I stopped going to A's games some years ago while I still lived inthe
Bay Area for exactly this reason.  I believe the length of their games
has been institutionalized by LaRussa/Duncan.  They encourage their
pitchers to be overly deliberate, to throw to first often, to study
the catchers' signals, and so on.  And almost every A's hitter takes
a step out of the box after every pitch.  This is not, imo, a coincidence.
This is planned.  And I hate it.

As for the Gant situation, I did not see the game or the replays.  But
I do wonder.  What if Gant had requested a time out?  Would Hirschbeck
have been required to give it to him?  Could he have denied the requst?
For all he (the ump) knew, Gant could have had dirt in his eye.



