in Japan, primarily looking at the 2 games. Any of you who know me know that I am not a journalist. If you want a recap written by a 'pro', Game 1 is
here, or
here, and Game 2 is
here, or
here. That being said, I also claimed that I would take a bunch of good pictures, and I seemed to have mildly failed at that too (since I've been to the Tokyo Dome a bunch of time, I was watching the game and drinking beers more often than snapping photos, so I f'd up on this one).
So as you know, the week was built up w/ a couple of exhibition games against the 2 most popular Japanese teams (Hanshin Tigers and Yomiuri Giants). One word describes these games. Meaningless. Basically meaningless. Drivers of the MLB money making machine. So who cares, MLB 4 - Japanese Teams 0. See ya next year. At any rate, once I got back to Tokyo from my mini road trip (ie. flight) to Hokkaido, I was out on the town often and noticed a strong presence of Boston fans and of course the bad smell that comes w/ that. Apparently Boston marketed some VIP tour pack for like $5,000 per person and they sold em out. I could have made that tour for probably $2,500, so someone is getting rich off that. This just shows that the A's have a long way to go as far as marketing goes, since this was not even an option for A's fans, and if it were, it certainly would not have received the same amount of interest. I still do not understand why there are so many (obnoxious/illiterate/smelly/unintelligent/mulleted) Red Sox fans, and I actually don't think I want to even try to. It is kind of sad that when these American mutants travel to one of the most interesting and exciting countries on this planet, they still feel the need to go EVERYWHERE w/ their boston hats, bright red jackets, etc on. Alright, we get it, you're not a 'bandwagon' fan. Stop wearing your shit everywhere! Please! Thank you!
Game 1 (some highlights/stories, etc):Got to the game a bit early, and there were a lot of
gaijin for a game in Tokyo. As I might have mentioned before, they were mostly Boston fans, and mostly downright obnoxious. There were some commemorative souvenir tents set up outside, and the goods went fast. So fast, that I decided to just wait til game 2 to pick up a couple of things, a decision that I learned was not my brightest, as I am coming home w/out a single items from the games at the Tokyo Dome. Sad. Pathetic even. I did have a bunch of beers, but those are just consumables. Anyway, we had a couple of tall boys outside while waiting for friends, and I did see groups of A's fans - there were occasional 'air high fives'. I also feel bad because I saw someone from the A's media/something who was w/ a group of A's fans and signed a couple of things, but I honestly didn't know who he was, and didn't have a chance to go talk with him. I suck. I did see a bunch of Boston fans near the souvenirs, drinking a lot, wearing wifebeaters and red clown wigs - is that not the most fitting getup you've ever heard of? Anyone, the witty one saw my A's jersey and hat and yelled out 'Hey, A's is for Assholes'. My reply should have been GED?
We went in, filled a couple more of our beers in paper cups and were off to our seats. Our seats really sucked for this game. They were the cheapest ones, but were still $45 each. I hope Bud Selig is enjoying my money as he sits by the pool eating peanut butter out of the jar with his finger. Douchebag. My pictures really suck from here, since we were in the upper deck and digital cameras aren't known for their zoom capabilities. Before the game started, I could tell things were going to be ridiculous since Matsuzaka was pitching. Every single person who did not have green on was rooting for Daisuke. I say this, since even if they didn't have A's or Boston gear on, they were obviously rooting for Boston, and they probably would kick you if you fell down. I decided to do my best to make a mockery of Matsuzaka at any chance I got. I even ran into an A's fan in the row of urinals, and he said he felt bad rooting against the guy in his home country, to which I replied 'I sure as hell don't. Feel good about it, he deserves to lose.' Needless to say, I was pumped when Ellis HR'd, and we had Matsuzaka on the hook for the 1st 3 innings, but didn't get much out of it. At least he got pulled after 5, which was shameful.
You all know what happened, the A's could have had this game. I remember seeing who was coming up in the 9th, and thought to myself we snuck away w/ a win in Game 1! I saw that Moss was due up and he is basically the weakest player on Boston's entire lineup. Of course my brain must have put the jinx on, as that pussy hit it out somehow. No idea how that happened. I still don't actually believe it happened, since I'm pretty sure Moss is not capable of hitting one out. Its funny that Okajima got as much play from the Japanese fans as Matsuzka, when he wasn't even popular when he played here in Japan. Which just goes to show, the Japanese fans will cheer for you as long as you are from here, and that's really the only requirement. Most of the people didn't know what the hell was going on, who anyone was, but they sure loved Boston anyway! Its too bad we blew it, and I didn't bother going out drinking after the game, so I don't have any stories to report w/ runins w/ players, etc, unfortunately.
