Flunking with the A's

Another postseason, another loss for hapless Oakland

For the third consecutive year, the Oakland A's' season ended in the decisive Game 5 of the AL Division Series. AP

By John Donovan, CNNSI.com

OAKLAND, Calif. -- In the Big Book of Most Disappointing Sports Teams -- the Buffalo Bills, the Utah Jazz, the old New York Giants when the Yankees beat them all the time in the World Series, the '90s Braves, the Red Sox in just about any decade -- these Oakland A's are making their mark.

You could see it Sunday, too, in their pained faces after taking a final parting shot from the amazing Minnesota Twins.

"Yeah, we can always say 'maybe next year,'" said ace Mark Mulder, "but we've said that for the last two years."

For three straight years now, the mighty A's have carried great expectations into the postseason and come away crushed under the weight. Three five-game first-round series have resulted in three Game 5s and, after Sunday's 5-4 loss to the Twins, three Game 5 heartbreaks.

This one was especially galling because the expectations were so much higher this season. The A's had won 103 games. They didn't have to face the Yankees, who had knocked them out in the first round the previous two years. They won 20 straight games at one point. They were, it seemed, practically unstoppable.

Nobody told the Twins.

"To tell you the truth." Minnesota center fielder Torii Hunter said, "they have a better squad than we do. But we came through. Like David and Goliath."

Minnesota got a couple of early runs off Mulder then blasted closer Billy Koch for three runs in the top of the ninth, two on a home run by catcher A. J. Pierzynski. Minnesota's Brad Radke threw one of the gutsiest elimination games you'd ever want to see. He went 6 2/3 innings, giving up six hits, a run, striking out four and not walking a batter.

Radke threw 95 pitches in getting his second win of the series.

"We can't get out of big games," said the A's Randy Velarde. "Radke out there had his 'A' game. The guy deserves a lot of credit. He was spotting the ball in and out. He's a professional pitcher. He knows how to get out of situations."

But …

That was the word that hung in the air Sunday afternoon at Network Associates Coliseum. Behind all the praise of Radke and the rest of the Twins, the A's were thinking what most baseball experts and fans were thinking.

But we still should have won this series.

"To get knocked out three years in a row is hard to swallow," said Barry Zito, who along with Mulder and Tim Hudson form the core of what was supposed to be a pitching staff to carry the A's to the World Series. "It's just going to get that much tougher the next time out."

The A's will have that core next season. The big three are back. So are Miguel Tejada and Eric Chavez and many of the other young stars who pushed them to the pennant in maybe the toughest division in baseball, the American League West.

The A's can win, and maybe should win, again next season.

But they'll have to find a way to get over that postseason hump, find someone to perform in the clutch. Mulder pitched all right Sunday, scattering nine hits and giving up two runs. But he got absolutely no help.

Maybe the biggest letdown came from shortstop Tejada, who has been mentioned as an MVP candidate. Tejada hit just .143 in this series with seven strikeouts in 21 at-bats. In Game 5, he was 0-for-4.

"It's better being there, having a chance to win, than being home when the season is over," said manager Art Howe, searching for some reasons of his own. "We will find a way to get it done."

Said veteran Ray Durham: "I definitely think this team will be back. Next year we'll definitely be back.

"Hopefully," he added with a chuckle, "not in a Game 5."

 

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