I went to the A’s-Giants game yesterday, and saw something yesterday that may never be repeated. Granted, this was just spring training, but still…

Ricardo Rincon was pitching, top of the 7th, game tied, one out, one run in, runners on second and third. First base was open and Barry Bonds was up. Pedro Feliz was on deck, with A.J. Pierzynski following.

So you walk Bonds, right?

Not Rincon. He has a huge lefty/righty split, so he prefers facing left-handed batters. So Rincon goes right after Bonds and gets him to pop up. He walks the right-handed Feliz semi-intentionally on four pitches, then retires the lefty-batting Pierzynski to escape the rest of the inning unharmed.

I laughed. It’s as if Rincon said to himself, “OK, Bonds, Pierzynski–easy outs. Just don’t let Pedro Feliz beat you. You always gotta be careful with Pedro Feliz.”