Game 71: June 23, 1999 (W: 7-6)
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Commentary (by me)

Oh man, what an annoying win.  For me personally.   Let me tell you why...

Well, around 4PM, I had my tickets handed to me.  These were luxury box tickets - it turns out they were in the lower level box behind home plate, a little up the third base line.  We were still behind the screen that hangs behind home plate - that should give you an idea of where these seats are.   Well, when I found out that I was in a luxury box, I first thought, digital camera!   This box belonged to the firm that our company's lawyer works at.  Great stuff - they were kind enough to invite my wife and I to a game back in April in the seats they have right over the dugout, too.

So, I went home, got dressed for the game, picked up my wife, and ran back to the office to pick up a co-worker who was riding with us.  Also going were others from work in a seperate SUV.  Since I live in Garland, my regular route to the ballpark is to pick up Rt. 30 in Garland, and just ride it out to Arlington and the Ballpark.  We're driving along, and hit downtown Dallas, and get through the mixmaster.  We pass that, and come out to go by Reunion Arena, and we hit traffic - looks like an accident.  So, we're creeping along, and by this point, we're right at the point where Rt 35 splits off, and Rt 30 splits off to the left, and continues out to Grand Prairie & Arlington.   Well, traffic is stopped, and my car decides that it wants to stop, too!   It stalls, and doesn't want to start.  By this time, it's about 6:10.  I get on the cel phone that my wife happened to have, and called AAA for a rescue, after I pushed the car to the side of the highway.    I also then called the other car on their cel phone (hey, this is the computer game industry I'm in, we all have cel phones), and told them of my predicament.   They show up about 10 minutes later, and they picked up my wife and our friend, and they carried on to the Ballpark.  I stayed behind with the car and waited for AAA.   It took about another 40 minutes or so for him to show up.  It was 95 degrees out, and I'm on cement, in the sun.  Er, it was not cool - let's just say that.  The AAA guy shows up about 7:20 or so, and we get rolling right around 7:30.  I finally got back home with my dead car right around 8:00PM.   

Now, the game is about 25 minutes old, and I've totally missed the Stanley Cup presentation that I wanted to see.  Not to mention the fact I'm missing out on the luxury box, which is a once in a lifetime thing.  Not to mention I really missed my wife.  I wanted her to see the Cup, I didn't want her to stay with me, I figured we both didn't have to suffer, so I alone waited for the car.    It's 8PM, and I picked up the wife's car, and drove it out to the Ballpark and met up with the guys already there.   Now, one thing about my wife's car - it has no working air conditioner, so we try to use that only when we have to.  And boy, it was still hot out, although two open windows kept it somewhat cool.   I finally made it out to the Ballpark, and the game was still in the middle of the 3rd inning.  That surprised me, because when I took off from home, it was still the top of the second.  It's about 36 miles from my house to the Ballpark (I'm not sure of the exact mileage).  So, I was moving.  :)     When I got there, parking was already free, so I got to park for free, but unfortunately, I had to park in the middle of where the old ballpark was.  If you know the layout of the area, it's a LONG walk to the ballpark from there.  I had to walk past the convention center, past the mini kids ballpark, up home plate, and into the park.  When I got out of my car, the A's had just made a pitching change with one out in the bottom of the third.  By the time I got to the ballpark itself from my parking spot, the fourth inning was starting.   The final nail in this story's coffin was this..  I entered in the home plate section.  I looked at my ticket, and it said "Dizzy Dean Box - Lower 15B".  So, I figured that meant the box was near section 15.   So, I walk down towards third base where section 15 is, and go up to the luxury box level.  The ticket person there said I need to walk back towards home plate.   So, as if I wasn't hot enough from all that had happened to me with the car, the walk, the drive(s), I had to walk back to home plate, and I could have taken a friggin elevator!  Arrrrrrrrrrrrgh!

However, I finally get there, and I was so overheated, it took me till the bottom of the fifth before I could really start to enjoy myself.   But oh man, were these seats sweet.  This was definitely a once in a lifetime experience, and I'm glad I got to be in the box, even missing the first three innings.   If you ever get the chance to use one of these, go!   It was beautiful.   I had taken a digital camera, that I gave to my friend Kevin who was in the car with me to take to the Ballpark.  When I got there, I took pictures (Kevin took some when I wasn't there).  If you want to see the pictures taken at this game, you can do so here.

