Elephants never forget.
What a perfect Sunday. I woke up early, had some coffee and went for a short walk to the little patisserie a few blocks away for some pastries. A friend and I then went to have some breakfast before checking out a legal graffiti park that had some amazing artwork. We found a can of yellow spray paint and added our own legacies to the mass of hodgepodge. “It’s getting a little hot today. Are you ready to go and watch the game?” she said. Why, yes. I was.
The retribution: It all started a few days before the Astros skulked into town on their “Revenge Tour” and former Oakland pitcher Dave Stewart said he couldn’t believe the Astros had traded Ramon Laureano to the A’s. “Thanks, cheaters,” he mocked. The Astros complained about the cardboard cutout of their mascot hanging out in a garbage can à la Oscar the Grouch which was promptly carted away by league officials. Some rascal in a plane flew above the Coliseum before the first game with a trailing banner that read: Houston Asterisks. Announcer Ray Fosse made buzzing sounds during a Jose Altuve AB which was a subtle nod to him wearing a buzzer during Game 6 of the ALCS.
Still, I wasn’t satisfied.
For his sacrifice/inevitable Manfred scapegoat suspension, Ramon Laureano will go down as a legend in the Green and Gold, and every baseball fan should thank him for some momentary, albeit small, semblance of making the baseball gods smile. Did the average fan win? Probably not, but sometimes your pride and integrity is all you have, and when a team of smug assholes try to take that away…you fight back. After the game the formerly unapologetic fake tough-guy Josh “We have nothing to apologize for” Reddick was trying to garner sympathy, saying he hoped there is not a carry-over of anger when the Asterisks play the A’s again. ‘We don’t want targets on our back as big as we already do now.” Too bad and too late. Not too smug are we now, eh, Mr. Reddick?
Am I satisfied? For the moment. And that moment ended just…about….now.
Coco Crisp's Afro 
Enjoyed the keen observations on the airplane banner, the mascot/Oscar reference and Ray Fosse’s dig. The caption on the photo is clever.
Thanks, Simba. I feel a little bad for you because the Cards have been on the shelf for much of this season.
I’m with you on all of this … except I’m a little troubled by the notion of a “legal” graffiti park. Isn’t part of the beauty of graffiti is the way it turns up unexpectedly? Stopped in your car as the longest train in the world rumbles by is like watching a moving art gallery. And, you think, “God that’s amazing and how in the hell did they get up on the car to do that?”
In any event, I’m all about social distancing, so a baseball brawl is a little annoying. That said, I can’t argue with it. Plus, extra credit for the Orbit cutout near the garbage can.
Thanks for the comment and for stopping by Jackie.
Initially I was bummed out thinking the No Fans thing was going to let them (the Houston Asterisks Lol!) off the hook this year, but maybe this will turn out even better? First the other teams get a crack at them? Then later perhaps next year — the Fans! A double two-year Whammy!
Either way I’m a firm believer they will get what’s coming to them. Just sometimes, the Baseball Gods move in mysterious ways! Like a 60 year World series title-drought perhaps? Hey, anybody know a good voodoo guy who specializes in Curses’?
I was thinking the same thing concerning your initial thought, Wayne. Thank the baseball gods for heroes like Laureano and Joe Kelly, and I have a feeling there will be a few more on the Mount Rushmore of Manfred before this weird season is over. Thanks for the comment.
The crybaby disastros are safe from fans this year, and to make up for it we give em hell for every single road trip from now (next year) until forever. I’m down with that
I’m all for it. And when they switch teams we can harass them individually.
The green and gold made us proud. The hockey players are mixing it up, so I’m not going to clutch pearls over Laureano (rightly) taking revenge.
Manfred will suspend Laureano like he did Joe Kelly. That’s exactly two more players than he suspended for stealing signs.
A few players have actually come out saying that they feel he is “protecting” the Astros. The league knew about the cheating and did nothing until Mike Fiers leaked it to the media, so there is a good chance it could have continued to this day with no penalty.
As a kid, I loved the game of baseball, even with its imperfections that I barely knew about. But over the last several years, the love for the game has left me. Nice piece of writing.