So I missed the first six innings of this final game of the A's first visit to Safeco in 2008. I usually watch A's/Mariners games closely. Seems like they have our number each time out since we abused them so badly in 2006 (17-2). Add to that the curiosity of having grown up a Mariners' fan and watching with disbelief/amusement as they now spend liberally on free agents. Seems that they're suddenly a lot more Angel than they are Athletic. But whatever. Good for them.

Friday was a thrilling win, enjoyed with a good friend, his enormous television and some belgian beer. A textbook Oakland win: working the count early to bring a quick exit to the starter (A's killer Miguel Batista), strong bullpen work through the late innings, and ralling killing defense to seal the game. A real treat.

Saturday I missed. At the movies.

And so it was with great interest that I tuned into the final three innings of today's game, only to hear that phenom Felix Hernandez had held our swingin' A's to a total of 3 hits, losing 2-0. We've been here before, of course. King Felix won all four starts against Oakland last year, holding us to a .190 average, averaging 7 innings per.

But a crazy thing happened as soon as I tuned in. Well, after the A's went 1-2-3 in the 7th. Hannahan walked, Ellis doubled him over to third. Barton walked, loading the bases for high-profile Beane acquisition Emil Brown (4th in the AL in RBI!?? really?) singled both two runs (2nd!), tying the game, chasing Hernandez. After a Thomas walk, Jack Cust found his stroke, singling in the go-ahead run. Ryan Sweeney added an insurance run with an RBI single, and the final two innings were an uneventful hold and save by Casilla and Street.

Look, I know it's early. Well, it's not that early, but it is a long season. But we're four weeks into the season, long enough to have used the DL 8 times already, and Oakland sits tied atop the AL West (the entire AL, actually) at 16-10. We're going to see some regression to the mean with our young starters. We're surely going to see more injuries. We haven't yet faced teh Angels. But we're in each game (17 one- or two-run games, I think), winning most, and doing so in fundamentally-sound ways.

In other news...

The folks over at Athletics Nation are sending good wishes Ron Washington's way, in what might be his last night as manager of the Texas Rangers. Wash, a long-time favorite of A's fans, couldn't get it together last year and all indications are that the sledding's just as tough this year (9-17 after today's victory).