A's Fan Group Demanding Ownership Remove Tarps For ALDS Game 4

A grass-roots group looking to keep the A's in Oakland yesterday delivered a letter to team ownership "demanding the club remove the upper-deck tarps" for today's ALDS Game 4 against the Tigers, according to Susan Slusser of the S.F. CHRONICLE. However, the team said that it "could not oblige, due to a lack of ticket demand and logistical concerns." The group, which calls itself "Let's Go Oakland," said 10,102 A's fans are "being denied the right to attend the ALDS because there are no more seats available." A's Owner Lew Wolff said, "Playoff strips have been on sale since the end of August. People have had more than a month to purchase seats. If there was the level of fan interest to take off the tarps, it would have been evident." Wolff added the team "did not sell out Game 4 until" Monday. A's VP/Stadium Operations David Rinetti said that it "takes two days to arrange for a specialized crew to remove the tarps and for them to carry out the work." Wolff said that the team is considering removing the tarp for the ALCS "should ticket sales justify it" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 10/10). In N.Y., Jason Turbow writes the tarps have been in place "under the theory that sparse crowds look better when compressed into smaller areas." An unintended bonus "has been the increased opportunity for fans and players to interact." But now the A's are "finally managing to sell out the yard, which happened only six times during the regular season, three games of which were populated largely by Giants fans for an interleague matchup." A's CF Coco Crisp said, "In Oakland, you see the same faces every day. There's a familiarity that's good for the fans and good for us players" (N.Y. TIMES, 10/10). 

THESE GO TO ELEVEN: In San Jose, Mark Purdy writes fans at O.co Coliseum for Tigers-A's ALDS Game 3 yesterday "simply decided to turn up the volume knob to 11." A's players "deserve credit" for building the atmosphere, but "all of them gave at least some credit to the 37,090 fans who showed up and kept the Coliseum rocking all night long." A's P Sean Doolittle said, "We get a kick of how into the game they are. The way they play off what we're doing is awesome." Purdy writes when Crisp "climbed the outfield wall for a ridiculous home run take-away catch" and LF Yoenis Céspedes "dove for another preposterous defensive gem, the decibels seemed to push each man the final few inches to grab each ball." AT&T Park "can be quite noisy for Giants' games but seldom if ever crosses the pandemonium bar." Yesterday, O.co Coliseum "did that about five times" in the "first inning alone" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 10/10). The S.F. CHRONICLE's Slusser writes A's players were "unanimous in their praise for the rowdy Coliseum." P Grant Balfour said, "They're awesome. You saw how loud they were, how pumped up they were" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 10/10).