You Have to Give These A’s an F

Has a team ever let a series get away from them as a result of more stupid blunders than the Oakland A’s? They lost Game 3 because their catcher decided not to throw the ball during a rundown, because Eric Byrnes didn’t know enough to tag home plate while catcher Jason Varitek was in a different time zone, and because Miguel Tejada decided to stop between third and home and turn himself into an umpire.

Then, in Game 5, in the fourth inning, after Pedro Martinez gave up a walk and a line drive to the gap, Jose Guillen let him off the hook by turning a double into an out, when every Little Leaguer is aware of the commandment that a runner must never make the first or third out at third base.

Maybe during the off-season, the Oakland Chumps can go to baseball camp and bone up on a few of the basic rules of the game.

Burt Prelutsky

North Hills

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Curses! It’s the Chokeland A’s!

Yolanda Perez

Boston

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If the 21st-century Athletics ever played the Gene Mauch Angels in a postseason series, would anyone win the final game?

Richard A. Fond

Los Angeles