Frontpage Features

BY RICK TITTLE

I’m super-smart.  I recommended during Spring Training to the A’s brass via my radio show that Dallas Braden shouldn’t be in the starting rotation for this season.  I figured that he was our 6th-best starter and didn’t merit a spot.  His prior performances left a lot to be desired, and I wanted a better prospect chewing up innings. I thought Dallas Braden had shown us all we needed to know about him, which was probably about 6 innings with 5 earned runs per outing.

I’m super-dumb.

Mother’s Day, 2010, will now always be remembered around these parts as the day of pink baseball bats with green and gold perfection.  27 up and 27 down.  No errors.  No hit-by-pitches.  No walks.  A full team effort, indeed.  But it’s the pitcher that rightfully takes all the laurels, and Braden is fully deserving of them.  It’s ironic considering his recent spat with Alex Rodriguez, the latter of whom intimated that Braden was pretty much a nobody.

The differences between the two are quite stark:

·    A-Rod is a Manhattan socialite.  Braden lives in Stockton, California, which Yahoo! says is America’s second-worst city.  Thanks, Yahoo!
·    A-Rod has the Hollywood looks and athletic frame.  Braden has bad teeth and bad tattoos.
·    A-Rod runs gracefully (sometimes over mounds).  Braden waddles and hunches over.
·    A-Rod was the number overall pick of the draft.  Braden was an afterthought in the 24th round.
·    Madonna and Kate Hudson want to be seen with A-Rod.  Braden isn’t so flash.
·    A-Rod plays in a brand-new, billion-dollar palace.  Braden plays in an old football stadium (although I love it!)

But Braden is respected around baseball because he stood up to A-Rod and also backed it up with a perfect game.  A-Rod is hated even in his own clubhouse.  And in between the lines, at least for one glorious day, the little guy won.  Go A’s, baby.

Rick Tittle can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it