(above : A’s owner Lewis Wolff shows reporters the highest possible point in a mooted new ballpark where fans could escape a sewage explosion)
Texas’ 10 inning loss to K.C. earlier today clinched the 2013 AL West crown for the Oakland Athletics, who are currently nursing a 9-4 lead at home to Minnesota. You’ll note I didn’t use the expression “home sweet home”, because once again, the O.co Coliseum has proven to be anything but to the overachieving A’s, as the San Jose Mercury News’ Mark Purdy explains.
Saturday when a pregame downpour hit the ballpark, storm sewer drains in both dugouts couldn’t handle the deluge and backed up, flooding the bench areas for a while until the water dissipated. And that was the good news. Because over in the home clubhouse, a toilet in the coaches’ dressing room was suffering from, ahem, a reversal of fortune.
Ryan Cook, the A’s reliever, described the scene to reporters as “a sewage volcano.” Sounds like a SyFy Channel movie, except … it’s real! This is the third time since June that a sewage eruption has befouled a different part of the Coliseum, though none have occurred in spectator or concession areas. At least none that have been made public.
Saturday, rescue crews reported for duty and quickly handled the issue. But after the A’s victory, manager Bob Melvin was asked for a plumbing update.
“Everything’s OK,” Melvin reported, as if he were calmly discussing his starting rotation. “We’ve got somebody on call for it.”