thanks to the other netters who found these quotes by a writer for MLB. i was feeling so bummed this morning, but this sure reminds me what a ride it's been.


What did the A's prove? Contrary to what millions of fans might be thinking after their ninth consecutive loss in a game that could have sent them to the AL Championship Series, they proved that they aren't chokers.

Chokers don't shrug off the loss of star players year after year and keep on winning.

Chokers don't put together four straight stirring second-half comebacks to beat teams with twice their payroll into the postseason.

Chokers don't fight back from a crushing blow like the one Martinez delivered to pull within a run and load the bases in the bottom of the ninth.

Four first-round bowouts doesn't make you chokers or underachievers or any of the other unflattering labels they'll be tagged with Tuesday morning. That's ridiculous. They make you a four-time playoff team with plenty about which to be proud.

"The fact of the matter is that Boston is a better team than we are," said A's general manager Billy Beane. "These guys took them right to the wire, right to the last inning, and once again, I have no complaints.

"These guys played their butts off right to the last strike."