What was weird about the game in a luxury box is that you don't pay a whole lot of attention to the game itself.  I'm sure if you're up here a lot, you do, but when you're in a luxury box with a catered meal, you don't spend a lot of time paying attention to the game at hand.  Sure, I watched, and I saw some scoring and good plays, but my focus was on the box itself.  It had a private bathroom, sink, counter space, lounge chairs inside, in addition to the 10 actual seats outside in the ballpark area.   They also had two seats from Arlington stadium autographed by Nolan Ryan inside the box.   That was a nice touch.   There were several photos, including a nice one of Arlington Stadium, as well as some of Nolan Ryan.     Top notch stuff, and if anyone's lucky enough to be able to be in one of these reuglarly, I have to salute you - these are the way to go.

The game itself was kind of interesting.  From what I listened on the radio to, Mike Morgan was a bit wild early, giving up three runs in the first two innings, including 41 pitches in the second inning.  However, he got it together after that, giving up nothing from innings 3-7.  He was then replaced in relief by Mike Munoz & Tim Crabtree for an inning - Munoz gave up a weird run.    Wetteland came in for the ninth, and things looked bad - he gave up another home run (to Ben Grieve), and the score was 7-6.  He did hold on for the win, breaking a season high four game losing streak.   This game to me was more about my car troubles and the box than the game itself, so I'm not going to write any more - these things were about all that I remember from the game anyway.  :)

However, Ben "bed bouncer" Grieve had his second two home run game of his career.  Guess where the other one was?  That's right - at the Ballpark in Arlington last year.  We should have this boy here, as he kills us.  Of course, we'd be so innudated with remarks about Tom Grieve too, it'd get sickening, I'm sure.

Commentary (by Jim Meeks)

Not available.

Game Recap

ARLINGTON, TEXAS (TICKER) -- The Texas Rangers survived another shaky ninth inning by John Wetteland and halted a four-game losing streak with a 7-6 victory over the Oakland Athletics.

One night after allowing three runs in the ninth and losing to Oakland, Wetteland surrendered a two-out, two-run homer to Ben Grieve that lifted the Athletics within 7-6. But he escaped with his 24th save in 27 chances when first baseman Lee Stevens made a diving grab of Jason Giambi's line drive.

Ivan Rodriguez had three hits and two RBI and Mike Morgan (8-5) overcame a rocky start with seven strong innings for Texas, which also ended a three-game home losing streak.

"I think the inconsistency has been our biggest problem," Rangers manager Johnny Oates said. "We really came out swinging the bats well this season but we can score more runs than we're scoring now. I know we're in first place, but I know we can play better and more consistently."

Grieve's 444-foot blast in the ninth completed his second career two-homer game, but Oakland fell to 3-6 on a 13-game road trip.

"I was really happy we didn't roll over. We got the tying run to the plate in the ninth inning," Athletics manager Art Howe said. "If we would have gotten one more guy on in front of Ben in the ninth, it would have been a lot more fun. One plus for us was our two youngsters drove in all six runs."

The Athletics grabbed a 3-1 lead in the second on rookie Eric Chavez's two-run homer, his fifth. But Morgan (8-5) shut the door, allowing just one more hit before Mike Munoz came on to start the eighth. The 39-year-old righthander gave up three runs and four hits with four walks and three strikeouts.

"After losing four in a row, this was a big win for us. You always feel like you could go a little longer," said Morgan, who threw 113 pitches. "That's a lot of pitches for me."

The Rangers chipped away in the second on Stevens' 13th homer and took the lead with a four-run third against starter Mike Oquist (6-6).

Juan Gonzalez led off with a double and scored one batter later on Rafael Palmeiro's single. After Palmeiro was caught stealing, Todd Zeile doubled but Stevens flied out. Roberto Kelly came through with a two-out single, putting Texas in front for good, 4-3.

Tim Worrell replaced Oquist and promptly walked Royce Clayton before Mark McLemore and Rodriguez delivered RBI singles for a 6-3 cushion.

The Rangers padded their lead in the fifth as Kelly singled to lead off, was sacrificed to second, took third on McLemore's groundout and scored on a double by Rodriguez.

"Hitting in the clutch is what counts," Rodriguez said. "We have to make the pitchers throw strikes."

