The Oakland A's are going back to spring-training basics. The San Francisco Giants are going back to having fun.
A day before the World Series resumes, which way will win?"The hardest thing is to sit down and figure out what's best to get your players ready to play," Giants manager Roger Craig said Wednesday. "I think every manager has to do what he thinks is right. The Athletics did what they thought was best and we're doing the same."
The Athletics, afraid of bad weather that never came, went to their spring training site in Phoenix. Under hazy skies that turned sunny, they played a simulated game and today planned to play against their instructional league team in Arizona.
"I'm not worried about motivation. This is the World Series. This is what you come to spring training thinking about," Oakland manager Tony La Russa said. "We're here to work."
The Athletics weren't totally serious, but they were all business. They lead the series 2-0 and plan to keep going Friday evening in Game 3.
The Giants seemed to do as much joking as hitting, pitching and fielding at their practice at sunny Candlestick Park.
"Like a bunch of kids on a sandlot. That's the kind of atmosphere I want, having fun," Craig said. "If they're mentally ready to play, the physical aspect will be there. If their hearts aren't in it, it won't matter."
The weather is expected to be fine for Friday. The teams are just hoping everything else is OK.
For the second straight day, an aftershock bounced the Bay area. On Tuesday, it came shortly after 6 p.m., which would've been around the second inning if the World Series had resumed on the day baseball had originally hoped.
On Wednesday, the stadium slightly shook around 3 p.m. The Giants had left by the time that happened.
While the teams worked out, the Athletics tried to work out a compromise with the Rolling Stones. The two sides met Wednesday, but no resolution was announced.
The Rolling Stones are scheduled to play at the Oakland Coliseum on Nov. 4-5, and their contract allows them to move into the stadium five days beforehand to set up. If the Giants can force the series back to Oakland, there would be a conflict for Games 6 and 7 on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1.
Candlestick Park, meanwhile, is ready. As the Giants practiced, maintenance crews cleaned the stadium of cups and hot dog wrappers left from Oct. 17, when the earthquake struck.
Once the 'Stick and Stones are set, all that remains is baseball. The Giants planned an easy practice today.
"No simulated games. No intrasquad games. We tried that the first few days and some of the players were bitching, throwing bats," Craig said. "With the earthquake, they had other things on their minds and didn't want to be doing that.
"They didn't really enjoy it. You can't force them to do things they don't want to do," he said."Today, they were having fun and got something out of it."
First baseman Will Clark saw some benefits. "We were loosey-goosey today," he said. "Maybe that's a sign we're relaxed. But we still have a big job ahead."
Outfielder Kevin Mitchell said he has plenty of work to do, too.
"I'm not comfortable. I'm trying to find my swing," said Mitchell, the only Giants player with three hits in the series. "I think my body is trying to tell me I should be home by now. We're not used to playing this late."
The Athletics seem to be spending a lot more time on work than on play. Their practice sessions are more intense than Giants, but who knows whether that's good or bad. On Wednesday, catcher Ron Hassey was hit by a foul tip and left in the last inning of a simulated game.