Game 2 - Must win?!The seats were better for this one, but we had 2 extra tix, and thanks to Bud Selig employing police for every 10 square feet, we were not able to resell them, as illegal ticket selling was not allowed. Normally this is common practice here, and I'm sure any of you who take BART to the coliseum have probably seen 1 or 2 guys selling tix before. Maybe even 3! So Bud Selig owes me $140 - feel free to send me a check Buddy boy! You're welcome.
A lot of the same beforehand. Pregame tall boys, ridiculously obnoxious Boston fans, etc. I actually saw 2 clowns run up to the stadium yelling out Boston cheers, and they were completely wasted. It was 5pm. But I guess it was 4 am Boston time, so they should have been wasted. The best part was they had their faces painted completely red, and they had mullets! Fucking mullets! I didn't even know that was legal anymore, don't you at least get ticketed for that in 2008? I was bummed they weren't wearing Oakleys.
In this game Harden looked awesome, Lester looked exactly how I expected, awful. The guys has worse control than Barry Zito ever did, and that's ridiculous. I'm glad the guy beat cancer, but that does not give Peter Gammons the right to proclaim that he's going to be a stud. Unless Gammons is talking about, well, you know, that kind of stuff. Eww. Anyway, something did surprise me. I saw Harden hit 153 or 154 on the gun! Shit, he was throwing 153! I know, its in km/hr, but that's still 96-97 mph. My only bit of skepticism is that I saw Lester hit 150, and I really don't think Lester can throw almost as hard as Harden. I could be wrong...I loved that Lester later said he lost because he made 1 bad pitch to Brown, but the dude only last 4 innings, and never looked very good. Harden on the other hand, had Japanese fans gasping.
I did overhear this awesome exchange by 2 Japanese fans behind me. (Most of the Japanese businessmen who were there clearly didn't care about the teams and just talked about baseball for almost the whole game). The guys were talking about how the American pitchers have a much different windup/style that Japanese pitchers. They clearly understood how tell by a Japanese guys delivery if he was a good pitcher or not. They could not, however, tell if an American pitcher was (since there is no good twirling windup / staring at the ground / somersaults. Anyway, one guy was saying something to the effect of, 'Do you think this guy (Lester) is any good? I can't really tell.' 2 batters later, Emil Brown hits a 3 run HR (and I'm pretty sure I saw visible tears from Lester on the mound, since he's really tough). After I stop high fiving Japanese dudes and the mild cheering stops, the 2nd guy says to the other 'Well, I don't think this Lester is very good.' Exactly.
The 2nd game was obviously more fun than the 1st, but the 1st was an extremely exciting game, especially w/ the lead changes, Hannahan's 2 run HR, etc. I love the quotes from the 2nd game by Emil Brown (in the Caple article) -
"They told me and I was like, what are you talking about?" said Brown, who hit a three-run homer in the 5-1 victory. "They said, 'You get a printer and a check for $10,000.' And I'm like, 'OK. Where's the check?'" That's my boy.
Overall, I'd say the trip was somewhat of a success. The A's got no respect coming in, everyone said they're a joke of an organization and they didn't care about them, but at least they saw they could perform well, and Harden put up a ridiculous performance that some took notice of. The thing that sucks is how this series was handled, Red Sox getting the home dugout, clubhouse, etc. Additionally, the Dome blasting Red Sox players' songs to bat as well, and treating both teams as somewhat home teams - ie. Charge no matter who was up, etc. it was ridiculous, un-American, etc. Additionally, there is no excuse for playing Sweet Caroline and whatever that other Boston song is in both games. Go ahead and play that gay shit in Boston, but this was an A's home game. That infuriated me, and I still need to find out how to properly complain to Selig's office. If anyone knows, please let me know, as things were not handled appropriately.
The A's did get a little props and awareness, which is good. Most of my pictures suck, which is bad. I hope you guys realized you should set the bar low for me. I don't really have too much else at this moment, I'll add later if I can think. this is my last night in Tokyo, I'm back to LA tomorrow.
Feel free to comment with any questions, etc and I'll do my best to add. I'm not a writer, I'm more of a drinker, high fiver, basher, Leron Lee'er. Tonight in Tokyo - Japanese Regae. If that doesn't sound interesting, I don't know what does.
Go A's!
Labels: 2008, a's vs boston, japan, opening day, road trip