Munoz replaced Morgan to start the eighth and gave up one-out singles to John Jaha and Matt Stairs. A wild pitch moved up both runners and Jaha scored on a groundout by Chavez. But Tim Crabtree came out of the bullpen and retired Mike Macfarlane on a flyout before Wetteland's struggles in the ninth.

Oquist lost for the third time in four starts, yielding five runs -- four earned -- and six hits in 2 2/3 innings.

"It's really frustrating," he said. "We jumped out to a lead and I was not able to get out of the first inning. When you give up the lead, it adds to the frustration."

Photos
(Click on any of them for a larger image)

I also had a digital camera at this game, and took 50 pictures - you can see those pictures here.

Ben Grieve watches his first inning home run sail out	Royce Clayton turns a double play, or is about to sit on John Jaha's head	Todd Zeile crashes into Mike McFarland at the plate and scores	John Wetteland pitches in the 9th	Mike Modano holds the cup over his head during pre-game ceremonies

Stars Captain Darian Hatcher emerges from the Ranger dugout with the Stanley Cup	The opening pitch ceremony with Darian Hatcher, Joe Nieuendyk, & Mike Modano watching Craig Ludwig throw the ball	A special message for Lindy Ruff from the Rangers/Stars fans

Box Score

Line Score
AL  FINAL
                    1  2  3   4  5  6   7  8  9     R  H  E
                    -  -  -   -  -  -   -  -  -     -  -  -
OAKLAND             1  2  0   0  0  0   0  1  2     6  7  1
TEXAS               1  1  4   0  1  0   0  0  x     7 13  1   (FINAL)

BATTERIES:  OAK - MIKE OQUIST, TIM WORRELL (3RD), CHAD HARVILLE
                  (7TH), BUDDY GROOM (8TH) AND MIKE MACFARLANE
            TEX - MIKE MORGAN, MIKE MUNOZ (8TH), TIM CRABTREE
                  (8TH), JOHN WETTELAND (9TH) AND IVAN RODRIGUEZ

             WP - MIKE MORGAN (8-5)
             LP - MIKE OQUIST (6-6)
           SAVE - JOHN WETTELAND (24)

HOME RUNS:  OAK - BEN GRIEVE (7) OFF MORGAN IN THE 1ST, 0 ON
                  ERIC CHAVEZ (5) OFF MORGAN IN THE 2ND, 1 ON
                  BEN GRIEVE (8) OFF WETTELAND IN THE 9TH, 1 ON
            TEX - LEE STEVENS (13) OFF OQUIST IN THE 2ND, 0 ON

     TIME:  2:45     ATT:  45,995

PROBABLES:  OAK - TIM HUDSON (2-0, 2.37)
            TEX - JOHN BURKETT (0-3, 7.85)



Box Score
OAKLAND (6) AT TEXAS (7) - FINAL

OAKLAND                ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
T Phillips 2b           4  1  0  0   1  0   2  .246
Grieve lf               5  2  2  3   0  0   2  .241
Ja Giambi 1b            4  0  0  0   1  1   0  .268
Jaha dh                 4  1  1  0   0  1   2  .295
Stairs rf               3  1  1  0   1  0   2  .249
Chavez 3b               3  1  1  3   1  0   1  .226
Macfarlane c            3  0  1  0   1  0   1  .282
R Christenson cf        3  0  0  0   0  1   3  .172
 a-Raines ph            1  0  0  0   0  0   0  .216
Velandia ss             3  0  1  0   0  1   1  .207
 b-Saenz ph             1  0  0  0   0  0   0  .262

Totals                 34  6  7  6   5  4  14

a-flied to right for R Christenson in the 9th; b-grounded to
second for Velandia in the 9th.

BATTING: HR - Grieve 2 (8, 1st inning off Morgan 0 on, 1 out,
9th inning off Wetteland 1 on, 2 out); Chavez (5, 2nd inning off
Morgan 1 on, 0 out). RBI - Grieve 3 (32), Chavez 3 (21). 2-out RBI -
Grieve 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - Grieve 1,
R Christenson 1, Macfarlane 1. GIDP - Chavez. Team LOB - 6.

FIELDING: E - Velandia (2, throw). PB - Macfarlane.
DP: 1 (Chavez-T Phillips-Ja Giambi).

