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Football makes Coliseum harder on baseball players

By Chris Haft
The San Jose Mercury News

One of August's annual rites -- dealing with the ravages of football on the Network Associates Coliseum turf -- has begun.

Yard lines and hash marks, remnants of the Raiders' home exhibition opener Saturday, are faded but clearly evident on the grass portion of the infield and across the outfield. Such cosmetic concerns pale next to the condition of the playing surface itself, which increases the degree of difficulty for fielders despite the groundskeepers' best efforts.

``Our grounds crew is the best,'' Manager Ken Macha said. ``They did a great job getting the field ready.''

Bobby Kielty, who started Monday in left field, noted that the pounding the field absorbed from football players hardened the ground, which meant for quicker, trickier hops. Even three-time Gold Glove winner Eric Chavez, who had played 47 consecutive errorless games at third base, and Baltimore shortstop Miguel Tejada, the slick-fielding former Athletic, committed errors Monday.

``It makes you have to react faster,'' Kielty said Tuesday. ``You don't have time to relax. Instead of reaching for the ball, you have to get in front of it and don't let it skip on you. If it skips on you, it's probably going to get past you. You really have to concentrate on every ball as much as possible. When it's like that, no ball's really routine.''

The A's need a home of their own, obviously ... Hmm.

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Originally posted by BC in Newberg:
The A's need a home of their own, obviously ... Hmm.

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