So hopefully by now, our wedding invitations have been received by the invited guests. Wedding showers are coming up. Planning stages are giving way to preparation stages. Money can't leave wallets fast enough. But like the Queens of the Stone Age say, "I can go with the flow"

Summer is starting to wrap up - but was it ever really here? This isn't San Francisco, but this is the coldest summer I ever spent in my 30+ years here. In a way, it should be a blessing if and ONLY if Indian Summer rolls around and we get good October weather (fingers crossed). 

Well, that's about all I got these days Wedding planning is all consuming, time money energy. But I think we are on schedule. Then of course, life goes on despite any plans you make - and you deal accordingly. The A's this season might be described as such.

Milton Bradley was recently interviewed, now a SD Padre, and he had some choice words to say about our little baseball team that could. I'm not going to link it, because why take an inflammatory (or wait - flammatory) article and throw gasoline on it, right? Well, lets just say that despite his disgruntled status, he did say some things that have stuck in this A's fan's head. Particularly,

- the firing/hiring of Ken Macha, who then took the team to the ALCS last year, and was then fired again

- Bradley's DFA and subsequent trade; he was our 3 hitter, and while the injuries were plaguing him all this year, he was ... mad about not getting playing time? Thats a head scratcher.

- the trade of Kendall. Now, just about every A's fan I know could spit the company line: "Man, I hate Kendall's bat, but the pitchers love him and they're doing well, so I guess...well, what I mean is, he's a career .300 hitter!"  Yeah, right. Well, we were glad to see hit bat disappear, but I'm afraid he was the unofficial Captain of the team. Just search "gritty" on AthleticsNation, you'll see what I mean.

Beane basically took the heart of the lineup in Bradley and yanked it out, Mola Ram-stylee. Then a couple weeks later, sent a message to the pitching staff that "Yeah, hii, um, I'm sorry guys, but your favorite catcher is umm, sort of not really around any more, uhhmm, and here's a rookie you can use instead for the rest of the season, mmkay? Thaaanks!" ... That would be Bill Lumberg-stylee.

Beane has said before that he doesn't believe in "re-building" as a state of being for his baseball team, but it looks that way more than ever right now. No new bats, the next best one (Piazza) is on the waiver wire, Stewart is our only 300 hitter and he's not long for the team, and the guys who are supposed to be good (Swisher, Buck, Crosby, Chavez, Kotsay), .... oh hell. Forget it, everybody is underperforming. The only guys who are doing well are Ellis and Scutaro.

Yeah, that's right, I said Scutaro. At least he's still with team (knocks on wood)

Whats that other song by QOTSA I like? Oh yeah - "First It Giveth" same album.

Hope to see some of you soon in the flesh.