TEXAS                  ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
Mclemore 2b             3  1  1  1   2  0   1  .282
I Rodriguez c           5  0  3  2   0  0   2  .308
Greer lf                5  0  0  0   0  2   7  .275
J Gonzalez rf           4  1  1  1   0  1   0  .300
R Palmeiro dh           3  0  2  1   1  1   0  .357
Zeile 3b                4  1  2  0   0  0   3  .254
L Stevens 1b            4  1  2  1   0  1   2  .304
R Kelly cf              4  2  2  1   0  0   1  .330
Clayton ss              2  1  0  0   1  0   1  .245

Totals                 34  7 13  7   4  5  17

BATTING: 2B - J Gonzalez (13, Oquist); Zeile (18, Oquist);
I Rodriguez (11, Worrell). HR - L Stevens (13, 2nd inning off
Oquist 0 on, 0 out). S - Clayton. SF - J Gonzalez. RBI -
J Gonzalez (58), L Stevens (37), R Palmeiro (61), R Kelly (15),
Mclemore (18), I Rodriguez 2 (39). 2-out RBI - R Kelly, Mclemore,
I Rodriguez 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - Zeile 1,
Greer 3. GIDP - Zeile. Team LOB - 9.

BASERUNNING: CS - R Palmeiro (1, 2nd base by Oquist/Macfarlane).

FIELDING: E - Zeile (11, ground ball). DP: 1 (Mclemore-Clayton-L Stevens).

OAKLAND                      ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
Oquist (L, 6-6)               2 2/3   6   5   4   3   0   1   5.53
Worrell                       3 1/3   6   2   2   1   4   0   4.29
C Harville                    1 1/3   1   0   0   0   0   0   0.00
Groom                           2/3   0   0   0   0   1   0   7.58

TEXAS                        ip       h   r  er  bb  so  hr    era
Morgan (W, 8-5)               7       4   3   3   4   3   2   5.69
M Munoz                         2/3   2   1   1   0   1   0   3.81
Crabtree (H, 6)                 1/3   0   0   0   0   0   0   3.51
Wetteland (S, 24)             1       1   2   2   1   0   1   4.26

WP - M Munoz. IBB - R Palmeiro (by Oquist).  Pitches-strikes:
Morgan 113-66; M Munoz 18-12; Crabtree 2-2; Wetteland 18-12;
Oquist 53-28; Worrell 52-35; C Harville 11-7; Groom 13-7.
Ground balls-fly balls: Morgan 11-7; M Munoz 1-0; Crabtree 0-1;
Wetteland 1-2; Oquist 2-5; Worrell 5-1; C Harville 2-2; Groom
1-0.  Batters faced: Morgan 29; M Munoz 4; Crabtree 1; Wetteland 5;
Oquist 17; Worrell 16; C Harville 5; Groom 2.

UMPIRES: HP--Tim Welke. 1B--Laz Diaz. 2B--Jim Reynolds.
3B--Fieldin Culbreth.
T--2:45.  Att--45,995.   Weather: 89 degrees, partly cloudy.
Wind: 13 mph, right to left.

Game Log

Oakland Starting Lineups -- Tony Phillips 2B, Ben Grieve LF, Jason Giambi 1B, John Jaha DH, Matt Stairs RF, Eric Chavez 3B, Mike Macfarlane C, Ryan Christenson CF, Jorge Velandia SS, Mike Oquist RHP.

Texas Starting Lineups -- Mark Mclemore 2B, Ivan Rodriguez C, Rusty Greer LF, Juan Gonzalez RF, Rafael Palmeiro DH, Todd Zeile 3B, Lee Stevens 1B, Roberto Kelly CF, Royce Clayton SS, Mike Morgan RHP.

Umpires -- T Welke (HP), Diaz (1B), Reynolds (2B), Culbreth (3B).

Gametime Weather: 89 degrees, Partly Cloudy, wind right to left at 13 mph.

OAKLAND 1ST: T Phillips grounded out to first. Grieve homered to right. Ja Giambi grounded out to second. Jaha struck out swinging. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) OAKLAND 1, TEXAS 0.

TEXAS 1ST: Mclemore walked. I Rodriguez grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, Mclemore safe at second on shortstop Velandia's throwing error. Mclemore to third, I Rodriguez to second on Macfarlane passed ball. Greer popped out to shallow left. J Gonzalez hit sacrifice fly to right, Mclemore scored, I Rodriguez to third. R Palmeiro intentionally walked. Zeile flied out to left center. (1 Run, 0 Hits, 1 Error) OAKLAND 1, TEXAS 1.

