SF Angels 2003- the article that shocked the Sacka-Tomato-inz

Gregor Wakefield's letter:
   I was on your website the other day, which I
think is a great website ... but I noticed that
you spent an awful lot of space bashing our team.
 I am writing because I think you don't know the
whole story since you were not there.
   Aside from the fact that the information is
partially inaccurate, I don't think it give us
(or you) good press or publicity to be
publicizing information such as this.  We've been
trying for years to get the newspapers and the
fans to take our leagues seriously and when they
read about forfeits and stuff like this it turns
them off - along with potential sponsors.
   Now, let me fill you in on the details of what
happened.  First off, it was your team that quit.
 It was your team that could not continue to
play.  Yes, we used one of your pitchers at the
suggestion of your own players, but our players
did indeed want to stay and finish off the game. 
In fact ... it was your stand in
coach/scorekeeper who told us at the time that he
was all for quitting because the players were
trying to get him to play.
   The truth is that in a league game this would
indeed have been considered a forfeit if we had
failed to send a pitcher to the mound.  The truth
is that if it had been a league game my players
would have been lining up to pitch.  The truth is
that it was your team that suggested we use one
of their pitchers because he wanted to get in
some work.  The truth is that it was a non-league
meaningless game which ended in a 2-2 tie due to
the Angels walking off the field in the top of
the 5th inning saying they wanted to quit.  Not
one of my players quit, so check your own team's
balls.
   Now, my first instinct was to go onto my
website and post a full page response with
details of what happened (which go further than
what is above).  But I thought it better to write
you and ask you to remove the trash talking from
the web page for the good of our team, and
potential sponsors throughout both leagues.  
   I don't think it would be wise on our part to
be posting a full page (or two) with pictures of
your players in mismatched uniforms, or of
various players changing uniforms to share
jerseys with the names NAZAR or BROWN.  Or of
empty coaches boxes due to the fact that the
entire coaching staff of the Angels were not at
the game.  Or of the loaned pitcher yelling back
at his own team mates on the Angels that "at
least the Athletics have uniforms".  And finally,
of a quote and picture of a very nice gentleman
who was standing in as the coach, but looked
every bit a scorekeeper saying his team wanted
him to play.
   The fact is that this was a pre season
non-league game with over half of our roster
attending college playoff games.  
   Oh and by the way ...  one final inaccuracy is
the statement that we could not find a position
player to take the mound.  We did indeed have one
of our position players take the mound in the
first game, and being a non-pitcher he proceeded
to render the Angels hitless for 3 1/3 innings. 
Now that takes balls.

Gregor Wakefield
Sacramento Athletics