First game of the season
March 2, 2007

I had the pleasure of enjoying the first professional baseball of the season today. The game at Phoenix Municipal Stadium featured the Oakland Athletics and the Milwaukee Brewers in a matinee game played before a crowd of 3,400 fans seeking a nice end to the work week.

The Athletics started lefthander Joe Kennedy who promptly gave up four earned runs on six hits in 1 2/3 innings of work. The game was starting to get out of hand for the A’s until Connor Robertson entered the game in the second inning to get the last out and enable the home team to come to bat. Robertson played at Phoenix Muni this past fall as a member of the Phoenix Desert Dogs and is in the Athletics camp looking for a job in their bullpen.

In addition, the A’s featured many of their top young position players, such as Rule V draftee Ryan Goleski, who started the game in left. He went 0-3 today and is still searching for his first hit of the spring. Currently, he is 0-6 after two games. Goleski was so highly thought of by the Athletics this off season that they paid $150,000 to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays after they drafted him from the Cleveland Indians. Goleski is getting a chance to show the A’s that he can repeat the huge numbers he put up as a member of the Cleveland farm system.

The A’s were also able to insert highly touted prospect Daric Barton into the game in the to enable him to drive in the winning run after Corey Thuman suffered a meltdown after holding the A’s in check in the 7th inning. Barton was able to poke a hit which drove pushed in two runs for the winning margin. Although Barton was the hero of the game for Oakland, the mercurial Milton Bradley provided the most offense for the Bay area nine. Bradley nailed three hits in three at bats and drove in one run. He also played a nice defense in center for the A’s.

In addition, former ASU standout Travis Buck entered the game late to play right field. He went 1-1 and was a part of the 8th inning rally which propelled Oakland over the top. Buck also spent his fall in the AFL as a member of the Desert Dogs.

The Brewers were able to put one of their top prospects, Rickie Weeks, on the field. Weeks started at second for the Brewers and went 0-3. In addition, the Brewers started former Rangers Laynce Nix and Kevin Mench today. It wasn’t that long ago that those two were considered to be the future of the Rangers. Former Richmond and Atlanta Brave Johnny Estrada started behind the plate. It felt a bit like old home week with Estrada here with another former Brave, Jose Capellan, who did not play at all today.

After the dust settled, the game ended with a final score of 7-6, Oakland coming out on top.

--- John Kazlo
(Kazlo is a diehard Orioles fan and Richmond Braves supporter from Virginia)