DETROIT — One more loss and the A’s can kiss their season goodbye. As far as the Oakland players are concerned, Tigers’ reliever Al Alburquerque can kiss their A’s.
The upstart A’s talked bravely yesterday about winning three straight ALDS games in Oakland, especially after the antics of Alburquerque. After getting Yeonis Cespedes to hit a comebacker with runners on first and third with two outs in the ninth inning of a tie game at Comerica Park, Alburquerque incredibly kissed the baseball before recording the final out.
The Tigers won the battle in the bottom of the ninth on Don Kelly’s sacrifice fly, 5-4 to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series. The loss left the youthful and proud A’s steaming in their clubhouse.
Losing pitching Grant Balfour, a bulldog, came through and slammed a chair against a table as he cursed the loss.
The A’s play with attitude and they will have no trouble getting ready for tomorrow’s Game 3 in Oakland, not only because of the frustrating way they lost, owning a 4-3 lead going into the bottom of the eighth, but because they were not happy with Alburquerque’s antics.
Cespedes, who plays with a lot of flair, said through a translator he was not a fan of Alburquerque’s act.
“We’re not finished yet,” he said. “When I get back to Oakland I am going to hit the ball hard against him and I can kiss my bat. I’m going to kiss my bat.’’
That will be something to see. The ALDS suddenly has turned into Major League II.
Josh Reddick, who homered in the eighth to put the A’s up one, was upset with Alburquerque, who picked up the win.
“I didn’t appreciate it,’’ Reddick said. “I think that is immature and not very professional. That got under my skin, that was very unprofessional. I didn’t appreciate that one bit.’’
Reddick said Alburquerque was showing up the entire Oakland team by his baseball smooch, no matter the excitement of the moment.
“That’s exactly what he is doing, and I don’t think anybody from one day of experience in the big leagues to 15 years in the big leagues should do that,’’ Reddick said. “Everybody knows this is a professional game and you’ve got to keep within yourself and you can do all that kinds of stuff in the dugout when nobody is looking, but you have to keep that stuff out of the game.’’
Alburquerque said he was just caught up in the emotion of the out. He gloved the ball and then as he transferred to toss to first baseman Prince Fielder he offered up the baseball kiss.
“I was filled with emotion,’’ he said. “It just happened. I don’t know why I did it. I did it because I did something good and felt happy. It was the emotion for me.’’
The A’s don’t buy that a bit.
“He must not believe in the baseball gods,’’ A’s outfielder Jonny Gomes said, “because the baseball gods take care of stuff like that.’’
Alburquerque will be on all the highlight shows with the play. The A’s will not forget.
“Don’t give up on us just yet,’’ Reddick said.
You can be sure the Tigers will talk to Alburquerque about the kiss, no matter what they are saying in public. There is no need to add fuel to the fire in these games.
There is too much on the line and because the Tigers bullpen is much too thin. They are going to need the right-hander to help finish this series and, if they do that, to have success in the next round.
Relievers have gotten more theatrical, that’s the nature of the new game. The Yankees have had Joba Chamberlain doing his fist-pumping for a long time and ex-Yankee and Alburquerque’s teammate Phil Coke did a pretty good Chamberlain imitation when he recorded the first out in the eighth.
Rafael Soriano pulls out his shirt after wins, but not until the game is over. The A’s will not forget. They are in the deepest of holes, but believe they can climb out.
Don’t kiss them goodbye just yet.