OAKLAND 2ND: Stairs walked. Chavez homered to right, Stairs scored. Macfarlane walked. R Christenson struck out swinging. Velandia singled to center, Macfarlane to second. T Phillips flied out to center, Macfarlane to third. Grieve grounded into fielder's choice to second, Velandia out at second. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) OAKLAND 3, TEXAS 1.

TEXAS 2ND: L Stevens homered to right. R Kelly grounded out to shortstop. Clayton lined out to first. Mclemore walked. I Rodriguez singled to center, Mclemore to second. Greer grounded out to third. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) OAKLAND 3, TEXAS 2.

OAKLAND 3RD: Ja Giambi walked. Jaha safe at first on 3rd baseman Zeile's fielding error, Ja Giambi to second. Stairs flied out to center. Chavez grounded into double play, second to shortstop to first, Jaha out at second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 1 Error) OAKLAND 3, TEXAS 2.

TEXAS 3RD: J Gonzalez doubled to deep left center. R Palmeiro singled to right, J Gonzalez scored. R Palmeiro caught stealing, catcher to second to first to shortstop. Zeile doubled to right center. L Stevens flied out to shallow center. R Kelly singled to right, Zeile scored. R Kelly to second advancing on throw. Tim Worrell relieved Mike Oquist. Clayton walked. Mclemore singled to right, R Kelly scored, Clayton to third. I Rodriguez singled to center, Clayton scored, Mclemore to third. Greer struck out swinging. (4 Runs, 6 Hits, 0 Errors) OAKLAND 3, TEXAS 6.

OAKLAND 4TH: Macfarlane singled to center. R Christenson grounded into fielder's choice to first, Macfarlane out at second. Velandia flied out to left. T Phillips flied out to deep left. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) OAKLAND 3, TEXAS 6.

TEXAS 4TH: J Gonzalez flied out to deep right center. R Palmeiro struck out swinging. Zeile singled to right center. L Stevens struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) OAKLAND 3, TEXAS 6.

OAKLAND 5TH: Grieve grounded out to second. Ja Giambi flied out to right. Jaha grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) OAKLAND 3, TEXAS 6.

TEXAS 5TH: R Kelly singled to right. Clayton sacrificed R Kelly to second. Mclemore grounded out to second, R Kelly to third. I Rodriguez doubled to left center, R Kelly scored. Greer grounded out to second. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) OAKLAND 3, TEXAS 7.

OAKLAND 6TH: Stairs flied out to right. Chavez walked. Macfarlane grounded out to second, Chavez to second. R Christenson grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) OAKLAND 3, TEXAS 7.

TEXAS 6TH: J Gonzalez struck out swinging. R Palmeiro singled to left. Zeile grounded into double play, third to second to first, R Palmeiro out at second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) OAKLAND 3, TEXAS 7.

OAKLAND 7TH: Velandia struck out swinging. T Phillips flied out to left center. Grieve grounded out to pitcher. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) OAKLAND 3, TEXAS 7.

TEXAS 7TH: Chad Harville relieved Tim Worrell. L Stevens singled to center. R Kelly flied out to deep right. Clayton grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, L Stevens out at second. Mclemore flied out to right. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) OAKLAND 3, TEXAS 7.

OAKLAND 8TH: Mike Munoz relieved Mike Morgan. Ja Giambi struck out swinging. Jaha singled to left center. Stairs singled to right, Jaha to second. Jaha to third, Stairs to second on M Munoz wild pitch. Chavez grounded out to shortstop, Jaha scored, Stairs to third. Tim Crabtree relieved Mike Munoz. Macfarlane flied out to shallow center. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) OAKLAND 4, TEXAS 7.

TEXAS 8TH: I Rodriguez grounded out to shortstop. Buddy Groom relieved Chad Harville. Greer struck out swinging. J Gonzalez grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) OAKLAND 4, TEXAS 7.

OAKLAND 9TH: John Wetteland relieved Tim Crabtree. Raines hit for R Christenson. Raines flied out to right. Saenz hit for Velandia. Saenz grounded out to second. T Phillips walked. Grieve homered to right, T Phillips scored. Ja Giambi lined out to first. (2 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) OAKLAND 6, TEXAS 7.