The big leaguers roll into Yolo County

WEST SACRAMENTO -- Oakland A's manager Bob Geren was quite interested to see the River Cats had done with the place. Geren, who managed Oakland's top affiliate for three years, was back at Raley Field today for the A's-River Cats exhibition game. Geren said the park holds a lot of happy memories for him.

"My kids practically grew up in this park," Geren said.

The game was certainly what you would expect from an exhibition. The A's, playing the major leaguers, dominated for three innings. In all, the teams combined for 21 runs and 33 hits. At one point, Oakland went with an eight-man lineup, skipping Mike Piazza's third turn in the order. Then they put Kurt Suzuki in that spot later. Piazza was ticketed for the first Oakland bus home, the one that left after the fifth inning.

For those that care deeply about the A's, tomorrow's papers will be full of the news that Esteban Loaiza pulled out of his planned start. He threw some warm-up tosses on flat ground before and then stopped due to tightness in his trapezius, which is a muscle in the upper back. He'll be evaluated Friday, but Geren didn't seem too concerned immediately after the game. I haven't been around Geren enough to know if he's doing the stiff-upper-lip bit or if he's really not worried.