"The time has come," the Walrus said, "to talk of many things; Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax-- Of cabbages--and kings-- And why the sea is boiling hot-- And whether pigs have wings."

And so here we are, gathered at the precipice, looking to the sea.

Listen: There is only one way to say this: 

Tonight is what we spent the last 11 months trying to avoid. We couldn't. Now, we shall learn if there are consequences.

Of all the sports that vacuum up our precious earthly time, baseball is the worst to be subjected to a one-game finale. Early on, in the days of Iron Man Joe McGinnity, maybe it made sense. But not today, when it takes a full season to sluice out the lost causes and find the gems. Sometimes, a seven-game series doesn't even do justice. To settle everything in one night? It just seems cruel.

But here we are.

Of all the stats and pre-game kibbutzing, the most frightening factoid I've seen is that Oakland has now lost seven winner-take-all playoff games in a row. Not since Reggie wore an A's uniform has the franchise won an all-or-nothing game.

Now, I realize that if you flip a coin seven times, and they all come up heads, on the next flip, the odds remain 50-50. What happens tonight is separate and far adrift from all previous Oakland defeats. That's the rational side of our brains talking. But here's the truth: The juju gods are not idiots. They have bosses. They have stockholders. They must rationalize their decisions to higher forums. And one of these days, maybe tonight, they will weigh the scale in Oakland's favor, just to remind us that we are ants on a log floating downstream, pretending to steer it, as it picks up speed. 

I thought of setting up an in-game chat room tonight, as we did last year. But I'd rather wait for the real post-season - if we get there. Also, I'm preparing for the NYC Comic Con this weekend, where Mustang and I will appear on a panel tomorrow evening. (AHOY Comics won't have a booth at the convention; the panel is our only presence.) 

I will post an in-game thread, perhaps every few innings, and I invite you all to weigh in. 

This is, of course, an International Juju Intervention - IJI - our version of the Presidential Emergency Text. Be in front of your authorized TV or electronic device. Be prepared to howl. If we win, anything can happen next week. If we win, we will have done something we failed to do over the last 11 months. We will have reached the post-season.